is a Japanese

visual kei , abbreviated , is a category of Japanese musicians that have a strong focus on extravagant stage costumes that originated in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima of '' Bounce'' wrote that visual kei is not a specific sound, but rather it " ...

rock band. Formed in 2003 in

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

, the group centers its work around the concept of "madness inside a human" (人間の内面における狂気 '). 12012 is also the

penal code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain Crime, offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that ...

for the possession of a dangerous weapon in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The group sometimes performs as , which is a translation of that offense.

Musical styles

The band's musical style has changed over the years. Starting out as a

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band — and later an

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

band with some

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

elements — after its first two albums '' Not Obtain+1'' and '' Play Dolls'' the band's music shifted to a more radio-friendly sound which could be described as a mix of pop and

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

. After guitarist Suga left, the band slowly drifted back to heavier terrain. The band's current style could be described as heavy metal with alternative and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

influences.

History

In 2007, the band performed the ending theme, "Cyclone", to the Gonzo

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series '' Romeo x Juliet'', its single being released by Universal Music Japan on June 13, 2007. The group has also toured Japan on many occasions as well as performing at concerts in numerous international locations. In September 2007, vocalist Miyawaki Wataru was arrested for assault on a woman. After a night of heavy drinking, it was reported he had tried to strangle a female acquaintance. It was resolved out of court, and the charges were later dropped. On October 17, 2007, Wataru posted an apology in his blog. It was announced on their official website that guitarist Yūsuke Suga would be leaving the band on December 12, 2010, after the final concert of their "The Fangs of Killer「Seven」Sadness" tour. The band continued with the four remaining members. In 2013, former support guitarist Shinichirou Saitou officially joined the band, and the year saw the release of two mini-albums: ''Deicida of Silence'' and ''The Swan''. On February 10, 2014, the band announced an indefinite hiatus which would take place the same year on December 12. Later that year they also announced a mini-album ''XII'', which would be their last release before the indefinite hiatus. On June 24, 2020, a livestream was played by Sakai where he announced 12012 would return from hiatus. The new lineup will also include former guitarist Yūsuke Suga, making the band a six-piece.

Members

* Wataru Miyawaki (宮脇渉 ''Miyawaki Wataru'') –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(2003–2014, 2020–present) * Hiroaki Sakai (酒井洋明 ''Sakai Hiroaki'') –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

(2003–2014, 2020–present) * Shinichirou Saitou (齋藤紳一郎 ''Saitou Shinichirou'') –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

(2013–2014),

(2020–present) * Yūsuke Suga (須賀勇介 ''Suga Yūsuke'') –

(2003–2010, 2020–present) * Tomoyuki Enya (塩谷朋之 ''Enya Tomoyuki'') –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(2003–2014, 2020–present) * Tōru Kawauchi (川内亨 ''Kawauchi Tōru'') –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(2003–2014, 2020–present)

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Not Obtain+1'' (February 1, 2006) 111 * '' Play Dolls'' (February 1, 2006) 62 * ''

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

'' (December 12, 2007) 70 * '' Mar Maroon'' (March 11, 2009) 50 * '' Seven'' (July 14, 2010) 48 * '' 12012'' (March 14, 2012)

Compilation albums

* ''Pupa'' (December 11, 2013) * ''Larva'' (December 11, 2013)

EPs

* ''Increasingly'' (April 28, 2004) ** ''Increasingly -Kanzen Ban-'' (, June 15, 2005) 128 * '' Bell Salem'' (ベルサレム, October 6, 2004) Oricon Weekly Album Position: 189www.oricon.co.jp
12012 Album Rankings ''retrieved Nov 4 2010'' * ''

Knight Mare ''Knight Mare'' is the third EP by the band 12012, released on November 3, 2004, being the second release of a three-month release campaign. Track listing # "Nightmare" - 00:43 # "Shinsoku" (浸色) - 4:23 # "Aren't you Dead Yet?" - 4:36 # "S ...

'' (November 3, 2004) 166 * ''

Shin -Deep- ''Shin -Deep-''(深～deep～) is the fourth EP by the band 12012, released in December 2004, being the final release of a three-month release campaign. This was 12012's first EP featuring an accordion, played by the famous Karthik Parthiban ...

