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Galneryus

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Galneryus
Galneryus performing at the Busan Rock Festival in Korea, 2012.
Galneryus performing at the Busan Rock Festival in Korea, 2012.
Background information
OriginOsaka, Japan
GenresPower metal, neo-classical metal
Years active2001–present
LabelsIron Shock, VAP
MembersSyu
Yuhki
Jun-ichi
Sho
Taka
Past membersTsui
Yama-B
Yu-To
WebsiteOfficial site

Galneryus is a Japanese power metal band, formed in Osaka in 2001 by guitarist Syu and vocalist Yama-B.[1][2] Originally the only official members, the two utilized several support musicians until bassist Tsui, keyboardist Yuhki, and drummer Jun-ichi officially joined for the release of their debut album in 2003. Yama-B left the group in 2008 citing musical differences, and Yu-To, who replaced Tsui in 2006, left the following year. Galneryus recruited Sho on vocals and Taka on bass, and released the album Resurrection in 2010. The band's highest charting studio album is their eighth, Angel of Salvation, which was released in 2012 and reached number 17.

History

2001–2002: Formation and indie days

Galneryus was formed in 2001 by guitarist and bandleader Syu (formerly from Valkyr, Animetal, Aushvitz, and Masaki Project) along with vocalist Masahiro "Yama-B" Yamaguchi (frontman of AxBites and solo artist of Rekion, River End and Gunbridge).[2][3] Both veterans of the metal scene, they formed Galneryus with the intention to "express both of their musical tastes/ideas" and so they started looking for additional members to complete the band. They recruited A on keyboards (who had previously played with Syu in Valkyr), Shôgo Himuro on bass, and Toshihiro "Tossan" Yui (formerly of Cemetery, Honey Quest) on drums.

In October 2001, the band released a 2-track demo titled "United Flag". The demo was self-produced and released independently. This EP started gaining the attention of both fans and independent record labels as well.

After playing with other metal bands like Fairy Mirror, Mephistopheles, Galactica Phantom, Mastermind, and Concerto Moon, Galneryus went back to the studio to record a second EP titled Rebel Flag which was released through the independent label Iron Shock in August 2002. The EP again used support musicians to fill the band slots, with Shôgo Himuro again on bass, Toshihiro Yui again on drums, and Yoshinori Kataoka on keyboards (replacing A).

After this EP, the band started receiving several record deals and started touring more. In 2003, they were invited to play the Melodic Metal Festival in Japan which featured Swedish power metal band Dragonland,[4] as well as Australia's Dungeon. As a result, Dragonland invited Galneryus to play with them the next time they toured Japan.[citation needed]

Galneryus was also invited to perform on two metal compilation cover albums with other bands such as Masaki Project, Saber Tiger, and Mephistopheles. Galneryus performed the song "Black Diamond" (originally from Finnish power metal band Stratovarius) on the compilation album Stand Proud! III and performed the song "Soldier of Fortune" (from Japanese heavy metal band Loudness) on the compilation album Japanese Heavy Metal Tribute Tamashii II. For these songs, the band used supporting musicians Toshihiro Yui on drums, Yusuke on bass, and Yuhki on keyboards. Both compilation albums were released simultaneously in December 2002 on the same day through Iron Shock and distributed through the record label VAP.

2003–2007: Gone major and formal members

VAP itself signed Galneryus and the band set to work on writing and recording their full-length debut album The Flag of Punishment which featured all 5 EP songs re-written and re-recorded and also cover art by famed Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano.[3] At this time Galneryus ceased using temporary members and permanently recruited Ryosuke "Tsui" Matsui (formerly of AxBites) on bass, Yuhki (formerly of Ark Storm and Marge Litch) on keyboards and Junichi Satoh (formerly of Concerto Moon) on drums. The album was finally released in October 2003. In March 2005, Galneryus released their second album Advance to the Fall, and later released their third full-length album Beyond the End of Despair... in July 2006.

After the Live for Rebirth tour, Tsui left Galneryus and Yu-To (later known as Leda of Deluhi)[5] was recruited to fill in for bass. The band shortly after released their fourth album One for All - All for One on August 22, 2007. On October 27, they released their first cover album Voices from the Past. Galneryus then debuted on iTunes Store, making their material available worldwide.

