Famous for androgynous clothing, dramatic make-up, and wild hairstyles, visual kei bands (the kei meaning style or image), started in Japan in the late 1980s.
It’s a way of self-expression, mainly popular in the hardcore music scene. Confusing visual kei with a specific genre of music is easy, but yet it isn’t a genre at all. It’s just an artistic style worn by the members of a band.
People in these bands are mostly men that cross the boarders of society by choosing cross-dressing clothes such as skirts, corsets, and heeled boots, very similar to the gothic/punk-like style.
Japanese bands that have been said to start this style are X-Japan, D'erlanger, Buck-Tick, and Color.
Visual Kei, though it is most popular in Asian countries, is slowly making its way through Europe and to the United States. Some of the visual kei bands that I have listened to and recommend are Dir en Grey, X Japan, An Café (commonly known as Antic Café), Alice Nine, D’espairs Ray and my number one favorite, The Gazette.
Just like anything else in the world, something that is different gains both popularity and harsh criticism. Not all the men who portray this style are gay. This is a major misconception because of the way people are use to thinking.
Music is entertainment, so therefore it is necessary to act or dress a certain way and altogether simply entertain. The people in visual kei bands definitely accomplish this by just the way they look.
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