generasia:Featured article for 2011 week 9

Versailles

Versailles (ヴェルサイユ), also known as Versailles -Philharmonic Quintet-, is a five member Japanese metal band that formed in June of 2007. The idea for Versailles came from KAMIJO (ex-LAREINE) and HIZAKI (ex-SULFURIC ACID) in the fall of 2006, after both of their respective bands disbanded. They then spent the following months creating the band's concept and acquiring members. The band's concept is the story of the Descendents of the Rose (薔薇の末裔) told through KAMIJO's lyrics and in the future, promotional videos. For their visuals and sound, the pair wanted to have the "extremes of aesthetics" expressed through "youshikibi sound". Youshikibi (様式美) is a term meaning the form of beauty and used to describe the many different visual-kei aesthetics.

"Philia" is the third major and fourth overall single released by Versailles. This was released in three different versions on March 16, 2011: two limited CD+DVD editions (A & B) and a regular CD only edition. Limited edition A comes with a DVD of a performance of six songs taken from their September 4th, 2010 Method of Inheritance tour finale at Shibuya C.C.Lemon Hall, while limited edition B comes with a DVD of the title song's music video. The titular track was used as the theme song to the drama Onegai Kanaete Versailles, which all members of Versailles act in.