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Balzac (typeset as BALZAC) is a Japanese
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band formed in 1992 in
Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
. The band was founded by singer and songwriter Hirosuke Nishiyama, who has remained the only constant member of the band since its creation. Since the beginning, Balzac was highly influenced by the sound and image of the American
horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by t ...
band
Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...
and, especially during the very early years,
Glenn Danzig Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, film director and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He ...
's
Samhain Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...
, adopting and combining the musical and visual style of both bands to create their own. Balzac's lyrics, though not always serious in tone, often deal with themes of darkness, loneliness and fear. Balzac has gained a certain amount of recognition and exposure outside of their native country, where they are well-known. Currently they have five official clothing brands (Shocker!!!, Dementia 13, Culture, XXXxxx and Balzac) with one store in Japan, plus three online stores (Shocker Webstore, Shocker World Wide and Shocker EU). They also have their own official record label called Evilegend 13 Records on which they have released EPs, singles and videos. Balzac is also well known for its toy releases, some created by the companies T.W.I.M. and Secret Base, and its extensive discography and side-projects. The current lineup of the band consists of Hirosuke Nishiyama (vocals), Atsushi Nakagawa (guitar/chorus), Akio Imai (bass/chorus) and Takayuki Manabe (drums/digital effects/chorus). Musically the band has drawn from
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 ...
,
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
, industrial and
noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...
, across their various releases.


History


1993–1995: Early years

Prior to forming Balzac, vocalist and songwriter Hirosuke Nishiyama was frontman for Astrozombies, a band from
Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
, Japan, that was heavily influenced by the Japanese rock group Gastunk and the American punk band
Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...
. After releasing just one demo cassette, entitled ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', Hirosuke decided to disband and started his next project, Balzac, in 1992. The name of the new band came from the famous French novelist and playwright,
Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...
. Hirosuke first came in contact with the novelist's work during junior high school; he liked how the name sounded and decided to use it. The band's first lineup consisted of Hirosuke Nishiyama on vocals, Yoritsugu "Anti" Azuchi on bass, Tetsuya on guitar and Naoki on drums. During that time the band released their first demo cassette, which was limited to 13 copies only, entitled '' Scapegoat666''. In 1993, by the release of their second demo cassette, ''Descent of the Diabolos'', the band went through their first lineup change. Guitarist Atsushi Nakagawa and drummer Koji replaced Tetsuya and Naoki, respectively. This new lineup went on to release the band's first single, "The Lord of the Light and of the Darkness", on their own record label, Evilegend13 Records. Over the next few years the band released four more singles, "Atom Age Vampire in 308" (on MCR), "Isolation From No. 13" (on HG Fact), "When the Fiendish Ghouls Night" (on Evilegend13 Records), and were part of some various artists compilations. By 1995 the band managed to release their first full-length album, '' The Last Men on Earth'', after being signed to Alchemy Records. This would be their only release on Alchemy. Just before releasing their 3rd single, "Isolation From No. 13," the band lost its long-time bassist (and Jerry Only lookalike), Anti, as well as their drummer, H. Nishio. A long-time friend of Hirosuke's and avid Balzac fan, Akio Imai, joined the band as the new bassist. Masami sat behind the drums for the next few releases.


