Mucc

Emerging from the visual kei scene that flourished in Japan during the 2000s, Mucc distinguished themselves through a versatile songwriting approach that wove together nu-metal, industrial, technical thrash, and disco while retaining an abundance of catchy hooks. The quartet formed in 1997 with vocalist Tattoo—who adopted the stage name Tatsurou in 2000—guitarist Miya, bassist Hiro, and drummer Satochi, taking their name from a television character and also answering to 69 because the Japanese pronunciation of “six nine” matches “mucc.” Still enrolled in high school at the time, the members quickly landed a contract with Misshitsu Neurose after Ao of Cali Gari took an interest in the group. The years leading to 1999 were filled with live performances, demo recordings, and personnel changes that saw Yukke replace Hiro, yet the band managed to issue its first studio release, the Antique EP, by the close of that year. Although the EP failed to chart, it captured the attention of the Japanese media.

Mucc followed with their first full-length album, Tsuuzetsu, in 2001 and issued the Aishuu EP later the same year. Homurauta appeared in 2002 on Shu, the Danger Crue sublabel the band operated, selling out inside a month and prompting Universal to handle distribution beginning in 2003. Their major-label debut that year, Zekuu, introduced a pronounced stylistic shift that lost some longtime listeners while drawing a fresh audience; by year’s end Mucc shared a festival bill with Gazette and Miyavi. A nationwide tour and the 2004 release of their fourth album, Kuchiki No Tou, cemented their standing as a major hard-rock act, earning an invitation to Germany’s Wacken Open Air festival in summer 2005 along with additional dates across Germany and France. The momentum carried them through three albums between 2005 and 2006, among them the experimental and stylistically broad Gokusai, and brought their first U.S. appearance at the 2006 Otakon convention in Baltimore. They revisited Europe and the States the following year and joined the Taste of Chaos 2008 trek with Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine, and D’Espairs Ray. Also in 2008 they performed at the Hide Memorial Summit alongside X-Japan, Luna Sea, and Dir en Grey, and delivered their eighth full-length album, Shion.