Blood (band)
Encyclopedia
Blood is a Japan
ese band that has been active from 2002 to 2009, returning in 2011. Blood's aim is to create music that expresses the meaning of human emotion that breaks the musical frame. They are closely associated with visual kei
, but the band refers to themselves as a "gothic band".
They have toured in Japan, Europe
, the United States
, Mexico
and Australia
. They're one of the first Japanese visual kei bands to tour in Australia. Blood was regularly featured in the Gothic & Lolita Bible and they have been featured in western magazines, including Astan, Rumore, and Gothic Beauty
.
On February 10, 2003, the vocalist Dai left. Blood began their second period with new vocalist Takeshi and released the mini-album "Blood". Blood performed twice in the USA at Fanime in 2003 and Anime Expo
during the same year. They also released their third and fourth demo tapes. On February 29, 2004, Taichi and Takeshi left the band. Blood performed again at Fanime in May with their new vocalist Fu-ki. This was his first time performing with the band in America.
With new vocalist Fu-ki's entry into the band, Blood began to move their music in a more hard rock
direction. The third period had a vampire concept. Their next series of albums would follow a vampire story much in the vein of Anne Rice
's novels, with the story penned entirely by Fu-ki and music writing handled solely by Kiwamu.
In the winter of 2004, they released "Vengeance for Blood" and began their worldwide tour, starting in Europe. Soon after, Blood was interviewed on the radio show Bad Transitions on 91.7 WIXQ
FM, a college radio station based in Millersville, Pennsylvania. The show was also broadcast by internet webcast.
During a tour in May 2005, played three shows in Mexico City. That summer (July 2005), they released "Vengeance for Blood 2" and another European and Mexican tour followed. During the Mexican tour, they filmed their first full-length live DVD "Vengeance for Blood - Live in Mexico". Early in 2006, they released the final chapter in their vampire concept, "Vengeance for Blood 3". 2,000 copies were pressed, and it sold out in 4 days.
In November 2006, they did another interview on WIXQ
FM, this time on the newly formed J-Rock show, Tainted Reality
, hosted by former Bad Transitions host Roger Shackelford. The following month (March 2006), they did their last tour with the vampire concept though Europe and a special live event in Japan.
Shortly after, they announced a US and Mexico tour (Les Fleurs Du Mal). The USA tour sold out at both stops in Los Angeles and New York City.
With the vampire concept finished, Blood was faced with a new beginning. They continued in the Hard rock
direction and they started a new concept based on the poetry of the French poet, Charles Baudelaire
.
They released their first mini-album under the french poetry concept entitled "Spleen ~Despair~" on October 7, 2006. Another tour of Europe followed, as well as and an announcement of a US mini-tour for March 2007. "Les Fleurs du Mal" was released on July 7, 2007 in both Regular and Limited Edition, The Limited including the Darkest Labyrinth Vol.1 tour documentary.
In this period, Kiwamu opened Cure distribution (Now known as Darkest Labyrinth) which aims to distribute foreign CD's in Japan, with GPKISM
, Spectrum-x
, Virgins O.R Pigeons and Noir du'Soleil being some of the artists currently signed.
Almost a month after the release of "Les Fleurs du Mal" Blood released "Best Collection 2002-2007", composed of 4 songs from the first 2 era's of the band and the 12 from the present period. Afterward, the band worked on their concept, "Symphony of Chaos", which follows a Gothic Industrial sound. EP "Dead-Hearted" was released September 9, 2007 and is the first of their works in the Symphony of Chaos concept. The track 'Blood' being a cover of a previous era and also includes Exo-Chika of Aural Vampire
as a guest vocalist. Their single "Chain" was then subsequently released in December 2007 and other than a limited re-release of a "Vengeance for Blood" CD. In early 2008 the band activities were relatively silent.
Breaking the silence, the band released "The Reaper Behind Me", the first full length album from the new concept. The CD contained two discs in which the second contained 10 remixes of songs from and prior to the album. Following the album's release the band toured Australia with GPKISM and Aural Window.
In September 2007, Kiwamu joined GPKISM
headed by GPK (Gothique Prince Ken) of Australia as the guitarist. The band recruited Ryonai (Blam Honey
) on live keyboards and have released 1 album and 1 single, gaining them some notoriety. It was announced on November 20, 2008 through their official MySpace page that Blood will cease activities after their 2009 album Lost Sky and their final tour, entitled "La Fin de la Journee".
Kaede and Ryo did not participate in the final tour. Gothique Prince Ken (better known as GPK) filled in on keyboard.
Blood officially returned in 2011 with new members Hayato (vocalist), Kazuha (guitar), Dora (drums), and Azami (bass, of Misaruka), releasing the singles Bathory in June and Elizabeth in October. The band performed a North American tour in November, performing at Dotcon in Toronto, Boston, NYC, Pennsylvania, and at Anime USA with the main act Matenrou Opera.
past members
Guest members
EPs
Singles
Demos
Compilations
Video
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese band that has been active from 2002 to 2009, returning in 2011. Blood's aim is to create music that expresses the meaning of human emotion that breaks the musical frame. They are closely associated with visual kei
Visual Kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its...
