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Monday, June 2, 2008

Band Feature - Girugämesh


Girugämesh are a very hot visual kei band from Japan, consisting of Satoshi, Shuu, Nii and Яyo. The name Girugämesh is derived from the name Gilgamesh, which was the name of the 5th king of Uruk, the city later known as Babylon, approx 2600 BC.

The band was formed in 2003 in Tokyo by Shuu and Nii who had been friends since elementary school. Girugämesh began playing gigs with their current lineup in 2004, until they were signed to record label Gaina-Japan. Their first major single, Kaisen Sengen was ranked #10 on the Oricon Indies chart, an instant success.

In 2005, Girugamesh toured allover Japan, after which they released their first live DVD, featuring footage from the tour, and after that, released an EP, Goku - Shohankei Enban.

In 2007, Girugamesh was signed to the European label Gan-Shin, making them one of the select Japanese rock groups to be distributed outside of Japan. The band then was part of a 9-band Japanese rock festival in Los Angeles, California called "J-Rock Revolution". They were part of the second night alongside Merry, D'espairsRay, and Mucc. Around the time of J-Rock Revolution, some of the performing bands released material on iTunes, including Girugamesh, making them one of the few Japanese rock artists to be available on the online music store. On this, Ryo has commented that "if you really like the band after the initial listen, you will buy the original CD."

In the summer of 2007, Girugamesh released an EP entitled Reason of Crying, followed by their eponymous album, Girugämesh.

In 2008, the band performed their first European tour, entitled "Stupid Tour '08", and after another Japanese leg of the tour, the Girugamesh will play at the landmark metal festival, Wacken Open Air as well as going on their first european tour earlier in the year.

albums
  • 2006 - 13's Reborn
  • 2007 - Girugämesh

singles
  • 2004 - Jelato
  • 2004 - Kaisen Sengen
  • 2004 - Mikongyaku
  • 2004 - Kuukyo no Utsuwa
  • 2005 - Kosaki Uta
  • 2005 - Senyuu Kyoutou Uta
  • 2005 - Kyozetsusareta Tsukue
  • 2005 - Fukai no Yami
  • 2005 - Honnou Kaihou
  • 2005 - Risei Kairan -Ranchou Kata Enban
  • 2006 - Rei
  • 2006 - Omae ni Sasageru Minikui Koe
  • 2007 - Vulcano

links

Official Homepage
Official Myspace


videos

Girugämesh - Kaisen Sengen (live)


Girugämesh - Real my Place (fanvid)


shopping





1 comment:

Unknown said...

Have you heard about the "diplomatic" attempt by Girugämesh to reconcile the feud between Western and Japanese practitioners of Visual Kei? Given the band's political clout earned over the years, does this make Girugämesh the "U2 of Visual Kei?