Young indies band Lycaon is being heralded by die-hard visual kei fans as one of the gems keeping the visual scene relevant and evolving. These fans are looking for a distinctive but versatile sound that isn’t rehashing the conventions of other visual bands, or toting a generic visual kei sound. Making circuits only in Japan thus far and participating in relatively marginal events, we haven’t seen this group alongside the more famous visual groups, but those who hear them recognize the uniqueness and innovation of their sound, from rhythms to guitars, vocals and melodies.
Lycaon formed in September of 2007 around bassist Mio, formerly from Jagaa, and drummer Eve, ex-PuppetMammy. With the addition of vocalist Yuuki plus guitarists Satoshi and Rito who were previously from Amulet, the line-up was complete.
The group takes its name from the Lycaon hunting dog, also called the “Painted Wolf.” The band’s concept became the members’ experiences added to the Lycaon hound’s “hunting instinct."
Starting their live activities in January of 2008, the group’s first maxi-single, RED RUM hit stores on March 13th, limited to 1,000 copies. The end of May saw their first free one-man live, entitled The MURDER to dismantle truth show, at Nagoya Heart Land. In July they released another single, Sad/Sickness, this time with 2,000 copies. This was followed by another one-man that fall, Please vomit to me your Sadness, which took place at Shibuya O-CREST on September 19th.
February of 2009 saw their first mini-album, Ambrozia, go on sale limited to 3,000 copies. Throughout April and May, the band did a countrywide two-man tour called Hatashijou (Letter of challenge) with fellow visual band R shitei, which included two dates in Okinawa in addition to the usual sites. June saw the release of their third single, Chains of collar, limited to 3,000 copies, accompanied by the one-man live The Chain which ties you at Nagoya ell FITS ALL.
Keeping up their aggressive release schedule, they opened the year 2010 with the release of their first full album, Royal Order, in March. Relentless like the hunting dog they are named after, Lycaon is on a roll and we look forward to seeing where they go from here.
