Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer in the Klaha Era (Left to right: Yu~Ki, Mana, Klaha, and Közi)
Background information
Origin	Japan
Genre(s)	Visual Kei Art rock Progressive rock
Years active	1992–2001
Label(s)	Nippon Columbia, Midi:Nette
Associated acts	Eve of Destiny, Moi dix Mois, Nil, Zigzo
Website	www.malice-mizer.co.jp
Members
Klaha Mana Közi Yu~ki Kami (deceased)
Former members
Gaz Tetsu Gackt

Malice Mizer (マリス・ミゼル; Marisu Mizeru) is a Japanese rock band and part of the country's visual kei movement. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other refers to a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of eccentric sometimes flamboyant looks Art rock is a term describing a subgenre of Rock music that tends to have "experimental or avant-garde influences" and emphasizes "novel sonic texture Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company MidiːNette is an independent Record label founded by the Japanese musician and fashion designer Mana. Eve of Destiny is a Japanese Industrial rock band founded in 1999 by Haruhiko Ash (formerly of Punk rock / Hard rock band Moi dix Mois is a Japanese musical project founded by Malice Mizer 's front Mana. nil is a rock trio that started in 1998 by Takano Tetsu (ex- Malice Mizer, ex-Mega8Ball ex- Zigzo) Hiroyuki Kashimoto and Kyoshii Moro ZIGZO (ジグゾ is a Japanese Rock band that started activities in 1999 and disbanded in 2002 Haruna Masaki, aka Klaha, is a Japanese singer and songwriter Mana is a Japanese musician and fashion designer famed for his role as a leader and guitarist of the influential Visual kei band Malice Mizer. (Pronounced "Kouji" is a Japanese visual kei artist who plays Guitar, Piano, keyboard and Synthesizer. Yu~ki is the former bassist of the Visual kei band Malice Mizer. Kami was the drummer for the Japanese band Malice Mizer. He was born in the city of Ibaraki, Japan on February 1. Tetsu Takano is most well-known as the first vocalist for the Japanese Visual kei band Malice Mizer. is a Japanese Musician, Songwriter and Actor. Usually referred to by his Stage name only he is best known for his work with Malice Mizer For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. refers to a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of eccentric sometimes flamboyant looks They were active from August 1992 to December 2001. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Formed by Mana and Közi, the band's name stands for "malice and misery", extracted from, "nothing but a being of malice and misery" — their reply to the question "what is human?". Mana is a Japanese musician and fashion designer famed for his role as a leader and guitarist of the influential Visual kei band Malice Mizer. (Pronounced "Kouji" is a Japanese visual kei artist who plays Guitar, Piano, keyboard and Synthesizer. Their earlier music and themes were characterized by their strong French and classical influences, later moving away from deliberate French romanticism and incorporating Gothic-Victorian aspects after several tragedies befell the band. Despite the stated archetypes, Malice Mizer is best recognized as a thoroughly original entity.

Malice Mizer are as famous for their music as for their live shows, featuring lavish historical costumes and stage sets, short silent theatre pieces preluding various songs, whimsical dance routines, and even a particularly notable instance of the vocalist descending to Earth (the stage) as a fallen angel, only to ascend again at the end of the concert. Throughout their history, the band has gone through several different lineups and three drastic image changes.

On December 11, 2001, it was announced that Malice Mizer would go on an indefinite hiatus. Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.

History

Tetsu era; The Indie era of Malice Mizer(1992–1994)

