Exist Trace

Exist Trace

Exist Trace at Tekkoshocon X in Pittsburgh, 2012
Background information
Origin Tokyo, Japan
Genres
Years active 2003–present
Labels
Website exist-trace.com
Members Jyou
Naoto
Mally
Miko
Omi

Exist Trace (イグズィストトレイス, stylized as exist†trace) is a Japanese visual kei metal band, consisting entirely of female members. The members originate from Tokyo, and initially formed in June 2003. The founding members are Jyou, Naoto and Mally, who then advertised for guitarists, meeting miko and Omi.[1]

To date, the band has released seven singles, four EPs, and a compilation album.[2] They have also appeared on ten omnibus albums as well as two live DVDs featuring several bands on the Shizuoka-based Sequence Records label. They also had their song 'I Feel You' featured in Nadeshiko Japan’s official 2012 guidebook DVD. [3]Their highest charting is number 84 on the Oricon album chart for Virgin.[4]

Exist Trace made their U.S. debut at Sakura-Con 2011 in Seattle, Washington. On June 15, 2011 they released their major label debut on Tokuma Japan Communications, the EP True.

Biography

Members

Musical style and direction

Exist Trace's early music can be described as melodic death metal, with vocalist Jyou's growls and shouts throughout many songs, which contributes to their dark undertone. They have since added more complex sounds to the compositions, their guitar sound often featuring heavy distortion and technically virtuoso riffs and solos. The lyrics are mainly based on gothic themes, and their music style has resemblance to gothic rock. In recent work, they have experimented with different electronic and melodic approaches to their music, such as the jazz-influenced "Ginger", the electronic rock of "Diamond" and the '80s disco feel of "Spiral Daisakusen".

In 2013, Exist Trace introduced their 'new world' musical direction, where long-time main lyricist/composer miko would officially be taking a dual-vocal position with Jyou. The twin vocal style was emphasized on 2013's single "Diamond". In 2014's "Spiral Daisakusen", the pair again share front billing and the center spot on the music video. The first album to fully incorporate the twin vocal style, "World Maker" (2014), revealed an improved duet system, where vocals are typically heavier towards Jyou in allocation, but making good use of miko's sweeter counterbalance. After an album gap of 1.5 years, the band released the "This Is Now" mini-album, an energetic offering with more of a metal feel than previous releases (including a return to growling from Jyou and backup snarls from Omi and Naoto), as well as re-recorded versions of the singles "Twin Wings" and "Shout Out". In Japan, the EP sold out within a day, across such stores as ZEAL LINK, Disk Union and BRAND-X.

International acclaim

First introduced to the West by their inclusion on the Silent Hill soundtrack in 2007, the band developed a dedicated international following. In 2008 exist trace embarked on a tour of Europe, including the United Kingdom. The band played Japanese culture conventions, such as Tekkoshocon X in 2012 and AKON 2013.

Official fan club

2014 brought the introduction of the band's official international fan club, 'Archangel Diamond', to act as a supplement to the Japanese fan club 'Vanguard'. The club became an active presence on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, featuring fan artworks and responding to fan questions. It officially opened for membership on May 19, 2014, the 19th of each month being generally used for exist trace announcements as it is 'Igu day'/イグの日 ( Japanese wordplay on the shortened form of the band's name).

Archangel Diamond promises to connect international fans more closely with the band, and offers fan club exclusive merchandise, special prices on merchandise, monthly newsletters with messages from the band members, and special contests and interactions with the band.

Releases

Albums

EPs

Singles

Demo tapes

Omnibuses

DVDs

References

  1. ↑ exist†trace on JaME Retrieved on Sep 21, 2007 (English)
  2. ↑ exist†trace on Visunavi Retrieved on Sep 21, 2007 (Japanese)
  3. ↑ McMullen, Leela; Tayrn. "Exist Trace for Nadeshiko Japan". Rokkyuu. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Exist Trace". Oricon. Retrieved 31 March 2013.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.