was a Japanese

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band active from 1992 to 2005. Six of their singles made the top 10 Oricon Singles Chart for sales, while two of their albums reached the top ten of the Oricon Albums Chart.

History

Formation

The band was formed in 1992 by Ishizuki, Kazuya, and Ryuji when Ishizuki was 15 years old. In 1993, Shun and Tatsuya joined and they began performing around

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

. In 1994, they released their first demo-tape ''Karma'', with Tatsuya on drums. Tatsuya left in 1995 after the release of the EP '' Taiyou no Toriko''. Their lineup solidified in 1995 when Tohru joined on the drums on the single 'Memories in White'. They released their first album ''

Mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

'' and second EP ''

Marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

'' in 1996. Like many famous bands from the

Tōkai region The is a subregion of the Chūbu region and Kansai region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The name comes from the Tōkaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes. Because Tōkai is a sub-region and is not officially classified, there is ...

, they were spontaneously called

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 ...

along with bands like

Kuroyume is a Japanese rock band formed in Nagoya in May 1991. They quickly achieved success with their 1994 major label debut album ''Mayoeru Yuritachi'', which reached number three on the Oricon Albums Chart. Following the departure of guitarist Shi ...

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 Laputa is a flying island described in the 1726 book ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift. It is about 4½ miles (7¼km) in diameter, with an adamantine base, which its inhabitants can manoeuvre in any direction using magnetic levitat ...

. At their peak in the mid-to-late 1990s, they were considered one of the "

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhism, Buddhist gods or Deva (Buddhism), ''devas'', each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhism, Ch ...

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 " ...

" alongside La'cryma Christi,

Malice Mizer Malice Mizer (stylized as MALICE MIZER) was a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band active from 1992 to 2001. The band was notable for their music and their live shows, featuring lavish historical costumes and stage sets, with short silent ...

and

Shazna Shazna (stylized as SHAZNA) is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band originally active from 1993 to 2000. Originally having a strong gothic rock, gothic/post-punk influence, the band's sound greatly shifted to a more New wave music, new wav ...

. Over time, fans stopped calling them visual kei as they perceived the band didn't like the name. During an interview, Ishizuki explained that the term "visual kei" didn't exist when they formed the band, and it felt like a label that was being put on them by adults, suggesting they were frivolous or unserious. In the same interview, Kazuya said he has grown to appreciate it.

Major debut

Their major debut came in 1997 with the release of the single "Super Soul". They followed with two albums, '' One -one for all-'' and '' The Lost Innocent''. ''One -one for all-'' was named one of the top albums from 1989-1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine ''Band Yarouze''. In 2000, they switched to the Stoic Stone label (from which all subsequent albums were published) and released their sixth record, '' EAS''. Five albums would follow before their last record, 2004's ''Marvelous+''.

Disbandment and post-Fanatic Crisis work

In 2005, they played their final concert at Tokyo Bay NK Hall. Kazuya joined with Aoi, who was a solo artist, to form the band Bounty in 2007 and they released several singles and one album. In 2011, Shun and Kazuya joined with Zero and Tsukasa (from

D'espairsRay D'espairsRay (formerly stylized as DéspairsRay or +DéspairsRay+) was a Japanese visual kei heavy metal band active from 1999 to 2011. The lineup of Hizumi on vocals, Karyu on guitar, Zero on bass and Tsukasa on drums remained the same, with t ...

) and Ricky (from Dasein) to form the group ''THE MICRO HEAD 4N'S''. Ishizuki left the music industry but returned as a solo artist in 2012.

Fantastic Circus

In 2019, Ishizuku, Shun, and Kazuya came together under the name Fantastic Circus to perform; they did not use their original name as not all the original members were available to reunite. Originally it was meant to be a one off event, but it went so well they wanted to continue, but COVID-19 put any future events on pause. In 2022, they performed as Fantastic Circus again as part of a 30th Anniversary celebration of the formation of Fanatic Crisis. They followed with an album release, ''TENSEISM BEST SINGLES 997-2000', and went on tour in 2023.

Members

Lineup 1995 to 2005

* Tsutomu Ishizuki - vocals (1992-2005) * Ryuji - bass guitar (1992-2005) * Kazuya - lead guitar (1992-2005) * Shun - rhythm guitar (1994-2005) * Tohru - drums (1995-2005)

Previous member

* Tatsuya - drums (1994-1995)

Discography

;Studio albums ;EPs ;Compilations ;Singles ;Videography ;Other

References

{{Authority control Visual kei musical groups Japanese alternative rock groups Japanese power pop groups Japanese gothic rock groups Japanese post-punk music groups Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups from Aichi Prefecture