FANATIC◇CRISIS was formed in November 1992 by bassist Ryuji (ex Tenchuusatsu), guitarist Kazuya (also ex Tenchuusatsu) and vocalist Tsutomu (ex J'AXIL). The three youngsters focused mainly on performing in the Nagoya area and held their first live in Music Farm in April of the following year. That December, another guitarist, Shun (ex AR-PAGE) joined the lineup and they also recruited a supporting drummer by the name of Tatsuya.
The band released their first demo tape, Karma, in April 1994. The first press was limited to only 1000 copies and it was so popular that another pressing had to be made in the following weeks. They released their first album in December and, some time after a coupling tour with Of-J, their drummer, Tohru, joined as an official member.
With Tohru's addition, the final lineup of FANATIC◇CRISIS was now complete. The band now consisted of the hyper, yet skillful, Kazuya, the stoic and cool Shun, the outlandishly dressed and energetic Ryuji, the mature older brother/mentor-type Tohru and Tsutomu, the optimistic vocalist with the rich voice and heavy accent. The band was now ready to set out and take over the music world.
Shortly after Tohru joined, they held a Japan-wide tour entitled Making of Truth. For such a "new" band, it was a rather large tour totaling fifteen dates with the final being held at Nagoya Bottom Line in front of 4000 fans. Their first video, Truth, was released while a second video, which was of their tour final, was released in the following month.
FANATIC◇CRISIS started off in January 1996 with their first full album and a one-man tour to promote it and they also appeared on the EMERGENCY EXPRESS 1996 and THE END OF THE CENTURY ROCKERS compilations. Things started looking even better for the band when their Tsuki no Hana single was distributed through a major label, Bandai, and reached the 47th spot on the Oricon Charts. Not stopping there, they held another Japan-wide tour that spanned from July to September and their next release also received major distribution, though this time it was through Mercury.
The band released a new video in the spring of 1997 and held another long tour. Good news came during the summer when they signed with For Life Records and released their major debut single, SUPER SOUL, in August. It was unsurprising that they went major so quickly considering the nearly breakneck pace they liked to set for themselves. However, this was merely the beginning.
FANATIC◇CRISIS released their third major single in January. They also held a special VALENTINE GIG which would later on become a yearly "tradition" of sorts for them. Their first major album, ONE -one for all-, was released in March and nabbed the No. 5 spot on the charts. The band held their first major tour, 1998 A NAKED ONE, in the spring and finished up the year with their first major video and two long tours, one of which lead into the early vestiges of the following year.
1999 began with the release of another single and their now usual VALENTINE GIG. Their second album was released in February and was followed by a promotional tour in the spring. A photo collection was released at this time and their Indies album MARBLE was re-pressed and featured different packaging. After another long tour, INDEPENDENCE PSYCHO BABYS, two mail order singles were made available at the end of the year.
The band began 2000 with CIRCUIT TOUR 2000 "MEGA SUPER BALL @ GO GO!!". Throughout the year, they held four EAS SYNDROME tours and in June, they held a special FC Truth limited live. Their third album, EAS, was available in September and they ended the year with the EAS SYNDROME FINAL live.
In January, a video single was released and another tour followed. A special FC Truth live was held in the spring and the rest of the year was filled with many various releases. At the end of 2001, FANATIC◇CRISIS released another new album.
WINTER TOUR 2002 "happy? Scream!!" started off 2002 and a new single, Sputnik -tabibito-tachi-, and its corresponding video single were released in the subsequent months. The rest of the year was filled with less releases than the previous year, however, they made up for it with many more of the long tours that they were beginning to become famous for. In December, the band took off to Hawaii for a very small and intimate tour and they also held a special birthday event for Kazuya.
By the time 2003's VALENTINE GIG came around, they decided to do things differently. Instead of one performance, they held six in three different venues, all of which saw high attendance or were sold out. The band decided to release a video clip/documentary DVD as well as a corresponding book in March and held their usual summer tour but this time they released a new album to go with it. At the end of the year, they held a Special Christmas Showcase that sold out completely.
During June 2004, the band teamed up with Hikawa Kiyoshi and Biriken to form the unit CROSS CLOVER. Together, they recorded a single entitled evergreen (inochi no utagoe) and all the proceeds went to charity.
In February 2005 a DVD clip & live collection was released and a best album and best single collection followed. Unfortunately, FANATIC◇CRISIS announced that they had collectively decided to take a "break" from the music scene. Their last live was held on May 14th in Tokyo Bay NK Hall.
In April of 2007, Kazuya teamed up with a vocalist named Aoi and they've formed a new band called BOUNTY. It will be interesting to see whether or not some of their songs will sound similar to any of FANATIC◇CRISIS' tracks that Kazuya composed.
As it seemed that the members departed on good terms, chances of a reunion are very high. Perhaps one of these days the members of FANATIC◇CRISIS will return as one to dominate the charts and fill the world with their upbeat and fun tunes once more.
After getting their lineup fully set in 1995, there was no stopping this band whose musical goals and styles were the same and whose members couldn't be more different. All together, the members of FANATIC◇CRISIS were a somewhat odd mix of characters that, despite their personality differences, melded together well both on a musical and personal level.
The band's music was a representation of the crazy mix of styles that each particular member contributed to the band. With their highly catchy and upbeat songs, there was something about this band that everyone was sure to like thanks to Tsutomu's warm and rich voice and the other member's strong and skillful playing backing him.
Even though the members decided to take a "break" in May 2005, hopes are high that this once long-lived and energetic band will reform and take the music scene by storm again.
