Skull (band)

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

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 jewelery.^[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 of 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 of 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

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

• 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

References

External links

• Official Myspace
• SKULL Staff Blog
• SKULL THE END on Twitter