Klaha era.
1992-2oo1
Former Members
Mana - Co-founder and lead guitar (1992-2oo1)
Kozi - Co-founder, guitars, and synthesizers (1992-2oo1)
Tetsu - Vocals (1992-1994)
Yu~ki - Base (1992-2oo1)
Kami[deceased] - Drums (1994-1999)
Gackt - Vocals(1995-1999)
Klaha - Vocals (2ooo-2oo1)
Albums
"Uruwashiki Kamen no Shoutaijou" (麗しき仮面の招待状) December 10, 1995
"Ma Chérie ~Itoshii Kimi E~" (ma chérie ～愛しい君へ～) October 10, 1996
"Bel Air ~Kuuhaku no Shunkan no Naka De~" (ヴェル・エール～空白の瞬間の中で～) August 6, 1997
"Au Revoir" December 3, 1997
"Gekka no Yasoukyoku" (月下の夜想曲) February 21, 1998
"Illuminati" May 20, 1998 Columbia
"Le Ciel ~Kuuhaku no Kanata E~" (Le ciel ～空白の彼方へ～) September 9, 1998
"Saikai no Chi to Bara" (再会の血と薔薇) November 3, 1999
"Kyomu no Naka de no Yuugi" (虚無の中での遊戲) May 31, 2000
"Shiroi Hada ni Kuruu Ai to Kanashimi no Rondo" (白い肌に狂う愛と哀しみの輪舞) July 26, 2000
"Gardenia" May 30, 2001
"Beast of Blood" June 21, 2001
"Mayonaka ni Kawashita Yakusoku ~Bara no Konrei~" (真夜中に交わした約束～薔薇の婚礼～) October 30, 2001
"Garnet ~Kindan no Sono E~" (Garnet ～禁断の園へ～) November 30, 2001
Band Information
Tetsu Era
Malice Mizer was formed in 1992 by Mana and Közi with Tetsu on vocals, both Mana and Közi on guitars/synthesizers, Yu~ki on bass and Gaz on drums. From the outset, the band established their trademark "twin guitar"' sound, whereby two guitars play different melodies creating polyphony. Malice Mizer's sound during the Tetsu era was a mixture of rock, early 1980s goth, and strong classical influences. Their first official release was the song "Speed of Desperate" on the 1993 compilation Brain Trash. Before this, they had released a demo tape called Sans Logique which contained no vocals. Shortly after the release of Brain Trash, Gaz left the band to join Kneuklid Romance, while Kneuklid Romance's drummer Kami in turn joined Malice Mizer. In 1994, the band released their first album, Memoire, on Mana's newly founded independent record label Midi:Nette, and shortly after re-released it with an additional bonus track, "Baroque" under the title Memoire DX. Only days later, singer Tetsu left the band. While the exact reasons are unknown, Tetsu went on to take a different direction in his work. The band's continued use of his lyrics in songs they continued to perform with later vocalists suggest an amicable split.
Gackt Era
In 1995, after a year of inactivity, Malice Mizer recruited Gackt as their new vocalist. With a new concept created by Mana, the band's music became more Progressive rock and complex, incorporating even stronger classical and electronic elements. Visually, the band abandoned their 1980s goth look for colourful historical costumes always with a gothic feel. In 1996, Malice Mizer released their second album, Voyage ~Sans Retour~. The band became increasingly popular and in 1997 signed with Columbia Records, where they released a number of successful singles, a short film (Bel Air ~Kuuhaku no Shunkan no Naka De~ de L'Image), and, in 1998, their third album, Merveilles. The band even had their own radio show around this time. In January 1999, at the height of Malice Mizer's success, Gackt all of sudden left the band, and after just four months he released his first solo album. There are many rumors circulating as to why he left, but none of them have yet been confirmed. Malice Mizer left Columbia shortly after and returned to Midi:Nette.
A few months after Gackt's departure, drummer Kami died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage on June 21, 1999, leaving behind a handful of songs, which the band eventually released as part of the EP/video boxset Shinwa. Kami was never replaced; from that point on, Malice Mizer would only use support drummers (namely Shue, who is not shown in the band's later and final music videos, nor credited) and Kami would be credited as "eternal blood relative" on all their future releases.
Klaha Era
In the second half of 1999 and the beginning of 2000, Malice Mizer — still without an official vocalist — released a number of singles and began to work on a new album. Eventually, they recruited Klaha (real name Masaki Haruna), vocalist of darkwave band Pride of Mind. By then the band had abandoned the lighter pop music sound of the Gackt era for a dramatic mixture of classical music, gothic/goth and heavy metal music, and adopted an elaborate funeral Goth look. In the summer of 2000, they released what would be their last album, Bara no Seidou, followed by a very spectacular and theatrical live show, featuring pyrotechnics, a choir of veiled nuns and a scaled-down cathedral as stage prop. In 2001, Malice Mizer starred in a feature length vampire movie (Bara no Konrei ~Mayonaka ni Kawashita Yakusoku~), and released three more singles: "Gardenia", "Beast of Blood", and "Garnet ~Kindan no Sono E~", "Gardenia" and "Garnet" being of a considerably lighter tone than their previous album, signifying the start of a new era for the band. Unfortunately, those few singles were all the world would see of the yet again reborn Malice Mizer, as the band members decided to go their own separate ways in 2001, leaving disband messages on their official website, Miroir, which can still be viewed today. The split was spoken of as a "hiatus", however, so as not to exclude the possibility of a future reformation.