1997–1999: Breakout

During 1997, when they were about to record their second full-length album, '' Deep - Teenagers from Outer Space'', the band once again found themselves without a drummer. They recruited another long-time friend and very experienced drummer, Futoshi Okano, to fill the spot. They would call upon him a few times over the years to help out with recordings when they found themselves without a drummer. Okano is a very technical drummer and was able to include his signature sound into the new recordings. Member swaps were not the only changes for the band happening at that time; they also became a part of Diwphalanx Records on
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
of that year. Though not a major label, Diwphalanx Records is very well known in the indie scene throughout Japan. All subsequent major releases by the band would be on Diwphalanx Records, or on the band's own label, Evilegend13 Records. In the year of 1998, Kill joined the band as the new drummer, while they began to gain real recognition and notoriety in the indie scene. At this moment they had caught the attention of the recently re-incarnated
Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...
. Now being headed by original member and long time bassist
Jerry Only Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup exce ...
, Balzac was asked to open for The Misfits when they came for their first Japanese tour. This would mark a milestone in the band's career, which would lead to much success for Balzac outside Japan in the coming years. This year was explosive to the band, as they were playing in much larger venues and to a bigger crowd. They released a split CD with The Hate Honey, were featured on the Devilock Night video, released their own VHS, entitled ''Video Deep II'', and their third album, '' 13 Stairway - The Children of the Night''. They launched a full-scale all-Japan tour to promote their album and played to sold-out crowds. In 1999, Balzac released a split single, "Oldevils Legend of Blood", with friends and fellow Japanese rock band Sobut. They released a special 12-inch version of "Isolation From No. 13", a remixed tape as a special box set with toy industry friends, T.W.I.M (The World Is Mine) whose headquarters are in Nagoya, as well as playing on a Gastunk tribute album. On Halloween they released one of their most popular singles, "Into the Light From the 13 Dark Night", on vinyl, CD, and cassette. It would be re-recorded in many different versions over the next few years. They also released the flexi 7-inch including "Neat Neat Neat," a Damned cover. This year also marked the beginning of the band's own
fan club A fan club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the pers ...
, the Fiendish Club. Obviously modeled after The Misfits' Fiend Club, it offered fans a great way to stay in touch with the band and to receive some very rare items at the same time; it was exclusively for people living in Japan. Eventually the band would create the Fiendish Club International and the Fiendish Club Europe, exclusive versions of the original Fiendish Club for people residing outside Japan and in Europe, respectively.


2000–2005: Expansion

2000 saw The Misfits back touring Japan, and Balzac was there opening for them once again. Directly after, they played a string of shows with
The Mad Capsule Markets The Mad Capsule Markets (originally known as The Mad Capsule Market's and Berrie) were a Japanese band that formed in 1985 and were active until 2006. The band became known for their experimental style, which melded various kinds of electronic ...
. In this year there was a lot of heavy touring for the band, but they managed to release another video and the Kubrick sets. These sets included cute Medicom Toy Co. versions of the band members and their "Hands of 9 Evils" 7-inch was included in the package. Soon after, they released a figure, this time a 12-inch RAH version of the band's mascot, the Paperbag Man. In December 2000 Balzac released their next full-length album, '' Zennou-Naru Musuu-No Me Ha Shi Wo Yubi Sasu''. It was a concept album and sold extremely well. The album was very dark and had very strong industrial influences. Balzac opened their first retail store in
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, Japan during this year. "Shocker!!!" was something they had wanted to open for a long time. It is a small store where they sell their own original brand, Shocker!!!! merchandise, as well as band merchandise. Hirosuke also has his own clothing brand called "Dementia Thirteen" which is also available through the store. Most recently, they have also launched yet another clothing brand, "Culture", and are in the process of fully releasing another one called "XXXxxx". In early 2001 the band released numerous singles, as well as a box set featuring the amazing artwork of Japanese manga artist
Suehiro Maruo is a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, and painter. Biography Maruo graduated from junior high school in March 1972 but dropped out of senior high school. At the age of 15, he moved to Tokyo and began working for a bookbinder. At 17, he made h ...
, which had been used on the album ''Zennou-Naru Musuu no Me ha Shi wo Yubi Sasu''. They also contributed a noise rock version of "Day the Earth Caught Fire" and another very catchy pop-influenced song, "The Silence of the Crows" on the ''Abstruct Madness'' split with Rocky and the Sweden and Delta. "The Silence of the Crows" would prove to be an instant hit with many fans. Near the end of the year the band found themselves once again without a drummer. Kill quit the band for personal reasons and was replaced by Takayuki. He had been a friend of the band's for many years and had just quit playing for the band The Batties Boys. They also opened their second retail store, Coffin, in
Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
. For 2002 Balzac released a split single with The Misfits. Balzac covered the songs "The Haunting" and "Don't Open 'Til Doomsday" as a medley, while The Misfits covered the Balzac's "Day the Earth Caught Fire". In April 2002 Balzac released their fifth full-length studio album. The album was a double disc set called ''
Terrifying! Art of Dying – The Last Men On Earth II ''Terrifying! Art of Dying – The Last Men on Earth II'' is a two-disc album by the Japanese horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and ...
''. The first disc was mostly new material while disc two was a complete re-recording of the band's first full-length CD, ''The Last Man On Earth''. On Halloween the band was invited to play in New York City, United States, with The Misfits, making this the first time the band played live outside Japan. They were received very well and would be asked back to tour the following summer. The year of 2003 would be a huge one for the band internationally. Before touring with The Misfits, The Damned,
The Dickies The Dickies are an American punk rock band formed in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, in 1977. One of the longest tenured punk rock bands, they have been in continuous existence for over 40 years. They have consistently balanced catchy mel ...
, and
Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980– ...
, they released a maxi-single entitled "Beware of Darkness". It was included as a part of a special 4-figure toy set from Medicom Toys Co. The video for the song was recorded in the US and was released in May 2003. There was a censored, as well as uncensored version, due to the graphic nature of the video. They also released their first USA CD, '' Beyond the Darkness'', on the newly founded Misfits Records. In September they released '' Out of the Light of the 13 Dark Night'' on the German label, G-Force Records. In 2004 they released their sixth full-length album, '' Came Out of the Grave''. It was released in a special edition long-box with a Be@rbrick figure inside. During that summer they played a large festival with American
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band Rancid, and released a tour documentary about their first US tour, ''The Fiend Fest''. It featured artwork by an American fan, Tony O'Farrel. They also played their first tour in Europe during the summer. The band had truly become an international success. The band also released a special limited single entitled "Zodiac Killer" under the name Zodiac and even played a special live show as the "secret" side project band. They also played a special live show playing only Misfits covers as a part of a very special live event during the Christmas holiday season. By 2005 they released the single "D.A.R.K". Soon after they released a mini album entitled '' Dark-Ism''. This mini album included a song entitled "Yami no Hikari e" which had a much different sound than previous Balzac recordings. They shot a promotional video clip for the song too (released with a full-color hardcover photo history book), which was also very different from their other videos. It showed the world another side of the band that had not been explored much. This song was originally performed on stage with Hirosuke playing rhythm guitar. This year also saw the band touring Japan again for the Darkism Tour. Late in the year they played the track "Moonlight", a
Buck-Tick Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese rock band formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The classic lineup of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi and drum ...
cover for the tribute album '' Parade -Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick-'', as well as a version of The Damned's "
Smash It Up "Smash It Up" is a song by English punk rock band The Damned (band), the Damned, released as a single on 12 October 1979 by Chiswick Records. It is considered the band's unofficial anthem. The single was the second release from the band's third ...
" for a tribute to The Damned. They also released a special picture disc 7-inch with T.W.I.M where they included the new song, "(I Touched the Silence of the) Rain". This was an earlier, rough version of the song that would later be included on the "Horrorock" single, which was included with a new 12-inch Paperbag Man figure from Medicom Toys Co., which came in two limited colors.


