Sex Machineguns
The Sex Machineguns are a Japanese speed metal band. Their music is characterized by a heavy focus on bass as well as extremely fast guitar and bass solos. The band rides an image of being "Shock Rockers" by wearing crazy, exotic outfits like Visual Kei bands (although this image has been toned down recently), singing about violence (as shown in the song "FamiResuBombaa") and naming one of their live DVDs "SM Show" in a very intentional allusion to BDSM. Casting themselves as shock rockers is not the prime selling point of their music though, as they also exhibit their technical virtuosic skill on their instruments.
Biography
The Sex Machineguns started in 1992 as a low-popularity Indie group, touring live houses and clubs. Their name is intentionally similar to that of the Sex Pistols and, according to the band, "implying that [we] machineguns are more radical than [the] pistols". They gained a large fanbase quickly, and sold out their shows. They went on tour, and spread their popularity all over Japan. Once they got back home to release their first video and live CD in Spring of 1997, they had developed such a fanbase that the first press of the video sold out instantly, to all parts of Japan from Okinawa to Hokkaidō.In 1998, the Sex Machineguns made their commercial debut with the release of their first single on Toshiba-EMI Records. The single sold out all over Japan instantly, and it was decided they would go on a debut tour (which sold out completely in every location). Magazines began to run articles, and the single sold steadily, skyrocketing the band's popularity. In September they released their first album, which was another huge hit. They went on many tours, all selling out, and topped the singles charts all over Japan. As 1998 came to a close, the Sex Machineguns had topped the charts, and played 62 concerts (all sold out).
The band's frontman announced that the band would be taking a 'activity pause' on March 20, 2006. All members at the time except for Anchang had left the band and formed a new band/side-project called Elleguns, which released a 6-track instrumental. As of December 2006, Circuit. V.Panther, Samurai. W.Kenjilaw, and Speed Star Sypan Joe have started a new band known as "Cycle". Anchang later reformed Sex Machineguns in 2007 with Ryotatsu Kuwae on guitar and Ken'ichi Imai on drums, and they released three digital download-only singles that year.
Current members
- Anchang (Koji Ando) - lead vocals, guitar (1998 - present)
- Shingo☆ (Shingo Star) - bass (June 2008 - present)
- Ken'ichi (Kenichi Imai) - drums (October 2007 - present)
Previous members
- Sussy - lead and rhythm guitar (1996 - 2001)
- Noisy - bass, backing vocals (1996 - 2003)
- Clutch. J.Himawari - drums (1999 - 2003)
- Circuit. V.Panther (Yoshikazu Yahiro) - lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2001 - 2006/9/7)
- Samurai. W.Kenjilaw (Kenjirou Murai) - bass, backing vocals (2004 - 2006/9/7)
- Speed Star Sypan Joe (Koji Ueno) - drums (1997 - 1999, 2004 - 2006/9/7)
- Iberiko Moja Malmsteen (Ryotatsu Kuwae) - guitar (October 2007 - August 2008)
Support members
- Cyzer.A.Hamberg - synth guitar (April 2001 - August 2001)
- Crazy Horse Kameen - synth guitar (April 2001 - August 2003)
- Shingo☆ - bass (October 2007 - June 2008)
- Sussy - guitar (6,7 August 2008)
Discography
Albums
| Title | Release date | Peak Chart Position in JAPAN |
|---|---|---|
| Sex Machinegun | October 16, 1998 | #29 |
| Made in Japan | November 26, 1999 | #9 |
| Barbe-Q★マイケル | March 7, 2001 | #7 |
| Burning Hammer (live album) | October 31, 2001 | #7 |
| Ignition | October 9, 2002 | #8 |
| Machineguns Get-Together ("best of" compilation) | June 4, 2003 | #9 |
| To the future tracks ~Gathering for Unreleased Songs~ | August 6, 2003 | #29 |
