Versailles 10th Anniversary Tour -Grand Finale- “CHATEAU DE VERSAILLES” at Zepp Tokyo

Versailles held the grand finale of their 10th anniversary tour at Zepp Tokyo on December 17th. Black curtains were unveiled as the members appeared on the stage one by one. Drummer YUKI, bassist MASASHI, guitarists TERU and HIZAKI, and finally vocalist KAMIJO moved into their respective positions while they were welcomed by the fans’ ovation and chants of “We are Versailles!”

Versailles, who call themselves the decedents of roses, started their anniversary show with the symphonic metal song Masquerade. KAMIJO’s glamorous and passionate voice expressed the band’s aesthetic. TERU and HIZAKI shredded their guitars with enormous velocity, while YUKI and MASASHI offered well-controlled dynamic modulations during the fast-paced song. As if they were dancing in the ballroom of a castle, the two guitarists sometimes gracefully swayed and turned while leaving fans in awe with their superb guitar solos. “Welcome to my castle! Welcome to Versailles!” KAMIJO shouted at the end of the song.

Afterwards, KAMIJO picked up a wine glass and had a drink. “Give me your bites and shouts!” KAMIJO stirred the fans up before the next song, Shout & Bites. Fans headbanged to the beautiful melody of the gothic metal song. KAMIJO held out his microphone to HIZAKI to let him shout with the fans, and the vocalist also had HIZAKI drink from the wine glass. “Welcome to the tour finale! Let’s celebrate our 10th anniversary with joy, intensity, and beauty! The next song is Ascendead Master!” KAMIJO shouted. Fans held their rose-shaped penlights up high and sang along to the melodious chorus of the polished metal song.

“Are you enjoying the show? It has been a very happy anniversary year for us. By the way, did you slip on the floor, TERU?” KAMIJO said to TERU, who had actually slipped on the floor when he first appeared on the stage. “Yes, I did. It captured my 10 years in this band well,” TERU answered. “We slipped on the floor so many times in the last 10 years. But today, none of us have leg injuries!” Laughter rose up as KAMIJO humorously discussed the band’s career. “We became able to dance well over the last decade. Today, the band is more unified than ever,” KAMIJO said confidently. The band lived up to KAMIJO’s words during the next song, Flowery. The vocalist and guitarists elegantly waltzed across the stage while playing a technically-demanding song at the same time.

“We’ve faced so many obstacles over the last 10 years. Thank you for giving us the strength to overcome them. Versailles is our ideal and our castle. We will continue to pursue our ideals. Please raise up your roses,” KAMIJO spoke to the fans. KAMIJO and the fans held up their rose penlights as HIZAKI’s graceful guitar intro of Sympathia embraced their 10-year bond. KAMIJO’s heartfelt vocals were met with a singalong from the fans, and he spoke to the audience again during the song. “Music is invisible, but our eyes can see it. We can see it in your smiles and in your tears. We are our music itself, and we want to keep playing it,” he said.

“Now is the time to unleash our beauty and violence! Shout the name you believe in out loud!” KAMIJO stirred the fans up during the next song, The Red Carpet Day. Fans jumped and shouted along to the rampant gothic metal song, and they relentlessly headbanged together with KAMIJO. The band concluded the show with a dynamic performance of Aristocrat’s Symphony.

Fans’ shouts of “We are Versailles!” brought the band back to the stage for an encore. “You guys are really shining. You made me feel like the last 10 years were only a jump start,” KAMIJO said. Then, he had each member speak to the fans. “I am happy that I was able to meet these band members. It was destiny,” YUKI said. MASASHI spoke about his first live show abroad. “My bass guitar went missing when we arrived in Brazil,” he recounted. Then, HIZAKI took over. “I was happy to be able to appear at a show held by a great senior band. I think the visual kei scene is coming together as one. I will work hard to create a new movement in the scene for the next decade,” he said. “I was always cool during the last 10 years. It was a great decade. Thank you,” said TERU. Finally, KAMIJO took over. “3829 days have passed since the band’s beginning. The band is a castle, and it is also a road. I want to treasure this place forever, so please help us. Let us continue to smile together,” he said. The band then presented its aesthetic by performing Philia.

The show had a double encore. “We will not have live shows for a while after this finale. We will come back again with new songs,” KAMIJO said. The band’s symphonic metal song The Revenant Choir resonated with the fans’ voices as they sang along. The vocalist called out each member’s name, including the band’s eternal member Jasmine You, during the song. “We are Versailles!” KAMIJO shouted at the end. The band members joined hands at the center of the stage, and they jumped together with the fans.

Each of the band members also took some time to speak to the fans one more time afterwards.

TERU
“Thank you for your support for the last 10 years. Please show me your smiles again. I am happy to be able to see your smiles after all we went through during the last decade.”

MASASHI
“We had a great 10th anniversary show. There will be some time before our next show, but there is much planned for our future. Please continue to support us.”

YUKI
“Thank you for your unchanging support during the past 10 years. Let’s continue to work together for the next 10 years.”

HIZAKI
“We had great shows both in Nippon Budokan and Toyosu PIT, but we were even more powerful today. We will come back better and stronger next time, so please wait for us.”

KAMIJO
“10 years ago, HIZAKI and myself talked about starting this band. A lot of the visions we talked about became reality. However, we also faced many harsh realities as our dreams came true. The band grew stronger during the past 10 years each time it faced a trial. Our dream to be the band most fitting with a rose has not come true yet, but we will make a beautiful flower bloom with you guys. Thank you!”

Set List

01. Masquerade
02. Shout & Bites
03. Ascendead Master
04. Lineage
05. Inheritance
06. Chandelier
07. Flowery
08. Marionette
09. A Day Without You
10. Sympathia
11. La Musique
12. The Red Carpet Day
13. Aristocrat’s Symphony

Encore 1
14. After Cloudia
15. beast of desire
16. Philia

Encore 2
17. The Revenant Choir