2006–2008: Deep Blue and Hatred

Balzac started out 2006 in earnest. They released their seventh full-length album, '' Deep Blue: Chaos from Darkism II'' in March. It was coupled with a special SkullBat figure, also in 2 limited colors. The all-Japan tour began soon after. During the tour they released their first "real" best-of CD, ''13 Hits From Darkism''. It includes many of the band's classic songs re-recorded with all the energy of the past combined with the technical talent of the present. A huge 66-song, 2-disc, DVD set was released during the tour as well. A second, smaller-scale DVD-r of ''Yami Live'' from 2004 was released during the tour as well. Balzac also played two extra special shows. The first show was in Tokyo's Shimokitazawa Yaneura at the end of June to a small crowd of 138 fans. The second was on 1 July in Osaka at Osaka's Namba Bears, the small club where the band's career began. During this year the band released the album ''The Deranged Mad Zombies'' under the same name without giving any notice and hiding completely all traces of Balzac's connection to the album. On 11 November, Balzac released a full-length Zodiac album to end the year, ''Beware On Halloween''. They also played a few huge shows with the
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 " ...
band
Mucc is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1997. The classic line up of Tatsuro (singer), Tatsuro on vocals, Miya (musician), Miya on guitar, Yukke on bass, and Satochi on drums was solidified in 1999 foll ...
, and put on a special year-end live event where they took the stage as both Balzac and Zodiac. In 2007 Balzac released a 6-CD set of totally re-mastered previous releases. Once again they toured Europe and the US, just after putting on a special memorial tour in Japan commemorating the release of their re-masters set. In 2007 they released a new single, "Swallow the Dark". In April 2008, Balzac released their 8th full-length album entitled '' Hatred: Destruction = Construction''. It marked a return to the heavier and darker side for the band, reminiscent of some of their earlier work which was more brooding and dark. It was released in a regular edition, as well as a 666mm special edition featuring artwork by comic book artist Liam Sharp. Around the first week of December the band released " The Box Of 4 Evils", a box set containing re-recordings of the first 2 demos by the band and a couple of others songs from their early years, all of this in cassette format. On 30 December, the band released a commemorative DVD/CD for the 10 years on the release of their album ''13 Stairway – The Children of the Night'', calling it "Live From 13 Stairway: Shelter & Fandango 1998".


