Zi:Kill
| Zi:Kill | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | G-Kill |
| Origin | Kanagawa, Japan |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1987–1994 |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts |
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| Members | Tusk Seiichi Ken Eby |
| Past members | Masami Yukihiro Tetsu |
Zi:Kill (stylized as ZI:KILL or ZI÷KILL) was a Japanese visual kei rock band active from 1987 to 1994. The core members were vocalist Tusk, bassist Seiichi and guitarist Ken. Zi:Kill achieved moderate success, with their three major label studio albums reaching the top ten on the Oricon chart. They were featured in a chapter of Karl Taro Greenfeld's novel Speed Tribes that documents the writer's time spent with the band and the events that nearly caused their break up.
Zi:Kill (originally called G-Kill) was formed in November 1987 with Ken on guitar and Seiichi on bass. Tusk joined in February 1988 and soon after Masami joined on drums. On April 20 they played their first show at Meguro Rokumeikan. In 1989 they released their first album, Shin Sekai ~Real of the World~ on the label Ghost Disc. The album was reissued on July 21, this time distributed by Extasy Records, whose founder Yoshiki was introduced to the band by his X Japan bandmate hide, and with the extra track "Karei". After a May 3 concert at Meguro Live Station Masami left the group.
Their first album proved to be successful, with the band becoming one of the more popular groups in Japan's emerging visual kei scene. In 1990, after recruiting new drummer Yukihiro and signing to Extasy, they released their second album Close Dance. The album was an even greater success; it reached the first position of Oricon's indies chart, with 30,000 copies pre-ordered. During an October 10 show at Shibuya Kōkaidō, Zi:Kill announced their signing with major label Toshiba EMI, who also gave the band their own label, Planet Earth.
After a small tour Zi:Kill went to London, where they worked on their major label debut. The group had become known for infighting within the band, and upon completing the album, Yukihiro was fired at a December 28, 1990 gig at Kawasaki Club Citta.
Desert Town, their major label debut, appeared to be the bands breakthrough album when it was released in 1991. It hit the Oricon top ten, and their debut single "Lonely" sold 40,000 copies. In 2004, it was named one of the top albums from 1989-1998 in an issue of the music magazine Band Yarouze. However, after recruiting new drummer Tetsu and starting a nationwide tour, the band began a bitter dispute with Toshiba EMI that led to Zi:Kill leaving the label. The band ceased promotion of Desert Town, spending the rest of the year playing only a handful of shows. On September 24, 1991 Tetsu announced he was leaving the group. The single "Hero" was released three days later, with Sceana of Kamaitachi providing backing vocals on the B-side "Your Face".
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