is a Japanese

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 Wales ...

band, formed in 2003. Their name is sometimes stylized with a

metal umlaut A metal umlaut is a diacritic that is sometimes used gratuitously or decoratively over letters in the names of mainly hard rock or heavy metal bands—for example, those of Blue Öyster Cult, Queensrÿche, Motörhead, the Accüsed, Mötley Crüe ...

as girugämesh and is derived from the ''Final Fantasy'' character. They disbanded on July 10, 2016, although announced a new song, to celebrate label MAVERICK's 40th anniversary as well as to encourage the music scene exhausted by COVID-19, in January 2022.

History

2003–2007: Formation

Formed in 2003 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 ...

, Shuu and Nii had been friends since elementary school, and the earliest incarnation of the band made its first performance while the members were still in high school. Girugamesh began playing gigs with their final lineup in 2004, and were later signed to record label Gaina-Japan. Their first single, "Kaisen Sengen" ("Declaration of War"), ranked #10 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

Indies chart. In 2005, Girugamesh embarked on a nationwide tour, after which they released their first live DVD featuring footage from the tour, followed by the EP ''Goku -Shohankei Enban-''. Girugamesh 2007

In 2007, Girugamesh was signed to the European label

Gan-Shin is an independent European rock music record label. History It was formed in 2004 by Matthias Müssig, Christoph Ortner-Bach and Deville Schober. The label, actively distributes physical records in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sp ...

. The band then participated in the 9-band Japanese rock festival in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

called "J-Rock Revolution". They performed on the second night alongside Merry,

D'espairsRay D'espairsRay (formerly stylized as DéspairsRay or +DéspairsRay+) was a Japanese visual kei rock 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 the group ...

, and

Mucc is a Japanese visual kei rock band, formed in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1997. The classic line up of Tatsuro on vocals, Miya on guitar, Yukke on bass, and Satochi on drums was solidified in 1999 following the departure of original bassist Hiro. A ...

. Around the time of J-Rock Revolution, Girugamesh released their music in the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. Ryo commented that "if you really like the band after the initial listen, you will buy the original CD." In the summer of 2007, Girugamesh released an EP entitled ''Reason of Crying'', and in December released their eponymous album, ''

Girugamesh is a Japanese rock band, formed in 2003. Their name is sometimes stylized with a metal umlaut as girugämesh and is derived from the ''Final Fantasy'' character. They disbanded on July 10, 2016, although announced a new song, to celebrate lab ...

''.

2008–2015: ''Girugamesh'' and international success

In 2008, in support of ''Girugamesh'', the band toured in both Japan and Europe, under the tour title "Stupid Tour '08". The Japanese leg had Girugamesh performing throughout Japan, and later in January, the band toured

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

for the first time, visiting

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Following their European tour, Girugamesh continued the "Stupid Tour '08 in Japan". In March, Girugamesh returned to touring visiting venues all over Japan including

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. Following a performance at

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...

, a support tour for ''Girugamesh'' will occur, entitled "Shining Tour '08". The first performances will endure through July, visiting

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, with one finale performance in August at the Liquidroom in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Concerts in July will feature second acts, including Gelugugu, Tr. Dan, Sel'm, Dogma, and

Deathgaze is a Japanese visual kei metal band formed in 2003. History Deathgaze was formed in the summer of 2003 by Hazuki, Ai, Naoki, and Kanna. After releasing their first EP, "294036224052", vocalist, Hazuki, left in spring 2004 to form his own band ...

