La'cryma Christi was a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese visual kei

Visual Kei

is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its...

 rock band, which formed in 1993 and disbanded in January 2007. They reunited for a concert in 2009 at the "V-Rock Festival", and for their short reunion tour in 2010.

History

The band was originally formed in 1993 under the name of Strippe-D Lady by vocalist and leader Taka with his college friend, Hiro. The two friends held a small audition in Kansai

Kansai

The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...

 to find new talent for the band. They recruited Koji and Levin who were high school friends, and bassist Kita-J. This Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

 based band played hard rock and heavy metal during this time period. In October 1994, Kita-J decided to leave the band and was replaced by Shuse.

After this the band changed their name to La'cryma Christi before releasing their first single, "Siam's Eye", on a local indies label in 1994. The band moved to Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 in 1996, releasing their first mini album, Warm Snow, which sold 15,000 copies. In 1997 they signed with a major label and debuted with Ivory Trees. Their single "Mirai Koro" was used as the ending for the anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective and reached #3 on the Oricon

Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 singles chart.

They founded their own label, Majestic Ring, in 2003. Koji left the band in March 2005 (after a gig on March 21), and in September 2006, the band announced that they would officially disband in January 2007.

Koji formed ALvino in 2006, with former Pierrot

Pierrot (band)

Pierrot was a Japanese visual kei rock band, originally founded as Dizy-Lizy in 1994 by Kirito and Jun in Nagano. The original band members were Hidelow on vocals, Kirito and Jun on guitar, Kohta on bass and Luka on drums. After changing their name to Pierrot, Luka left in November and Takeo joined...

 member Jun. Taka and Hiro formed the band Libraian in 2007. Levin played with several several artists including Toshi with T-Earth

Toshi (musician)

, better known by his stage name Toshi , is a Japanese singer and musician. He is best known as vocalist and co-founder of the heavy metal group X Japan. The band elevated to legendary status in Japan, until its disbanding in 1997. Toshi then went on to have an extensive solo career...

, while Shuse played with Acid Black Cherry

Acid Black Cherry

Acid Black Cherry is Janne Da Arc vocalist Yasu's solo project, formed in 2007 when they went on hiatus. The band's name is often seen shortened to A.B.C..-Background:...

 and others.

La'cryma Christi reunited for one night at the "V-Rock Festival", including Koji. At the festival they announced their reunion tour, "La'cryma Christi Resurrection ~Final Prayer~", which started on January 12, 2010 and ended on February 1.

La'cryma Christi's song "With-You" was covered by DaizyStripper on the compilation Crush! -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, which was released on January 26, 2011 and features current visual kei

Visual Kei

is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its...

 bands covering songs from bands that were important to the '90s visual kei movement. Their song "Mirai Kuro" will be covered by Blu-Billion on its sequel, Crush! 2 -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, that will be released on November 23, 2011.

Members

• Taka – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
   (1993–2007, 2009, 2010)
• Hiro – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , backing vocals (1993–2007, 2009, 2010)
• Koji – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , backing vocals (1993–2005, 2009, 2010)
• Shuse – bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , backing vocals (1994–2007, 2009, 2010)
• Levin – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
   (1993–2007, 2009, 2010)

Former members

• Sima-Chan – drums (as Strippe-D Lady)
• Kita-J – bass (as Strippe-D Lady)
• Jun – bass (as Strippe-D Lady)

Singles

• "Siam's Eye" (October 7, 1994), Oricon
  Oricon
  , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
  
