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 March 2004 in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

. It consists of

vocalist 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 ...

and

rhythm guitarist In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass gui ...

Takuro Sugawara, guitarist and

backing vocalist 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 us ...

Yoshimitsu Taki, bassist Kazuhiko Nakamura, and drummer Chihiro Kamijo, who came up with the band's name. Piano pieces included in some songs are performed by Taki, while the characteristic shouts are provided by Nakamura.

History

2005–2009: Early releases and major label debut

The band signed to under_bar, a sub-label of Reverb Records, and released two early mini-albums, ''

Gjallarhorn In Norse mythology, Gjallarhorn (Old Norse: ; "hollering horn"Orchard (1997:57). or "the loud sounding horn"Simek (2007:110).) is a horn associated with the god Heimdallr and the wise being Mímir. The sound of Heimdallr's horn will herald th ...

'' in 2005 and '' Phantomime'' in 2006, and played live shows in

and

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

. 2007 saw the band signed to

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

and the releases of ''The World e.p.'' which featured newly recorded version of songs from ''Gjallarhorn'' and two new tracks, and the ''Discommunication e.p.'', which features the song "Discommunication" and a 35-minute live recording. At the end of 2007 they released their first full album, ''

Termination Termination may refer to: Science *Termination (geomorphology), the period of time of relatively rapid change from cold, glacial conditions to warm interglacial condition *Termination factor, in genetics, part of the process of transcribing RNA ...

'', after which they began their first solo tour. In the summer of 2008 the band released the double A-side single "Supernova/Wanderland", which also included piano instrumentals of both songs and a third song called "Wildpitch". 9mm Parabellum Bullet were invited to play at

Asian Kung-Fu Generation (stylized as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION) is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Yokohama in 1996. For its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyo ...

's Nano-Mugen Festival that year at the

Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...

, a festival notable for featuring up-and-coming acts alongside more well known and foreign acts. They covered "Motorbreath" for the October 2008 Metallica tribute album ''Metal-ikka''. In October the band released their second full album ''

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

'' and proceeded onto the Vampire Empire Tour 08/09. In April 2009, the band released their first live DVD, ''Act I'', which contains 4 concerts from different points in their career.

2009–2011: ''Revolutionary'' and ''Movement''

In late spring of 2009, the band released the mini-album ''Black Market Blues e.p.'', which also included a recording of their free live performance at

Yoyogi Park is a park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Yoyogikamizonochō. The park is a popular Tokyo destination, especially on Sundays when it is used as a gathering place for Japanese rock music ...

as a B-side. 2009 also saw 9mm Parabellum Bullet's first nomination at the

MTV Video Music Awards Japan The MTV Video Music Awards Japan (MTV VMAJ for short) are the Japanese version of the MTV Video Music Awards. Like the MTV Video Music Awards in the United States, in this event artists are awarded for their songs and videos through online votin ...

for "Best Rock Video", where they were nominated for the video of their song "Living Dying Message". They also performed this song live at the show. 9mm Parabellum Bullet appeared at numerous rock festivals across Japan notably including

Rock in Japan Festival The Rock in Japan Festival is an annual three-day rock festival held during early August at the Hitachi Seaside Park, in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Japan, organized by ''Rockin'on ''Rockin'On Japan'', often stylized in all caps, is a monthly magazin ...

Rising Sun Rock Festival Rising Sun Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Ishikari, Hokkaido, Japan. The two-day event is organized by WESS. It chiefly features Japanese rock and indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: ...

and Space Shower's Sweet Love Shower. On September 9, 2009, 9mm Parabellum Bullet had their first show at the Nippon Budokan titled 999. This performance would appear on the ''Cold Edge e.p.'', released on September 30. 9mm Parabellum Bullet were invited to play at Countdown Japan 09/10. In early-January they released the single "Inochi no Zenmai", which was used as the theme for the live-action adaptation of the ''

Higanjima is a Japanese manga series by Kōji Matsumoto. It was adapted into a live action film in 2010. It also spawned two sequel series, ''Higanjima: Saigo no 47 Nichikan'', and ''Higanjima 48 Nichigo…'', both published in Kodansha's ''Week ...

