Nil (stylized as nil) 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 1998 by Tetsu Takano (ex-

Malice Mizer Malice Mizer (stylized as MALICE MIZER) was a Japanese visual kei rock band active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by guitarists Mana and Közi, their earlier music and themes were characterized by their strong French and classical ...

, ex-Mega8Ball, Zigzo, The JuneJulyAugust), Hiroyuki Kashimoto and Kyoshi Moro. The original intent of Nil was to become Tetsu's solo unit and even though it has become a full-fledged band, all lyrics and songwriting has been solely handled by Tetsu. The band only lasted briefly during its first incarnation and went on hiatus by the end of 1998. It would not resurface until the middle of 2002 when they would start recording again and Tetsu formed his own record label, Afro Skull Records. The name "Nil" literally means "absolute zero" and as an acronym refers to "native irreligious language". In 2005, Nil had many setbacks which resulted in the departure of founding members Kashimoto and Moro who both left the band on January 10, 2005, the last day of the "Touring Inferno" tour. Eventually replacement drummer Furuton (ex-

Oblivion Dust Oblivion Dust is a Japanese rock band first active from 1996 to 2001; they reunited in 2007. Although they were originally largely influenced by early 1990s American grunge bands,

, ex-Mega8Ball support) left the band after only 6 months. By the end of 2005 Nil finally settled down with the addition of Masaru Kobayashi (ex-Soy Sauce Sonix, ex- Sads,

The Cro-Magnons is a Japanese rock band founded in July 2006 by Hiroto Kōmoto (vocals) and Masatoshi Mashima (guitar), both previously of The Blue Hearts and The High-Lows, with Masaru Kobayashi (bass) and Katsuji Kirita (drums). History After The High-Lo ...

) on bass and Kazama Hiroyuki (ex-Fantastic Designs) on drums. In the years since resuming activities, Nil has recorded and released 5 full albums, 7 mini albums, 1 cover album, 1 live album, 1 compilation album, 3 singles, 2 fan-club only CDs and 8 DVDs. Tetsu has claimed that Nil is his life's work and despite some bumps in the road he has showed no signs of slowing down with his music and the band Nil.

Members

* Tetsu Takano (ex-Ner-vous, ex-

, ex-Mega8Ball, ex- Zigzo, The JuneJulyAugust, The Black Comet Club Band) –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

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 strin ...

, songwriter, leader (1998, 2002–present) * Masaru Kobayashi (ex-Soy Sauce Sonix, ex- Sads,

, The Black Comet Club Band) – bass (2005–present) * Hiroyuki Kazama (ex-Fantastic Designs, The Black Comet Club Band) – drums (2005–present)

Former

* Hiroyuki "Marawo" Kashimoto – bass (1998, 2002–2005) * Kyoshi Moro (ex-Ner-vous, Mugiwara Boushi) – drums (1998, 2002–2005) * Sota "Furuton" Ofuruton (ex-

Oblivion Dust Oblivion Dust is a Japanese rock band first active from 1996 to 2001; they reunited in 2007. Although they were originally largely influenced by early 1990s American grunge bands,

, ex-Mega8Ball support) – drums (2005)

Discography

Albums

* ''12Inplosion'' (May 8, 2004),

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 ...

Albums Chart Peak Position: No. 161nilのアルバム売り上げランキング
''oricon.co.jp'' Retrieved 2012-01-13 ** The song "Hate Beat!" was used as the ending theme of the TV program '' Quiz! Hexagon''. * ''Excalibur'' (エクスカリバー, April 6, 2005) No. 184 * ''The Painkiller'' (January 24, 2007) No. 179 * ''The Great Spirits'' (March 19, 2008, compilation album) No. 211 * ''Multiness'' (マルチネス, September 10, 2008) No. 176 * ''Scotoma'' (September 16, 2009) No. 198 * ''Granvia'' (September 03, 2014) No. 161

Mini albums

* ''Nil from Hell'' (September 1, 2002) * ''Sayonara da Vinci'' (さよならダヴィンチ, December 1, 2002) * ''Down to Dawn'' (September 18, 2003) * ''The Covering Inferno'' (November 25, 2004, cover album) No. 220 * ''Agape'' (アガペー, November 2, 2005, limited edition EP available only at live appearances or by mail-order) * ''Scherzo'' (スケルツオ, November 2, 2005) No. 259 * ''Man Woman'' (マンウーマン, October 25, 2006) No. 234 * ''Guitar and Skirt'' (ギタートスカート, November 22, 2006) No. 274 * ''Aria'' (December 13, 2006) No. 296 * ''Geron'' (ゲロン, September 12, 2007) No. 210 * ''Warp Rock'' (September 8, 2010) No. 223

Singles

* "Drop" (March 16, 2005), Oricon Singles Chart Peak Position: No. 121nilのシングル売り上げランキング
''oricon.co.jp'' Retrieved 2012-01-13 * "Gita to Sukato" (ギタートスカート, November 22, 2006) * "Aria" (December 13, 2006)

Live album

* ''Stroke! Swing!! Shout!!!'' (January 10, 2005)

Fan-club only CDs

* ''Thank You'' (July 2004) * ''One Day Ver. DS Mix'' (November 2005) * ''Thank You'' Rerecording (2010)

Compilations

* ''Search Out the Jams: The Pogo Tribute Album'' (October 8, 2008) ** Contributed a cover of the song "1990 (Machiwabita Toki)" (1990(待ちわびた時))

DVDs

* ''Stronger Than Paranoid'' (July 2004, PV collection) * ''Tears for Killers'' (March 4, 2006, limited edition collection of PVs available only at live appearances or by mail-order) * ''The Pirates'' (February 2007) * ''Tonight! Revolution!'' (March 24, 2007, live concert) * ''MultinessSpecial'' (April 11, 2009, live concert) * ''Sco-Tomato'' (September 13, 2009) * ''"W.H.M"'' (January 1, 2010, live concert) * ''The Warp Rock Studio'' (September 20, 2010, PV collection)

References

External links

Official website

Official MySpace

Kyoshi Moro's official website

Hiroyuki Kashimoto's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nil Japanese alternative rock groups Musical groups from Tokyo Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Musical groups reestablished in 2002 Japanese musical trios