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Rouage were an important
feature of the Japanese visual kei scene in the late '90s, playing a mixture of
punk, goth rock, and pop popular with the local public; however, the band was
constantly running into lineup problems and folded early in the 2000s. The
founders of Rouage were Kazushi (vocals), Rayzi, Rika (both guitars), and Shono
(drums), who formed it in Nagoya in late 1993; bassist Kaiki joined the group a
bit later. They debuted in 1994 with the single "Silk" and a
self-titled album, which was a limited-edition release and required a second
pressing. It looked like the band was on a roll, with more videos and singles
released, but in 1995 Kaiki quit, and Rouage played their farewell gig. They
got back together in 1996, with new bassist Yuki and a contract with Mercury;
their first major-label release was the single "Queen" (1996),
followed by the full-length, Bible, that same year. Mind was released in 1997,
despite Yuki dropping out of the band and vanishing without a trace. Unfazed by
this, Rouage stuck to session bass players and kicked up a huge tour, followed
by another album, Children, their second in 1997. The single Endless Loop
(1998) was featured in the anime series Legend of Basara, and the same year,
Rouage played the Shock Wave Illusion with the likes of Dir en Grey and
Pierrot, and released Rouage 312604806, a collection of remixes of their indie
songs, as well as the album Soup.
The ext year, they were popular enough to play the Nippon Budokan, the event
was documented in a video. The fans were given the chance to pick out the songs
to be featured on their next remix album, Culture, in 1999. More touring and
more singles followed in 1999-2000, as well as the full-length Lab in 2000, but
Rika decided to quit the band, which toiled which went on to toil for some
months but folded in 2001 after Shono left, as well. Kazushi and Rayzi
continued as Stray Pig Vanguard (Rayzi later went solo), and Rika, meanwhile,
formed Dibs. ~ Alexey Eremenko, Rovi
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Luna Sea is a Japanese rock band from Kanagawa, formed in 1989. The band was initially
founded by leader of the band and bassist Jun
"J" Onose, and
rhythm guitarist Kiyonobu "Inoran" Inoue when they were in high school, using
the band name "Lunacy". When the senior members graduated from school
in 1989, Lunacy recruited lead guitarist and violinist Yasuhiro "Sugizo" Sugihara, drummer Shinya
Yamada and vocalist Ryuichi
Kawamura, a lineup that has
remained the same. Upon their first album release, the band's name was changed
to Luna Sea.
Luna Sea, due to their early use of
make-up and costumes and widespread popularity, is considered one of the
biggest influential bands in the visual kei movement. Throughout the mid 90s,
they used significantly less make-up, and after a one-year break in 1998, they
came back with a more progressive rock style and toned down their on-stage
attire. When they went on an "indefinite hiatus" in 2000, they left a
big influence on the Japanese rock scene.
Luna Sea's sound is firmly based in
'80s hard rock, with a versatile progressive approach to songwriting, with mixed
elements of the eighties punk, metal and grunge
rock, forming hard, sappy,
or fast tunes, as well as ballads with a mysterious atmosphere. Also their
softer side, with violin playing displayed later on in the group's career,
proved equally as strong. With their last two records, their sound did became
more pop, and lost some mystery and yet still had the distinctive sound of the
band.
Luna Sea achieved its breakthrough
success with a sold-out tour in 1991 that helped them to get a contract with MCA
Records, after Universal, and with the release of their second album Image reached number nine on the
charts. The band's best-selling studio album is Shine, with
an estimated 902,310 copies sold in one year in Japan, although less than their
compilation albumSingles which managed to sell over one
million in Japan. Throughout the 90s, Luna Sea released seven studio
albums, one live album, 13 VHS/DVD releases, and 14 singles, selling over eight million records in
Japan alone.
On August 25, 2010 the day of a full
moon, it was announced that they will hold an urgent press conference on August
31 in Hong Kong, where they once announced the end of their activities in
2000. During the press conference the band confirmed the reunion and
announced their first concert tour in ten years, new songs, and adding there
will be even more news with time. The world tour, named 20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon- will start on November 27 in Germany, continue with performances in the United
States, Hong Kong, Taiwan and will likely end with two
performances at the Tokyo Dome on December 23, and Christmas Eve.
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