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

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 ...

in May 1991, initially with the vocalist Kiyoharu, bassist Hitoki and guitarist Shin. The group had a definite influence on the

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Som ...

scene, being credited as inspiration to many bands of the late 1990s visual kei boom and as one of the creators 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 consi ...

. They were called "The big two Nagoya bands" in the early Nagoya kei scene along with . The band achieved success with the albums ''Feminism'' (1995) and ''

Fake Star "Fake Star" is Ken Hirai's 27th single. The song is described as being an up-tempo song. It was used as the Meiji Confectionery "Fran Aromatier" CM song. This is his third single of 2007. In the lyrics, Ken references the lyrics of his previous ...

'' (1996), with the song "Pistol" winning an MTV Video Music Award. The band suspended activities for an indefinite period on January 29, 1999. Kuroyume was officially disbanded at their final live performance on January 29, 2009. However a year later in January 2010, Kuroyume reunited as a duo consisting of vocalist

Kiyoharu , better known by his stage name . is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter, known for his work with Kuroyume and Sads. In 2003, he began his solo career, performing as both a singer and guitarist. Music career Independent career and K ...

and bassist Hitoki.

History

1991-1993

Kuroyume was formed in 1991 by Kiyoharu and Hitoki, former members of Garnet band. They recruited Masaru, who left the band shortly after and was replaced by Shin. After a year of performing live, the band released their debut maxi single, "Chuuzetsu" in 1992 on Haunted House Records. Shortly afterwards, the band released a mini album entitled ''Ikiteita Chuzetsuji...'' (remastered from an old demo tape). A year later, ''Nakigara O...'' was released and clearly showed the group progressing in a more melodic direction by leaning further toward the goth side of things and doing away completely with any semblance of

metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...

. The song "Shin'ai Naru Death Mask" from their first mini album had been rerecorded, and the band's first promotional music video was filmed for the song. The band during this era is credited with the creator of

sounds with

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.

1994-1999

Shortly after signing with EMI in early 1994, Kuroyume released their first major label single "For Dear" to promote the forthcoming album ''Mayoeru Yuritachi''. Two promotional videos were filmed, one for the aforementioned single and another for album track "Autism". ''Mayoeru Yuritachi'' had a far milder sound than previous releases, probably due to the group signing with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

. In late 1994, the mini album ''Cruel'' and single "Ice My Life" were released and introduced a pop side. The band now dressed more conservatively, with their new look being reminiscent of 1980s

New Romantic The New Romantic movement was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New ...

fashion, seeming to give off a more palatable image to mainstream buyers. The music on ''Cruel'' was again more pop-friendly, but still loud and abrasive, which helped give the new songs a universal appeal. In 1995, Shin left the group due to musical differences and to focus on his other band Vinyl. From then on, Kuroyume would record and perform as a duo, along with support musicians. The two albums following this rearrangement, 1995's ''Feminism'' and 1996's ''

'', continued the visually oriented mainstream pop rock of ''Cruel'', with the latter of the two having an edgier production and presenting a more fashionable image. ''Feminism'' was named one of the top albums from 1989-1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine ''Band Yarouze''. In 1996, Kuroyume won the MTV Japan International Viewer's Choice Award at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards for the song "Pistol" from ''Fake Star''. From this point onward, the band and particularly

were recognized on a national level. 1997 heralded another transformation for Kuroyume, who were a

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 ...

influenced

rock 'n roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

band both visually and musically for the albums ''Drug Treatment'' and ''Corkscrew''. Their releases continued to sell quite well. In 1999, citing Hitoki's personal health difficulties, Kuroyume suspended activities for an indefinite period.

1999-2009: Post-Kuroyume

Kiyoharu formed Sads in 1999. Sads released numerous material until taking a hiatus in 2003, returning in 2010. Hitoki formed a unit called Hitoki-PiranhaHeads in 2000 which had several line-ups and various name changes. In 2004, Hitoki joined Super Drop Babies with former Kuroyume guitarist Shin. On

's 40th Birthday, October 30, 2008, it was announced that Kuroyume would officially be disbanded on January 29, 2009. That day, the band held their last concert on their fifteenth anniversary, titled "Kuroyume the End".

2010-present: Revival

In 2010, Kiyoharu announced the reformation of Kuroyume and that they have begun recording a new album. The band signed to the

Avex is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

label, the same label that housed Kiyoharu's solo work and Sads. Their first single since reforming, "Misery", was set to be released on January 29, 2011, but it was pushed back to February 9, 2011. They then proceeded to release the singles, "Alone" and "Heavenly" on May 25 and August 24, 2011 respectively. Following the relative success of these two singles, they released a new album entitled "Headache and Dub Reel Inch" on November 2, 2011. "Headache and Dub Reel Inch" marked Kuroyume's first album release with

. ''Fuck the Border Line'', a tribute album to Kuroyume, was also released on February 9, 2011, featuring covers of the band's songs by popular modern visual acts, such as Abingdon Boys School,

Plastic Tree Plastic Tree are a Japanese alternative rock band. Formed in December 1993 in Chiba Prefecture, they released their first mini-album in December 1995, and in 1997, they released their first single on a major label. History Biography Plastic Tr ...

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

, Sid and

Cascade Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science *Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * Bioc ...