Malice Mizer was formed in 1992 by Mana and Közi with Tetsu on vocals, both Mana and Közi on guitars/synthesizers, Yu~ki on bass and Gaz on drums. Mana is a Japanese musician and fashion designer famed for his role as a leader and guitarist of the influential Visual kei band Malice Mizer. (Pronounced "Kouji" is a Japanese visual kei artist who plays Guitar, Piano, keyboard and Synthesizer. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder Yu~ki is the former bassist of the Visual kei band Malice Mizer. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells From the outset, the band established their trademark "twin guitar"' sound, whereby two guitars play different melodies creating polyphony. In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony Malice Mizer's sound during the Tetsu era was a mixture of rock, early 1980s goth, and strong classical influences. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) This article is about the musical style of gothic rock For the goth scene in general see Goth subculture. Their first official release was the song "Speed of Desperate" on the 1993 compilation Brain Trash. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Before this, they had released a demo tape called Sans Logique which contained no vocals. Shortly after the release of Brain Trash, Gaz left the band to join Kneuklid Romance, while Kneuklid Romance's drummer Kami in turn joined Malice Mizer. Kami was the drummer for the Japanese band Malice Mizer. He was born in the city of Ibaraki, Japan on February 1. In 1994, the band released their first album, Memoire, on Mana's newly founded independent record label Midi:Nette, and shortly after re-released it with an additional bonus track, "Baroque" under the title Memoire DX. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) for other uses see Memoir (disambiguation Memoire is an album released by Malice Mizer on July 24, In Popular music, independent music, often abbreviated as indie, is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels and an autonomous In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music MidiːNette is an independent Record label founded by the Japanese musician and fashion designer Mana. Only days later, singer Tetsu left the band. While the exact reasons are unknown, Tetsu went on to take a different direction in his work and some say it was because he disliked the flamboyant image of the band. The band's continued use of his lyrics in songs they continued to perform with later vocalists suggest an amicable split. [1]

Gackt era; Voyage and Merveilles (1995–1999)

Malice Mizer during the Gackt era (from left to right: Mana, Gackt, Kami, Közi and Yu~ki).

In 1995, after a year of inactivity, Malice Mizer recruited Gackt as their new vocalist. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 is a Japanese Musician, Songwriter and Actor. Usually referred to by his Stage name only he is best known for his work with Malice Mizer With a new concept created by Mana, the band's music became more Progressive rock and complex, incorporating even stronger classical and electronic elements. Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Visually, the band abandoned their 1980s goth look for colourful historical costumes always with a gothic feel. In 1996, Malice Mizer released their second album, Voyage ~Sans Retour~. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Voyage ~Sans Retour~ is an album released by Malice Mizer on June 9, 1996. The band became increasingly popular and in 1997 signed with Columbia Records, where they released a number of successful singles, a short film (Bel Air ~Kuuhaku no Shunkan no Naka De~ de L'Image), and, in 1998, their third album, Merveilles. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Merveilles is an album released by Malice Mizer on March 18, 1998 and the only to be released through Columbia Music Entertainment The band even had their own radio show around this time and played a two day live at the Nippon Budokan which involved a large building as a stage prop and amazing theatrics; each member performing a skit with another member on their own. The, often shortened to just "Budokan" is an arena in central Tokyo, Japan It was a massive sucess and was released on Video as Merveilles L'Espace. In January 1999, at the height of Malice Mizer's success, Gackt suddenly left the band, and after just four months he released his first solo album. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) There are many rumors circulating as to why he left, but none of them have yet been confirmed. Malice Mizer left Columbia shortly after and returned to Midi:Nette.

A few months after Gackt's departure, drummer Kami died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage on June 21, 1999, leaving behind a handful of songs, which the band eventually released as part of the EP/video boxset Shinwa, which consisted of 2 songs composed by Kami and short track 'Saikai' which was written by the band. Kami was the drummer for the Japanese band Malice Mizer. He was born in the city of Ibaraki, Japan on February 1. Subarachnoid hemorrhage ( SAH,) or subarachnoid haemorrhage in British English, is Bleeding into the Subarachnoid space —the An extended play ( EP) is a Vinyl record, CD, or Music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify Kami was never replaced; from that point on, Malice Mizer would only use support drummers (namely Shue, who is not shown in the band's later and final music videos, nor credited) and Kami would be credited as "eternal blood relative" on all their future releases. [2] Because of Kami's untimely death and other factors, the Band decided to shift their image and music.

