profile ~ biography ~ equipment
HIZAKI starts his career in music in his home town, playing for some small local bands for leisure. The only known one at the moment is GARNET GRAVE, whose activity probably took place between 1997 and 1998.
In April 1999 HIZAKI founded Crack brain. With them he obtained his first contract as a professional musician with the indie label Crow Music. Looking for a bigger audience, the band soon moved to Tokyo. However, shortly after the release of their first EP, they decided to disband in September 2002.
Crack brain
Shortly after that HIZAKI went under the spotlights again with a new band: グロテスクロマンティッカ (later known as Schwardix Marvally). The project was joined by ex-Madeth gray’ll members Hisui and Airi, the latter being also ex-Crack Brain member. With them HIZAKI moved away from visual rock to approach a sound closer to heavy metal. The band history came to an end in 2004, when Airi announded his retirement from the music scene.
After a short break, HIZAKI came back with his first solo project. During this period he released two EPs with the help of several vocalists of the visual scene, including Seiji (from Brain Hacker) and his future bandmate Masaki. His solo songs developed HIZAKI’s trademark sound, bringing forth power and heavy metal arrangements along with neoclassical melodies and solos.
HIZAKI in Schwardix Marvally
His solo activities temporalily halt when HIZAKI decided to join SULFURIC ACID in June 2005. Even though the other guitarist, Tomozo, had been the leader since the foundation in 1999, HIZAKI promptly became one of the main members, composing most of the songs and influencing the former sound of the band with new elements from his previous projects.
In 2006 HIZAKI worked again on a side solo project called HIZAKI grace project adding stable members, like IZABEL VAROSA's vocalist Hikaru and ex-Jyakura bassist Yuu. The first release of the new band is the split single -unique- in collaboration with +ISOLATION, a session band composed of some of SULFURIC ACID's members. In order to focus on these two side projects, SULFURIC ACID disbanded on the 8th of October 2006.
HIZAKI in SULFURIC ACID
HIZAKI stated that he didn’t want to join another band at that moment being more keen on working just on his solo project. For the debut full-lenght album Dignity of Crest, finally the definitive line-up settles with Moi dix Mois’ Juka as a new singer.
In the meantime HIZAKI collaborates few times with KAMIJO, playing as support guitarist of LAREINE in their last live and as suppot guitarist of his solo concerts at the Sherow Artist Society Christmas events in December.
At the beginning of 2007, HIZAKI was invited by KAMIJO to join Node of Scherzo, a sort of session band described as a theatrical rock show. This projects sees the involvement of Kaya (ex-Schwarz Stein), Juka and Jasmine You from HIZAKI grace project.
At the very first concert of Node of Scherzo, held on the 14th of May, HIZAKI and KAMIJO announced their upcoming project: a band whose name and lineup were officially releaved on the 30th of May 2007. The story of Versailles finally began.
HIZAKI in Versailles
Beside working on Versailles, HIZAKI is still active as a solo artists with the grace project and sometimes collaborates with other musicians related to Sherow Artist Society like Juka and Kaya.
