Bellzlleb (stylized as BELLZLLEᗺ) was a Japanese heavy metal band, formed in 1985 by Tetsu and Yuji in

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

. The band's sound was heavily influenced by elements from

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

and

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

with philosophical influences from

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

, the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

, horror,

satanism Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...

and the dark, heavy sound of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

. They toured the Japanese national club circuit extensively during the 1980s and the early 1990s and created various recordings until they disassociated in 1992.

History

Bellzlleb was formed between junior high school mates in 1985, guitarist and composer Tetsu (

Genkaku Allergy Genkaku Allergy (幻覚アレルギ－) was a Japanese visual kei rock band started by ex-Kamaitachi members Sceana and Kazzy, in 1992. Its sound mixes elements from hardcore punk, heavy metal, noise and industrial music. They signed with Vict ...

, Spooky Six Mouse, E.G.O., Love House, Zeus) drums and arrangement by Yuji (Scarecrow, Love House). Tetsu and Yuji played together prior to Bellzlleb in hard rock band Love House. After a series of auditions, Rick (Norihiko Hayashi) the loudest and craziest bass player in

Chiba city is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It sits about east of the centre of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. The city became a government-designated city in 1992. In June 2019, its population was 979,768, with a population density of 3,605 people p ...

, was recruited into the band along with Koizumi (Atsuko Koizumi) who fronted local

cover bands in high school. Her high-tone vocals were influenced by singer

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

. This completed the original lineup of Bellzlleb in 1985 during high school. Bellzlleb played at local clubs such as Dancing Mother's and participated in local metal festivals and drew fans together in Chiba, which led to participation in the band contest Yamaha East West in 1985. Bellzlleb won through a series of local and regional contests and was nominated in the East West 1985 nationwide junior finals in Tokyo at

Nakano Sun Plaza , formerly Nakano Sun Plaza, is a hotel in Nakano, Tokyo. The hotel includes a concert hall, the Nakano Sunplaza Hall (formerly Nakano Sun Plaza Hall). Built in 1973,

. During an extensive club circuit era in the Kanto region their first real break came in 1986 when they were asked to open for a thrash metal band, Black Rose. Black Rose was the band whose guitarist and lead composer

Pata Pata or PATA may refer to: Places * Pata, Sulu, a Philippine municipality * Pata, Galanta District, a village in Slovakia * Pata, Central African Republic, a village * Pata village (Samoa), a village in Samoa * Pontrilas Army Training Area, a ...

later joined

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

. Opening for Black Rose at Kagurazaka Explosion several times during the course of a few months led to a live-phono-sheet recording entitled "Satanic Metal". "Satanic Metal" increased Bellzlleb's core fan base, which led to another compilation recording at Kagurazaka Explosion in 1987 entitled ''Heavy Metal Force IV''. By the Summer of 1987, Bellzlleb had expanded beyond Kanto region in Japan to expand their fan base on a nationwide level with extensive club circuiting in Japan. Koizumi left in 1987 due to direction disagreement and health related reasons to be replaced by vocalist Rei (ex-Hardwave) as the new frontman. Co-founder and drummer Yuji left in 1988 due to musical style disagreement and direction changes. Bellzlleb's first full-length album "Bellzlleb" which was originally scheduled for release in 1998 was delayed for a year. In 1998 drummer Eby ex- Zi:Kill supported Bellzlleb live performances and participated in compilation album recordings immediately after Yuji's departure. Fumi was recruited 1989 and started recording of their first full-length album, ''Bellzlleb'' released from Nude Records. Rick left the band soon after this release due to directional disagreement and was replaced by ex-Jurassic Jade bass player, Mataro. With the 1990 line-up, Bellzlleb recorded a second full-length album, ''Section II ~Aru Gusha no Shougai~'' released by Captain Records (owned by Takarajima). Bellzlleb increased their touring schedule nationwide to support their release, however Mataro and Fumi left to pursue their respective band careers in Japan and overseas. Tetsu and Rei, left without a rhythm section at Bellzlleb in 1991 released an acoustic mini-album, ''Inori'' at Nude Records. The final line-up of Bellzlleb in 1992 consisted of bass player Takami Rosenfeld and drummer Kimura. Bellzlleb released their third and last full-length album, ''Mr.Ree: ~Kairai to Sad~'' in 1992. Bellzlleb toured nationwide and participated in print media and television programs to support the new release, but countless member replacements seemed to have damaged the life of Bellzlleb throughout the life of the band as to portray how they were haunted as a group. Bellzlleb disbanded because Tetsu knew they could not have continued to produce a better sound than they currently had.

Kuroyume is a Japanese rock band formed in Nagoya in May 1991, initially with the vocalist Kiyoharu, bassist Hitoki and guitarist Shin. The group had a definite influence on the visual kei scene, being credited as inspiration to many bands of the late 1 ...

opened for Bellzlleb on their last gig in 1992 at Meguro Rock-May-Kan.

Members lineups

Original lineup 1985–1987

* Vocals: Atsuko Koizumi * Guitar: Tetsuji "Tetsu" Yamada (

, Spooky Six Mouse, E.G.O., Love House, Zeus) * Guitar: Masanori "Nori" Hashimoto ( Tokyo Yankees, Lawless Dogs) * Bass: Norihiko "Rick" Hayashi (Spooky Six Mouse) * Drums: Yuji Niwano (Scarecrow, Love House)

1987–1988

* Vocals: Yoshiyuki "Rei" Miyamoto (Hard Wave, Samurai Blondies, Spooky Six Mouse) * Guitar: Tetsu * Bass: Rick * Drums: Yuji

1989

* Vocals: Rei * Guitar: Tetsu * Bass: Rick * Drums: (support) Eby ( Zi:Kill)

1989–1990

* Vocals: Rei * Guitar: Tetsu * Bass: Mataro (e
Jurassic Jade
* Drums: Fumi

1991–1992

* Vocals: Rei * Guitar: Tetsu * Bass: Takami (ex-Rosenfeld, Salamander) * Drums: Kimura (

)

Discography

* "Satanic Metal" (October 25, 1986, Private PLM-130) * ''Bellzlleb'' (October 1989, Nude Records NUDE-0002) * * *

Video

* ''Dead Don't Die'' (September 30, 1991,

Free-Will is a Japanese independent record label founded in 1986 by Color vocalist Hiroshi "Dynamite Tommy" Tomioka, with branches predominantly in Japan and the United States, as well as previously in Europe. It also continues to co-manage many of its ...

)

Compilations

* ''East West '85'' (1985, V/A, C40A-00433,

Canyon Records Canyon Records of Phoenix, Arizona is a record label that has produced and distributed Native American music for 56 years. History Canyon was founded in 1951 by Ray and Mary Boley, who had opened the first recording studio in Phoenix, Arizona ...

) * ''Heavy Metal Force　IV'' (April 1987, V/A
Explosion Records
* ''Emergency Express Metal Warning 2'' (1989, V/A
Crown Records
* ''Declare a State of Emergency - Emergency Express III'' (1991, V/A

* ''Hyp No.4 - Special Supplement'' (1991, V/A, HYP)

References

{{Authority control Japanese doom metal musical groups Japanese black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Musical quartets Musical groups from Chiba Prefecture 1985 establishments in Japan