'' (, December, 2004) 179 * '' Doku'' (June 1, 2005) * ''Deicida of Silence'' (April 24, 2013) * ''The Swan'' (September 11, 2013) * ''XII'' (October 1, 2014)

Singles

* "Depression Sign" (July 23, 2003) * "Shudder" (March 31, 2004) * "Shuu" (襲, December 12, 2004) * "Hitori" (独, February 11, 2005) * "Swallow" (March 16, 2005) Oricon Weekly Single Position: 69www.oricon.co.jp
12012 Single Rankings ''retrieved Nov 4 2010'' * "Sick" (March 16, 2005) 71 * "Depression Sign -Kanzen Ban-" (, June 15, 2005) 105 * "

Shudder -Kanzen Ban- is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band. Formed in 2003 in Osaka Prefecture, the group centers its work around the concept of "madness inside a human" (人間の内面における狂気 '). 12012 is also the penal code for the possession ...

" (, Shudder --, June 15, 2005) 101 * "Icy -Cold City-" (12 December 2005) * "Orion" (February 17, 2006) * "Heart" (May 10, 2006) 86 * "Pistol" (September 20, 2006) 90 * "Wana" (罠, October 18, 2006) 58 * "Over..." (November 15, 2006) 66 * "Cyclone" (サイクロン, June 13, 2007) 20 * "Shine" (October 17, 2007) 23 * "Merry Go World" (April 16, 2008) 20 * "Taiyou" (太陽, August 20, 2008) 28 * "Aitai Kara...." (逢いたいから...., October 29, 2008) 33 * "As" (January 21, 2009) 29 * "Hallelujah" (February 18, 2009) 37 * "Usubeni to Ame"(薄紅と雨, October 7, 2009) * "Tattoo" (February 24, 2010) 38 * "The Pain of Catastrophe" (May 26, 2010) 49

Video

* ''Heart: the Clip'' (May 31, 2006) * ''Just The Way You Are''

DVD

* ''Crom'' (April 20, 2005) * ''Created Movie 1 ~Kakuu Toshi Taihai Byōsha~'' (, July 27, 2005) * ''Macrograph'' (September 28, 2005) * ''Shock Wave CD the Select imited Release' (2005/10/26) * ''Hide & Seek ~Tour 2006~'' (August 30, 2006) * ''Jappanesque Rock Collectionz Cure DVD 02'' (October 25, 2006) * ''Created Movie 2 - modern films '' (December 13, 2006) * ''Bands Shock DVD Vol.2 '' (December 24, 2006) * ''XII Party'' (February 21, 2007) * ''Chikasen Shingen Nagashima Kichi '' (March 28, 2007) * ''Shinki – Graduation & Deperture 2007.2.14 Shibuya Kokaido'' (May 30, 2007) * ''5th Anniversary Special Live Arashi'' (5th Anniversary Special Live 「嵐」, September 24, 2008) * ''Extra-territorial 2010.05.05 at Shibuya-AX '' (August 25, 2010) * ''Muhouchitai''「無法地帯」, March 31, 2010)

Various Artist compilation

* ''Crush! -90's V-Rock Best hit Cover Songs-'' (January 26, 2011, cover of

Glay Glay (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in Hakodate in 1988. The core four members, vocalist Teru (singer), Teru, guitarists Takuro (musician), Takuro and Hisashi (musician), Hisashi, and bassist Jiro (musician), ...

's "Winter, Again")

Books

* ''Croon After the Bed'' (January 25, 2006) * ''Deracine'' (May 25, 2006) * ''Garnet Star'' (May 25, 2006) * ''Shoxx Tokubetsu Henshu – Over the Edge 2008 Edition.1'' (February 2009) * ''Eztra-Territorial 2010 Official Book''(June 2010)

References

External links

Official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:12012 Gan-Shin artists Universal Music Japan artists Visual kei musical groups Japanese alternative metal musical groups Japanese hard rock musical groups Japanese alternative rock groups Japanese metalcore musical groups Japanese hardcore punk groups Musical groups from Osaka Prefecture