Live Report: B7KLAN J-Rock Fest brings the many faces of Japanese rock to Paris

Festival summer has ended, and the summer included new festivals for different target audiences. While some festivals in Europe have the same bands going from one festival to another, B7KLAN J-Rock Fest had some bands that were playing in Europe for the first time or ones that tour less frequently here, with special guest bands from France and the UK.

The popularity of visual kei is once again rising among people. Whether it is because of social media or trends coming back in cycles, who knows. But what is certain is that people in Europe still love the music of J-rock artists to this day, and the genre’s popularity will definitely continue rising.

Celebrating 20 years of producing tours for Japanese artists in 2026, B7KLAN, the Asian production department founded by Bertrand Torpedo, held a festival in Paris, France, to celebrate this anniversary. The event was organised by Envol Prod and held at Grand Arena Paris on July 11th and 12th, 2026.

It was the first time this festival was organised. For two days, a total of 12 bands performed on the same stage. Both days inside the arena were opened by DJ Sisen. His hour-long set on both days did hype up the crowd that had already arrived inside the venue.

Along with the Japanese bands, French post-black metal band Souffre started the day on Saturday. Their show and performance were energetic and mesmerizing. Their whole aesthetic was really thought out, even down to the last bit of their lighting. In a way, having just one song in their set where the light was not any shade of white made a huge impact. Although the band did give a lot of energy to the crowd, at least the front row did look a bit bored. Maybe it was from the heat while they queued to get inside, or they just genuinely didn’t expect to see a great band like Souffre at this festival.

The festival was built like a taiban (対バン) live, which means that during one live show, there are multiple bands playing on the same stage at the same venue. The switches between sets are quick, and usually with taiban lives in Japan, people come to see specific bands, so the crowd usually has more people switching places closer to the stage for their favourite bands. This was also seen at the festival for some bands, which was a nice thing to see since festival and concert etiquette is different depending on the continent.

This festival really was international, showing that J-rock and visual kei bands are loved and enjoyed around the world. A few people in the first row were from Germany, and they were most excited about Versailles and Kizu (キズ).

During the breaks between the artists, with tight 20-minute changes, they showed a video collage of all the bands that participated in the contest to play at this festival. A total of 18 bands participated, and eight bands played at the final live at Shibuya Rex this spring. The winner of this band contest was chosen by an online voting system. The winner of this fan vote, who got to perform at this first J-rock festival in Europe, was I to Rito no Musyozoku (哀と凛人の無所属).

Musyozoku

Musyozoku was definitely one of the most anticipated bands, at least for the newer generation of J-rock listeners. The thing to know about them is that vocalist I and guitarist Rito are both ex-Gulu Gulu, which disbanded in 2023. They did grow to be quite popular overseas, and it showed, as the first song Musyozoku played in Europe was Gulu Gulu‘s “Henna Merry Go Round”, and the crowd knew the furitsuke (振り付け) for the song.

Furi means special and specific hand movements you’re supposed to do at a live show for the songs. It can also include a specific type of headbanging. The band did play their own songs as well, and the set was a nice mix of their older and current sound.

During the third song, the singer came down to the barricade, clearly an unexpected move since the security looked surprised as it happened. During one of the songs, the vocalist referred to Slipknot‘s song “People = Shit”, which got the crowd going even wilder. The whole set was full of energy, a specific type of menhera kei craziness that is groundbreaking and breaks genre limits.

Kizu

This was Kizu‘s (キズ) first time in Europe. The band was highly energetic and took charge of the stage the moment the first notes were played. Their energy was high throughout the whole set, and the lighting was captivating. The crowd was really cheering for them the whole time they were on stage.

The band’s singer, Lime, came to the barricade near the middle of their set, seemingly unplanned this time as well. Kizu‘s music is very distinct and unique, from the compositions to the lyrics. They’re clearly a band that has demand among European audiences.

LM.C

LM.C has been active since 2006, and there was more crowd movement before their set. More older-looking fans mixed with newer fans. It was great to see how music brings different people together.

Before their set, there was an announcement telling everyone that, “Out of respect for the band, please do not take any videos or pictures with your phone.” Which, in theory, should’ve been announced before every band since the festival was advertised as “no pictures and no videos allowed during the show.”

Their set was the only time security did tell people to put their phones down. The crowd was hyped for them, and people did furi during their set! Their singer, Maya, did some short speeches in French during the breaks.

They were the first band on Saturday that acknowledged the crowd as a whole, not just the people standing on the floor but the people in the seats further away as well. They clearly have years of experience performing to big crowds. Their whole set had such a different feel from Kizu and Musyozoku, which were a bit heavier musically.

MUCC

MUCC goes into the category of bands that have been in the scene for a long time, as they’ve been active since 1997. They have such distinct stage charisma that has been acquired from years of experience.

From the beginning of their set, they had contact with the crowd as a whole, including the people in the seats further away. The lighting was fun for them; it felt like their lighting tech was having fun with the lights. It was very artistic, as if the lights were having fun with the music.

The crowd was a bit calmer during their set compared to LM.C‘s set, but personally, the punk-rock feel and style of MUCC was more to my own taste.

When there were breaks between the bands, a lot of people went in and out of the arena. There were a few booths where you could buy drinks and snacks inside the venue, and outside in the festival area were the merch booths and some snack vendors.

Before the doors opened to the venue, DJ Kaoru Nagata, DJ Lunacy and special guest Miura Ayme played their sets. Altogether, there were a lot of things to look at and do before the artists started playing.

Versailles

Before Saturday’s last band, Versailles, the excitement was something you could feel from the crowd. Before their set was supposed to start, the arena was chanting the band’s name.

When the time finally came and Versailles came onto the stage, the crowd went wild. No frowns were seen on people’s faces, just smiles and excitement. It had been nearly ten years since Versailles as a band had last played in Europe, so the reaction was expected.

