Considered legendary among old school visual kei fans, the group's vocalist Kon (ex-La'Mule) and the guitarist Kaie (ex-WITH SEXY, Vasalla and many more) have played together for many years. They first played in geno, then in Red Carpet and finally decided to create NightingeiL together in February 2008. They were joined by bassist Mukui in June, and by July they announced the beginning of their activities. Starting in August, the band began playing concerts with Kaie's ex-colleague Kei (ex-WITH SEXY) as their support drummer.
In September, their demo CD Shippai no boku seikou no kimi started being sold at their lives, soon followed by their first single you in November. The band continued touring Japan, playing their first two-man with 9GOATS BLACK OUT in Niigata in December.
In February 2009, the band was joined by two young members: Shouichi (ex-oshare dorobou) on guitar and Ayuki(ex-Hagakure) on drums. In April the band played their second two-man, this time with ∀NTI FEMINISM, and continued touring around Japan. The band's popularity continued rising, and in August and October two more maxi-singles came out. On Kon's birthday in November they played their first sponsored event.
The year 2010 started smoothly. However, drummer Ayuki became ill with a hernia and the band announced that their first sold-out one-man on March 21st would be his last live. After a short hiatus, on May 21st, the band announced the birth of the new NightingeiL with a new drummer, Hakuya. With the new line-up, the band released their first mini-album Tsurisage no koi and performed their second one-man in August.
It seemed like things were getting better with the new line-up, but all of a sudden Shouichi left the band on short notice in the middle of a tour. The band seemed shocked by this occurrence, but they soon got back on track and continued their activities with new power. Once again, on Kon's birthday in November, the band held their second sponsored event, at which they announced the release of their sixth maxi-single suigin, as well as a third oneman for February 2011.
NightingeiL will no doubt keep on bringing more unique music into the world, so make sure to look out for this band.
The concept of the Tokyo visual kei band NightingeiL is "blood," and vocalist Kon's lyrics express their unique world concept, putting a spin on the topics of life, love, pain, death, fear and sadness.
Although the band has gone through several member changes, their music is stably dark and enchanting—sometimes heavy, at other times soft and sensual. It has a distinct old-school feel to it, making them stand out from the majority of young bands nowadays.