, while the tour finale show will be a one-man performance, with only Girugamesh. In July 2008, an English version of their website was activated; shortly after this, the band announced they would release their debut American album, with ''Girugamesh'' being sold exclusively through

Hot Topic Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming ...

stores. The band's third full-length album, titled ''

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

'', was released on November 5, 2008. After a lengthy Japan tour throughout the first quarter of 2009, the band made its second appearance in the United States, showcased at

Sakura-Con Sakura-Con is an annual three-day anime convention held during March or April at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington. The convention, which is traditionally held over Easter weekend, is the largest anime convention in the ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. Not long after the end of "Crazy Tour 2009" they released the live DVD "Crazy Crazy Crazy" on June 3. Another release was announced to be out on July 10 but this time it was a single named "Alive" which they had been playing for the audiences during the end of their "Crazy Tour". Just a month later on August 5 the single "Border" came out along with "Crying Rain" on October 7. On December 16 they released the fourth album with the name ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'' and this will be the name of their tour in 2010. The band had a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

release, ''Premium Oneman Show 2010'', on January 31, 2010 at

Shinkiba Studio Coast ageHa (also as 'AGH') was a weekend club event in Tokyo, Japan. It was held on Friday and Saturday at the Usen Studio Coast event space in the Shin-Kiba district, which also hosted live concerts and other events. The word ''Ageha'' is Japanese fo ...

, and at the same time, the members tweeted in real time through musicJAPANplus before the live began. Girugamesh released the single "Color" on July 6, 2010. On October 7 they released the single "Inochi no Ki". On September 19, 2010, the band performed at

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 "Abstinence's Door #005" with

Head Phones President Head Phones President (stylized as HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT) is a Japanese metal band formed in Tokyo in 1999. Their sound has been described as alternative metal, progressive metal, avant-garde metal, and nu metal. They have played various musi ...

and

Defspiral Defspiral (stylized as defspiral, and briefly existing under the name Wilma-Sidr) is a Japanese visual kei rock band composed of most of the former members of the Underneath. When the Underneath disbanded in 2010,Ustream.tv. On January 26, 2011, Girugamesh released their album '' Go'' which includes their recent singles, "Color" and "Inochi no Ki", one of the songs, "Destiny", leaked out a few days before. ''Go'' will be released in Europe on February 2, 2012. On April 22, 2011, Girugamesh played a concert at

Anime Boston Anime Boston is an annual three-day anime fan convention held in the spring in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Anime Boston was created and is run by the New England Anime Society, Inc., a Massachusetts-based non-profit organization. Pro ...

2011. In November 2013, Girugamesh released an album titled "Monster" and performed at the

Hush!! Full Band Festival The Hush!! Full Band Festival is a free entrance government-sponsored music festival focussing on local rock music with invited international guest bands. History In 2005, the Hush!! Full Band Festival got established, a government-sponsored m ...

in Macau as headlining act. In September 2014, Girugamesh released a mini-album titled "Gravitation". In February 2016, Girugamesh released a mini-album titled "chimera". The title alludes to the band's image as it is today : a chimera being an hybrid creature just like the band's music as Ryo says in French interview "The sound of girugmesh is a mixture of different types of music." The artcover has been designed by singer Satoshi who depicted an egg and fire: "The artcover of ‘chimera’ represents an egg from which an hybrid creature, a chimera, comes out. The chimera symbolizes metaphorically the band. The split created when the monster comes out reveals fire. And fire usually alludes to passions, anger and rage. Rage is the key-word of the concept of ‘chimera’. It’s Satoshi’s idea. He’s the one who designed it." Girugamesh had toured in Europe in May 2016.

2016: Final performance and disbandment

On May 2, 2016, girugamesh announced on their public Facebook page that they would be disbanding following their final show at Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo on July 10, 2016. Although no specific reason was given, girugamesh has said that they are thankful for the many years they have been together, and for all their fan support. For girugamesh's final concert, the four band members performed for 3 hours and played over 35 songs. During the show, a sneak peek video revealing the release of a DVD box collector was shown on screen as announced on French media VerdamMnis Magazine: ″The box will include the farewell performance, which at the moment was simply outstanding, it will span the career of the band from its debut and will also contain exclusive footage from its very last tour which occurred in Europe in May of 2016″.