, but the band refers to themselves as a "gothic band".
They have toured in Japan, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. They're one of the first Japanese visual kei bands to tour in Australia. Blood was regularly featured in the Gothic & Lolita Bible and they have been featured in western magazines, including Astan, Rumore, and Gothic Beauty
Gothic Beauty
Gothic Beauty is an American magazine established by editor Steven Holiday in the fall of 2000 after the success of the Internet social group of the same name. Gothic Beauty covers numerous aspects of underground culture including fashion, music, events and various forms of entertainment...
.
History
Blood was formed in February 2002 in Osaka, and has separate "periods" defined by changing concepts. The band was formed when members Kiwamu and Kaede recruited Dai and Taichi to their duo project. During the first period they released three singles, "Bloodtype", "Morphine/Collector", and "Tsuioku: I Remember You".On February 10, 2003, the vocalist Dai left. Blood began their second period with new vocalist Takeshi and released the mini-album "Blood". Blood performed twice in the USA at Fanime in 2003 and Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
during the same year. They also released their third and fourth demo tapes. On February 29, 2004, Taichi and Takeshi left the band. Blood performed again at Fanime in May with their new vocalist Fu-ki. This was his first time performing with the band in America.
With new vocalist Fu-ki's entry into the band, Blood began to move their music in a more hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
direction. The third period had a vampire concept. Their next series of albums would follow a vampire story much in the vein of Anne Rice
Anne Rice
Anne Rice is a best-selling Southern American author of metaphysical gothic fiction, Christian literature and erotica from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history...
's novels, with the story penned entirely by Fu-ki and music writing handled solely by Kiwamu.
In the winter of 2004, they released "Vengeance for Blood" and began their worldwide tour, starting in Europe. Soon after, Blood was interviewed on the radio show Bad Transitions on 91.7 WIXQ
WIXQ
WIXQ , known as "The Ville", is the fully student-run college radio station of Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania, United States. WIXQ broadcasts to the Lancaster/Millersville area and is located in the Student Memorial Center on the Millersville campus.-External links:*...
FM, a college radio station based in Millersville, Pennsylvania. The show was also broadcast by internet webcast.
During a tour in May 2005, played three shows in Mexico City. That summer (July 2005), they released "Vengeance for Blood 2" and another European and Mexican tour followed. During the Mexican tour, they filmed their first full-length live DVD "Vengeance for Blood - Live in Mexico". Early in 2006, they released the final chapter in their vampire concept, "Vengeance for Blood 3". 2,000 copies were pressed, and it sold out in 4 days.
In November 2006, they did another interview on WIXQ
WIXQ
WIXQ , known as "The Ville", is the fully student-run college radio station of Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania, United States. WIXQ broadcasts to the Lancaster/Millersville area and is located in the Student Memorial Center on the Millersville campus.-External links:*...
FM, this time on the newly formed J-Rock show, Tainted Reality
Tainted Reality
Tainted Reality is an organization run by Roger Schackelford to create "opportunities for people to experience J-Rock in the US." Tainted Reality began as a college radio show on the station WIXQ, but now the organization has an internet radio website and organizes tours for Japanese...
, hosted by former Bad Transitions host Roger Shackelford. The following month (March 2006), they did their last tour with the vampire concept though Europe and a special live event in Japan.
Shortly after, they announced a US and Mexico tour (Les Fleurs Du Mal). The USA tour sold out at both stops in Los Angeles and New York City.
With the vampire concept finished, Blood was faced with a new beginning. They continued in the Hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
direction and they started a new concept based on the poetry of the French poet, Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
.
They released their first mini-album under the french poetry concept entitled "Spleen ~Despair~" on October 7, 2006. Another tour of Europe followed, as well as and an announcement of a US mini-tour for March 2007. "Les Fleurs du Mal" was released on July 7, 2007 in both Regular and Limited Edition, The Limited including the Darkest Labyrinth Vol.1 tour documentary.
In this period, Kiwamu opened Cure distribution (Now known as Darkest Labyrinth) which aims to distribute foreign CD's in Japan, with GPKISM
GPKism
GPKism is a gothic/industrial unit formed in 2007. It was originally the solo project of GPK , while Kiwamu joined later that year. Both GPK and Kiwamu compose music for this project...
, Spectrum-x
Spectrum-X
Spectrum-X is a Harsh/Industrial music/Gothic/Electronic body music band.- History :Mysterious ways made NULLIFER AND CANDYBONES meet each other in 2004,...
, Virgins O.R Pigeons and Noir du'Soleil being some of the artists currently signed.
