Alice Nine (アリス九號., Alice Nine? or alice nine.) is a Japanese rock band and part of the country's visual kei movement. It was formed in 2004 and originally signed to PS Company, a sub-division of Free-Will. As of 2007, the band is signed to both PS Company and King Records in Japan, as well as to German label CLJ Records in Europe and has released two full-length records, along with several EPs, singles and DVDs.
In August 2004 Alice Nine formed after the disbandment of the band Givuss; vocalist Shou and guitarist Tora joined with Hiroto, Saga and Nao to form a new band. Their first concert was held at the Ikebukuro Cyber on May 11, 2004 and they soon toured with fellow PS Company band BIS. In November, they did a nation-wide tour with the band Karen from Under Code Productions.
In 2005, after a series of releases on PS Company, Alice Nine released a first single, "Kasou Mushou Shi", through a joint deal with PS Company and King Records.In 2006, Alice Nine had two songs, "Akatsuki" and "Ikuoku no Chandelier", used as opening and closing themes in the second season of the anime series Meine Liebe. The group's first full-length album Zekkeishoku debuted on the Oricon daily charts at #4, and the group completed the Kacho Fugetsu Vol. 1 tour in support of the album.
In 2007, they performed at the JRock Revolution festival in Los Angeles, California, on May 25, 2007 along with several other Japanese bands. It was their first performance outside of Japan.[8] The group's single "Tsubasa" peaked at number six on the Oricon charts, making it one of their successful singles to date and in November 28, 2007 their second full-length album, Alpha, was released. The band released a new single, titled "Mirror Ball" on March 26, 2008. The title song of the single was used in the live-action movie adaptation of the anime Aquarian Age.
Two compilations of the band's music videos, "Alice in Pictures I" and "Alice in Pictures II", will be released on July 2, 2008. The DVDs contain approximately 8 music videos in chronological order of their original release, with "Alice in Pictures I" including the videos from "Gin no Tsuki Kuroi Hoshi" to "Number Six". "Alice in Pictures II" contains videos from "Jewels" to "Eraser -Memoire d'une fleur-", and also includes a new music video for "Gekkouyoku", a song which was exclusively included with the "Dive into the Sun" photobook.
On August 6th, the band are expected to release a new single entitled "Rainbows". Three different versions of the single will be released.
Alice Nine's musical style can mainly be described as rock, differentiating between heavier songs and a more mainstream approach. In the past their music had a heavier sound as opposed to the sound of their new album, which contains a variation of lighter instruments and synthesizers. Like some other Visual Kei bands, as they progressed through the years, the band experimented and released songs that focus more on the mainstream public.
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Sam Sept 06, 2008 8:19 pm