ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) started to form in Japan in the 1980’s, creating a genre where the visual performance of the artist is just as important as the music they make. The name itself is derived from the slogan “Psychedelic Violence Crime of Visual Shock”, which was seen on the cover of X Japan’s second studio album “Blue Blood”, released in 1989.
By combining the often flamboyant and androgynous looks with their music, these artists tell the story of their works in a more theatrical way than other genres worldwide often do. The visual presentation also allows these artists to express themselves individually in their own creative style.
While ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) is the “top” of the genre, there are a lot of artists who can’t be categorized in any of it’s many subgenres but still have the ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) style in their works. That’s why we’ve collected them here, as well as bands from other countries that have been inspired by this unique genre.
