Arlequin Magazine & Photography

"Together we create the bridge!" An online magazine & photography portfolio focusing primarily on Visual Kei, J-Rock and J-Metal.

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Hello, you!

If you've never heard of us, nice to meet you! And if you have heard about us, it's nice to see you again here!

Let's introduce ourselves

We are Arlequin Magazine & Photography, a project that is divided into two parts: Magazine and Photography. For our Magazine we aim to promote Japanese musicians through interviews, release reviews and of course news, while on our Photography portfolio we zoom in on the live shows of these artists. Our primary focus is Visual Kei (ヴィジュアル系), but we also cover J-Rock, J-Metal and international artists if the opportunity presents itself. If you'd like to know more about us, then please check our about page on Magazine here. If you have any requests or suggestions for us, contribute something or would like to translate our articles into a different language, feel more than free to let us know. We'd love to hear from you! Follow us in other places (if you want!) 🌸 Arlequin Magazine 🌸 Arlequin Photography 🌸 Facebook 🌸 Instagram 🌸 Twitter

And if you really like us...

Our content is entirely free for everyone to enjoy, but we pay for everything out of our own pocket. So if you really like us and want to give us a tip, you can do so with the help of our pages on: 🌸 Ko-fi 🌸 Patreon Please keep in mind that it's optional, we don't put our content behind any kind of paywall, ever!

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ザアザア (XAA-XAA) released their newest song and MV “ちぎれちゃう” (Chigirechau) on June 9 of this year, giving us a new short story to enjoy. Today, 雪 (Yuki) will take a deep dive into the story this digital single tells us, as well as how it connects to the music video. (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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In April of 2023 The THIRTEEN released their 8th EP “A World of Villains”, a collection of 6 songs with a concept of, you’ve probably guessed it, villains. And while The THIRTEEN have released a new single earlier this year, 雪 (Yuki) can’t wait to take you on a journey through one of their earlier works. In this review we’ll dive into every track individually, discuss the lyrics and the story they collectively tell, and of course we also take a detailed look at the music video for the song “QUEEN”! (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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After the release of their first song “Breed” SLEIPNIR already spoke with us to tell us more about themselves and the single, but in that interview they also mentioned the upcoming release of their second song and music video: “Into The Light”! Since their first interview with us was so well received by all of you, we invited the band a second time to tell us more about their new single. (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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This February Ryo released the very first track for his solo project ‘Ryo Trackmaker’, and this song started quite the discussion online. Filled with curiosity of our own, 雪 (Yuki) reached out to Ryo to ask him some questions about his choices and his opinion on the use of AI in music. And today we can finally show you his story… (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語 | 한국인

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With their fifth studio album “Outstanding Power” releasing in Europe through Napalm Records on May 8, LOVEBITES are more than ready to continue with a new chapter in their music. The album is not the only musical milestone for the five metal women either, since they also played the famous Nippon Budokan stage for the first time ever last March! More than enough reasons to invite vocalist Asami for an interview to learn a little more about their new album and their current ideas regarding their music! (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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August of 2025 was quite a busy month for Z CLEAR. A label change and of course enough live shows to keept he member’s schedules pretty packed. But they also released a new song and MV that might have flown a little bit under the radar. 雪 (Yuki)’s radar didn’t fail in picking up the signal of “DINER”, so in this review she’s taking a closer look at the song and accompanying music video. (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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Recently we already took a deep dive into “未完の肖像” (Mikan no Syouzou) to get an idea about the dark fantasy world created by LIZA, and at the end of that article we promised you that we would also look at their 2nd depiction. So today we’re fulfilling that promise we made to you! 雪 (Yuki) took a detailed look at the song and music video for “ANTARES”, and will tell you all about it in today’s review! (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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After the release of “Nail in the coffin” in April of 2025, NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST return with a new release in the form of “Devil inside” in December of the same year. But after a song that created so many puns from just the title, what can we expect from this new song? 雪 (Yuki) took a closer look at the single and will tell you all about it in this review! (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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LIZA is a brand new band in the ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) genre, but the same can’t be said about its members. Consisting of former members of リベラヴェル (Libravel) and Ars Nøva, LIZA aims to show us their world that is inspired by art and dark fantasy through their first single and MV “未完の肖像” (Mikan no Syouzou)! 雪 (Yuki) took a deep dive into their first work, and will tell you all about it in this review! (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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DEVILOOF are currently in Europe for their tour -THE UNHOLY-, which makes it a great time to talk about their music once more. The newest addition to the group’s discography is the digital single “因習” (Inshu), which also has a music video. The band themselves describes the song as ‘a return to their roots’, but is this really the case? In this review 雪 (Yuki) took a deep dive into the single to tell you all about both the song and the accompanying MV. (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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After the release of their single “広島” (Hiroshima) in late December of 2024, Z CLEAR have released not one, but two new singles: “ぶちROCK” (Buchi ROCK) in April and “サイン” (Sain) in July. That last one is a one-track digital single, but does come with a music video. “広島” (Hiroshima) already had a strong power of attraction, but this new single is definitely a sign that the group is on to something! It’s power attracted 雪 (Yuki) once more, so she took a closer look at the single and accompanying MV, and is ready to tell you all about it in this review. (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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OPHELIA is a brand new visual metal band based in Tokyo, Japan. And even though the band only has one official member, there are quite a few interesting aspects with this project. More than enough reason for 雪 (Yuki) to ask vocalist 煉華 (Renka) for an interview to learn more about his band, inspirations and of course the very first single “薄明” (Hakumei)! (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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NETH PRIERE CAIN’s single “神の啓示、月光の聖女” (Kami no Keiji, Gekkou no Seijo) may have been released in February of this year already, but the single tells an interesting story of contrast that we do want to share with you. For that reason 雪 (Yuki) took a closer look at the single and the music video for “オルレアンの少女～la Pucelle d'Orleans～”, and she’s now ready to tell you all about them in this review! (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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Following the online success of their first single and music video for "Breed", SLEIPNIR played their very first live show in TIGHT ROPE 名古屋 (Nagoya). But, if you didn't see their online presence until now, you're probably wondering: "Who are they?" We asked the group for a chat to talk about their band, music and of course how they see their future. Are you ready to meet SLEIPNIR? (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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The newest addition to 摩天楼オペラ (Matenrou Opera)’s discography is the single “AGONY”. Despite only containing two songs, the single showcases exactly what the band is good at while still bringing a new element to the table in the title song. 雪 (Yuki) took a closer look at the single and will tell you all about it as well as the accompanying MV in this review! (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語

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Despite being released in August of 2020 and now being considered an ‘older work’ from the group, the “Devil’s Calling/Angel’s Cry” single from DEVILOOF contains two very interesting songs that are connected to each other in a very interesting way. In this review 雪 (Yuki) takes you deeper into the single to hopefully let you see these two songs in a different light than you might have originally. (Continue reading...) Also available in: Nederlands | Español | 日本語