is a Japanese musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as guitarist of the heavy metal band Seikima-II from 1987 to 1999, and for various temporary reunions since. From 2002 to 2020, he was the lead singer and guitarist of the rock trio Canta. Luke was voted the tenth greatest Japanese guitarist in a 2019 poll held by goo. He has cited Yuji Adachi,

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...

, Eddie Van Halen and

Kazumi Watanabe is a Japanese guitarist. Other guitarists such as Luke Takamura and Sugizo have cited him as an influence. Career Watanabe learned guitar at the age of 12 from Sadanori Nakamure at the Yamaha Music School in Tokyo. He released his first album ...

as guitar influences.

Career

Luke joined Seikima-II in February 1987, replacing guitarist Jail O'Hashi. Like the other members, Luke adopted the stage persona of an Akuma ("demon") from the futuristic hyper-evolved dimension Makai ("demon world"), where he was the former Staff General of Military Authorities. They all wear face paint and elaborate stage outfits. The band preaches a demonic religion called Akumakyō through heavy metal music to conquer the Earth. Luke released nine studio albums with them, and is their most credited songwriter. In accordance to their fictional "prophecy" and after completing their "world conquest", Seikima-II disbanded at the end of the century on December 31, 1999 at 23:59:59. They sold over 10 million records, and have had limited time-reunions in 2005, 2010, and 2015. While still in Seikima-II, Luke released a solo album in 1991. In 1995 he joined the short-lived supergroup Kings, with Shuichi Aoiki (Night Hawks) on vocals, Taiji Sawada ( X,

Loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The relation of ph ...

) on bass and Satoshi "Joe" Miyawaki ( 44 Magnum,

Spread Beaver , known professionally as hide, was a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1987 to 1997 and a solo artist from 1993 onward. He also formed ...

) on drums. He released the instrumental album ''A Sight For Sore Eyes'' in 2001 under the name TOYO (Totally Oval Yellow Outbreak). The following year, Luke formed the rock band Canta with Seikima-II drummer Raiden Yuzawa and

Animetal was a Japanese heavy metal band who specialized in metal covers of theme songs from classic and modern Japanese anime and tokusatsu television series. They were composed of several luminaries of the Japanese metal scene, most notably vocalist ...

bassist Masaki. After 18 years, Canta disbanded in 2020 after a farewell tour. Since 2007, Luke has supported Toshihiko Takamizawa of

The Alfee The Alfee is a Japanese folk rock band who debuted in 1974, and have been recording and touring since then, with 23 studio albums and 63 singles throughout their career. The band marked its 40th anniversary in 2014 with their 64th single. Histor ...

both in the studio and in live performances. Their group of guitarists is called and also includes Anchang (

Sex Machineguns Sex Machineguns (stylized as SEX MACHINEGUNS) is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in 1989. Their music is characterized by a heavy focus on bass as well as extremely fast guitar and bass solos. The band uses the image of " shoc ...

) and Koji (

La'cryma Christi La'cryma Christi (Latin for "The Tears of Christ") was a Japanese visual kei rock band originally active from 1991 to 2007. At their peak, they were considered one of "the big four of visual kei" alongside Fanatic Crisis, Malice Mizer and Shaz ...

). Luke contributed to

Masatoshi Ono , also known as Sho, is a Japanese rock/heavy metal singer-songwriter and vocal coach. Ono got his start in the 1980s as vocalist of the heavy metal band Fort Bragg. In 1992, he released his first solo single, "Pure ni Nare", on Sony Records. I ...

's 2011 album ''The Voice -Stand Proud!-'', playing guitar on covers of

Airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

's "Stranded" and " Open Arms" by

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

. In 2016, he provided guitar to the songs "We Are!" from '' Blizzard of Animetal the Second'' by

Animetal the Second was a Japanese heavy metal band who specialized in metal covers of theme songs from classic and modern Japanese anime and tokusatsu television series. They were composed of several luminaries of the Japanese metal scene, most notably vocalist ...

and "Chateau de Sable" from ''Fate'' by

Mary's Blood was a Japanese all-female heavy metal band from Tokyo, formed in 2009 by four former members of Destrose. It consisted of vocalist Eye, drummer Mari, guitarist Saki and bassist Rio since 2012. After releasing three EPs as an independent band ...

Discography

;Solo * (1991), Oricon Albums Chart Peak Position: No. 25 *''Soaking Wet Live'' (1993) No. 49 *''A Sight For Sore Eyes'' (2001) – credited to TOYO ;With Seikima-II *''Big Time Changes'' (1987) *''The Outer Mission'' (1988) *''Yuugai'' (1990) *''Kyoufu no Restaurant'' (1992) *''Ponk!!'' (1994) *''Mephistopheles no Shouzou'' (1996) *''News'' (1997) *''Move'' (1998) *''Living Legend'' (1999) ;With Kings *''Kings'' (1995) No. 36 ;With Canta *''Everything's Gonna Be Alright'' (2002) *''Fraction'' (2003) *''Non-Homogenized'' (2005) * (2006) No. 240 * (2007) No. 96 * (2008) No. 154 * (2008) No. 160 *''Green Horn'' (2009) No. 123 *''Miracle'' (2011) * (2012) No. 133 *''My Generator'' (2013) No. 116 *''Love Fixxxer'' (2016) No. 68 * (2017) No. 95 *''Did I Make It?'' (2019) No. 81

References

External links

Archived official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takamura, Luke Japanese heavy metal guitarists Japanese rock guitarists Japanese male rock singers Japanese male songwriters Living people 1964 births Musicians from Tokyo People from Nishitōkyō, Tokyo Musicians with fictional stage personas 20th-century Japanese guitarists 21st-century Japanese guitarists