D’espairsRay formed September 9, 1999 and played their first gig at AREA in Takodanaba on September 24, just two weeks later. By December 26 of the same year they had put together a demo tape, and made a limited of run of 60, which they gave away to fans. The members had all played in other bands, but drifted together to become one the first of a generation of Japanese visual-kei bands that enjoys a substantial international following. The band consists of vocalist Hizumi, guitarist Karyu, bassist Zero and drummer Tsukasa. The band’s sound is distinctly on the dark side, and incorporates aspects of goth and industrial metal. The band is also known to be passionate about smoking cigarettes (they list their favorite brands in their profile) and perfume (interestingly Hizumi’s favorite is “Samurai Woman”). Thematically the band’s material tends to be oriented towards the grim and grueling, with vocals often screamed and panted as much as sung, while still maintaining a melodic sense. D’espairsRay started off as most visual-kei bands do, playing the circuit of clubs that cater to this genre. Their first single “Kumo” was released in October 2000, although only 300 were pressed. From then on they often made limited edition items, the numbers steadily increasing along with their fanbase. In July, 2001 the group released the EP
Terrors, and started touring in wider circles. In 2002 came the single “Sexual Beast”, again on their own Maniac label and in a...
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D’espairsRay formed September 9, 1999 and played their first gig at AREA in Takodanaba on September 24, just two weeks later. By December 26 of the same year they had put together a demo tape, and made a limited of run of 60, which they gave away to fans. The members had all played in other bands, but drifted together to become one the first of a generation of Japanese visual-kei bands that enjoys a substantial international following. The band consists of vocalist Hizumi, guitarist Karyu, bassist Zero and drummer Tsukasa. The band’s sound is distinctly on the dark side, and incorporates aspects of goth and industrial metal. The band is also known to be passionate about smoking cigarettes (they list their favorite brands in their profile) and perfume (interestingly Hizumi’s favorite is “Samurai Woman”). Thematically the band’s material tends to be oriented towards the grim and grueling, with vocals often screamed and panted as much as sung, while still maintaining a melodic sense. D’espairsRay started off as most visual-kei bands do, playing the circuit of clubs that cater to this genre. Their first single “Kumo” was released in October 2000, although only 300 were pressed. From then on they often made limited edition items, the numbers steadily increasing along with their fanbase. In July, 2001 the group released the EP
Terrors, and started touring in wider circles. In 2002 came the single “Sexual Beast”, again on their own Maniac label and in a limited edition. Their first full CD,
Itanji, was released in February, 2003, and they kicked it off by setting up to play at busy Meguro station. The group continued releasing singles, with “Garnet” the first to land at #1 in Oricon’s indie chart. This brought the band a still bigger audience, and enabled them to play the awkwardly named “Stylish Wave 03 Mega Force Gig” at the sizable venue Shibuya Kokaido. Also in 2003 the group played “Beauti-Fools Festival ‘03”, an event organized by the visual-kei friendly magazine
Fools Mate. Continuing to release a steady stream of singles and EPs, in October 2004 D’espairsRay played their first international shows, doing gigs in both Paris and Berlin. On June 29, 2005 they released their album
Coll:Set and their stature grew still further. The band ventured to the States a number of times, primarily performing at anime conventions, where they were very warmly received. They also played a sold out show on Halloween in NYC. In what was called the “Coupling Tour” the group also returned to Europe where they did shows in Germany and France. In Germany they became especially popular, and were signed to the German label Brainstorm, which released their
Coll:Set album. In February 2006 D’espairs Ray made their third visit to America, for their
Global Infection Tour, which included stops in New York City and the Megacon Convention in Florida. On March 8, 2006 they released the documentary DVD
The World Outside The Cage, which came in A & B versions, each including different footage. They followed this up with a new single “Kogoeru Yoru Ni Saita Hana” (The Flower That Bloomed on a Frozen Night), which again came in type A & B versions, on April 5, 2006. In August of 2006 the band made yet another trip to Germany, where they were now gaining strong popularity. When upcoming shows in Finland were announced, they sold out in less than a day. The band also actively tours in Japan, and are becoming one of the biggest names in the visual-kei world today.
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