2008–2010: New lineup and Resurrection

In February 2008, both sides of their double A-side single "Alsatia/Cause Disarray" were used as the opening and ending themes for the six-episode anime series Rin ~Daughters of Mnemosyne~.

On October 10, 2008, it was announced that vocalist Yama-B was leaving the band at the end of the Back to the Flag tour.[6][7] The decision was made during the recording/releasing of their fifth full album, Reincarnation. According to Yama-B's note left to the fans on Galneryus' official site, he left due to the band's growth and change.[7] In the note, Yama-B stated that due to differences in opinion on the band's style of music, he was leaving. He and the rest of Galneryus are all okay with this and wished each other well as they went their separate ways. Yama-B later elaborated in 2013, recalling that while he and Syu had different musical tastes from the beginning, with every release the band slowly chased after a new sound "instead of doing music we loved".[8] While Yama-B "likes to stick to a certain set of rules, concepts", particularly Syu would spontaneously abandon a style in order to incorporate new inspirations.[8] On October 23, 2008, Galneryus released their second cover album Voices from the Past II, and on March 25, 2009, they released two "best of" albums.

Well-known vocalist Masatoshi "Sho" Ono stepped in for Yama-B at a performance at the tenth anniversary of Pure Rock Japan Live.[9] In September 2009, bassist Yu-To left the group, and Sho and Taka officially joined.[10] This line-up had their first performance at Loud Park Festival 2009.[10] Galneryus' song "A Far-Off Distance" was used as the ending theme of the 2010 Rainbow: Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin anime. On April 21, they released the digital EP Beginning of the Resurrection, which contains a cover of Sho's signature song "You're the Only...". They released their sixth full-length album, Resurrection, on June 23 and their third cover album, Voices from the Past III, on August 20.

In 2011, their song "Destiny" was used in the music video games GuitarFreaks XG2: Groove on Live and DrumMania XG2: Groove on Live. Also, their song "New Legend" was used in GuitarFreaks XG3 and DrumMania XG3.

2011–present: Angel of Salvation and European tour

The band released the limited single "Future Never Dies" on September 7, 2011 and the album Phoenix Rising on October 5.

On January 25, 2012, they released the mini-album Kizuna. The title song was used in a Fist of the Blue Sky pachinko game,[11] and its cover features the series' main character. Galneryus' next single "Hunting for Your Dream" was used as the second closing theme for the new Hunter × Hunter anime adaptation.[12] Ono's solo song "Departure!" (which was covered in English by Galneryus on Kizuna[11]) was previously the series' first opening theme, while a different version titled "Departure! -Second Version-" was its second.[12]

Their eighth studio album Angel of Salvation was released on October 10, 2012. It reached number 17 on the Oricon chart, making it their highest charting studio album. The title track is 14:42 minutes long, twice as long as the version featured in its music video, and features Akane Liv (of Liv Moon) performing backing vocals. On May 22, 2013, Galneryus released their first self-cover album, The Ironhearted Flag Vol. 1: Regeneration Side.[13] It became their highest charting release to date, reaching number 15, and is part of their 10th anniversary celebration, which also included a tour from June 7 to 30.[13] On May 26, they performed at the Pure Rock Japan Live 2013 at Club Citta, alongside NoGoD, Saber Tiger and Onmyo-Za.[14]

Galneryus embarked on their first European tour in July 2014. Beginning in Germany, the four date tour also took them to France before finishing in Spain.[15]

Galneryus collaborated with acclaimed video game composer Daisuke Ishiwatari to create the soundtrack for the Japanese fighting game BlazBlue: Central Fiction, which released in arcades in 2015.

Members

Timeline


  • Syu
    Syu
  • Yuhki
    Yuhki
  • Jun-ichi
    Jun-ichi
  • Sho
    Sho
  • Taka
    Taka

Discography

Studio albums

Singles/EPs

  • United Flag (October 21, 2001, EP)
  • "Rebel Flag" (August 23, 2002)
  • "Everlasting" (June 27, 2007) Oricon Single Weekly Chart Peak Position: No. 68[17]
  • "Alsatia/Cause Disarray" (March 19, 2008) No. 60[17]
  • Shining Moments (July 30, 2008, digital EP)
  • Beginning of the Resurrection (April 21, 2010, digital EP)
  • "Future Never Dies" (September 7, 2011, limited single)
  • Kizuna (絆, January 25, 2012, mini-album) No. 37[16]
  • "Hunting for Your Dream" (July 17, 2012) No. 30 (type B)[17]
  • "Attitude to Life" (December 3, 2014) No. 54[17]

