Malice Mizer (pronounced Mee-zer) is a Japanese rock group, fitting in the genre of Visual Kei (also known as
Visual Rock) and under the overall umbrella of J-rock. They are characterized by a classicaly gothic/baroque/over-the-top-theatrical style of dress and makeup. Their musical style changes as the group evolves and loses memebers, but it's ranged from heavy
goth to goth-pop to new romantic baroque. They're a very very theatrical group, known for performing very involved stage-plays with elaborate
costumes during their concerts. Various members of Malice Mizer are
Mana (guitar/bass), Kozi (Guitar), Yu~ki(Guitar),
Kami (Drums), Tetsu (Vocals), Gackt(Vocals)
Originally started in 1992 by Mana and Kozi as an
Indies band, they had a distinct hard edge to their music that was complimented by the screeching Tetsu (who was vaguely
ugly, and didn't look good Malice Mizer-ed up).
After a while, they got a new lead
singer, Camui Gackt. A self-obsessed
pretty boy, his romantic bass-y voice nevertheless got MM their big break and they got signed to a major record label and produced their first major album, Merveilles.
However, the sucess didn't last long, as Gackt split with the group shortly afterward and their drummer Kami died. Currently they have a new lead singer Klaha, but mostly have seem to have lost their center. Oh well, they're still my favorite band.
Malice Mizer Albums:
memoire
Voyage sans retour
merveilles
Bara no Seidou