Band Focus - Rentrer en Soi

Since I can't be reporting from funfun Tokyo anymore *sob*, and I want to keep this blog going, I was thinking about what I could possibly write about that would be interesting. I do update when I buy stuff, but besides that? I hate those boring blogs which posts a link to a song and goes "check them out, they're awesome", everyone can find new bands by looking through youtube for endless hours (been there, done that unfortunatley). So I thought since I want to recomend bands I might aswell do it all the way, from presentation, recomendations to discography.

First up is a new crush of mine, Rentrer en Soi ~

Out of a very random happening during my last week in Tokyo I decided to check Rentrer en Soi out. They're one of the bigger, modern visual kei bands so of course I've heard of the name before but to be honest I never really listened to anything from them. So I checked some songs on youtube and then I downloaded the complete discography. (That's how you do it when you have too much freetime)
Rentrer en Soi began their activities in 2001, and because of their connection with BAISER member Katsura (who also was their drummer until Mika came along), the band was heavily influenced by BAISER (to be honest, in the early days Rentrer en Soi looked a bit left behind compared to newer visual kei bands). In sound the band also had a sort of 90's visual kei touch to it, aswell as visually. Have a look to a PV from their early period, Sincerely.


By this time the guitarist Ao had left and been replaced by Shun. I have to honestly say I'm not a big fan of their early sound, In my opinion shit started happening in 2005.
Their sound changed a lot, one of the fanfavorites, Protoplasm was released and in that you get a preview of what their future releases would sound like. The song itself is very catchy, and Satsuki changes from singing beautifully to screaming, this was a love at first hear for me, totally. (In other words, I listened to it nonstop for hours...during a couple of days)
Their visual style also changed, from very typical visual kei in old manner, to something more modern. Check this one out for sure, it won't disapoint you.


The band kept releasing some of their best works, in my opinion,the selfnamed album Rentrer en Soi, The Bottom of Chaos, and they also played in the US and gained some international fans (VK-sized but still). The previously mentioned cds both include a heavier sound, Satsuki mixes growling with his normal singing style alot. What also made me very interested in this perticular era of Rentrer en Soi is that the lyrics got way more darker than the previous releases. For those who enjoy shouting I can highly recomend the song I hate myself and want to... (also called I hate myeslf and want to die on The bottom of chaos)
Everything seemed to go great, they released the amazing single Stigmata, and it seemed like they tried to loose the visual kei style a bit (I'm sorry but Satsuki looks so much like a host at times), normally that means bands are aiming to go major-MAJOR. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for Rentrer en Soi. They announced their Millenarism tour in Japan and then they left the very sad message on their official webpage that they would stop activities after the last concert in Shibuya on the 25th of December 2008. Earlier that year they released their last minialbum Megiddo, which includes one of my personal favorite songs Baptism. It's very hard compared to other Rentrer en Soi releases and also a huge contrast to the sound they had when they first started.


In 2009 Satsuki went solo and changed sound completly, he's a bit more pop/rock, I'd even say he reminds me a bit of Gackt's early work. Takumi and Mika is now active in the somewhat famous band Sukekiyo .
To get a full discography I recomend to check their webpage out, also they have 3 free videos to download! If someone decides to check Rentrer en Soi out, please leave a comment and tell me what your impression was/is!