are a five-piece 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 Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band, formed in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in 2013.

History

The formation of Arlequin was associated with the aspiration to be a band of a new generation of

Nagoya kei is a subgenre of the Japanese visual kei movement that developed in the early 1990s music scene of Nagoya, Japan. The term actually developed before visual kei was coined, and gradually died out as the latter gained more popularity. Often cons ...

, a dark subgenre of visual kei that emerged in the early nineties. Bands such as Kuroyume,

Rouage Rouage (stylized as ROUAGE) was a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in Nagoya in 1993, active until 2001. They were an important band to the visual kei scene of the 90s, being credited as one of the founders of the subgenre Nagoya kei. Histor ...

and Laputa served as models. The band's name corresponds to the French term for

harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...

, a clownish stage character whose origins are often located in the theatrical tradition of the Italian

commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

. According to the members' own statements, it was chosen to give the band's image a touch of the "eccentric" and "toxic." Arlequin's beginnings were crowned with quick success: Their first single ''Arlequin'' (2013) reached #7 on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard Single (music), singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track down ...

, and within a year of its formation, the band managed to sell out a concert at Shibuya Public Hall. According to various media, they achieved this feat faster than any other band in previous years. In April 2019, a Japanese music website ''Real Sound'' stated that Arlequin and Dezert had the potential to rise and become the "two big guns" of their visual kei generation, like

X Japan is a Japanese Rock music, rock band from Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki (musician), Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi (musician), Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power metal, power/speed metal band with ...

and

Luna Sea Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of makeup and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successf ...

Dir En Grey Dir En Grey (stylized as DIR EN GREY and previously as Dir en grey) is a Japanese Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in February 1997 and currently signed to Firewall Div., a sub-division of Free-Will. With a consistent lineup of guitari ...

and

Pierrot Pierrot ( , ; ), a stock character of pantomime and commedia dell'arte, has his origins in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a hypocorism, diminutive of ''Pierr ...

before them. In addition to a variety of singles and EPs, Arlequin has released five albums to date: ''Near Equal'' (2014), ''Utopia'' (2016), ''Bless'' (2018, mini-album), ''The Laughing Man'' (2020), and ''Monster'' (2022). Best-of albums were also released in 2017 (''Kachikan no Chigai wa Yuiitsu no Sukuidatta''), 2021 (''Pieces''), and 2022 (''Anthology'').Arlequin Discography
''jpopasia.com''. Retrieved July 4, 2021. Currently, the band is signed to indie label Goemon Records. Arlequin regularly undertook major tours of Japan and released several live DVDs. In July 2016, vocalist Aki was forced to withdraw from scheduled live performances to recover from chronic vocal cord inflammation due to overuse of his voice. Arlequin hosted the ''So no Sekai'' event at Nanba Hatch on August 27, 2022, which also featured acts such as

D'erlanger D'erlanger (stylized as D'ERLANGER) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto Prefecture, formed in 1983 by guitarist Cipher and bassist Seela. While they originally played speed and power metal, after recruiting drummer Tetsu and vocalist Kyo they s ...

, Plastic Tree, Dezert, and Kizu. On October 24, 2022, they took part in a two-man live held by

Deadman Deadman or Deadman's may refer to: * "Deadman" or "dead man", are alternative terms for a dead man's switch * "Deadman's foot" is another name for a Salamander (metallurgy), Salamander in metallurgy * "Deadman anchor" is a buried object (log, con ...

at Shinjuku Blaze. On September 2, 2022, the band lost contact with Tamon. They decided to postpone the first three shows of their 9th anniversary tour, but the drummer got back in touch on the 5th. On January 20, 2023, Tamon reported that he was going to the hospital due to a fever and the band lost contact with him again. After he was absent from two events on the 21st and 22nd, he was fired from the band on the 23rd. In February 2023, '' Shūkan Bunshun'' revealed that Kuruto was under police investigation, accused of sexually assaulting Shohei's girlfriend in July 2021. Four months later, the case was dismissed.

Style

Arlequin's music is conventional

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

(hard and fast guitar riffs,

growling Growling is a low, guttural Animal communication, vocalization produced by animals as an aggression, aggressive warning but can also be found in other contexts such as playful behaviors or mating. Different animals will use growling in specific ...

interludes), interspersed with poppy rock elements. The themes of their songs are often melancholic as well as of socio-critical and provocative character (''Dame Ningen'', ''Omit'', ''Makka na Uso''). The lyrics are mostly in Japanese, with rare English passages. As is common for visual kei bands, Arlequin's focus lies heavily on flamboyant, polished, and frequently varied optics, presented in a variety of music videos and other visual media. According to their band name, the members almost exclusively present themselves in heavy makeup and colorful, clownish costumes, with vocalist Aki miming the role of a crying clown. An important visual leitmotif, the

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

, has also been used on a larger scale in stage decorations at live shows.Arlequin recaps first show in 8 months on circus-themed stage
''jrocknews.com'' (November 21, 2020). Retrieved July 4, 2021.

Members

* Aki (暁) - vocals (2013–present) * Kuruto (來堵) - guitar (2013–present) * Nao (奈緒) - guitar (2013–present) * Shohei (祥平) - bass (2013–present) ;Past members * Tamon (堕門) - drums (2013–2023)

Discography

Source:

Albums and mini-albums

* 2014 – ''Near Equal'' * 2016 – ''Utopia'' * 2018 – ''Bless'' * 2020 – ''The Laughing Man'' * 2022 – ''Monster''

Best-of albums

* 2017 – ''Kachikan no Chigai wa Yuiitsu no Sukuidatta (価値観の違いは唯一の救いだった )'' * 2021 – ''Pieces'' * 2022 – ''Anthology''

Singles and EPs

* 2013 – ''Arlequin'' * 2014 – ''似非林檎-eseringo-'' * 2014 – ''Eclipse'' * 2014 – ''Stella (ステラ)'' * 2014 – ''Hakaana (墓穴)'' * 2014 – ''Ichijiku (無花果)'' * 2015 – ''Dilemma (ジレンマ)'' * 2015 – ''All I Need'' * 2015 – ''Douke no Hana (道化ノ華)'' * 2015 – ''Qualia (クオリア)'' * 2016 – ''Paranoia'' * 2016 – ''Karma (カルマ)'' * 2017 – ''Kageboushi (影法師)'' * 2017 – ''Makka na Uso (真っ赤な嘘)'' * 2017 – ''Puzzle'' * 2018 – ''Exist'' * 2019 – ''Razzle-dazzle（ラズルダズル）'' * 2019 – ''Anima'' * 2020 – ''Ikari (怒り)'' * 2020 – ''Veludo (ビロード)'' * 2021 – ''Sekai no Owari to Yoake Mae (世界の終わりと夜明け前)'' / ''Siren (サイレン)'' * 2022 – ''Monster'' * 2022 – ''Libra'' * 2022 – ''Pictures'' * 2022 – ''Chaosdive''

References

External links

Official website of Arlequin
(Japanese) Japanese rock music groups Visual kei musical groups Musical groups from Tokyo Musical groups established in 2013