Versailles, also known as Versailles –Philharmonic Quintet- in the U.S, is a visual kei metal band who are best recognised for their elaborate rococo-esque costumes and interesting sound. Formed in 2007 the band has been quick to rise to success, featuring some prominent figures of the visual kei scene. Kamijo and Hizaki formed the concept of the band together and spent the following six months finding the right members to express it. The concept of the band is “the absolute youshikibi (beauty of form) sound and extremes of aestheticism”.
Versailles rise to fame did not take long, though only two months after they had announced the band would be going major did tragedy strike; their bassist Jasmine You being struck with an illness. Less than a week after they announced that he would be taking time off due to health issues did he pass away. The band was, understandably, shaken by this, and their future uncertain for a time, though they released the album they had been recording, Jubilee, regardless, believing Jasmine would have wished for them to continue.
The band currently consists of Kamijo on vocals, Teru and Hizaki on guitar, Yuki and drums and Masashi on bass. While Masashi joined the band as their bassist after the passing of Jasmine You he is referred to as the sixth member. Jasmine You is cited as an eternal member.
Jasmine You – Eternal Member
This year saw the release of their third album, ‘Holy Grail’, and their second world tour, which saw them play in London for the second time. Being close by, we weren’t about to let this opportunity slip away and ventured over to the U.K. to see them live!
Even though we had all received emails informing us that queuing in advance outside the venue was not permitted, we set out early regardless. Unfortunately due to work being done on the underground this resulted in us trekking through London in high heeled boots and elaborate outfits in the blazing sun. While we may have looked severely out of place on our journey, as soon as we arrived we knew we were at the right place. If you weren’t sporting beautiful dresses, ornate shirts and coats, boots and masquerade masks you looked out of place; we wouldn’t have expected anything less.
Despite the ban on queuing we did so for at least five hours, and we were far from alone. Come the time the doors opened the sun had faded from sight. Inside we were met with classical music while we waited for the gig to begin, with the occasional tech man sneaking onto the stage to strum on a guitar to rile us all up. But as the lights dimmed and the familiar prelude began, everyone in the crowd knew it was their cue to start chanting “We are?” “VERSAILLES!”
Photo by Daniel Bay
The members stepped onto the stage one at a time, each having their own moment with the crowd before taking their place, making way for the next, each as stunning as the last. Once everyone was onstage and Kamijo had had enough of working us up by shouting “We are?” at us, they went straight into MASQUERADE and the show kicked off.
Versailles put on quite a show, their music being even better live than it is on their albums. To watch them onstage in their elaborate outfits, their synchronised spins on particular chorus’ and gestures towards the crowd is simply brilliant. Despite the language barrier, Kamijo did his utmost to engage the crowd, and despite most of us not being anywhere near fluent in Japanese, we had listened to the songs enough to be able to sing along to them perfectly.
As with any good gig, it felt as though as though the point where they claimed to play their final song came too soon, though this one ended in a surprising manner. Hizaki, near always elegant and dressed like a princess, stepped back, before breaking into a run and diving into the crowd. Unexpectedly we found ourselves holding the guitarist up over us, lost amidst curls and an elaborate ball-gown while the venue staff tried frantically to reel him back over to the stage. He left a crowd still recovering from the surprise with a smile and wave.
After a good five minutes of persistent chanting “We are?” “VERSAILLES!” again, our encore came, the whole band returning to the stage to break into REMEMBER FOREVER. It was in this song that the mic was turned to the audience, all of us singing along to the acoustic part of the song, Kamijo being kind enough to tell us we had nice voices come the end of it!
The gig ended with PHILIA, although later on twitter the band stated that they had intended to play another, though there were issues with the venue. And although the gig itself had ended, they weren’t done yet. While they vanished for a good half an hour, we scurried off to get merchandise and then queue for something special; a meet and greet where we got to meet each individual member of the band, to shake hands and say our piece. Unusual to say the least; but it certainly showed that they appreciate their fans in the way they go so far to keep them happy. It was quite the experience, even if it resulted in us missing our train home. Whoops!
While the European leg of their tour has now ended, they are set to hit South America next month. By the day this visual kei band is gaining popularity across the globe, and we’re certain this isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing them.
In our next piece we’ll be looking at the subgenres within Visual Kei, starting with O-share kei! If you missed part one of our Visual Kei series, check it out here.