| Live! Final Attack at Budokan (double live album) | September 26, 2003 | #57 |
| Heavy Metal Thunder | March 2, 2005 | #22 |
| Made in USA | February 8, 2006 | #29 |
| Best Tracks the past and the future | March 26, 2008 | #65 |
| Cameron | October 8, 2008 | ― |
Singles
| Title | Release date | Peak Chart Position in JAPAN |
|---|---|---|
| Hanabi-la daikaiten | April 22, 1998 May 23, 2001 (reissue) | #50 |
| BURN -burn your fire of love- | September 18, 1998 May 23, 2001 (reissue) | #55 |
| Tekken II | February 3, 1999 May 23, 2001 (reissue) | #38 |
| Mikan no uta (Orange Song) | April 21, 1999 May 23, 2001 (reissue) | #25 |
| ONIGUNSOW (Hard-hearted sergeant) | October 20, 1999 September 26, 2003 (reissue) | #14 |
| Aikoso subete (LOVE IS ALL OF MY LIFE) | May 24, 2000 September 26, 2003 (reissue) | #16 |
| S.H.R ~ SEXY HERO REVOLUTION | January 24, 2001 | #16 |
| Tairyô (Good fishing!) | August 29, 2001 | #13 |
| Sokoni anataga... (There You Are...) | January 23, 2002 | #13 |
| Bousou ROCK (Reckless Rider) | May 16, 2002 | #16 |
| Yonaoshi GOOD VIBRATION (Social reform, Good Vibration) | August 7, 2002 | #16 |
| Demae-do icchokusen (Straight Line Meal Delivery) | November 10, 2004 | #15 |
| Suspense Gekijou (Suspense Theatre) | February 9, 2005 | #22 |
| Aijin 28 | August 3, 2005 | #28 |
| Haihin Kaishuu (Junk Salvaging) (Download only) | August 22, 2007 | ― |
| Doku MAMUSHI (Poisonous Viper) (Download only) | September 26, 2007 | ― |
| JACKY (Download only) | October 31, 2007 | ― |
Other
| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
Hellthy Set M
| April 21, 1999 |
Route320
| June 1, 2002 |
Love for Nana ~Only 1 Tribute~
| March 16, 2005 |
Music from and Inspired by the Game Heavy Metal Thunder -The Recordings-
| September 7, 2005 |
Solo Works
| Member | Title | Release date | Peak Chart Position in JAPAN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchang | Open Your Head! Tear!
| December 3, 2003 | #25 |
| Anchang | the maintenance
| January 28, 2004 | #26 |
| Anchang | Memphis
| February 21, 2007 | #98 |
| Circuit.V.Panther | Sexy Finger
| September 26, 2003 | ― |
| Circuit.V.Panther | Sexy Finger II
| September 15, 2004 | ― |
| Elleguns | Keepout
| October 12, 2005 | ― |
Videography
The naming scheme for the Sex Machineguns videos is as follows:- Video Sex = A compilation of the latest music videos from the band
- SM Show = A compilation of concert video bits (SM Show 2 has a 90min full concert followed by a 20min clip of another, followed by some other clips, and then a second full 90min concert, for example)
| Title | Release date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency! Nozarashi! | September 27, 2000 | Video |
| SM Show | October 16, 2000 | DVD and Video |
| Video Sex | June 7, 2000 | Video |
| Video Sex | February 20, 2002 | DVD |
| SM Show 2 | February 20, 2002 | DVD and Video |
| Video Sex 2 | December 4, 2002 | DVD and Video |
| SM Show 3 | February 19, 2003 | DVD and Video |
| SM Show Finale | October 22, 2003 | DVD |
| Metal Box | December 10, 2003 | DVD |
| Made In USA | January 25, 2006 | Single DVD |
| Living In America | March 8, 2006 | Documentary DVD |
| a day in the Live ~ Sex Machineguns Live In USA~ | June 28, 2006 | Live DVD |
| Video Sex Special Best Clips | March 26, 2008 | DVD |
External links
- Official Site (Japanese / English Language)
- Official Blog - Heavy Metal Thunder (Japanese Language)
- Latest Live video (Currently 30 video clips taken from 2005 to the present)
- Toshiba-EMI Site (Japanese Language)
- Virgin Music Company Site (Japanese Language)
- Viva Machineguns Fan Site (Japanese Language)
- Cycle Official Site (Japanese Language)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Wednesday September 24, 2008 at 22:45:28 PDT (GMT -0700)
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