Maximum the Hormone was formed in March 1997 by vocalist Daisuke-han

Maximum the Hormone was formed in March 1997 by vocalist Daisuke-han, guitarist Key-yan, bassist Sugi and drummer Nao, initially as a cover band of the High-Lows as part of the member’s university’s light music club. In May, the band began recording original songs, half of them being melodic hardcore and the other half being hardcore punk . They played their first show in Hachiōji in June 1997. The following month, the band released their first demo tape, selling out all 100 copies. They also continued to play shows in Hachiōji and Shibuya and dropped the melodic hardcore parts of their music. In March 1998, a second demo tape was released with 200 copies and in May, the band embarked on their first domestic tour. In August, their first album A.S.A. Crew was recorded and the band participated in the collaboration album PUNKER SHOT 2 , released by Sky Records. In December 1998, guitarist Key-yan and bassist Sugi left the band, which caused the release of A.S.A. Crew to be postponed until August 1999. In January 1999, Nao’s younger brother Maximum the Ryokun joined the band, as he had played guitar since junior high-school and could also sing. He became the band’s co-lead vocalist, handling guitars and singing duties while Daisuke handles screams and raps. After using a support bassist for their live shows, bassist Ue-chang joined in September 1999, completing their current lineup. The first release with this lineup would come in October 1999 in the form of another demo tape. The band then decided to write their band name in katakana to reflect the change in the band members, and the band also started incorporating Japanese into their lyrics. In 2001, the band released an EP , Hō .