2021–present: New announcement for 2022, and comeback

On Dec 27, 2021, Girugamesh posted a short video on their Twitter account after several years of inactivity. The same video was posted to the MAVERICK DC GROUP YouTube channel. The video contained a somewhat vague message, containing mentions of the 40th anniversary of MAVERICK DC GROUP, the parent company of their record label, COVID-19, and most notably, the date February 1st, 2022. On January 30, 2022, it was revealed on the official Girugamesh twitter that they will be releasing a new song titled "engrave" on February 1, 2022.

Popular culture

The band was mentioned in a 2009

commercial, wherein several people are excitedly discussing their love of Japan-related material, and a man says "Gurugamesh!" It later became an internet meme and went viral.

Band members

Current members * –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

(2003–2016, 2022–present) * –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s (2003–2016, 2022–present) * – bass,

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

, backing vocals (2003–2016, 2022–present) * –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, primary

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

(2003–2016, 2022–present) Former members * Cyrien – vocals (2003, went on to play in Sel'm) * Hotaru – guitars (2003-2004)

Discography

;Albums * '' 13's Reborn'' (September 27, 2006) * ''

Girugämesh is a Japanese rock band, formed in 2003. Their name is sometimes stylized with a metal umlaut as girugämesh and is derived from the ''Final Fantasy'' character. They disbanded on July 10, 2016, although announced a new song, to celebrate la ...

'' (December 26, 2007) * ''

'' (November 5, 2008) * ''

'' (December 16, 2009) * '' Go'' (January 26, 2011) * '' Monster'' (November 27, 2013) ;EPs * ''Goku: Shohan Gata Enban'' (May 25, 2005) * ''Reason of Crying'' (July 18, 2007) * ''Gravitation'' (September 24, 2014) * ''Chimera'' (January 20, 2016) ;Singles * "Jelato" (August 3, 2004, distributed single) * "Midnight" (2004, distributed single) * "Kaisen Sengen: Kikaku Kata Enban" (August 15, 2004) * "Sakaurami" (August 24, 2004) * "Kuukyo no Utsuwa: Kyosaku Gata Enban" (December 25, 2004) * "Kosaki Uta: Kaijou Gata Enban" (February 8, 2005) * "Senyuu Kyoutou Uta" (split CD with Marusa, April 20, 2005) * "Kyozetsu Sareta Tsukue: Tandoku Gata Enban" (June 17, 2005) * "Fukai no Yami: Mayosake Gata Enban" (September 14, 2005) * "Honnou Kaihou: Kakusei Gata Enban" (November 30, 2005) * "Risei Kairan: Ranchou Gata Enban" (November 30, 2005) * "Rei: Mukei Gata Enban" (April 5, 2006) * "Omae ni Sasageru Minikui Koe" (April 12, 2006) * "Volcano" (DVD single, March 14, 2007) * "Alive" (June 10, 2009) * "Border" (August 5, 2009) * "Crying Rain" (October 7, 2009) * "Color" (July 7, 2010) * " Inochi no Ki" (イノチノキ)(October 6, 2010) * "Pray" (Japanese and English versions) (April 13, 2011) * "Zetchou Bang!!" (July 4, 2012) * "Zantetsuken" (September 26, 2012) * "Incomplete" (September 11, 2013) * "Period" (July 10, 2016) * "engrave" (February 2, 2022) ;Compilations * '' LIVE BEST'' (March 26, 2014) * ''Core Best'' (2014, Sold only at concerts) ;Demos * ''Dekiai: Shisaku Gata Enban'' (2003) ;DVDs * ''Crazy Crazy Crazy'' June 3, 2009 * ''Gaisen Kouen Chiba'' February 22, 2012

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Gan-Shin artists Japanese alternative metal musical groups Japanese rock music groups Musical groups established in 2003 Musical quartets Musical groups from Chiba Prefecture 2003 establishments in Japan