John’s Favorite Japanese Bands: D’espairsRay

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There are visual kei bands and then there are visual kei legends. D’espairsRay is the latter. I know I’ve had a fair share of Saturday Timewaster posts about bands I enjoy, but only once have I made a full post about one of my top favorite Japanese bands (that was Polysics). Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas is pretty awesome too, but they have yet to stand the test of time.

This month, I’m going to be bringing you a new favorite band of mine every week. If you’ve not already heard the band, you’re in luck, it’ll be great. And if you have already heard the band, I’m sorry. At least they’re good, right?

Favorite VK Band Ever

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLClmWJn7dw']

What better way to kick off the post than with Reddish? This is hands down my favorite D’espairsRay song. I still get goosebumps when he starts screaming at 1:45. I love this song. This is usually the first song I’ll play for people when I show them D’espairsRay. Results are mixed to say the least. I will be the first to admit, this music isn’t for everyone.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBIEaFBBryY']

This song is kinda creepy, but it’s still pretty awesome. I really like how all the sounds come together. Also, for those wondering, D’espairsRay was active between 1999 and 2011 and had four full-length records, fourteen singles, and two EPs. Besides Japan, D’espairsRay also toured in Europe and North America.

Throughout their twelve years, they always had the same members: Hizumi on vocals, Karyu on guitar, Zero on bass, and Tsukasa on drums. These days, I feel like twelve years is a long time for a band to stay consistent with their lineup. Good job, D’espairsRay, good job.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dryqzEcsKU4']

This is another one of my favorites from the “good old days” of D’espairsRay. As with many VK bands, D’espairsRay eventually softened up both their image and their sound. Kind of lousy, but c’est la vie, ya know?


D’espairsRay – REDEEMER (new pv) by minimouette01

To me this is kind of like a transition song for the band. It still rocks, it’s just not the same harsh creepiness that we saw from the first three videos. Well, the video is still plenty creepy, just not so much the music. It’s much more melodic. There’s also hardly any screaming or growling in this one, but that probably has a lot to do with the vocalist starting to develop throat issues from a long successful career of shouting at things.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l1dLHxLTrA']

This song is around the time that I really started to miss the old D’espairsRay. Just compare this song to the first three. It’s way different. I mean, it’s still pretty good, the vocalist does have a good voice, it’s just not the same. I was starting to feel like D’espairsRay was not long for this world. I was right.


D’espairsRay – Love is dead pv by sasori352

And then they came out with this surprising little gem from their last album ever which is, in my opinion, quite hilarious. I can’t not like this song. I think this is a nice send off song for the group. It’s upbeat, wacky, and lets me see them go with a smile on my face.

The Fall of D’espairsRay

despairsray-final-call

Photo by hamsterchan155

On September 20, 2010 D’espairsRay announced on their Facebook page that they would be going on an indefinite hiatus following the conclusion of the Human-clad Monsters Tour. This was due to the vocalist’s rare throat condition which had been troubling him for quite a while by this point. Even though he’d been undergoing treatment, his condition sadly failed to improve.

The band’s last show ever was held on December 30, 2010 and on June 15, 2011, D’espairsRay finally disbanded. This was due entirely to the vocalist being unable to recover from his throat condition. There was no farewell concert or tour, but the band posted the following note on their Facebook page:

Thank you for your continued support of D’espairsRay. Due to Hizumi’s throat troubles, we had decided to take a hiatus immediately following our show at Yokohama Blitz on 30 Dec. 2010. However, after further discussions amongst the four members, we have decided to disband as of 15 June 2011 and cease all activities under the name D’espairsRay.

To our loving fans and supportive staff members, who have followed us diligently from our founding on 9 Sept. 1999 until now, we deeply apologize for such a sudden and troubling announcement. All four members are deeply thankful, from the bottom of our hearts, for your enthusiastic support and encouragement.

Thank you,
D’espairsRay: Hizumi, Karyu, Zero, Tsukasa.

The guitarist Karyu went on to join the band Angelo in August 2011, but I don’t really like them because the vocalist has an annoying voice. The bassist Zero and the drummer Tsukasa formed the band The Micro Head 4N’s with some other dudes, and that band is okay, but not great.

The vocalist Hizumi started a design company called Umbrella where he does illustration and design work. He also claims that there is a musical project “coming soon”, whatever that means.

They Will Forever Live on in My Heart

forever-despairsrayD’espairsRay is one of my favorite bands of all time. This was even my MySpace song back when MySpace was cool. The song reminds me of my early college days, my crazy “I don’t live with my parents anymore” hair, and just everything back from those days. Listening to D’espairsRay makes me happy because they’re awesome, but it also fills me with a ton of nostalgia. The band means a lot to me.