Almost a month after the release of "Les Fleurs du Mal" Blood released "Best Collection 2002-2007", composed of 4 songs from the first 2 era's of the band and the 12 from the present period. Afterward, the band worked on their concept, "Symphony of Chaos", which follows a Gothic Industrial sound. EP "Dead-Hearted" was released September 9, 2007 and is the first of their works in the Symphony of Chaos concept. The track 'Blood' being a cover of a previous era and also includes Exo-Chika of Aural Vampire
Aural Vampire
is a Japanese darkwave music duo consisting of Exo-Chika and Raveman . They hail from Tokyo, Japan and compose mainly darkwave music. Aural Vampire has toured Europe numerous times and been featured in magazines such as Astan Magazine and The Dose...
as a guest vocalist. Their single "Chain" was then subsequently released in December 2007 and other than a limited re-release of a "Vengeance for Blood" CD. In early 2008 the band activities were relatively silent.
Breaking the silence, the band released "The Reaper Behind Me", the first full length album from the new concept. The CD contained two discs in which the second contained 10 remixes of songs from and prior to the album. Following the album's release the band toured Australia with GPKISM and Aural Window.
In September 2007, Kiwamu joined GPKISM
GPKism
GPKism is a gothic/industrial unit formed in 2007. It was originally the solo project of GPK , while Kiwamu joined later that year. Both GPK and Kiwamu compose music for this project...
headed by GPK (Gothique Prince Ken) of Australia as the guitarist. The band recruited Ryonai (Blam Honey
Blam Honey
Blam Honey is a Japanese visual kei rock band, formed in 1995 with two members: Tatsuya and Ryonai . Their sound is described as "Industrial with a Gothic Sense". They list NIN, Marilyn Manson and Skinny Puppy as influences.Blam Honey released two albums: Grandiose Delusion and Typical...
) on live keyboards and have released 1 album and 1 single, gaining them some notoriety. It was announced on November 20, 2008 through their official MySpace page that Blood will cease activities after their 2009 album Lost Sky and their final tour, entitled "La Fin de la Journee".
Kaede and Ryo did not participate in the final tour. Gothique Prince Ken (better known as GPK) filled in on keyboard.
Blood officially returned in 2011 with new members Hayato (vocalist), Kazuha (guitar), Dora (drums), and Azami (bass, of Misaruka), releasing the singles Bathory in June and Elizabeth in October. The band performed a North American tour in November, performing at Dotcon in Toronto, Boston, NYC, Pennsylvania, and at Anime USA with the main act Matenrou Opera.
Members
- Hayato - Vocals
- Kazuha - Guitar
- Kiwamu - Guitar, Synth, VJ
- Azami - Bass
- Dora - Drums
past members
- Vocals - Fu~ki, saiu em 2009
- Bass - Kaede, saiu em 2009
- Manipulator - Ryo, saiu em 2009
- Vocals - Takeshi, saiu em 2004.
- Guitar - Taichi, saiu em 2004.
- Vocals - DAI, saiu em 2003.
Guest members
- Yuu – guitar (of Suicide Ali)
- Juya – guitar (of D'Air)
- Noa – guitar (of Brand 0)
- Emily Rose – vocals (of Hallows End)
- Exo-Chika – vocals (of Aural VampireAural Vampireis a Japanese darkwave music duo consisting of Exo-Chika and Raveman . They hail from Tokyo, Japan and compose mainly darkwave music. Aural Vampire has toured Europe numerous times and been featured in magazines such as Astan Magazine and The Dose...
)
Discography
Albums- 1st Period (1 April 2004)
- 1st Period DX (23 July 2005)
- 2nd Period DX (23 July 2005)
- Vengeance for Blood DX Limited Edition (1 July 2006)
- Les Fleurs Du Mal (7 July 2007)
- Vengeance for Blood Integral Edition (26 March 2008)
- The Reaper Behind Me (7 May 2008)
- Lost Sky (28 Jan 2009)
EPs
- Blood (7 February 2004)
- Vengeance for Blood (17 December 2004)
- Vengeance for Blood 2 (9 July 2005)
- Vengeance for Blood 3 (14 February 2006)
- Spleen -Despair- (7 October 2006)
- Dead-Hearted (15 September 2007)
Singles
- "Bloodtype" (8 August 2002)
- "Morphine/Collector" (15 November 2002)
- "Tsuioku -I Remember You-"
- "Blind" (6 August 2004)
- "The Funeral for Humanity" (10 September 2004)
- "Brumes Et Pluies -Mist and Rain-" (14 February 2007)
- "Chain" (12 December 2007)
- "Bathory" (15 June 2011)
- "Elizabeth" (26 October 2011)
Demos
- "Morphine" (14 February 2002)
Compilations
- Darkest Labyrinth (with "Fountain of Blood", 17 March 2007)
Video
- Blood Films #01 (music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, 15 March 2003) - Live in USA -Infected with Blood- (live performanceConcertA concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
, 20 October 2003) - Vengeance for Blood Live in Mexico (live performance, 23 March 2006)