DuelJewel was conceived in January 1997 by guitarist Shun, drummer VAL, bassist Psy, and a vocalist whose name is unfortunately unknown. Also for unknown reasons, the vocalist left in February. It was in the summer months of the same year that DuelJewel fell into good fortune by recruiting both a new vocalist, Hayato, and a secondary guitarist, Takashi.
Despite both Psy and Hayato leaving the band in July, DuelJewel carried on with the release of their first demo tape, Kaze ~The Winding Garden~, which was distributed for free in August.
In 1999, Ka-non was recruited as the band’s new bassist. Regrettably, just as DuelJewel's luck seemed to have taken a turn for the better, Takashi decided to leave in order to form another band. Even though this was a turn in the wrong direction, their luck changed once again when Hayato returned to the group that same month. With the release of their second demo tape, Tsuki to tawamure, in December, a session guitarist, Yuya, was recruited for help with upcoming work.
The year 2000 saw the band creating new material, Kuroi and Shiroi, both of which were distributed as demo tapes limited to 200 copies. In October, Yuya joined DuelJewel as a permanent member and the band’s last release of the year, Chinmoku, was also distributed for free. The most notable event of the year for this up and coming band however, came in December when they played their very first one-man concert in Kaguraza.
January 2001 saw the band participating at Musou, and in May they signed with the indie label Cyber Force. In response to the reception they received at their first one-man concert back in December, DuelJewel performed their second solo concert in July. After gaining some recognition from the public, the band released their first full-length album, Lapidary, in August. To coincide with the release of this album, DuelJewel opted to partake in their first tour of Japan, and in November they once again played at Musou. After a year of such success, it was announced in December that Ka-non would be parting ways with the band.
In 2002 Natsuki, previously of Platina and hide and seek, joined the band as Ka-non's replacement. The year was moderately busy for the band, with them concentrating on performing in Japan and making their first international performance at A-Kon in Dallas, Texas, United States. It was thanks to this exposure abroad that DuelJewel gained more popularity back home in Japan and held more performances in and around Tokyo. Due to a year of heavy promotion both abroad and in Japan, their only release of the year was the mini-album Noah.
2003 saw DuelJewel performing at four American conventions: Katsucon, Anime Central, A-Kon and Anime Expo, helping them to gain even more international recognition and a firmly grounded fanbase. As for promotion back at home, the band saw themselves performing their first full-length schedule, touring all over Japan. Following a year of fierce performing, DuelJewel's first maxi-single was released in November, much to the fans’ pleasure.
On January 18, 2004, the band took part in the Coeur de Roi "R"vol.2 Fashion&Liveshow in which Hayato even modeled clothing. In the spring, DuelJewel performed alongside other up and coming bands such as Eldorado and D. On March 12th, the band performed at Crow Music presents "Over Grade" at Kyoto VOX HALL. Only a month later they performed at MEGURO ROCK MAY KAN alongside THE DEAD POP STARS. The band also made their way across to the United States to perform at Fanime Con in the summer.
In 2005 DuelJewel focused their efforts primarily on Japan with their second maxi-single release, The Birth, in February. With increasing coverage of the band in magazines such as Shoxx, and performances with established indie bands like Phantasmagoria, ISABELLE, and D'espairsRay, it was no wonder that the band's one-man performances in August and September completely sold out. In September they signed with a new management label, Zero Range Entertainment, which has taken an active role in promoting the band across Japan.
The band released their second mini-album, Vision, in 2006 following Hayato's and VAL's appearance at the MegaCon convention in Orlando, Florida, United States. in February. Over the duration of the year, the band also released two new maxi-singles, azure and aishuu melancholy.
As of 2007, DuelJewel took part in the J-Rock Revolution Festival on May 25th in Los Angeles, California alongside Miyavi, Kagrra,, alice nine. and Vidoll. They also performed at the OSAKA MUSE 20th Anniversary and AREA 10th Anniversary along with other popular rock artists.
After their return to Japan, DuelJewel released their first single of 2007, es, and remained relatively quiet since. Then in December, the band released their first full-length album, BULLET, on Sword Records. In contrast, new material, such as the album Glassfia, was more abundant in 2008, and in November the band toured together with Doremidan and Wizard.
The year 2009 was mostly filled with live performances. The most significant ones took place during Sugar’s last tour and at the V-ROCK FESTIVAL. Also , DuelJewel’s best-of album, REVIVE, was released this year. In comparison, 2010 featured more new releases, such as the two mini-albums, Will and ZERO, and the full-length album, We Will Melt You--which was also released in Europe, thanks to European label Gan-Shin.
2011 was a rather busy year for DuelJewel. They worked together with bands like 12012, D, DaizyStripper, heidi. and MERRY, to create the Crush! -90's V-Rock best hit cover songs- album, and on February 7th all of those bands performed in the CRUSH! the PARTY!!!! event held at Shibuya O-EAST to promote this release. In March the band released the single, Vamp Ash, which kept its position on the Oricon charts for two weeks. In July another single, Polaris, was released. The band also performed a lot, holding the Twilight Meteor Shower tour, as well as a tour to promote the December-released album, Luminous. Unfortunately, the band had to perform without their vocalist, since Hayato had to undergo medical treatment for throat problems. His absence was prolonged, but finally the band announced that Hayato will make his official return to the stage on July 6th, 2013 at Nippon Seinenka.
Throughout Hayato's lengthy absence, the other members of DuelJewel have been performing using recorded vocals and have also collaborated with Kim Sehun from the Korean rock band EVE to create an album together. We can only hope that they will continue to soar to new heights!
