Oblivion Dust
Oblivion Dust | |
---|---|
Origin | K.A.Z Rikiji |
Past members | Derek Forbes Matt Garrett Taka Furuton Masaru |
Website | obliviondust.net |
Oblivion Dust is a Japanese rock band first active from 1996 to 2001; they reunited in 2007. Although they were originally largely influenced by early 1990s American grunge bands,[1] since reuniting their music has become straight alternative rock. They stand out in the Japanese scene as most of their songs are written and sung in fluent English.[2]
History
1996–2001: Formation and disbandment
In May 1995 the band Addict of the Trip Minds stopped activities due to differences in the direction of the band. The drummer Taka Motomura (who played on the self-titled album Addict of the Trip Minds in 1994
Soon after, thanks to the help and support of
In January 1997, they released their first single, "Sucker". In March they released their second single, "Numb". In April the group toured the West Coast of the United States with a series of ten concerts. In May, they released one more single, and in June they released their first full-length album entitled Looking for Elvis. In July, they returned to the West Coast of the US to play ten more concerts, and Matt Garrett left the band. In September they had their first Japanese tour, consisting of a total of 11 shows and five extra shows in October.
In January 1998, a new bassist joined the band as official member: Rikiji Masuda. That same month they played as the opening band for the UK electronic group, The Prodigy, in Tokyo before a crowd of 10.000 fans, gaining a name for themselves. 1998 also saw the release of two singles and their second album, Misery Days. Between both singles, they toured the West Coast of the United States again in April. For the rest of year they toured Japan. In November 1998, Souta "Furuton" Oofuruton replaced Taka Motomura, who left around August.
In 1999 Oblivion Dust released four new singles, another new album called Reborn and their first video, "Overdose". They toured all year long, playing with other well known bands such as Marilyn Manson and Zilch. In September their official fan club, Embryo, was temporarily opened, and December saw the opening of their official website.
The band began 2000 with a nationwide Reborn tour. In February their fan club was officially opened. In May their new song entitled "S.O.S." appeared on the Japanese version of the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack. In the same year, the band played numerous sold-out gigs; they also played at the Summer Sonic Festival, and released two singles, a new album called Butterfly Head and their second video. The gig performed on December 23 at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall turned out to be Rikiji's last, as he decided to quit the band soon after.[7]
In January 2001, their support guitarist since September 1998, Masaru "May" Yoshida, gained the status of an official member, and the band was joined by a new bassist Ju-ken, as a support member. The members didn't enjoy their new roles for long, because only a few months later, on June 30, Oblivion Dust announced that they would officially disband. The last release was the compilation album entitled Radio Songs ~ Best of Oblivion Dust, which came out two months later. Finally the group held their last two concerts on September 22 and 23, titled "Last Two Nights Thank You & Good Bye".
2007–present: Reunited
On June 28, 2007 it was announced that
Early in 2008, Oblivion Dust had a short tour to signify their reformation. They then performed at the second night of the hide memorial summit on May 4, alongside X Japan, Luna Sea, and others. There they performed their cover of hide's song "Genkai Haretsu", which they had previously recorded for the 1998 tribute album Tribute Spirits.[8][9]
In mid-2008, the band released the single "Girl in Mono/Bed of Roses" and announced an album for early 2009. However, in early 2009 it was announced that the album was delayed, because the members didn't have enough time due to their side projects.
In late 2010, the band announced Ashes to Dust 2011. The two shows were held at
Members
- Kentaro "Ken" Lloyd – vocals (1996–2001, 2007–present)
- Kazuhito "K.A.Z" Iwaike – guitar(1995–2001, 2007–present)
- Rikiji Masuda – bass(1998–2000, 2007–present)
- Support members
- Yuji – guitar (2011–present; guitarist of Rikiji's band Mega8Ball)
- Arimatsu – drums (2011–present; has collaborated with several bands/artists such as Vamps and Anna Tsuchiya)
- Former members
- Derek Forbes – bass (1995–1996)
- Matt Garrett – bass (1997)
- Taka Motomura – drums (1995–1998)
- Souta "Furuton" Oofuruton – drums (1998–2001)
- Masaru "May" Yoshida – guitar (2001, support member 1998–2000)
- Former support members
- Koozie "Jer Koozie" Johns – bass (some shows in 1996)
- Josh Lazie – bass (1997[14])
- Ju-ken – bass (2001)
- Masuo – drums (2007–2008; has collaborated with several bands/artists such as J and Ken's band Fake?)
