Oblivion Dust

Oblivion Dust
Origin Japan
Genres Alternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock
Years active 1996–2001, 2007–present
Labels Cutting Edge, Motorod, Avex Trax, Nayutawave
Associated acts Fake?, Atom on Sphere, Vamps, hide with Spread Beaver, Spin Aqua, Mega8Ball, Anna Tsuchiya
Website obliviondust.net
Members Ken
K.A.Z
Rikiji
Past members Derek Forbes
Matt Garrett
Taka
Furuton
Masaru

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 90's 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 '94[3]) and the bassist Derek Forbes (who had joined the band a short while ago) decided to form a new band and take a "western style".[4] In late '95 they recruited Kazuhito "K.A.Z" Iwaike as lead guitarist and in early '96 recruited Ken Lloyd as vocalist and (in the beginning) guitarist. They started to make songs and went to Los Angeles to record their first album (which wasn't released until the following year) with Ray McVeigh (The Professionals, Zilch, Wild Crash 500, etc.) as producer (he would also be the producer of their second and third album), but once recording of the album was completed Derek Forbes dropped out of the band and was replaced on bass by Koozie "Jer Koozie" Johns as support member in a few shows from mid 1996 until the end of that year,[5] then he left the band and was replaced by Matt Garrett as an official member. Soon after, thanks to the help of hide,[2] they signed with alternative label, Cutting Edge, a label owned by the Avex Group. The name of the band was changed to Oblivion Dust in September 1996, with their debut under this name in November 1996.

In January 1997, they released their first single entitled "Sucker". March witnessed the release of their second single "Numb". In April the group toured the West Coast of the United States with a series of 10 concerts. In May, they managed to release one more single and in June their first full-length album entitled Looking for Elvis. In July, they returned to the West Coast of the United States to play 10 more concerts and Matt Garrett left the band. In September they had their first Japanese tour consisting of a total of 11 shows and 5 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's gig in Tokyo before a crowd of 10.000 fans, gaining a name for themselves. 1998 also saw the release of 2 singles and their second album: Misery Days. Between both singles, they toured the West Coast of the United States again in April. The rest of year they toured Japan and in November 1998, Souta "Furuton" Oofuruton replaced Taka Motomura who left around August.

In 1999 Oblivion Dust released 4 new singles, another new album called Reborn and their first video, Overdose. Apart from that, 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 witnessed the opening of their official website.

The band began 2000 with a nationwide Reborn tour. In February their fan club was officially opened and in May their new song entitled "S.O.S." appeared on the Japanese version of the Mission: Impossible II soundtrack. In the same year, the band played numerous sold-out gigs; they also played at the Summer Sonic Festival, released 2 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.[6]

In January 2001, their support guitarist since September '98, 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, these were titled "Last Two Nights Thank You & Good Bye".

2007–present: Reunited

On June 28, 2007 it was announced that Ken, K.A.Z and Rikiji decided to get back together, playing two concerts called "Resurrected" on September 8 and 9. On November 7, it was announced they would release three digital downloads in three weeks before the release of their new album in stores on January 23, 2008, this self-titled album was available in a regular edition and a limited edition that came with a DVD with the full performance of the September 9 gig and the "Never Ending" music video.

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 previously recorded for the 1998 tribute album Tribute Spirits.[7][8]

In mid 2008, the band released the single "Girl in Mono/Bed of Roses" and announced an album for early 2009, but in early 2009 it was announced that the album was delayed, because the members didn't have enough time due to their sides projects.

In late 2010, the band announced Ashes to Dust 2011, the two shows were held at Shibuya-AX on February 18 and 19. On March 1, 2011 the band's official fan club Overdose was renewed. They went on their first nationwide tour in three years, entitled Re-Creation Tour 2011, starting on June 11 and ending on July 18.[9] The last gig was broadcast on Ustream, being watched by over 8,000 people around the world.[10] Oblvion Dust released their first material in over three years, the digital single "Tune", on December 14, 2011.[11] Their sixth studio album 9 Gates for Bipolar followed on April 11, 2012.[12] Their first release after signing to Nayutawave Records, a sub-label of Universal Music Japan, it includes the song "Sail Away" which features K.A.Z's former Spin Aqua bandmate Anna Tsuchiya.[12] Three days later the band embarked on another nationwide tour titled Static Sound Tour 2012.[12]

Members

Support members
Former members
Former support members

Discography

Albums
Singles
Digital singles
Compilations
Other appearances
VHS & DVDs
Limited items

References

  1. ↑ Oricon profile Retrieved September 20, 2007
  2. 1 2 OD @ everything2 Retrieved September 20, 2007
  3. ↑ Addict of the Trip Minds Retrieved September 20, 2007
  4. ↑ OD bio from vibe Retrieved September 20, 2007
  5. ↑ Interview with Koozie Johns about Oblivion Dust Retrieved September 20, 2007
  6. ↑ JAME profile Retrieved September 20, 2007
  7. ↑ "hide Memorial Summit Day 2 - Part B". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  8. ↑ "hide TRIBUTE SPIRITS". amazon.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  9. ↑ Tokyohive.com Retrieved April 11, 2011
  10. ↑ Statweestics Retrieved July 20, 2011
  11. ↑ musicjapanplus.jp Retrieved November 16, 2011
  12. 1 2 3 tokyohive.com Retrieved March 1, 2012
  13. ↑ Josh Lazie bio Retrieved September 13, 2007
  14. ↑ Pay money To my Pain at JAME Retrieved September 13, 2007
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "OBLIVION DUSTのアルバム売り上げランキング". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "OBLIVION DUSTのシングル売り上げランキング". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-04-27.
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