^___^ Luna Sea ^___^

Luna Sea is a rock band from Kanagawa, Japan, formed in 1989. The band was initially founded by, band leader and bassist Jun "J" Onose and rhythm guitarist Kiyonobu "Inoran" Inoue, when they were in high school. Originally the band was called Lunacy. When the senior members graduated from school in 1989, Lunacy recruited lead guitarist and violinist Yasuhiro "Sugizo" Sugihara, drummer Shinya Yamada and vocalist Ryuichi Kawamura, a lineup that has remained the same. Upon their first album release, the band changed their name to Luna Sea.
Luna Sea, due to early use of make-up and costumes and their widespread popularity, is considered one of the biggest influential bands in the visual kei movement. Throughout the mid '90s, they used significantly less make-up, and after a one-year break in 1998, they came back with a more progressive rock style and toned down their on-stage attire. When they went on an "indefinite hiatus" in 2000, they left a big influence on the Japanese rock scene.
Luna Sea achieved its breakthrough success with a sold-out tour in 1991, which helped them to get a contract with MCA Records, and with the release of their second album Image which reached number nine on the charts.
After moving to Universal in 1998 the band released their best-selling studio album, Shine, with an estimated 902,310 copies sold in one year in Japan alone, although this is less than their compilation album Singles which managed to sell over one million in Japan. Throughout their career, Luna Sea released seven studio albums, one live album, seven VHS/DVD releases, and fourteen singles, and sold over eight million records in Japan alone.
On August 25, 2010 the day of a full moon, it was announced that they will hold an urgent press conference on August 31 in Hong Kong, where they once announced the end of their activities in 2000.
During the press conference the band confirmed a reunion and announced their first concert tour in ten years, new songs and added that there will be even more news with time. The world tour, named 20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon- began on November 27 in Germany, and continued with performances in the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan and ended on December 31 in Japan, the last of a two-day performance in Kobe.

Members:

As with numerous other Japanese bands, the members of Luna Sea are usually credited with their given or stage names.
Ryuichi Kawamura (河村隆一 Kawamura Ryuuichi?) – vocals
Yasuhiro "Sugizo" Sugihara (杉原有音 Sugihara Yasuhiro) – lead guitar, violin, backing vocals
Kiyonobu "Inoran" Inoue (井上清信 Inoue Kiyonobu) – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Jun "J" Onose (小野瀬潤 Onose Jun) – bass, backing vocals
Shinya Yamada (山田真矢 Yamada Shinya) – drums

Musical Style:

Luna Sea's sound is firmly based in '80s hard rock, with a versatile progressive approach to songwriting, with mixed elements of punk, metal and grunge, they formed hard, slow, or fast tunes, as well as ballads, all with a mysterious atmosphere. Also their softer side, with violin playing proved equally as strong. With their last two records, their sound became more mainstream, and lost some mystery and yet still had the distinctive sound of the band.

Discography:

Studio albums:

Luna Sea (April 21, 1991)
Image (May 21, 1992)
Eden (April 21, 1993)
Mother (October 26, 1994)
Style (April 22, 1996)
Shine (July 23, 1998)
Lunacy (July 12, 2000)

Singles:

"Believe" (February 24, 1993)
"In My Dream (With Shiver)" (July 21, 1993)
"Rosier" (July 21, 1994)
"True Blue" (September 21, 1994)
"Mother" (February 22, 1995)
"Desire" (November 13, 1995)
"End of Sorrow" (March 25, 1996)
"In Silence" (July 15, 1996)
"Storm" (April 15, 1998)
"Shine" (June 3, 1998)
"I for You" (July 1, 1998)
"Gravity" (March 29, 2000)
"Tonight" (May 17, 2000)
"Love Song" (November 8, 2000)
"Promise" (April 9, 2011)

Demos:

"Lunacy" (August 9, 1989)
"Shade" (December 8, 1989)
"Lastly" (June 10, 1990)

Self cover album:

Luna Sea (March 16, 2011)

Live albums:

Never Sold Out (May 29, 1999)
Luna Sea 3D in Los Angeles (June 1, 2011)

Compilation albums :

Singles (December 17, 1997)
Period -the Best Selection- (December 23, 2000)
Guitar Solo Instruments 1 (December 19, 2001)
Guitar Solo Instruments 2 (December 19, 2001)
Piano Solo Instruments 1 (December 19, 2001)
Piano Solo Instruments 2 (December 19, 2001)
Piano Solo Instruments 3 (December 19, 2001)
Piano Solo Instruments 4 (December 19, 2001)
Another Side of Singles II (March 6, 2002)
Slow (March 23, 2005)
Complete Best (March 26, 2008)

Box sets:

Complete Single Box (December 23, 2003)
Complete Album Box (May 29, 2004)

V.A. Compilations:

Nucler Fusion (March 10, 1991)
Mulan (September 9, 1998)
Tribute Spirits (May 1, 1999)
The World Is Not Enough (January 19, 2000)
Another Heaven Complex (April 28, 2000)
Vitamins - For Your Heart (February 19, 2003)
Rock is Loft (June 14, 2006)
Rock Nippon Noriko Shoji Selection (January 24, 2007)
Luna Sea Memorial Cover Album -Re:birth- (December 19, 2007)
CDTV No.1 Hits ~Age Uta~ (December 23, 2009)
CDTV No.1 Hits ~Naki Uta~ (December 23, 2009)
CDTV No.1 Hits ~Tomo Uta~ (December 23, 2009)

Videos:

Image Or Real (July 22, 1992, VHS)
Sin After Sin (December 16, 1993, VHS)
Eclipse I (May 24, 1995, VHS)
Lunatic Tokyo 1995.12.23 Tokyo Dome (July 15, 1996, VHS)
Rew (May 21, 1997, VHS)
10th Anniversary Gig [Never Sold Out] Capacity ∞ Live! (September 29, 1999, VHS)
10th Anniversary Gig [Never Sold Out] Capacity ∞ Document! (September 29, 1999, VHS)
The Final Act Tokyo Dome (May 29, 2001, DVD)
Eclipse II (November 28, 2001, VHS)
Eclipse I+II (November 28, 2001, DVD)
Image Or Real (May 29, 2002, DVD)
Sin After Sin (May 22, 2002, DVD)
Lunatic Tokyo 1995.12.23 Tokyo Dome (May 22, 2002, DVD)
Rew (May 29, 2002, DVD)
Revive ~Mafuyu no Yagai~ (May 29, 2003, DVD)
Luna Sea 1998 Revive ~Manatsu no Yagai~ (May 29, 2003, DVD)
God Bless You ~One Night Dejavu~ Tokyo Dome 2007.12.24 (March 26, 2008, DVD)
God Bless You ~One Night Dejavu~ Tokyo Dome 2007.12.24 (December 24, 2008, Blu-ray)
10th Anniversary Gig [Never Sold Out] Capacity ∞ Live! (May 30, 2010, DVD, includes Document!)
Mafuyu no Yagai & Manatsu no Yagai (May 30, 2010, DVD)
First Asian Tour 1999 in Hong Kong (December 15, 2010, DVD)
Concert Tour 2000 Brand New Chaos Act II in Taipei (December 15, 2010, DVD)
Luna Sea 20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon- Tour Document (March 30, 2011, DVD)
Luna Sea 20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon- Tokyo Dome (March 30, 2011, DVD or Blu-ray)
Lunacy Kurofuku Gentei Gig ~the Holy Night~ (March 30, 2011, DVD or Blu-ray)