Cover albums

  • Voices from the Past (October 8, 2007)
  • Voices from the Past II (October 23, 2008)
  • Voices from the Past III (August 20, 2010)
  • The Ironhearted Flag Vol. 1: Regeneration Side (May 22, 2013, self-cover) No. 15[16]
  • The Ironhearted Flag Vol. 2: Reformation Side (September 4, 2013, self-cover) No. 17[16]

Compilation albums

  • Best of the Braving Days (March 25, 2009, compilation album) No. 154[16]
  • Best of the Awakening Days (March 25, 2009, compilation album) No. 157[16]
  • Best-R (September 25, 2012, rental-only compilation album)
Compilation contributions
  • "Black Diamond" (originally by Stratovarius) – Stand Proud! III (スタンド・プラウド! III, December 11, 2002)
  • "Soldier of Fortune" (originally by Loudness) – Japanese Heavy Metal Tribute Tamashii II (~JAPANESE HEAVY METAL TRIBUTE~魂II, December 11, 2002)
  • "Struggle for the Freedom Flag" – Hard Rock Summit in Osaka (June 16, 2004)
  • "Serenade (D.N.mix)" – The Songs For Death Note The Movie ~The Last Name Tribute~ (December 20, 2006)
  • "A Far-Off Distance (TV Size)" – Rainbow: Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin Opening/Ending theme digital EP (June 16, 2010)
  • "Holy Blood: Tatakai no Kettō" (HOLY BLOOD 〜闘いの血統〜) (originally by Seikima-II) – Tribute to Seikima-II: Akuma to no Keiyakusho (Tribute to 聖飢魔II -悪魔との契約書-, September 15, 2010)
  • "Against the Wind" (originally by Stratovarius) – Crying Stars -Stand Proud!- (September 29, 2010)
  • "The Spirit Carries On" (originally by Dream Theater) – Crying Stars -Stand Proud!- (September 29, 2010)
  • "Tonight I'm Falling" (originally by TNT) – The Voice -Stand Proud!- (October 5, 2011)
  • "Angel Don't Cry" (originally by Toto) – The Voice -Stand Proud!- (October 5, 2011)

DVDs

  • Live for Rebirth (November 22, 2006) Oricon DVD Weekly Chart Peak Position: No. 142[18]
  • Live for All - Live for One (March 5, 2008) No. 85[18]
  • Live in the Moment of the Resurrection (December 8, 2010) No. 47[18]
  • Phoenix Living in the Rising Sun (March 28, 2012) No. 47[18]
  • Reliving the Ironhearted Flag (March 26, 2014) Oricon Blu-ray Weekly Chart Peak Position: No. 44[19]
  • Attitude to Live (May 20, 2015) DVD No. 42[18] Blu-ray No. 18[19]

References

  1. ^ Artist.cdjournal.com Galneryus Artist Profile Retrieved Jan 23, 2011
  2. ^ a b Barks.jp ガルネリウス Biography Retrieved January 23, 2011
  3. ^ a b Exlusive interview with Syu jame-world.com Retrieved 2011-01-23
  4. ^ "Galneryus". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  5. ^ DELUHI - デルヒ jame-world.com. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  6. ^ "Galneryus, all new line-up!". neumania.net. Archived from the original on 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
  7. ^ a b "YAMA-B Leaves Galneryus". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  8. ^ a b "Interview with YAMA-B". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
  9. ^ "PURE ROCK JAPAN LIVE 2009 at Kawasaki Club Citta". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  10. ^ a b "Galneryus Return with New Line-Up". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  11. ^ a b "Kizuna GALNERYUS". cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  12. ^ a b "GALNERYUS to provide new theme song for "HUNTER x HUNTER"". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  13. ^ a b "Self-Cover Album from GALNERYUS". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
  14. ^ "PURE ROCK JAPAN LIVE 2013". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  15. ^ "GALNERYUS to go on European Tour". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o GALNERYUSのアルバム売り上げランキング oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
  17. ^ a b c d GALNERYUSのシングル売り上げランキング oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
  18. ^ a b c d e GALNERYUSのDVD売り上げランキング oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
  19. ^ a b GALNERYUSのBlu-ray売り上げランキング oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
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