  Singles Chart Peak Position: #25
• "Forest" (March 13, 1997) #50
• "Ivory Trees" (May 8, 1997) #22
• "The Scent" (July 30, 1997.07.30) #23
• "Nangoku" (October 29, 1997) #25
• "With-You" (May 8, 1998) #10
• "Mirai Koro" (August 26, 1998) #3
• "In Forest" (November 11, 1998) #8
• "Without You" (May 26, 1999) #8
• "Eien" (August 25, 1999) #9
• "Lime Rain" (January 19, 2000) #15
• "Life" (November 22, 2000) #27
• "Jump!!" (October 24, 2001) #27
• "Jounetsu no Kaze" (February 6, 2002) #26
• "Hirameki" (December 4, 2002) #26
• "Mystical Glider" (March 26, 2003)
• "Groove Weapon" (July 30, 2003) #44
• "Cannonball" (April 21, 2004) #50
• "Hot Rod Circuit" (August 11, 2004) #65
• "Yesterdays" (March 23, 2005) #40
• "Sweet Lil' Devil" (June 6, 2006)
• "Breaking" (August 23, 2006) #108

Albums

• Warm Snow (February 4, 1996)
• Dwellers of Sand Castle (July 22, 1996) , Oricon Albums Chart Peak Position: #71
• Sculpture of Time (November 12, 1997) #8
• Lhasa (November 25, 1998) #8
• Magic Theater (March 15, 2000) #22
• Single Collection (June 28, 2000) #9
• &.U (March 6, 2002) #36
• Deep Space Syndicate (November 5, 2003) #42
• Greatest - Hits (September 8, 2004) #66
• Zeus (May 25, 2005) #59
• Sound & Vision The Singles + Selection from Live "Decade" (June 28, 2006) #240
• Where the Earth is Rotting Away (September 27, 2006) #79
• La'cryma Christi Singles + Clips (January 1, 2010, CD and DVD)

Live albums

• The 10th Anniversary Live "Decade" 1st Day (October 7, 2009)
• The 10th Anniversary Live "Decade" 2nd Day (October 7, 2009)
• The 10th Anniversary Live "Decade" 3rd Day (October 7, 2009)
• La’cryma Christi Tour Mirai Kouro 1998.8.28 Tokyo International Forum Hall A (October 7, 2009)
• La’cryma Christi Live at Lhasa 1999.3.31 Nippon Budokan (October 7, 2009)
• La’cryma Christi Tour Angolmois 1999.9.4 Yokohama Marina (October 7, 2009)
• La'cryma Christi Resurrection -The CD Box- (April 21, 2010, 10 CD box set)
  • 2009.10.24 V-Rock Festival'09 at Makuhari Messe (1CD)
  • 2010.1.18 Final Prayer at Zepp Tokyo (2CD)
  • 2010.1.19 Final Prayer at Zepp Tokyo (2CD)
  • 2010.2.13 The Final at Shibuya C.C.Lemon Hall (2CD)
  • 2010.2.14 The Final at Shibuya C.C.Lemon Hall (3CD)

Home videos

• Glass Castle (March 1997)
• 4U (February 11, 1998)
• Zero (December 24, 1998)
• Live at Lhasa (June 30, 1999)
• True Color (December 22, 1999)
• 4U・True Color (May 31, 2000)
• Six Visions (June 30, 2004)
• The 10th Anniversary Live "Decade" (March 31, 2005)
• Last Live "White Period" (August 8, 2007)
• The 10th Anniversary Live "Decade" 1st Day (October 7, 2009)
• The 10th Anniversary Live "Decade" 2nd Day (October 7, 2009)
• The 10th Anniversary Live "Decade" 3rd Day (October 7, 2009)
• La’cryma Christi Tour Mirai Kouro 1998.8.28 Tokyo International Forum Hall A (October 7, 2009)
• La’cryma Christi Live at Lhasa 1999.3.31 Nippon Budokan (October 7, 2009)
• La’cryma Christi Tour Angolmois 1999.9.4 Yokohama Marina (October 7, 2009)
• La'cryma Christi Resurrection -The DVD Box- (April 21, 2010, 5 DVD box set)
  • 2009.10.24 V-Rock Festival'09 at Makuhari Messe (1DVD)
  • 2010.1.19 Final Prayer at Zepp Tokyo (2DVD)
  • 2010.2.14 The Final at Shibuya C.C.Lemon Hall (2DVD)

External links

• Official website
• Official Twitter
• Official Universal Music page