Galneryus
Galneryus was formed in early 2001 by guitarist Syu (formerly from Valkyr, Animetal, Aushvitz, and Masaki Project) along with vocalist Yama-B, frontman of AxBites, Rekion, River End and solo artist of Gunbridge. Both veterans of the Japanese metal scene they formed Galneryus with the intention to "express both of their musical tastes/ideas" and so they started looking for additional members to complete the band. They recruited A on keyboards (who had previously played with Syu in Valkyr), Shôgo Himuro on bass, and Toshihiro "Tossan" Yui (formerly of Cemetery, Honey Quest) on drums.
In October 2001, the band released a 2-track demo titled "United Flag". The demo was self-produced and released independently. This EP started gaining the attention of both fans and independent record labels as well.
After playing with other metal bands like Fairy Mirror, Mephistopheles, Galactica Phantom, Mastermind, and Concerto Moon, Galneryus went back to the studio to record a second EP. Rebel Flag was released through the independent label Iron Shock in August 2002. The EP again used support musicians to fill the band slots, with Shôgo Himuro again on bass, Toshihiro Yui again on drums, and Yoshinori Kataoka on keyboards (replacing A).
In 2003, they were invited to play the Melodic Metal Festival in Japan which featured Swedish power metal band Dragonland, as well as Australia's Dungeon. As a result, Dragonland invited Galneryus to play with them the next time they toured Japan.
Galneryus was also invited to perform on two metal compilation cover albums with other bands such as Masaki Project, Saber Tiger, and Mephistopheles. Galneryus performed the song "Black Diamond" (originally 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. For these songs, the band used supporting musicians Toshihiro Yui on drums, Yusuke on bass, and Yuhki on keyboards. Both compilation albums were released simultaneously in December 2002 on the same day through Iron Shock and distributed through the record label VAP.
VAP itself signed Galneryus and 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 ceased using temporary members and recruited permanently Tsui on bass, Yuhki ..boards (formerly of Ark Storm and Marge Litch), and Junichi Satoh on drums. The album was finally released in October 2003.
In March 2005 Galneryus released their second album Advance to the Fall. They released their third full-length album (Beyond the End of Despair...) in July 2006. After the Live for Rebirth tour, Tsui left Galneryus and Yu-To (Deluhi) was recruited to fill in for bass. The band shortly after released One for All - All for One in 2007. Recently, Galneryus has debuted on iTunes Music Store making their material widely available in the United States.
On October 10, 2008, it was announced that vocalist Yama-B and bassist Yu-To were leaving the band at the end of the Back To The Flag tour. The decision was made while in the process or recording/releasing of their fifth full album, Reincarnation. According to Yama-B's note left to the fans on Galneryus' official site, he left due to the band's growth and change. In the note Yama-B stated that due to the differences in the style of their music, he was leaving. He and the rest of Galneryus and Mr. Hisatake are all OK with this and wish each other well as they go their separate ways.
Since the band formed, Galneryus adopted a dress style that bordered between Visual Kei and Sci-Fi. However, recently they have adopted a more modern dress with the release of their third full-length album. Galneryus also writes all of their lyrics in English. However, in more recent songs, in particular, Serenade, Everlasting and The Night Craver, there are Japanese lyrics. Syu mentioned in a recent interview that the band would be incorporating some Japanese lyrics into their new album One for All - All for One.
Their songs "Alsatia" and "Cause Disarray" are featured on the anime Mnemosyne as the opening and end theme, respectively. Current Line-up * Syu - Lead/Rhythm Guitars/Backing Vocals * Masatoshi "Sho" Ono - Vocals * Taka - Bass * Yuhki - Keyboards/Backing Vocals * Junichi Satoh - Drums
Source: http://www.vap.co.jp/galneryus/ http://www.myspace.com/galneryusworld
