Hello :) Today seems like a great day to talk about a band with awesome visuals and incredible musical skills, right? And there's no one better in those aspects than visual-kei band Versailles!
Jasmine You, Teru, Kamijo, Yuki, HIzaki
The concept of the band was created in 2006 by Kamijo and Hizaki (vocals/guitar). After deciding on making a group focused on the relation of music and image, they started looking for more members that would fit the idea.
In 2007, the foundation of Versailles was announced with Teru (guitar), Jasmine You (bass) and Yuki (drums) as the other official members of the band. In June of that year, Versailles released their first single, "The Revenant Choir". This single perfectly expressed the sound that the founders had in mind for the group. With good reviews, Versailles produced their first EP "Lyrical Sympathy" in October and even released it in Europe.
"The Revenant Choir"s Promotional Video
In the following year, the band toured in Europe and debuted in the USA. After the successful lives, Versailles released their first full-length album, "Noble". Promotions for the album were made in the USA. In December, the band produced a maxi-single "PRINCE & PRINCESS", which led to their first national oneman tour. At the tour final, Kamijo announced that they would go major with Warner Music Japan in June 2009.
"PRINCE & PRINCESS" jacket.
The first major single, "Ascendead Master", was released as expected in June 2009. Versailles' popularity was skyrocketing. Taking advantage of that, Kamijo announced that a new full album was already being produced. Unfortunately, Jasmine You had to stop activities due to poor physical conditions. In August it was announced that the bassist had passed away.
"Ascendead Master"s Promotional Video - the last video with Jasmine You :(
After the sad news, Versailles decided to postpone the album to January 2010. Hizaki had to record the missing bass lines for the new songs. With their strength recovered and with Jasmine You as an "eternal member", Versailles finally released "Jubilee". The album even sold out in some online stores as international fans were strongly supporting the band.
"Jubilee"s jacket.
In order to promote the new album and thank overseas fans, Versailles held a world tour in 2010 (I saw them live here in Brazil! *----*). During the concerts, fans noticed that the band had a support bassist, Masashi. At the tour final in Japan, Kamijo announced that Masashi was now an official member. To celebrate the moment, Versailles also performed a new song, "DESTINY -The Lovers-", which was released as a single in October.
"DESTINY - The Lovers-"s Promotional Video - With Masashi!
For 2011, there's a single scheduled for March called "Philia". The title track will be used as the theme of Versailles' comedy mini-drama "Onegai Kanaete Versailles!". I can't wait to watch it!
Despite going major and the hard times that the band had in 2009, they kept the same sound in the new songs and that's really, really good. Teru and Hizaki are one of the most awesome guitarists out there, Kamijo's vocals are amazing, Yuki simply doesn't know what is to make a mistake at live concerts and Masashi is certainly following Jasmine's steps to be a great bassist! Versailles is just the perfect visual-kei band for me and I hope you liked it too.
Let's spread the roses of Versailles to the world~ ^^