MALICE MIZER – merveilles l'espace Review: Gothic Elegance Captured
When MALICE MIZER released merveilles l'espace in 2002, they were operating at the intersection of their most th...
Reviews
Album and EP reviews from the VK Chronicle team.
Visual Kei April 2026: Month in Review
April 2026 Month in Review: Reunions, Supergroups & the Sound of Tomorrow
Golden Bomber – Memeshikute Review: VK Perfection
<img src="https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fst.cdjapan.co.jp%2Fpictures%2Fl%2F13%2F20%2FDAKEAZZ-25.jp...
Xaa-Xaa – Akairo Review: Crimson Catharsis in 2018
Xaa-Xaa's *Akairo* arrives like a bleeding wound—visceral, unapologetic, and impossible to ignore. This 2018 CD ...
DEATHGAZE – DECADE Review: A Landmark Anniversary Statement
When a band titles an album *DECADE*, they're making a statement. For DEATHGAZE, 2013's *DECADE* arrived as both...
DIR EN GREY – MORTAL DOWNER Review: Dark Evolution
DIR EN GREY's MORTAL DOWNER arrives as a meditation on spiritual exhaustion—a sonic journey through despair that...
X – BLUE BLOOD Review: Japanese Visual Kei's Darkest Hour
There's a palpable darkness that settles over BLUE BLOOD from its first moments—a suffocating, beautiful dread t...
![Janne Da Arc – Singles 2 [CD+DVD] Review: Career Retrospective](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fis1-ssl.mzstatic.com%2Fimage%2Fthumb%2FMusic124%2Fv4%2F3b%2F37%2Ffd%2F3b37fd0a-aaa8-eebb-df24-866b2c7d5a2a%2FANTCD-11148.jpg%2F600x600bb.jpg&w=600&output=jpg)
Janne Da Arc – Singles 2 [CD+DVD] Review: Career Retrospective
When a band reaches the status of Visual Kei institution, a singles compilation becomes more than just a cash gr...
DIR EN GREY – MORTAL DOWNER Review: A Masterwork of Controlled Chaos
DIR EN GREY has never been a band to rest on laurels, and *MORTAL DOWNER* proves they're still willing to push b...
DALLE – Destroyed To Discord Review: Chaos Refined
There's a particular kind of beauty that emerges from controlled destruction, and DALLE's 2021 offering *Destroy...
BUCK-TICK – Kurutta Taiyou Review: Vinyl Mastery
There's something deeply satisfying about hearing BUCK-TICK's vision rendered in analog warmth. *Kurutta Taiyou*...
NIGHTMARE – √25 Review: 25 Years of Visual Kei Royalty
Some anniversaries feel like obligations. NIGHTMARE's 25th is not one of them. √25 — read it as the square root ...
DIAURA – Ephemeral Review: Their Finest Hour Yet
Fifteen years into their career, DIAURA have earned the right to call a release Ephemeral — because everything t...
ASP's "Terminal Disease" Is Actually a Cure: How WACK's Punks Found Their Sound
When ASP dropped their debut with a deliberately provocative title, it felt like shock value masking growing pai...
HYDE Brings Orchestral Elegance to JEKYLL Tour—and YOSHIKI Crashes the Party
If you thought HYDE's solo work couldn't get any more sophisticated, think again. The L'Arc~en~Ciel frontman's o...