2009–2012 – ''Paradox'', Judgement Day, Deranged and 20th anniversary

In March they released a remake of the old "One Night In Hell" Box set, with exactly the same contents the old one had but with the songs re-recorded. Also starting on March, the band released the first of twelve thematic "CD+T-shirt" sets called "Shock & Horror! Weird the Balzac". Each set will have a special T-shirt and a remix CD of a specific song and design. They will be available on the 13th of each month and will be available for buying until the release of the next set. Each song will be arranged and remixed by the band drummer, Takayuki Manabe. Around May 2009, the band gave the first hints on the process of making their next full-length album. They also released a couple of toys, shirts, pens, mugs and other items in collaboration with the Japanese company
Sanrio is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and manufactures products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and Fashion accessory, a ...
, more specifically their character
Hello Kitty , also known by her real name , is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as a British anthropomorphized white cat with a red ...
, having the famous cat donning the characteristic skullsuit that the band has made so popular. On 21 August the band released their new full-length, a mini-album titled ''Paradox''. The album was fully produced by
Takeshi Ueda is the bassist, programmer, additional vocalist and songwriter for The Mad Capsule Markets.The Mad Capsule Markets The Mad Capsule Markets (originally known as The Mad Capsule Market's and Berrie) were a Japanese band that formed in 1985 and were active until 2006. The band became known for their experimental style, which melded various kinds of electronic ...
fame. Balzac and The Mad Capsule Markets have had a close relationship for over 13 years and finally they had a chance to collaborate on this very special release. Takeshi has not only fully produced the entire mini-album, he has also done all the programming and recording arrangement. The album presents the established Balzac's horror punk tunes with the addition of their characteristic digital hardcore style, now present on the whole album. The band has come to refer to this sound as a "new digital horror punk sound". The mini-album was released along a single, in vinyl format, and a special Box Set release. The European release of the album is being expected for 16 October, this version will include a bonus DVD titled ''Hatred Lies Deep Inside'', which was previously released and has a full promotional video for every song on the album ''Hatred: Construction = Destruction''. Then, on 11 December 2009 the band released a 44-track, double disc CD ´Best-of´ album entitled ''Complete Legacy of Evilegend: The Best of Balzac''. Many of the tracks have been re-recorded or re-worked. 2010 also proved to be a busy year for Balzac. In March Balzac played two shows, for the first time ever, in Taiwan. A nationwide tour of Japan with GNz-WORD was also completed. A split single with RADIOTS which included cover versions of the MISFITS’ classics, “Astrozombies” and “I Turned Into a Martian” was released in September. As well, a new full-length album entitled “JUDGEMENT DAY” released on 6 October. BAKI, from the legendary Japanese rock band, GASTUNK does guest vocals on Balzac's cover of the GASTUNK song “Red Indians Rock”. A Tour supporting the album is planned. In January 2011 Balzac released their second “best-of” CD entitled ''Complete Legacy of Horror: The Best of Balzac II'', alongside three special CD releases: ‘Psycho Night’, ‘Dark Night’ and ‘Black Night’. In March the band toured with New Rote’ka, and released a special limited edition set through Shocker to commemorate the tour. On 27 August Balzac played a special Fiendish Club ‘One Man’ show called “Dirty Black Summer” and released the DVD ''Complete Legacy of Atom-Age Vampire: The Films of Balzac''. Around this time Hirosuke also did some vocals on the song ‘We’re Not Alone’, a track by AA=/Mad Capsule Markets fame, Takeshi Ueda. Many indie rock band-members took part in the recording (and music video) that was used to raise money for the aid of those affected by the horrific earthquake and tsunami that had hit Japan earlier in the year. In the fall a new maxi-single, "Deranged" was announced and released on 7 December. 2012 marked the 20th Anniversary of Balzac. To celebrate many special release and live performances are in the works. A release of their first 7-inch single, ‘Lord of the Light and of the Darkness’, their 2nd 7-inch, ‘Atom-Age Vampire in 308′, and the ‘One Night in Hell’ cassette box will be released for the 1st time even on CD, newly remastered. These CD's were available during their 20th Anniversary Tour in January, February and March. In March, they re-released these three singles again on 7" Picture Disc. In July they announced a New Live DVD entitled "20120310 SHIMOKITAZAWA SHELTER – DERANGED TOUR 2012". In January, Balzac announced their 10th album entitled "BLACKOUT" which has one single so far ("The Bleeding Black") and is slated for a 8 March 2013 Release date. On 10 February, they released the PV for "The Bleeding Black" and 12 days later released the PV for "Hell Rising".


