is a Japanese visual kei rock band, formed in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1997. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Tatsuro, guitarist Miya, and bassist Yukke. Former members include bassist Hiro, who departed the band in 1999, and drummer Satochi, who retired from the entertainment industry in 2021.
Mucc have released 17 studio albums, with Aku (2020) becoming their most commercially successful album. Kerrang! included their fourth studio album Kuchiki no Tō (2004) on its list of 13 essential Japanese rock and metal albums.
History Early years and releases (1997–2005)
Mucc was formed in 1997 by guitarist Miya, vocalist Tatsuro (then called "Tattoo"), bassist Hiro, and drummer Satochi. High school students who had been friends since primary school. They had their first concert at the Shimamura Music store in Mito, Ibaraki on May 4. Satochi was only a support musician, but decided to officially join after the concert because of how much fun he had. The name Mucc is often believed to have been taken from a character in the children's TV show Hirake! Ponkikki. However, Miya stated he chose the name because it is easy to remember and is not something you associate with music. When he later learned that the English word "muck" means "filth", he thought that was also good. The band is also known by the nickname "69" since the numbers six and nine can be pronounced "mu" and "ku", respectively, in Japanese. They have played with this number throughout their career, such as dubbing June 9 "Mucc Day", and providing live broadcasts that last 690 minutes. Fans of the band are known as .
Originally playing covers of bands such as The Blue Hearts and Glay, Malice Mizer and The Mad Capsule Markets Mucc handed out their first demo tape, No!?, in December 1997. After graduating high school, the band moved to Tokyo. On March 3, 1998, they handed out copies of their second demo tape, Aika, and on December 1, they gave out a limited 100 copies of their third, Tsubasa wo Kudasai. In 1999, Hiro left the band on February 14 and was replaced on bass by Miya's childhood friend Yukke on February 22. In July, Mucc had their first tour, where they handed out demo tapes of Aka at every venue. On December 25, they had their first official release, the EP Antique. On June 8, 2000, Tattoo changed his stage name to his current name of Tatsuro. They released their first album, Tsūzetsu, on January 7, 2001. It was followed by the EP Aishū on December 25. In 2002, the band signed to Danger Crue, establishing their own sublabel , and released their second album, Hōmura Uta. That year they held a concert titled , which featured acts from different genres. They have continued to hold En events sporadically since.
Mucc signed to Universal in 2003, and released their major label debut single "Waga, Arubeki Basho" on May 3. Third studio album Zekū followed on September 3. Their first live DVD, Nihon Rettou Konton Heisei Kokoro no Naka, was released on December 10. The band held a guerrilla live at Shinjuku Station on June 9, 2004, in front of an estimated 5,000 people. Their fourth studio album Kuchiki no Tō was released on September 1 and supported by the Sōran Shūkyō fall tour, which ended on October 31 at Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall. In January 2005, Mucc held a joint tour with Balzac. Kuchiki no Tō Live at Roppongi, their first live album, was released on January 26.
International activities (2005–2011)
Mucc debuted in Europe in August 2005, including a performance at Wacken Open Air. They released the album Hōyoku on November 23. Mucc released two albums in 2006, 6 and Gokusai, and performed in the United States at the Otakon anime convention. They ended a world tour on June 6 with their first concert at the Nippon Budokan. 2007 marked Mucc's 10th anniversary. They released two compilation albums, Best of Mucc and Worst of Mucc; the latter includes rare songs from their indie years. In addition to opening for Guns N' Roses on the Japanese leg of their 2007 World Tour, Mucc gave performances in Shanghai, in Finland at Provinssirock, and in the US at JRock Revolution Festival. They also performed at the Abstinence's Door #001 event hosted by D'erlanger, and their song "Chain Ring" was used as the ending theme to the Zombie-Loan anime adaptation. They held a special 10th anniversary concert at the Ibaraki Prefectural Cultural Center in November.
Throughout 2008, Mucc participated in the Taste of Chaos 2008 tour, which initially stopped at forty cities across the United States and Canada from February to May, along with fellow Japanese bands D'espairsRay and the Underneath. In March, they released the album Shion. After returning to Japan, Mucc performed at the hide memorial summit at Ajinomoto Stadium alongside groups such as X Japan and Luna Sea, and began their own nationwide Rainy Rave tour before performing at the Sweden Rock Festival in June. The Taste of Chaos tour went to Europe in October, and then to Japan in November, where Mucc was the headliner. Mucc then performed at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza on December 7, 2008 and the House of Blues in Los Angeles on December 10.
Following the March 2009 release of their ninth studio album Kyūtai, Mucc held a sold-out 16-date nationwide tour from May to June. After performing in Sweden at Metaltown Festival in June, their Solid Sphere Tour began with a live in Russia on October 3, before featuring their first shows in Latin America (Chile and Mexico). The band completed the tour on November 16 in Japan at the JCB Hall. Mucc started 2010 with a concert on February 14 at the NHK Hall, before traveling to Taiwan for the March 14 Megaport Music Festival. The single "Yakusoku" was used as the opening theme to Night Raid 1931. The band performed at Summer Sonic on August 8. Returning to being an indie band on Danger Crue Records, Mucc released Karma on October 6. Three days later, they performed at a cultural festival at Yukke's alma mater Ibaraki Prefectural Ogawa High School, which was closing. The Chemical Parade tour took place between October and December.