Every member of the band has such big and strong stage charisma that you could only be in awe as they played. Very elegant, they clearly had practised some choreography together as they all did little twirls on stage at certain times. Truly elegant, leaving spectators speechless.

The second day

The second day of the festival started as hot as the day before, but at least it was windier, so the weather was bearable before the doors opened inside the arena. Outside was a bit more organized than the day before, so some of the more popular food stalls had better places for people to queue.

For the DJ sets outside before the doors opened, there was a very special guest who wasn’t announced beforehand. An Café‘s keyboardist Yuuki was there to play some songs, to get people hyped and, in a way, teach some furi to the people at the same time!

Once inside the arena, after attending D’espairsRay‘s press conference, it was time to head over to see Imperial Age play. They took charge of the stage instantly, like any power metal band does. They had somewhat the same vibe, in a way, as maybe Amaranthe, which was really enjoyable.

While they played, people tried to give their energy to the band, but just like on the first day, there were many people who were clearly waiting for some specific bands while not really caring for the earlier bands. Visually, a very expressive band and really enjoyable to listen to. They had a lot of props on the stage with them, which made their performance more interesting to watch.

While playing, the band performed an unreleased song, “Reborn”, which will be released in September.

On the second day as well, while they were changing backlines for the bands, they played videos of the bands that participated in the battle of the bands in Shibuya, as well as other upcoming tours from Envol Prod.

While waiting for the next bands and talking to people attending the festival, there were people who had come from Greece to this festival, as well as Spain, for example. For the second day, people were looking forward to seeing D’espairsRay, Jiluka and Moi Dix Mois.

An Café

Next up was An Café. They have been in the J-rock scene for a while and clearly have a dedicated fanbase. It had been some years since they’d played in Europe, so their comeback was something the crowd had definitely been looking forward to, since they last played in Europe back in 2014.

For their whole set, the band had such a positive feel, and they definitely knew how to perform in a big arena. High energy for the whole set, and even the crowd gave them so much energy back!

Many people did furi in the crowd, which was simple enough to learn and have fun with the music. Even if the newer generation of visual kei and J-rock listeners at the festival might’ve been unfamiliar with An Café before this, they most definitely now know who they are and what they are about!

Azavana

Back to the bands that were playing in Europe for the first time, Azavana took to the stage. They’ve been active for only two years at this point, yet most of the band were together in Ashmaze. for five years before disbanding that project and forming their current band.

They are very much a new-gen visual kei and J-rock band. Their visuals were strong, although their stage presence was a bit still, especially when compared to other bands that played before them.

Musically, they sound amazing. Their vocalist has such a unique voice that definitely captures the listener’s attention. Their vocalist Ryo suddenly jumped off the stage and came to the barricade during their fourth song, “Hysteria”.

It seemed that they weren’t that used to such a big stage, but they did well either way. The crowd welcomed them warmly, so hopefully this wasn’t their only time in Europe.

Jiluka

Since J-rock is just an umbrella term for every rock band coming from Japan, it feels somewhat wrong to call Jiluka just a rock band. They are on a much heavier side of the genre, the heaviest band on this festival’s lineup.

They tour actively all over the globe these days, which is great. Their stage presence was strong and commanding; they didn’t need to do much to get the crowd into the palms of their hands.

Jiluka‘s vocalist, Ricko, has such a unique type of screams and vocals that gets your attention immediately. With heavy riffs and breakdowns mixed with some electronic rap, the mix was unbelievable to hear live.

For their whole set, there were at least some mosh pits going on in the crowd. Even a wall of death, orchestrated by Ricko. Jiluka keeps breaking genre rules in a way that catches everyone’s attention. They don’t follow rules; they’re the ones making new rules.

D’espairsRay

After the intense set of Jiluka, the atmosphere thickened. The crowd seemed a bit restless. It was time for D’espairsRay‘s first gig in Europe after sixteen years and a hiatus.

From the moment the band came onto the stage, their energy was high. It seemed just natural for them to play together and be on stage together. The crowd was hyped for them, and the energy was really something else compared to how it had been for other bands.

The crowd knew their songs, which was really enjoyable to see, especially when there were both older and younger people at the festival. Some had clearly been fans for many years, and some were newer fans.

D’espairsRay got so many cheers between songs. They did play their latest single “RAPTURE” as well. The crowd loved D’espairsRay, and the band loved the crowd. It seemed they could’ve played longer than their set time allowed.

Moi Dix Mois

Before the last band of the festival, they had the longest changeover time between bands. People in the crowd had blue light sticks, as they did sell a limited amount of their official light sticks at the merch table during the festival.

Excitement was high, and the crowd was cheering for Moi Dix Mois even before they got on stage. The cheering got more intense as they finally walked onto the stage.

The band didn’t need to do much to get the people under their spell. It wasn’t unexpected, since the gothic metal band was formed by Mana-sama, who was one of the founding members of Malice Mizer. Both bands are very influential J-rock bands.

The band took over the whole crowd with minimal effort. Everything was natural for them, from the music to performing to enchanting everyone in the arena. Their performance was something from another universe. The theatrics were in place just to add to their music.

Even though they had two encores, the crowd was so charmed that they couldn’t get enough of Moi Dix Mois. Definitely worth the wait for everyone who had highly anticipated their return to Europe.

Final thoughts

This festival was such a breath of fresh air to experience. Though the heatwave was testing this Finn, it was worth the trip to Paris.

There were so many different types of privileges offered for the attendees to purchase beforehand, which stood out positively. For someone who had at least some knowledge of all of the Japanese bands from the lineup, seeing them play boosted my interest even more.

Hopefully this event inspires more J-rock and visual kei bands to come and play in Europe!