Biography
In Japanese, Daikaiju translates to “giant monster.” An instrumental surf-rock outfit based in Huntsville, Alabama, the group first appeared before audiences in December 1999, its musicians concealed by Japanese masks and operating under the pseudonyms Secret Asian Man and Dymaxion Lee on guitars, Brain Conflict on bass, and Mr. Nein on drums. Throughout the opening years of the twenty-first century, Daikaiju cultivated regional support across the southeastern United States while contributing songs to assorted compilations, among them “Route Nowhere” for MP3.com’s Road Trip Tunes and “The Phasing Spider Menace” for Hep Cat Records’ Heavy Surf. On its own Migoto Radiation imprint the band issued its first EP, Monster Surf, in February 2001. International touring began with a visit to the Netherlands in November 2001 and continued with an extended European itinerary the following year. The second EP, The Phasing Spider Menace, arrived in February 2002 and was subsequently licensed for wider release by Valiant Death Records. Although the musicians tracked their self-titled debut album in 2003, the set remained unreleased until July 2005, when Reptile Records brought it out.