I’m also really sad that I never got to see them in concert. Twice (after the fact) I realized that I could have gone to a concert of theirs but I missed the boat each time. Oh well, at least I got to see Polysics…

Sites Referenced:
D’espairsRay Wikipedia

  • Dy~

    one of my favorite VK bands too – It was very saddening to see them go

  • Dy~

    one of my favorite VK bands, it was saddening to see them go; especially when their song REDEEMER was one of the first songs I learned on bass, their song Lizard (heard it on internet radio) is the one that got me hooked

  • Dy~
  • Artemisth

    This was my second VK bands that I’ve ever known and it took me some time before I started really loving them. However, when I did, I heard the news about HIzumi’s throat problem and then the separation a couple of months later. I was kind of mad for not loving them before they disappeared, but now I still frequently listen to theirs song and I’ve learn most of them on the drums.The song that got me hooked was REDEEMER at the time. My favorite albums would be [Coll:set] and MIRROR.

  • sop

    there’s also X Japan, Luna Sea, the GazettE

  • sop

    there’s also X Japan, Luna Sea, the GazettE…….

  • http://www.facebook.com/AbigailCamarillo Cam Abi

    Oh man! I absolutely adore them! I was able to go see them in 2009 and they make a great show! I tried for the second tour in the US, but the show ended up being cancelled for the throat issues… LOVE IS DEAD is still one of my favorite songs and Garnet was the song that made me love them. The beginning of the songs is what just caught me from the very beginning. Even now listening to it give me goosebumps. You should have totally put up the video for MIRROR as well! Thats one of those songs I use in the morning to get me ready for the day. :D

  • yoshi_in_black

    After I had all Albums of Gackt that were out at that time, I needed some new music and bought Coll:Set, which of course was totally different. Nevertheless I loved it and every time I listen to D’espairs Ray now,I feel quite nostalgic. I also saw them live once,which was one of the best concerts I have been to.

  • John

    MIRROR is an awesome song. There’s not a PV for it though, is there? I definitely would have included it if there was one.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Michelle-Montaño/774670200 Michelle Montaño

    My favorite band of all time. I was lucky enough to see them in 2008 at the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour and in Chicago and Toronto on their 2010 world tour. I’ve meet Karyu a few times, too. My heart still aches when I listen to them. I always dreamed of seeing D’espairsRay live while studying in Japan. It’s bittersweet now that I’ll finally be studying in Japan. I’ll see Angelo and The Micro Head 4n’s to support Karyu, ZERO and TSUKASA, but it will never be the same. D’espairsRay still had so much potential and so much to give to the world. It breaks my heart that HIZUMI can’t sing anymore.

  • http://twitter.com/shollum Shollum

    D’espairsRay is one of my favorites too! They strike a great contrast between some of the other bands I listen to like 時空海賊セブンシーズ and 陰陽座. Sadly, I didn’t learn about them until after they disbanded. I would have loved to see them in concert…

    Well, anyway, I’m looking forward to the other bands you share with us John! Hopefully I’ll hear something I like a lot!

  • Guest

    Oh, nostalgia! Thanks for bringing them back. Reddish will always be one of my top favorite songs too.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jessica.haynia Jessica Haynia

    Woooo! Hell yeah John! Despa is one of the best jrock bands of all time! I was so happy when I got to see them in concert and was able to meet all the members! I even got Zero’s bass pick! Them disbanding broke my heart, especially because it was due to Hizumi’s throat. He had one of the best voices I have ever heard in rock! They’ll always be one of my favorites, second only to Dir en grey!

  • http://twitter.com/charmoyl Charmoyl III

    I loved their music. Karyu was my favourite from the group just because he was tall :) It’s depressing knowing that that is the closest I’d ever come to seeing this band perform live is through my Spiral Staircase #15 DVD :’(
    I miss D’espairsRay.

  • http://profiles.google.com/ronmoses Ron Moses

    Check out Maximum The Hormone, you might like them too. MUCC is hit and miss but pretty good in general. Nightmare might be worth a listen too.

    Not sure why, but I seem to gravitate more toward female Japanese rock. Not the twinkie anime stuff, but the hard rock/punk of Bleach03 and Bo-Peep. I think I like the female shriek more than the usual male combo of theatrical crooning and raw screaming (which doesn’t appeal to me regardless of nationality or language).

  • Flora

    Thanks for the recommendation! I’d always heard of D’espairsRay, but never got around to trying them. For some reason, they remind me of Black Gene for the Next Scene (BG was influenced by them, perhaps?).

  • http://twitter.com/Mr_Sands Shaun H

    Waits for Shiina Ringo article with baited breath

  • http://www.facebook.com/helenadetroy Helen Kirifides

    ^ Yes! X JAPAN, Luna Sea, & The GazettE are so great (and X JAPAN, was also a visual kei legend, popularizing the visual kei movement, starting in 1982!)! http://youtu.be/Qq8fJPQtNHI

    But also, Thank You John! What a great article! I hadn’t yet heard of any of the favorite bands you wrote about, so i can’t wait to check them out! You rock!! :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/domsonek Domsyn Szmid

    i went to two of their concerts in Europe; when I was going to the first i wasnt so much into them but later they became one of my fav bands ^^ they energy during shows was amazing \(^-^)//

  • Jollyberries

    My favorite D’espairs Ray song is Forbidden~!

  • yoru.morino

    Hey! I thought I was one of the few people who liked better D’espairsRay than X JAPAN, the GazettE, Dir en Grey, etc. I like them all, but D’espairsRay have been special to me…

    I felt so sad when they disbanded…I really wanted to see them live. But that won’t happen T-T