Michio Okamiya
| The Black Mages | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2002–2010 |
| Labels | Square Enix Music Dog Ear Records |
| Associated acts | Earthbound Papas |
| Past members |
Nobuo Uematsu Kenichiro Fukui Tsuyoshi Sekito Keiji Kawamori Arata Hanyuda Michio Okamiya |
| The Black Mages | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by The Black Mages | |
| Released | February 19, 2003 May 10, 2004 (re-release) |
| Genre | Progressive metal |
| Length | 51:29 |
| Label |
DigiCube Square Enix (re-release) |
| Producer | Nobuo Uematsu |
| The Black Mages II: The Skies Above | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Studio album by The Black Mages | |
| Released | December 22, 2004 |
| Genre | Progressive metal |
| Length | 50:56 |
| Label | Universal Music Group |
| Producer | Nobuo Uematsu |
| The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Studio album by The Black Mages | |
| Released | March 19, 2008 |
| Genre | Progressive metal |
| Length | 60:40 |
| Label | Dog Ear Records |
| Producer | Nobuo Uematsu |
The Black Mages were a Japanese instrumental rock band formed in 2002 by Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito, who were three video game composers for Square Enix. The band arranged Uematsu's Final Fantasy video game series-based compositions in a hard rock style often similar to progressive metal, achieved with the additional use of synthesizers. Since its inception, the band had expanded to six members with the addition of Keiji Kawamori, Michio Okamiya and Arata Hanyuda. In August 2010, Uematsu announced the band had been disbanded, but he would continue to perform rock arrangements of his music as a part of another similar band, known as the Earthbound Papas.
The band released three studio albums. Their first was released eponymously as The Black Mages in 2003, and contained arrangements of Final Fantasy battle themes. The second album, The Black Mages II: The Skies Above, was released in 2004 and featured additional pieces besides battle themes including the group's first original song, "Blue Blast ~Winning the Rainbow", which was created for Japanese K-1 fighter Takehiro Murahama. The third album, The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight, was released in 2008. Music from the group has also appeared in other albums, including one track in Dark Chronicle Premium Arrange, an album of arranged music from the video game Dark Chronicle, a piece in the animated film Final Fantasy VII Advent Children and its corresponding soundtrack album, and one track on Final Fantasy III Original Soundtrack, the soundtrack album for the Nintendo DS version of Final Fantasy III.
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