Side projects

Apart from the main band, Balzac is also well known in the scene for their multiple side-projects, which mainly consist of the same members of the band playing in a different style or under a specific theme.


Zodiac

The origins of this band date to 2004, when Balzac first released a CD entitled ''Zodiac Killer'' under the name of Zodiac and by playing live events under that name too. Both the name and lyrics of the band, as well as the merchandise, are based on the famous North American
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
known as the
Zodiac Killer The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969. The case has been described as "arguably the most famous unsolved murder ...
. This cold-blooded assassin gained much recognition for his cruel killings and encrypted letters that he sent both to the police and newspapers. He was never caught. In 2006 the band created the Zodiac Fan Club (Z.F.C.), an offshoot of the Fiendish Club dedicated to the new band and only available for Japanese residents. They also released the first and so far only full-length album, ''Beware On Halloween''. The musical style of Zodiac's songs have the same sound and style as old Balzac songs during that band's first years of existence. As they do with Balzac, the band has also released toys and clothing under Zodiac's name and image. Recently the band decided to release yet another Box release under this name. The Box package known as "Zodiac Is Alive" contained a couple of T-shirts and other Zodiac goodies plus a new Zodiac recording, a 2 track single CD, "Death Waltz/Seventeen", and a split cassette between Zodiac and The Deranged Mad Zodiac, the latter being a Zodiac version of their also parallel band, The Deranged Mad Zombies.


The Deranged Mad Zombies

The Deranged Mad Zombies, like Zodiac, is a band composed of the same members of Balzac; it first appeared in 2006. The name came from various influences of singer-songwriter Hirosuke. "Deranged" comes from the title of one of his favorite movies. "Mad" derives from the name of one of his favorite Japanese bands, the Mad Capsule Markets. "Zombies" is taken from The Misfits song "Astrozombies". More than a side-project, this band is an experiment by the band members who felt like doing it just for fun. All the songs released under this name are in fact Balzac songs, mixed down rougher and trashier, giving each song more of a lo-fi and under-produced sound. For the full-length album the band launched under this moniker, they kept their identities hidden using nicknames and showing no track list or band photo on the package. Only 20 copies of the self-titled CD were pre-ordered before the fans found that this was in fact Balzac in disguise. So far the band has released two more albums and one official bootleg under this name.


728 Misfits: Naniwa Misfits

728 Misfits, also known as Naniwa Misfits, is a Misfits cover band formed by Balzac. This is the less known side-project of the band and the only one without any official releases. So far Balzac has kept this band only for special and rare live events, without any known plans to release any singles or albums using this alter-ego. Peer-to-peer programs around the Internet have circulated a bootleg containing a rehearsal of this band, as well as a bootleg video of their famous live event at
Molotow Club Molotow, also known as Molotow Club or Molotow Music Club is one of the most famous and popular live music venues in Germany. It is located on the Reeperbahn, in St. Pauli, Hamburg. The Molotow won numerous "Club of the year" and "Best Nation ...
in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Germany.


Discography


Band members


Current

* Hirosuke Nishiyama – vocals (1992–present) * Atsushi Nakagawa – guitar (1993–present) * Akio Imai – bass guitar (1996–present) * Takayuki Manabe – drums (2001–present)


Former

* Toyoki Takimoto – guitar * Tetsuya Kitagawa – guitar (1992–1993) * Yoritsugu "Anti" Azuchi – bass guitar (1992–1996) * Naoki Shinjo – drums (1992–1993) * Koji – drums (1993–1994) * Hajime Nishio – drums (1994–1996) * Masami – drums (1996–1997) * Futoshi Okano – session drummer (1997–2002) * Kill – drums (1997–2001)


References


External links


Official Japanese Balzac SiteOfficial USA Balzac SiteOfficial Europe Balzac Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balzac (band) Gan-Shin artists Horror punk groups Japanese punk rock groups Digital hardcore music groups Death rock groups Musical groups from Kyoto Prefecture Musical groups established in 1992