VAP itself signed Galneryus and the band set to work on writing and recording their full-length debut 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…
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In the following year, along with the release of a third full-length album, Kisō , Dir En Grey gave their first performances abroad, touring China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Back in Japan, the last dates of the lengthy Rettou Gekishin Angya tour were already in support for the band’s second…
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Days later, AKG held the first edition of what would become an annual festival, the Nano-Mugen Fes. The event took place on August 11 at the Shinjuku LOFT.
On August 6, the band released their major-label debut single, ” Mirai no Kakera ” ( 未来の破片 ) , with their second single, ” Kimi to Iu Hana ” ( 君という花 ) , following shortly after.
After two and a half years, L’Arc-en-Ciel performed a series of seven concerts, entitled Shibuya Seven Days, in Tokyo in June 2003.
As a result of its success, Hōkai Amplifier was re-released on April 23, 2003, by the band’s new record label, Ki/oon Records , a subsidiary of Sony Music Japan .
Three compilation albums; The Best of L’Arc-en-Ciel 1994–1998 , The Best of L’Arc-en-Ciel 1998–2000 and The Best of L’Arc-en-Ciel C/W , were released on March 19, 2003. The album series included all of their previous singles, with the exception of “Spirit Dreams Inside (Another Dream)”.
The single ” Zangai ” was released on January 8, 2003, and those who purchased it were able to apply for tickets to a secret live that Buck-Tick held at Shibuya-AX on January 24. The title of February 2003’s Mona Lisa Overdrive is mistakenly thought to have been inspired by…
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In 2003, Nightmare signed with Nippon Crown and released their first single “Believe”. Three months after their debut, they released a triple A-side single, “Akane/Hate/Over”, a first time for any band to release any single with three A-side tracks. Nightmare’s song “Over” was used as the ending theme for the…
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After this EP, the band started receiving several record deals and started touring more. 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…
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