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Skull (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Skull
Also known asSkull -The Skull- (2003–2007)
OriginJapan
GenresHard rock
Years active2003–2011
Labels
  • Timely Records
  • G.O.D DIV
  • PLUG RECORDS
[1]
Past membersSin
Die
Kouta
Ryou
Tetsuya
Sakura
WebsiteSkull-web.com (defunct)

Skull (stylized as SKULL), originally known as Skull -The Skull- (スカル -THE SKULL-, sukaru -THE SKULL-), was a Japanese visual kei hard rock band that was active between 2003 and 2011.[2]

Biography

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The band Skull formed under the name Skull -The Skull- in 2003, but did not begin regular activities until the following year.[2][3] The group focused most of their early performances in the Sendai region and slowly began to build momentum.[4] In 2005, they released their first single, Jisaku jien,[5] and went on their first tour.[2] The band continued to hold consistent live performances throughout the year and through 2006.[2] On December 26, they held their first-ever one-man performance at the Sendai Macana venue.[4]

At the beginning of 2007, the band officially changed their name to Skull and began expanding their presence across Japan.[3] Skull put out their first release in two years with the maxi-single The Scream of Gate on January 26, and scheduled numerous tours for the year.[2] The single quickly sold out, and Skull reissued a second print of the CD bundled with a new DVD of their first music video in June.[2] In August, Skull released their first mini-album, Ugly Black Showcase, which placed the weekly Oricon Albums Chart at number 299.[6]

During 2008, Skull began the year by hosting a one-man show at Takadanobaba Area on January 19.[2] In July, both Skull and Rentrer en Soi were a part of a three-man special sponsored by Dio at Shibuya Boxx.[2] During this live, bassist Sakura announced he would be leaving the band following their one-man performance on September 15 due to a disagreement with the band's future.[7] Skull continued on, and in August, they teamed up with Oz for a two-man tour of Japan.[8][9] Following Sakura's departure after their September performance, the band briefly went on hiatus.[10]

In February 2009, Skull sponsored an event at Takadanobaba Area featuring several other bands.[10] During the event, the group announced the addition of bassist Ryou and guitarist Kouta to their lineup, and simultaneously revealed two new upcoming singles.[11] Following the success of their previous mashup, Skull and Oz announced that they would again team up for an August tour.[12] In September, members Die and Kouta partnered with accessory company Vanilla Edge to release their own personalized jewelry.[13][14][15]

Skull released their second mini-album Natural born killer in January 2010, then followed up with a one-man show promotion in February.[2] The band later released two singles in July and August,[1] and shared a tour across Japan with Oz for the third year in a row.[2] On November 29, the band announced it would disband in 2011 for undisclosed reasons,[16] and dissolved all activities after their final performance in June 2011.[2] Members Die, Ryou, and Tetsuya later went on to join the band My Bacteria Heat Island,[1] but all three simultaneously left the band in August 2015.[17] Soon after, Skull announced they would host a one-day revival show in December at Ikebukuro Edge.[18] Skull repeated this the following year by holding one last one-day revival at Takadanobaba Area in December 2016.[19]

Musical style

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Skull's music incorporated a variety of different styles, blending elements such as metal and lighter melodies into their usual hard rock mix.[20] The band was especially notable for its aggressive live shows and the level of engagement they had with their audience.[21] Skull often catered the style of their musical compositions towards their live performances.[20]

Members

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  • Sin – vocals (2003–2011)
  • Die (ダイ, Dai) – guitar (2003–2011)
  • Kouta – guitar (2009–2011)
  • Ryou (りょう) – bass guitar (2009–2011)
  • Tetsuya (てつや) – drums (2003–2011)
Former members
  • Sakura (さくら) – bass guitar (2003–2008)

Discography

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Mini albums

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  • Ugly Black Showcase (August 15, 2007)
  • Natural born killer (ナチュラルボーンキラー, January 20, 2010)

Singles

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  • Jisaku jien (自作自演, January 9, 2005)
  • The Scream of Gate (January 26, 2007)
  • Bullet (March 21, 2008)
  • Awake (May 20, 2009)
  • Skin (July 22, 2009)
  • "Kagerou" "Souen" (「陽炎」「蒼炎」, July 7, 2010)
  • Nancy (August 8, 2010)

Live distributed CDs

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  • Lovehate/Shadow (June 13, 2003)
  • Sunny Days/Too Fast (December 15, 2003)
  • Bad "S" (March 8, 2004)
  • Tear drop January 27, 2006)
  • My glitter (May 3, 2008)
  • Nega no haguruma (ネガの歯車, May 6, 2008)
  • Fake flower (May 10, 2008)
  • Sayonara (サヨナラ, May 16, 2008)

References

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  1. ^ a b c SKULL on vkdb, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k SKULL on Visunavi, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  3. ^ a b From Skull -THE SKULL- to SKULL, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  4. ^ a b Skull -THE SKULL- Sendai first one-man, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  5. ^ Jisaku jien, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  6. ^ Ugly Black Showcase | SKULL | ORICON NEWS, Retrieved 30 September 2018
  7. ^ SKULL loses Sakura, Retrieved 30 September 2018
  8. ^ Territory-oz.com Archived 23 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine -OZ- official website, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  9. ^ -OZ- and SKULL, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  10. ^ a b SKULL presents THE END, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  11. ^ SKULL news, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  12. ^ SKULL vs -OZ- Coupling tour '09, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  13. ^ Die Official Blog, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  14. ^ Kouta Official Blog, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  15. ^ Kouta, DIE x Vanilla Edge, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  16. ^ SKULL disbands, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  17. ^ MY BACTERIA HEAT iSLAND Sadly Loses Four Members at Once, Retrieved 30 September 2018
  18. ^ SKULL on Twitter SKULL presents THE END, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  19. ^ SKULL on Twitter SKULL Untitled, Retrieved 29 September 2018
  20. ^ a b SKULL – Bullet, Retrieved 30 September 2018
  21. ^ I'm crazy!, Retrieved 30 September 2018
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