Mucc


Mucc is a Japanese visual kei rock band, formed in Ibaraki in 1997. Named after a character from the children's TV show Hirake! Ponkikki, the band is also known by the nickname "69" since the numbers six and nine can be pronounced "mu" and "ku", respectively, in Japanese. As of 2019, the band has released 14 studio albums, two live albums, three EPs, 41 singles and 21 home videos, some of which were also released in Europe.

History

Early years and releases (1997–2005)

Formed in May 1997 by Miya, Tatsurou, Satochi and Hiro, they originally played The Blue Hearts and Glay covers. In December 1997, the band handed out their first demo tape, No!?. On March 3, 1998, they handed out copies of their second demo tape, Aika, and on December 1, they gave out a limited 100 copies of their third demo tape, Tsubasa wo Kudasai. In 1999, Hiro left and was replaced by Miya's childhood friend Yukke on February 22. In July 1999, Mucc had their first tour, handing out demo tapes of Aka at every venue. In December, Mucc made their first official release, the EP Antique. On June 8, 2000, Tattoo changed his stage name to his current name of Tatsurou. They released their first album, Tsūzetsu, on January 7, 2001. In 2002, they signed to Danger Crue, establishing their own sublabel Shu, and released their second album, Hōmura Uta. In 2003, Mucc signed to Universal and released their major label debut album, Zekū, on September 3. It was followed by the release of their first live DVD, Nihon Rettou Konton Heisei Kokoro no Naka, on December 10.

International activities (2005–2011)

Mucc debuted in Europe in August 2005, including a performance at Wacken Open Air. The following year, they performed in the United States at the Otakon anime convention. They returned to the United States in 2007 for the JRock Revolution Festival.
They participated on the Taste of Chaos 2008 tour, which stopped at forty cities across the United States and Canada from February to May, along with fellow Japanese bands D'espairsRay and the Underneath. After returning to Japan in May, Mucc performed at the hide memorial summit alongside other famous rock groups such as X Japan, Luna Sea, Versailles and heidi.. In October the Taste of Chaos tour went to Europe, in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom. Mucc performed at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza on December 7, 2008 and the House of Blues in Los Angeles on December 10.
In 2009, they returned to being an indie band on Danger Crue Records. They again went to Europe for their "Solid Sphere Tour" starting with a live in Russia on October 3, and for the first time performed two shows in Latin America. The band completed the tour on November 16 in Japan at the JCB Hall, with a total of 18 songs. Mucc started 2010 with a concert on February 14 at the NHK Hall, where they announced they would release a new album that fall. Karma was released on October 6 and has a post-disco or dance sound mixed with Mucc's usual hard rock and metal sound.
On May 21, 2011, at their "Mucc History Gigs 97～11" Nippon Budokan show, Mucc announced they would be signing to major label Sony Music Associated Records. Their single "Akatsuki" was first sold exclusively at that concert and the following day's, later being available as a digital download with all proceeds donated to aid the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Mucc's next single, "Nirvana", was released on March 7, 2012 and used as the opening theme song for the Inu x Boku SS anime. It is their third contribution to an animated series; previously their song "Chain Ring" was used as the ending theme to the Zombie-Loan adaptation and their single "Yakusoku" was used as the opening theme to Night Raid 1931.

''Shangri-La'' and 15th Anniversary (2012–2013)

An album titled Aishū no Antique, composed of remastered songs mainly from their two EPs Antique and Aishū, was released at their 15th anniversary live, Mucc vs vs Mucc, at Makuhari Messe on June 9, 2012. At the concert they announced a consecutive 3 month DVD release documenting the entire 15th anniversary live. They also announced the release of their eleventh studio album Shangri-La for November 30, 2012. The third single for the album, "Mother", was released on October 31 and was one of the ending themes for Naruto Shippuden, their fourth anime tie in. The album's song "Kyōran Kyoshō -21st Century Baby-" was the theme song for the horror movie Fuan no Tane.
In 2013, Mucc began looking for two new members who would participate in recording, photo shoots and interviews. Applicants had to send in five stickers included with CDs, DVDs and other goods, released in commemoration of the band's 15th anniversary along with an application; it was noted that they did not need to know how to play an instrument. The winners were selected by Mucc's four primary members themselves and given stage names, after interviews and reviewing resumes on a live broadcast on Niconico on July 26. Hancho, a Hungarian female study abroad student from the band's native Ibaraki, and Dean, a male office worker from Chiba Prefecture officially joined the band on August 17. However, on September 4, roughly two weeks later, it was announced that both had left the group. Dean left after his parents found out he had joined a rock band by seeing him on TV, and Hancho stated she had achieved her dream of joining Mucc and could now leave to become a fan once more: "I made my dream of being a member of MUCC come true. Now I want to go back to being a fan."
On December 1, 2013, Mucc gave a free performance in Amerikamura's Triangle Park to an estimated 3,000 fans.

20th Anniversary and second return to Danger Crue (2017–present)

After the release of their thirteenth studio album Myakuhaku on January 25, 2017, Mucc gave a special free live performance on February 4 to anyone who bought the special edition of the album. The special free live performance was the start of their 20th anniversary tour. On March 29, Mucc released their fifth best album, Best of Mucc II, followed by their sixth Coupling Best II. On May 4, they released the single "Ieji" along with performing it live at Ibarakiken Bunkacenter Large Hall. They also released three self-cover albums, beginning with Shin Tsūzetsu and Shin Hōmura Uta on August 9, 2017. The third was Koroshi no Shirabe II: This is Not Greatest Hits on September 13, the title of which was taken from Buck-Tick's similar . They covered "Crazy4You" by D'erlanger for the D'erlanger Tribute Album ~Stairway to Heaven~ which was released on the same day.
On December 27, they hosted a special 20th anniversary festival at the Nippon Budokan where acts that contributed to the Mucc tribute album En, such as Sid, lynch., The Back Horn and sukekiyo, also performed. With the end of 2017, Mucc returned to being an independent band on Danger Crue Records yet again.
For the February 2019 concept album Kowareta Piano to Living Dead, Mucc recruited keyboardist Tooru Yoshida as a limited-time member. The album was based on 140 of the band's early demos. Throughout the second half of the year, they are releasing four singles limited to 6,940 copies total. Each one was written by a different band member and released at a concert held on the 40th birthday of its songwriter.

Members

;Current members
;Former members

Studio albums

EPs

Live albums

Self-cover albums

Compilation albums

Singles

V/A Compilations

Videos