D'espairsRay

D'espairsRay
D'espairsRay in Los Angeles, 2007
Background information
Also known as	Animalmania
Origin	Japan
Genres	Industrial metal alternative metal nu metal gothic metal (early years)
Years active	1999–2011, 2014
Labels	Speed Disk Maniac Delicious Deli Sword/Universal Gan-Shin Spinefarm JShock Maru
Associated acts	The Micro Head 4N's Angelo
Website	www.despairsray.jp
Past members	Hizumi Karyu Zero Tsukasa

D'espairsRay (formerly stylized as DéspairsRay or +DéspairsRay+) was a Japanese visual kei rock band active from 1999 to 2011. The lineup of Hizumi on vocals, Karyu on guitar, Zero on bass and Tsukasa on drums remained the same, with the group having released four full-length records, three EPs and thirteen singles. Outside Japan, D'espairsRay have toured Europe and North America and had domestic releases in those territories.

They performed at the Wacken Open Air festival in 2006, to several thousand people, and a second album, titled Mirror was released on April 11, 2007. They also performed during Jrock Revolution 2007 held on Memorial Weekend in Los Angeles, California. In 2008 they performed at the Taste of Chaos tour in the USA.

On March 11, 2009 their third album Redeemer was released. In the summer of 2010, the band had a world tour entitled Human-Clad Monsters in which they performed in Japan, the US, and Europe. After the last show of the tour, on December 30, the band went on an indefinite hiatus so Hizumi could recover from a rare throat condition. However, on June 15, 2011 D'espairsRay announced that they had no choice but to disband, due to Hizumi's health having no recovery in sight. D'espairsRay reunited for a one-night performance on July 29, 2014.

D'espairsRay was formed on September 9, 1999 by Hizumi (ex-Le'veil), Karyu (ex-Dieur Mind), Zero and Tsukasa (ex-Le'veil). They released their first demotape, Ao, in December of that year. 2000 began with the release of two more demotapes, and during the rest of the year they gained popularity, eventually leading to the release of their first maxi-single in October, Kumo. With only 1000 copies pressed, the CD sold out immediatrely. In April 2001, they released their second maxi-single, "Genwaku", along with a second press of their first maxi-single. Because it had sold out through web-ordering, a second press was released the same day as the first. This was followed by the release of their first EP, Terrors, in July. Their popularity rose after the release of this album and they started to move out of the local scene.