'' manga. The single includes a cover of

Linda Yamamoto , Chinese: 山本稲; pinyin: ''shan bendao'') is a Japanese singer and model whose latest hit song was in 1973. Biography Yamamoto was born March 4, 1951 in Kitakyushu to a Japanese mother and an American father. Her father was a U.S. service ...

's 1972 song "Dou ni mo Tomaranai". It was announced that April 21, 2010, would be the date of 9mm Parabellum Bullet's third full album release, titled '' Revolutionary''. It was followed by a tour across Japan. In late March, a music video was shot for the last track of the new album, called "The Revolutionary". On May 18, 2011, the single "Atarashii Hikari" was released. The band's fourth album ''Movement'' was released on June 15. They also performed at

on June 26.

2012–present: ''Dawning'' and ''Waltz on Life Line''

9mm Parabellum Bullet covered "Territorial Pissings" for the album ''

Nevermind Tribute ''Nevermind Tribute'' is a tribute album by Japanese rock artists released on April 4, 2012, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's album ''Nevermind''. The album's release was announced on the official Facebook Facebook is an o ...

'', which was released on April 4, 2012 and is composed of various Japanese bands covering the entirety of

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

's highly acclaimed album ''

Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a major label and the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Produced by Butch Vig, '' ...

''. Their first acoustic performance for ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' was held at Billboard Live Tokyo with a limited capacity of 150 fans and released on home video on May 27. Their fourth single "Heart ni Hi wo Tsukete" followed on October 24, 2012. On April 1, 2013, EMI Music Japan was completely merged into

Universal Music Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is resp ...

as a sublabel by the name

EMI Records Japan EMI Records Japan was a Japanese record label which operated as a sublabel of Universal Music Japan. Established in April 2013, it was the successor of its previous entity as a company, EMI Music Japan. The sublabel's headquarters was located a ...

as a result of Universal Music's purchase of EMI in September 2012. All the artists from EMI Music Japan will continue releasing material at Universal Music Japan while still maintaining the catalogue code (TOCT). Their fifth single "Answer and Answer" was released on May 29. 9mm Parabellum Bullet released their fifth album ''Dawning'' on June 26, 2013. They performed a cover of "Instant Music" for the February 2014

The Pillows are a Japanese alternative rock band formed in 1989. The group has released 22 studio albums, several EPs and compilations, and over 40 singles. Outside Japan, they are best known as the group responsible for the soundtrack to the '' FLCL'' ani ...

tribute album, ''Rock and Sympathy''. The band took part in the first day of

Luna Sea Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of make-up and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successful and inf ...

's Lunatic Fest at

Makuhari Messe is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba City, in the northwest corner of Chiba Prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. ''Makuhari'' is the name of ...

on June 27, 2015. Luna Sea bassist J joined them onstage for "Cold Edge". 9mm Parabellum Bullet released a quadruple A-side single, "Hangyaku no March/Dark Horse/Daremo Shiranai/Mad Pierrot", on September 9. They also contributed a cover to a November 2015 tribute album for The Telephones, ''We are Disco!!! ~Tribute to The Telephones~''. In January 2016, 9mm Parabellum Bullet announced they had switched to the independent record label Sazanga Records. The album ''Waltz on Life Line'' was released on April 27, 2016. The band provided the opening theme songs "Inferno" and "Sacrifice" for the '' Berserk'' anime adaptation.

Band 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 ...

, rhythm guitar * –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

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 ...

* – bass, screams * – drums

Equipment

Sugawara

*Guitars - ESP **ESP Snapper-S/AL (Black, Vintage White) ** Gibson Les Paul Special ** Edwards Jr. Custom **

Navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

N-LP-480CTM **

N-LP-480LTD **ESP TYG (Takuro Sugawara Signature Model) **ESP Bricoleur (Takuro Sugawara Signature Model) **ESP Truckster ( James Hetfield Signature Model) *Amps -

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

, Fender **

Fender Twin The Fender Twin and Twin Reverb are guitar amplifiers made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Twin was introduced in 1952, two years before Fender began selling Stratocaster electric guitars. The amps are known for their characterist ...

