Raphael was a Japanese

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. Some ...

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 that formed in 1997, when the members were only 15.Raphael Artist Profile
''cdjournal.com.'' retrieved 2011-02-19 They disbanded in 2001, after guitarist Kazuki died at age 19.
retrieved 2008-08-25 The remaining members reunited Raphael for two concerts in 2012 and for a 2016 tour.

Biography

Kazuki and Yukito originally worked together in a punk cover band in 1995, prior to Raphael's formation. After both Kazuki and Yukito began writing their own material, Yukito formed Raphael in 1997, and was later joined by Kazuki, vocalist Yuki and finally drummer Hiro, and Raphael had their first concert on December 10, 1997. Their first album ''Lilac'' was released in 1998 and was followed with a home video. They charted 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 ...

chart for the first time when their song "Yume Yori Suteki na" was used for the TBS show . They released two singles on the same day, one hitting number 37, and one number 38.Oricon Singles Ranking
''oricon.co.jp.'' retrieved 2011-02-19 In 1999 their major label debut, "Hanasaku Inochi Aru Kagiri", reached number 25 on the Oricon. Their later releases centered about graduation because it was around the time the members would have graduated from high school, had they not dropped out to pursue music.www.barks.jp
''Barks Raphael Profile'' retrieved August 25, 2008 They performed their first show at the Nippon Budokan in March 2000. However, on October 31, 2000, guitarist Kazuki died of a sedative overdose. In January 2001, after finishing a nationwide tour, Raphael decided to disband. Yuki and Hiro went on to form

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

, while Yukito formed Black Love. Raphael's song "Yume Yori Suteki na" was covered by Dog in the Parallel World Orchestra on the compilation ''Crush! -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-''. The album was released on January 26, 2011 and features current

bands covering songs from bands that were important to the '90s visual kei movement. On April 7, 2012, it was announced that the remaining members Yuki, Yukito and Hiro would reunite Raphael for two nights at

Zepp The Zepp music halls are a group of Japanese music venues covering every area of the country. They play host to many international tours and are a popular stop among Japanese musicians. Each venue takes the Zepp name, along with the city in whic ...

Tokyo on October 31 and November 1. With Yuki claiming he had made the decision back in 2010, while visiting Kazuki's grave. The shows featured 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 ...

), Lida ( Dacco, Psycho le Cému), Sakito ( Nightmare) and Yumehito (

AYABIE is a Japanese visual kei rock band signed to the label Tokuma Japan Communications. Their music consisted of a wide variety of sounds and moods, ranging from catchy and upbeat to heavy and hard-edged punk songs. Many of the band's costumes wer ...

) as guest guitarists. They released a single under the name "Raphael -Starring Kazuki-" on the day of the first show; a re-recording of their hit 1999 single "Eternal Wish (Todokanu Kimi e)" that also includes the previously unreleased songs "Dear", "Haikei Nervous" and "Elf no Yuutsu". A 2-disc live album of the two concerts titled ''Tenshi no Hinoki Butai'' was released on December 26 and includes 30 songs. Footage from both reunion concerts was also released on DVD that same day, titled ''Tenshi no Hinoki Butai Dai Ichi Ya "Hakuchumu"'', while the second show was released on January 30, 2013 as ''Tenshi no Hinoki Butai Dai Ni Ya "Kokuchumu"''. In 2016, Raphael reunited for several concerts, including the nationwide tour Iyashikoya which began in May. The album ''Never -1997040719990429-'' was released on May 18 and is composed of re-recordings of songs from their indie period. The albums covering their major label recordings, ''Ending -1999072319991201-'' and ''Love Story -2000020220161101-'', followed on August 3 and October 26 respectively.

Members

* –

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 ...

* –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, contrabass,

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 ...

* – drums ;Former member * –

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 ...

s, backing vocals, main

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 ...

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 ...

Discography

;Albums and mini-albums *''Lilac'' (April 7, 1998) *''Mind Soap'' (December 1, 1999) Oricon Album Chart Weekly Top Position: 30Oricon Albums Ranking
''oricon.co.jp.'' retrieved 2011-02-19 * 50 * 17 *''Raphael Singles'' (August 1, 2001, compilation album) 25 *''Tenshi no Hinoki Butai'' (December 26, 2012, live album) 133 *''Never -1997040719990429-'' (May 18, 2016, self-cover album) 57 *''Ending -1999072319991201-'' (August 3, 2016, self-cover album) 42 *''Love Story -2000020220161101-'' (October 26, 2016, self-cover album) 36 ;Singles *"White Love Story" (November 1, 1998) * *"Sweet Romance" (April 29, 1999) Oricon Single Chart Weekly Top Position: 38 * 37 * 25 * 28 *"Promise" (November 20, 1999) 32 *"Lost Graduation" (February 2, 2000) 40 *"Evergreen" (August 23, 2000) 28 * 24 *"Eternal Wish (Todokanu Kimi e)" (October 31, 2012, re-recording) 24 ;Demo tape *"Eternal Wish (Todokanu no Kimi e)" (December 24, 1997)

Home videos

;VHS *''Lilac: Vision of Extremes'' (August 1, 1998, PVs) *''Lilac: Vision of Extremes II'' (September 20, 1999, PVs) *''Pictorial Poem'' (March 24, 2000, PVs) *''Raphael Special Live "Graduation" -2000.3.4 Nippon Budokan-'' (August 23, 2000, concert) *''Forever and Ever'' (April 25, 2001, making of) *''Pictorial Poem 2'' (September 19, 2001, PVs) *''Last'' (September 19, 2001, concert) *''First'' (September 19, 2001, concert) ;DVD *''Forever and Ever'' (April 25, 2001, making of) *''Raphael Clips'' (September 19, 2001, PVs) *''Last'' (September 21, 2001, concert) *''First'' (September 21, 2001, concert) *''Tenshi no Hinoki Butai Dai Ichi Ya "Hakuchumu"'' (December 26, 2012, concert) Oricon DVD Chart Weekly Top Position: 45Oricon DVDs Ranking
''oricon.co.jp.'' retrieved 2013-01-19 *''Tenshi no Hinoki Butai Dai Ni Ya "Kokuchumu"'' (January 30, 2013, concert) 26

References

External links

Official website

For Life Music Entertainment page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raphael Visual kei musical groups Japanese progressive rock groups Japanese art rock groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Musical groups reestablished in 2012 Musical groups reestablished in 2016