A European leg of the Chemical Parade tour was held in five countries throughout January 2011, while two Asian shows took place in April. At their May 21 and 22 Nippon Budokan shows, the band announced they would be signing to major label Sony Music Associated Records. The single "Akatsuki" was first sold exclusively at those concerts, before later being available as a digital download with all proceeds donated to aid the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. On July 15, Mucc performed at a concert commemorating the first anniversary of the death of Daisuke, former singer of the band Kagerou. They also performed at the V-Rock Festival '11 held at Saitama Super Arena on October 23, before releasing the single "Arcadia" which featured DJ Daishi Dance in November.
15th Anniversary and Six Nine Wars (2012–2016)
Mucc's next single, "Nirvana", was released on March 7, 2012 and used as the opening theme song for the Inu x Boku SS anime. They performed at all three dates of Cali Gari's Chikashitsu tour that same month, as well as an April 30 Jealkb concert. Mucc covered "Jupiter" for July's Parade II -Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick-. On May 4 they performed a concert in front of 40 fans at Shimamura Music in Mito, the same location they played their first show 15 years earlier. Their 15th anniversary live, Mucc vs vs Mucc, took place at Makuhari Messe's International Exhibition Halls 1–3 on June 9. The estimated four-hour show was separated into three parts; 1997–2002 -Misshitsu-, 2002–2007 -Shisei-, and 2007–2012 -Kodō-. An album titled Aishū no Antique, composed of remastered songs from their early demo tapes and the EPs Antique and Aishū, was sold at the show, but later received a nationwide release on August 22. Also in August 2012, the video game was released on the App Store. The band members took part it its creation, with Tatsuro drawing the characters. A 15th anniversary tour of live houses took place throughout September. The single "Mother" was released on October 31, and was an ending theme of Naruto Shippuden, while its B-side "Negative Dancer" features the audience of their September 13 concert singing the chorus. Mucc's eleventh studio album, Shangri-La, was released on November 28. Its song "Kyōran Kyoshō -21st Century Baby-" was remixed and used as the theme of the live-action film adaptation of Fuan no Tane. The Shangri-La tour took place between December 2012 and March 2013, with a special concert on June 7 that marked the end of Mucc's 15th anniversary celebrations. Mucc also performed at Makuhari Messe for Ozzfest on May 12.
"G.G." by the band is the image song for the Japanese version of the 2012 film The Woman in Black.
In 2013, Mucc began looking for two new members who would participate in recording, photo shoots and interviews. Applicants had to send in five stickers included with CDs, DVDs and other goods, released in commemoration of the band's 15th anniversary along with an application; it was noted that they did not need to know how to play an instrument. After interviews and reviewing resumes on a live broadcast on Niconico on July 26, the winners were selected by Mucc's four primary members themselves and given stage names. Hancho, a Hungarian female study abroad student from the band's native Ibaraki, and Dean, a male office worker from Chiba Prefecture officially joined the band on August 17. However, on September 4, roughly two weeks later, it was announced that both had left the group. Dean left after his parents found out he had joined a rock band by seeing him on TV, and Hancho stated she had achieved her dream of joining Mucc and could now leave to become a fan once more. Mucc performed at Shibuya-AX for Angelo's Intersection of Dogma event on August 16, and at World Memorial Hall on October 20 for Vamps' Halloween Party 2013. The band held the 2 Days Circuit Hypnos & Thanatos tour, which featured two consecutive shows at seven venues between October and December. The October 30 single "World's End" was the opening theme song of Meganebu!. On December 1, Mucc gave a free performance in Amerikamura's Triangle Park to an estimated 3,000 fans. Police stopped the show early due to the large number of people that gathered.
On January 26, 2014, Mucc performed at SiM's Dead Pop Festival. For seven months beginning in March, the band held an installment in their Six Nine Wars -Bokura no Nana-kagetsu Kan Sensō- concert event series each month. Episode 1 MuP Lives were fan club-only and lives produced by each member. April's Episode 2 VS consisted of a two-man tour where each of the nine dates included another band; either The Telephones, The Back Horn, Rottengraffty, Fake?, Sebastian X, or Straightener. Episode 3 Thanatos & Thanatos Shi no Kami Sairin was a one-man tour in May. June's three-man tour, Episode 4 Triangle, featured three acts at each venue; Mucc and Merry were at each show, while the third was either Sug, LM.C, or Vistlip. With the release of Mucc's twelfth studio album, The End of the World, on June 25, Episode 5 was the album's July tour. Armageddon was Episode 6 and consisted of a two-man tour with a different act at each venue; Alexandros, Kishidan, Granrodeo, Buck-Tick, Sid, D'erlanger, Golden Bomber, Michael, and Geek Sleep Sheep. The September 10 single "Yueni, Matenrou" was the opening theme song of The Kindaichi Case Files R. The Six Nine Wars event series finished with The End, a concert at the first gymnasium of Yoyogi National Gymnasium on September 23.