. The single "Alone" (アロン) was selected by

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

to be used in the Japanese advertisement campaign for '' Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D''. On March 26, 2014, Kuroyume released a single entitled "Reverb", which peaked at the 11th position on

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 ...

charts. It was selected by

Koei Tecmo is a Japanese video game, amusement and anime holding company created in 2009 by the merger of Koei and Tecmo. Koei Tecmo Holdings owns several companies, the biggest one of those being its flagship game developer and publisher Koei Tecmo Games ...

and was used for the advertising campaign of

Samurai Warriors 4 ''Samurai Warriors 4'', known in Japan as , is a hack and slash game by Koei Tecmo, and sequel to ''Samurai Warriors 3''. Unlike past ''Samurai Warriors'' games, this one only has Japanese voice overs. A reboot of the series titled '' Samurai Warr ...

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 ...

(1991–1999, 2009, 2010–2015) * – bass,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

(1991–1999, 2009, 2010–2015) ;Former members * –

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 ...

(1991–1995) * –

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 ...

(1991–1992) *Hiro –

(1992-1993)

Discography

Singles

* "Chuuzetsu" (July 20, 1992) * "For Dear" (February 9, 1994) * "Ice My Life" (July 20, 1994) * "Yasashi Higeki" (March 8, 1995) * "Miss Moonlight" (April 26, 1995) * "Beams" (October 13, 1995) * "See You" (February 21, 1996) * "Pistol" (April 17, 1996) * "Like @ Angel" (November 18, 1996) * "Nite & Day" (April 10, 1997) * "Spray" (June 4, 1997) * "Shounen" (November 19, 1997) * "Maria" (April 8, 1998) * "My Strange Days" (March 31, 1999, distributed at "Live or Die") * "Misery" (February 9, 2011) * "Alone" (May 25, 2011) * "Heavenly" (August 24, 2011) * "Kingdom" (September 6, 2013) * "Guernika" (December 11, 2013) * "I Hate Your Popstar Life" (December 11, 2013) * "Reverb" (March 26, 2014) * "Day 1" (January 5, 2015)

Studio albums

* ''Ikiteita Chuzetsuji...'' (December 25, 1992) * ''Nakigara o...'' (June 11, 1993) * ''Mayoeru Yuritachi -Romance of Scarlet- '' (March 9, 1994) * ''Cruel'' (August 31, 1994) * ''Feminism'' (May 10, 1995) * '' Fake Star ~I'm Just a Japanese Fake Rocker~'' (May 29, 1996) * ''Drug Treatment'' (June 27, 1997) * ''Corkscrew'' (May 27, 1998) * ''Headache and Dub Reel Inch'' (November 2, 2011 - first Avex release) * ''Kuro to Kage'' (January 29, 2014)

Live albums

* ''1997.10.31 Live at Shinjuku Loft'' (January 16, 1998) * ''Kuroyume "the End" -Corckscrew a Go Go! Final- 09.01.29 Budokan '' (March 18, 2009)

Compilation albums

* ''EMI 1994–1998 Best or Worst'' (February 17, 1999) * ''Kuroyume Complete Rare Tracks 1991-1993 -Indies Zenkyokushu-'' (June 10, 2000) * ''Kuroyume Singles'' (March 27, 2002) * ''Kuroyume Complete Singles'' (September 29, 2003) * ''Kuroyume Box'' (April 28, 2004)

Demo tapes

* "Kuroyume" (August 29, 1991) * "Ikiteita Chuzetsuji..." (January 25, 1992)

Tribute albums

* ''Fuck the Border Line'' (February 9, 2011)

Home videos

* ''Neo Under'' (September 5, 1992) * ''Under'' (October 31, 1992) * ''Deep Under'' (December 20, 1993) * ''Tanmei no Yuritachi'' (July 6, 1994) * ''Theater of Cruel'' (September 28, 1994) * ''Tour Feminism Part 1'' (September 27, 1995) * ''Pictures'' (December 13, 1995) * ''Fake Star's Circuit 1996: Boys Only'' (October 4, 1996) * ''1996 Fake Star's Circuit: Yokohama Arena'' (November 18, 1996) * ''1996 Fake Star's Circuit: Tour Document'' (January 29, 1997) * ''Pictures 2'' (October 22, 1997) * ''Live at Shinjuku Loft'' (January 16, 1998, reissued on October 29, 2003) * ''Live or Die: Corkscrew a Go Go!'' (March 31, 1999) * ''DVD Pictures Vol.1'' (October 18, 2000) * ''DVD Pictures Vol.2'' (October 18, 2000) * ''Complete Single Clips'' (April 13, 2005) * ''All Pictures'' (January 28, 2009) * ''The End: Corkscrew a Go Go! Final'' (March 25, 2009) * ''Fuck the Fake Star: The Newest Feather'' (July 20, 2011) * ''Headache and Dub Reel Inch 2012.1.13 Live at 日本武道館'' (May 2, 2012) * ''黒夢 1.14'' (June 13, 2012)

References

External links

Official website

Official Twitter

Official MySpace

Official YouTube
{{Authority control Visual kei musical groups Japanese gothic rock groups Japanese punk rock groups Japanese alternative rock groups Japanese gothic metal musical groups Japanese musical duos Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Musical groups reestablished in 2010 Musical groups from Aichi Prefecture Musical groups from Gifu Prefecture 1991 establishments in Japan EMI Music Japan artists