Japanese Visual Metal - Rock&Read June 2023 Vol. 107 - Mana, Kamijo, Asagi, Sono

Japanese Visual Metal - Joint Statement

On January 1, the "Japanese Visual Metal Joint Statement" was announced by Moi dix Mois, Versailles, D, and Matenrou Opera, four bands that represent “tanbi” metal, or "aesthetic metal”. It was also announced that the four of them would tour together in September and release a memorial single called "Concerto ~Aesthetic Bloodline~" under the name “JVM Roses Blood Symphony”. Here, we asked the four leaders of each band, who are also the JVM leaders, to talk about how this project came along, and about their thoughts and what this project signifies to them. 

To come out of the pandemic.... To create a new scene...

The "team mates" who have sometimes faced each other as rivals, are now on the move together.

Japanese Visual Metal - Group Leaders Roundtable - BILLBOARD Japan April 10th 2023

Interview

Mana (Moi dix mois), KAMIJO (Versailles), ASAGI (D) and Sono (Matenrou Opera) join forces to create “Japanese Visual Metal”

On January 1, 2023, four artists, Moi dix Mois, Versailles, D and Matenrou Opera announced a shocking “joint statement”. We held a sumptuous roundtable discussion with the representative leaders of the four bands. Following the lead of Moi dix Mois, which took the first official step last December through the joint statement, each band is now working to lift the ban on vocal performances at solo live shows. In addition, the social media of these four artists have been converted into a medium to create a new "Japanese Visual Metal" scene based on the "Visual" scene that they have walked in and the "Metal" scene that they have been influenced by. Based on this, they have created a new scene called "Japanese Visual Metal" and will hold a Zepp Tour titled "Japanese Visual Metal Tour" together. They are also working on a joint songwriting project. What is it that unites these four artists? What is the “Japanese Visual Metal” that was born from this project? We asked the four artists to talk about the "bloodlines" that run through their backgrounds. 

(*NOTE : I did not use any -san/-kun as it often is less natural in English. I am not a professional and only do this for fun in the hopes of making it easier for fans to access content in Japanese and the translation might not be perfect or word-for-word accurate but reflects the original text in the most accurate way I could with my level of Japanese.)