Rouage

Rouage were an important feature of the Japanese visual kei scene in the late '90s, playing a mixture of punk, goth rock, and pop popular with the local public; however, the band was constantly running into lineup problems and folded early in the 2000s. The founders of Rouage were Kazushi (vocals), Rayzi, Rika (both guitars), and Shono (drums), who formed it in Nagoya in late 1993; bassist Kaiki joined the group a bit later. They debuted in 1994 with the single "Silk" and a self-titled album, which was a limited-edition release and required a second pressing. It looked like the band was on a roll, with more videos and singles released, but in 1995 Kaiki quit, and Rouage played their farewell gig. They got back together in 1996, with new bassist Yuki and a contract with Mercury; their first major-label release was the single "Queen" (1996), followed by the full-length, Bible, that same year. Mind was released in 1997, despite Yuki dropping out of the band and vanishing without a trace. Unfazed by this, Rouage stuck to session bass players and kicked up a huge tour, followed by another album, Children, their second in 1997. The single Endless Loop (1998) was featured in the anime series Legend of Basara, and the same year, Rouage played the Shock Wave Illusion with the likes of Dir en Grey and Pierrot, and released Rouage 312604806, a collection of remixes of their indie songs, as well as the album Soup. The ext year, they were popular enough to play the Nippon Budokan, the event was documented in a video. The fans were given the chance to pick out the songs to be featured on their next remix album, Culture, in 1999. More touring and more singles followed in 1999-2000, as well as the full-length Lab in 2000, but Rika decided to quit the band, which toiled which went on to...