Klaha era; Bara no Seidou (2000–2001)

In the second half of 1999 and the beginning of 2000, Malice Mizer — still without an official vocalist — released a number of singles and began to work on a new album. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Eventually, they recruited Klaha (real name Masaki Haruna), vocalist of darkwave band Pride of Mind. Haruna Masaki, aka Klaha, is a Japanese singer and songwriter Dark Wave, also written as Darkwave, is an Umbrella term which refers to a movement that began in the late 1970s coinciding with the popularity of New Wave By then the band had abandoned the lighter pop music sound of the Gackt era for a dramatic mixture of classical music, gothic/goth and heavy metal music, and adopted an elaborate funeral Goth look. Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure is a Japanese Musician, Songwriter and Actor. Usually referred to by his Stage name only he is best known for his work with Malice Mizer Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music A funeral is a Ceremony marking a person's Death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of Beliefs and practices used by a Culture to remember In the summer of 2000, they released what would be their last album, Bara no Seidou, followed by a very spectacular and theatrical live show, featuring pyrotechnics, a choir of veiled nuns and a scaled-down cathedral as stage prop. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. is an album released by Malice Mizer on August 23, 2000. It is the group's final full-length record In 2001, Malice Mizer starred in a feature length vampire movie (Bara no Konrei ~Mayonaka ni Kawashita Yakusoku~), and released three more singles: "Gardenia", "Beast of Blood", and "Garnet ~Kindan no Sono E~", "Gardenia" and "Garnet" being of a considerably lighter tone than their previous album, signifying the start of a new era for the band. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Vampires are mythological or folkloric revenants who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living (Bridal of Rose is a Movie released by Malice Mizer on March 22, 2002. "Gardenia" is a single released by Malice Mizer on May 30, 2001. "Beast of Blood" is a single released by Malice Mizer on June 21st, 2001. is a single released by Malice Mizer on November 30, 2001. It would be the band's last release before going on an indefinite hiatus Unfortunately, those few singles were all the world would see of the yet again reborn Malice Mizer, as the band members decided to go their own separate ways in 2001, leaving disband messages on their official website, Miroir, which can still be viewed today. The split was spoken of as a "hiatus", however, so as not to exclude the possibility of a future reformation. [3]

Post projects

After his departure in 1994, Tetsu has subsequently taken part in a series of bands such as Zigzo and Mega 8 Ball and has released one solo album; his most recent being the independently released band Nil. ZIGZO (ジグゾ is a Japanese Rock band that started activities in 1999 and disbanded in 2002 nil is a rock trio that started in 1998 by Takano Tetsu (ex- Malice Mizer, ex-Mega8Ball ex- Zigzo) Hiroyuki Kashimoto and Kyoshii Moro

After his departure in the beginning of 1999, Gackt started a solo career almost after a year which has been enormously successful; he is now one of Japan's top entertainers and TV personalities. is a Japanese Musician, Songwriter and Actor. Usually referred to by his Stage name only he is best known for his work with Malice Mizer

Klaha started a solo career as well in December 2002, but in the middle of 2004 it was announced that his fanclub would be closing down, and after that there have been long periods with silence, only broken by rare updates on his site. Due to health problems he has been taking a break from creating music, but last year he stated on his site that he would resume musical activity in 2007. Further details haven't been announced.

Mana has formed his own solo project, Moi dix Mois, performing live concerts across Europe. Moi dix Mois is a Japanese musical project founded by Malice Mizer 's front Mana. In addition to the successful solo project, Mana simultaneously pursues a career as fashion designer for his fashion label, Moi-même-Moitié, which focuses on the styles Elegant Gothic Aristocrat (EGA) and Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL). Moi-même-Moitié is the Gothic Lolita fashion label of Mana, the former co-founder and guitarist of the Visual Elegant Gothic Aristocrat (EGA or Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL is a subset of Gothic Lolita fashion popular in Japan Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL is an off-shoot of Lolita fashion –style clothing popularized by Japanese musician and fashion designer Mana. He continues to also run his Indie record label, Midi:Nette, and is looking for bands to sign and produce.

Közi has joined Haruhiko Ash's Industrial band Eve of Destiny and also has a solo project. (Pronounced "Kouji" is a Japanese visual kei artist who plays Guitar, Piano, keyboard and Synthesizer. Industrial music is a loose term for a number of different styles of Experimental music, especially but not necessarily Electronic music. Eve of Destiny is a Japanese Industrial rock band founded in 1999 by Haruhiko Ash (formerly of Punk rock / Hard rock band

Discography

Main article: Malice Mizer discography

References

• Malice Mizer's official website
• Klaha's official website
• Mana's official website
• Tetsu's official website
• Gackt's official website