Looking for a new form of cruel and unusual punishment? Then look no further than Deviloof, whose highly individual take on deathcore merges harsh, devastating sonics with Japan’s distinctive ‘Visual Kei’ culture. While eye-popping visuals have gone hand-in-hand with heavy metal since the genre’s earliest days, Visual Kei goes beyond shock value and showmanship in order to help its practitioners better expand upon their specific worldview.
“Visual Kei started in the 1980s when Japanese bands took inspiration from American and European metal and evolved it into something new,” explains bassist Daiki. “At its core Visual Kei really comes from metal: the early songs of X Japan, who are considered the founders of Visual Kei, are basically melodic speed metal. There are many ways to interpret it, but it’s more about the visual aspect than a strict musical genre - nowadays you’ll see bands playing anything from metal to pop while still being considered Visual Kei.”
