L'Arc-en-Ciel

L'Arc-en-Ciel is not a "visual-kei" band. Repeat - not a "visual-kei" band. Not at all. Just a straightahead rock band. That message bears repeating because the band vehemently objects to being tagged with the visual-kei label, so much so that they once walked off the stage during a TV broadcast when the MC had the temerity to use the dreaded "V" word when introducing L'Arc-en-Ciel. The band's management also demands apologies from journalists who dare to describe L'Arc-en-Ciel as visual-kei. L'Arc-en-Ciel were in fact identified with the whole decadent/glam visual-kei scene when the band was formed in Osaka in 1991 by vocalist Hyde, guitarist Hiro, bassist Tetsu and drummer Pero. The band's name, by the way, means "rainbow," in French, reflecting the visual-kei scene's fascination with things Gallic, which they associate with fin-de-siecle decadence. L'Arc-en-Ciel's fans, however, refer to the band simply as "Laruku." After gigging extensively throughout western Japan, L'Arc-en-Ciel released their first album, Dune on an independent label in 1993, and their first single, "Blurry Eyes," in October 1994. They soon became one of Japan's biggest rock acts and continue to sell truckloads of CDs. L'Arc-en-Ciel's lineup has changed over the years, starting with the replacement of guitarist Hiro by Ken (the band doesn't seem to go in for surnames much). And at the beginning of 1998, then-drummer Sakura left the band after a drug bust and was replaced by Yukihiro. 1998 also saw the band release three singles on one day - July 8. One of them, "Shinshoku - Lose Control", went to No. 2 on the singles chart. On July 1, 1999, L'Arc-En-Ciel made history by releasing two albums (Ark and Ray) simultaneously in Asia and Japan - an industry first. Those two albums, plus Neo Universe/finale, were among the 17 winners in the Recording Industry Assn. of Japan's Rock Album of the Year category at the 2000 edition of the RIAJ's Gold Disc Awards show. In 2002, Hyde released an all-English version of his solo album, Roentgen (the Japanese edition featured songs in English and Japanese), in Asia. The idea was to get around South Korea's ban on Japanese-language vocals, which was still in force at the time. In contrast to L'Arc-en-Ciel's in-your-face brand of rock'n'roll, Hyde's first solo effort was a collection of quiet songs featuring his plaintive, understated vocals set against lush orchestral backdrops. The singles from the album were released in coffin-shaped jewel boxes. In 2001 Sony released the best-of album Clicked Singles Best 13 in the U.S. L'Arc-en-Ciel started to build up a steady overseas following as anime fans became familiar with the band's music though the use of tunes such as "Blurry Eyes", "Driver's High" and "Ready Steady Go" as TV-animation show theme songs. L'Arc-en-Ciel made their U.S debut on July 31, 2004, in front of an audience of 12,000 fans at the Otakon anime convention in Baltimore, Md. The band received a rapturous reception there when they played "The Fourth Avenue Cafe", the theme song to Japanese samurai anime series Rurouni Kenshin.