- Pablo – guitar (2007–2011; began in the band Giraffe, which disbanded in 1999, then became a support guitarist for Ken's band Fake? and for Takui Nakajima. He is currently in the hard rock outfit out of LA/Tokyo, Pay Money to My Pain.[15])
Discography
- Albums
- Looking for Elvis (June 25, 1997)
- Misery Days (July 23, 1998)
- Reborn (December 26, 1999), Oricon Albums Chart peak position: No. 69[16]
- Butterfly Head (November 22, 2000) No. 50[16]
- Oblivion Dust (January 23, 2008) No. 59[17]
- 9 Gates for Bipolar (April 11, 2012) No. 54[17]
- Dirt (July 20, 2016, mini-album) No. 49[17]
- Shadows (November 1, 2022, mini-album)
- Singles
- "Sucker" (January 22, 1997)
- "Numb" (March 26, 1997)
- "Falling" (May 20, 1997)
- "Therapy" (March 25, 1998)
- "Trust" (May 20, 1998)
- "Blurred" (January 13, 1999, two editions)
- "You" (March 25, 1999), Oricon Singles Chart peak position: No. 68[18]
- "Goodbye" (October 27, 1999) No. 65[18]
- "Crazy" (December 26, 1999) No. 79[18]
- "Forever" (July 12, 2000) No. 60[18]
- "Designer Fetus" (September 27, 2000) No. 35[18]
- "Girl in Mono/Bed of Roses" (August 27, 2008) No. 86[18]
- Digital singles
- "Haze" (December 26, 2007)
- "When You Say" (January 2, 2008)
- "Never Ending" (January 9, 2008)
- "Tune" (December 14, 2011)
- Compilations
- Radio Songs ~ Best of Oblivion Dust (August 8, 2001) No. 46[16]
- Single Collection (December 27, 2001, Box set: 11 single CDs + 1 live CD)
- Other appearances
- Tribute Spirits (May 1, 1999, Track 12 "Genkai Haretsu")
- Mission: Impossible II Soundtrack(May 31, 2000, Track 18 "S.O.S")
- VHS & DVDs
- Overdose (October 27, 1999, VHS, live concert)
- Overdose (March 27, 2000, DVD, live concert)
- Oblivion Dust - The Video (July 12, 2000, VHS, music videos)
- Oblivion Dust - The DVD (September 19, 2001, DVD, music videos)
- Limited items
- Video Therapy (VHS for those who attended their concert at Hibiya on April 3, 1999)
- Dear embryo (CD for their fan club in September 1999)
- Free Sample Edit (mini disc with six songs for those who bought the single "Forever" on July 12, 2000)
- Forever -English Version- (CD for those who attended their concert at Tokyo Bay NK Hall on December 23, 2000)
- Oblivion Dust Last Two Nights "Thank You & Goodbye" (VHS sold out to those who requested it in late 2001)
- Sail Away (Ken Lloyd version) (exclusive at iTunes Japan from April 11, 2012)
- Roads to Oblivion (November 26, 2014), Oricon DVDs Chart peak position: No. 38[19]
References
- ^ Oricon profile Retrieved September 20, 2007
- ^ OD @ everything2 Retrieved September 20, 2007
- ^ Addict of the Trip Minds Retrieved September 20, 2007
- ^ OD bio from vibe Retrieved September 20, 2007
- ^ Interview with Koozie Johns about Oblivion Dust Retrieved September 20, 2007
- ^ "OBLIVION DUST K.A.ZとKENが抱く、音楽への渇望「世の中の流れの5年先にいたい」". Real Sound (in Japanese). 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ^ JAME profile Retrieved September 20, 2007
- ^ "hide Memorial Summit Day 2 - Part B". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
- ^ "hide TRIBUTE SPIRITS". amazon.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-11-06.
- ^ Tokyohive.com Retrieved April 11, 2011
- ^ Statweestics Retrieved July 20, 2011
- ^ musicjapanplus.jp Retrieved November 16, 2011
- ^ a b c tokyohive.com Retrieved March 1, 2012
- ^ Josh Lazie bio Retrieved September 13, 2007
- ^ Pay money To my Pain at JAME Archived 2007-11-20 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 13, 2007
- ^ a b c "OBLIVION DUSTのアルバム売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^ a b c "OBLIVION DUSTのアルバム売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^ a b c d e f "OBLIVION DUSTのシングル売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^ "OBLIVION DUSTのDVD売上ランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-01-26.