Galneryus
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| Galneryus | |
|---|---|
 Galneryus Band Photo Copyright ©2006 VAP/Syu |
|
| Country | Japan |
| Years active | 2001 - Present |
| Genres | Power Metal |
| Labels | VAP |
| Members | Syu Yama-B Tsui Yuhki Satoh |
| Past members | A - (Keyboards) Shôgo Himuro/Syogo Himuro - (Bass) Toshihiro Yui - (Drums) Yusuke - (Bass) Yoshinori Kataoka - (Keyboards) |
| Website(s) | Galneryus |
Galneryus was formed in early 2001 by guitar virtuoso Syu of Valkyr, Animetal, Aushvitz, and Masaki Project fame along with vocalist Yama-B, frontman of AxBites, Rekion, River End and solo artist of Gunbridge. Both veterans of the Japanese metal scene they put together a formula and a plan to create a band to express both of their musical tastes/ideas and soon set out to assemble a full band. Recruiting A on Keyboards, Syu's bandmate from Valkyr, Shôgo Himuro on Bass, and Toshihiro Yui (formerly of Cemetery, Honey Quest) on Drums as support musicians, Galneryus was born to the Power Metal scene.
With a full band together Galneryus set to work on recording their first 2 track Demo/EP titled 'United Flag' which was professionally self produced and self released in October of 2001 as a CDR with high quality art and obi. The self released EP was highly praised and gained Galneryus a loyal following as well as peaking the interest of several indie Japanese record labels.
After playing the local metal circuits with other Japanese metal bands such as Fairy Mirror, Mephistopheles, Galactica Phantom, Mastermind, and Concerto Moon to name a few, Galneryus went back to the studio to record a second EP titled 'Rebel Flag' which contained 3 tracks and was released through indie record label Iron Shock in August of 2002. Once again using support musicians to fill the band slots, returning to Bass was Shôgo Himuro (credited as Syogo Himuro), Toshihiro Yui once again on Drums, and replacing A on Keyboards was Yoshinori Kataoka. The EP gained Galneryus even more support and also got the band several record deal offerings to which they would make negotiations. With now half an album to fill their time slot, Galneryus found themselves playing more gigs on the metal circuit and were even invited to play the 2003 'Power Metal Festival' in Japan which featured Swedish Power Metal band Dragonland, as well as Australia's Dungeon. Dragonland was so impressed with Galneryus that the bands became good friends and Dragonland invited Galneryus to play with them the next time they toured Japan.
The same year Galneryus released their second EP they were asked to perform on two metal compilation cover albums with other bands such as Masaki Project, Saber Tiger, and Mephistopheles to name a few. Galneryus performed the song 'Black Diamond' from Finnish Power Metal band Stratovarius on the compilation album Stand Proud! III and performed the song 'Soldier Of Fortune' from Japanese heavy metal band Loudness on the compilation album Japanese Heavy Metal Tribute Tamashii II. Supporting musicians for both songs were once again on Drums Toshihiro Yui, and replacing Himuro on Bass was Yusuke, Yuhki also joined as supporting musician on Keyboards taking over for Yoshinori Kataoka during the recording of Black Diamond. Both albums were released simultaneously in December of 2002 on the same day through Iron Shock and distributed through VAP.
Galneryus was signed to Japanese record label VAP after extensive negotiations which also signed Syu's Anime concept metal cover band Animetal. Soon the band set to work on writing and recording their full length album 'The Flag Of Punishment' which featured all 5 EP songs re-written and re-recorded and also cover art by famed Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano. At this time Galneryus also permanently filled the remaining band member slots by recruiting on Bass Tsui, Keyboardist Yuhki formerly of Ark Storm and Marge Litch fame, and on drums Junichi Satoh. The Flag Of Punishment was released in October of 2003 and received wide acclaim in the metal scene.
In March of 2005 Galneryus released their second album 'Advance To The Fall' which was released in two editions, a regular release and a limited edition release which featured a bonus track 'Under Threat', both versions featured cover art by Yoshitaka Amano once again.
Galneryus released their third full length album in July of 2006 once again featuring Yoshitaka Amano as cover artist.
Up until their second album Galneryus dawned a dress style that bordered that of Visual Kei with a Sci-Fi flare to it but have adopted a more modern dress with the release of their third full length album. Galneryus writes all of their lyrics in English, which is fairly common fare for a lot of Japanese Heavy Metal bands.
Contents |
[edit] Current Line-up
- Syu - Lead/Rhythm Guitars/Backing Vocals
- Yama-B - Vocals
- Tsui - Bass/Backing Vocals
- Yuhki - Keyboards/Backing Vocals
- Junichi Satoh - Drums
[edit] Discography
- United Flag EP (10/21/01)
- Rebel Flag EP (8/23/02)
- The Flag Of Punishment (10/22/03)
- Advance To The Fall (3/23/05)
- Beyond The End Of Despair... (7/12/06)
- Live For Rebirth Bonus CD Single (11/22/06)
[edit] DVD
- Live For Rebirth (11/22/06)
[edit] Compilation Contributions
- Soldier Of Fortune (Loudness) - (Japanese Heavy Metal Tribute Tamashii II) (12/11/02)
- Black Diamond (Stratovarius) - (Stand Proud! III) (12/11/02)
- Struggle For The Freedom Flag - (Hard Rock Summit In Osaka) (06/16/04)
[edit] Music Videos
- Struggle For The Freedom Flag (The Flag Of Punishment)
- Silent Revelation (Advance To The Fall)
- My Last Farewell (Beyond The End Of Despair...)