Reverb **Marshall JCM2000 **Marshall Vintage Modern 2466 Amp Head **Marshall 1960AV **

Marshall JCM800 The JCM800 series (Models 2203, 2204, 2205 and 2210) is a line of guitar amplifiers made by Marshall Amplification. The series was introduced in 1981. Although models 1959 and 1987 had been in production since 1965 and the 2203 and 2204 had been in ...

2203 **Marshall 1960X

Taki

*Guitars - ESP **ESP Snapper-S/AS (Honey Blond, Burner) **ESP Snapper-S/AS Matte Black (SUFFER Protomodel) **ESP Potbelly-STD (Amber Cherry Sunburst) **ESP Suffer (Yoshimitsu Taki Signature Model) **ESP Suffer Proto Type **ESP Max Cavalera AX (

Max Cavalera Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera (; born August 4, 1969) is a Brazilian musician. He co-founded the heavy metal band Sepultura in 1984 with his brother Igor Cavalera, and was the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist until his departure i ...

Signature Model) **Edwards Karmaster *Amps -

Mesa/Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a sm ...

**Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier **Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier **Mesa/Boogie F-100 **Yamaha F50-112

Nakamura

*Guitars - ESP **ESP AP 220 (Black) **ESP AP Custom Mat Black (Untitled Protomodel) **ESP Untitled (Kazuhiko Nakamura Signature Model) **ESP PB Type Custom **ESP Amaze-CTM (See Thru Black) **ESP X- JB (Acrylic Body) **Sepia Crue EAB-430

Acoustic Bass The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar ...

**Landscape SWB-Artist Electric

Upright Bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

*Amps - SWR **SWR 750x

Kamijo

Kamijo is a full endorser of

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

drums,

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumhead A drumhead or drum skin is a membrane stretched ov ...

drumheads, and

Zildjian :''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)'' The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...

cymbals and drumsticks. Kamijo was a former user of Ludwig drums (notably the Vistalite series) prior to his switch to Yamaha, and has his signature model of drumsticks on Zildjian's website. *Drums -

Birch Custom Absolute, Blue Ice Sparkle ** 8"x10" Tom ** 8"x12" Tom ** 13"x14" Floor Tom ** 15"x16" Floor Tom ** 22"x18" Bass Drum (x2) ** 6"x14" Snare Drum (as side snare) ** 6.5"x14" Copper Snare *Cymbals -

** 14" A Custom Hi-Hats ** 6" Zil-Bel Small ** 8" A Custom Splash ** 10" A Custom Splash ** 12" Z3 Splash ** 12" A Zildjian Special Recording Hi-hat Bottom ** 18" A Custom Projection Crash ** 19" Z3 Rock Crash ** 19" Z3 Thrash Ride ** 20" A Custom China ** 20" FX Oriental China "Trash" *Drumheads -

**Bass Drums - Powerstroke 3 Clear (batter) , Ebony Powerstroke 3 (reso) **Toms - Emperor Clear (batter) , Ambassador Clear (reso) **Snare - Controlled Sound Reverse Dot (main, batter) / Black Suede Emperor (side, batter) , Ambassador Snare Side (reso) *Hardware – Yamaha, DW **Yamaha FP9500 Direct Drive Single Pedal (x2) **DW 9000 Pedal (x2) *Drumsticks – Zildjian **Zildjian 3A Wood Tip **Zildjian Chihiro Kamijo Artist Series Drumsticks *Guitar – Gibson ** Gibson Les Paul Standard (Blue)

Discography

Studio albums

Mini albums

Singles

Compilation albums

Covers

Demos

Home videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

Official blog
{{Authority control Japanese hardcore punk groups Japanese alternative rock groups Japanese heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups from Kanagawa Prefecture NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan artists