D'espairsRay BIOGRAPHY FOUND ON JAME WORLD

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* Vocal : HIZUMI
* Guitar : Karyu
* Bass : ZERO
* Drums : TSUKASA

PROFILE
One of the first visual-kei bands to greet their overseas fans, D'espairsRay has since returned to both Europe and North America multiple times to the delight of their international audience. Heavy, almost industrial gothic rock is their forte with vocal work that alternates between growls and screams to low, melodious tones. Matching the music, their look has always been quite dark, although it's become less extreme in recent years.

Author : Sarah (2007-05-14)
BIOGRAPHY
Formed in September of 1999, with HIZUMI on vocals, Karyu on guitar, ZERO on bass, and TSUKASA on drums, D'espairsRay made an immediate impression on the visual-kei scene. After a slew of multiband events, including their first live at the Takadanobaba AREA, and demo tapes, the group released their first single, Kumo, at the tail end of 2000. The new year then brought fans a second single as well as the band's first mini-album, TERRORS. Roughly a month after its release, the band traveled back to the live hall where they'd gotten their start for their first one-man.

D'espairsRay's spent much of the next two years touring, including a special, free show at the Meguro Live Station in Tokyo. 2003 also brought fans two new singles: MaVERiCK and Gärnet, both now fan favourites and thought of as some of their best work to date. At the end of the year they took part in the 'Beauti-Fool's Fest 03' event alongside other bands such as Merry and MUCC.

Like the years before it, 2004 found D'espairsRay mostly on the road or on the stage. Surprisingly, and to the great pleasure of their international fans, not all of those stages were located in Japn as the band set their sights on Europe with their 'D'espairsRay Europe Tour 2004 –Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben-' tour that took place near the end of the year.

Nearly six years after they'd started, D'espairsRay released their first full album, Coll:set, in 2005. That year they returned to Europe with a coupling tour with Kagerou but not before dropping in on their American fans with performances at a handful of conventions. All of these lives were very successful and so the band returned to the U.S.A. once more for a short tour in 2006 in addition to the release of their second live DVD, LIQUIDIZE.

2007 has brought with it a second full album, the highly anticipated MIRROR, and news of more tour dates. American fans of the band were mostly delighted to see a stop on their shores included among them as D'espairsRay performed on the second day of the 'J-Rock Revolution Festival' held in Los Angeles.

In 2008, D'espairsRay received the opportunity to perform throughout the USA with the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour along with other Japanese artists such as MUCC and THE UNDERNEATH. With a fan base that stretches across the globe, D'espairsRay is set to make 2008 another remarkable year.