Sound Horizon (Japanese Visual Kei Folk Rock)

I have been on a Sound Horizon kick lately. They are a very inspiring visual kei rock band that uses a lot folkloric elements. The best part is that they release their songs as complete stories divided into several tracks, so while the songs can be enjoyed by listening to them individually, the best effect comes when you listen to their tracks in its entirety in the proper sequence. Heck, the feeling they put in their songs and arrangement is so apparent that you don’t NEED to understand japanese to have a general idea of the stories.

My favourite stories are Iberian Jihad (Seisen no Iberia/聖戦のイベリア) and Elysium. here are some music video highlights :

[Elysium – Iru’s Portrait/エルの肖像] (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AblGFWM-PWo)
[Elysium – Ark] (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bRyMepQyics)
[Iberian Jihad/聖戦のイベリア – Stone Slab of the Red Demon’s Coming/石畳の緋き悪魔] (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dmUDnkf1aN8)

So if you have the money and looking for something cool to import from Japan, do check it out.

To anyone else who are familiar with their works, please do discuss.