Balzac (typeset as BALZAC) is a Japanese punk rock band formed in 1992 in Kyoto. The band was founded by singer and songwriter Hirosuke Nishiyama, who has remained the only constant member of the band since its creation. Since the beginning, Balzac was highly influenced by the sound and image of the American horror punk band Misfits and, especially during the very early years, Glenn Danzig's Samhain, adopting and combining the musical and visual style of both bands to create their own. Balzac's lyrics, though not always serious in tone, often deal with themes of darkness, loneliness and fear.
Balzac has gained a certain amount of recognition and exposure outside of their native country, where they are well-known. Currently they have five official clothing brands (Shocker!!!, Dementia 13, Culture, XXXxxx and Balzac) with one store in Japan, plus three online stores (Shocker Webstore, Shocker World Wide and Shocker EU). They also have their own official record label called Evilegend 13 Records on which they have released EPs, singles and videos. Balzac is also well known for its toy releases, some created by the companies T.W.I.M. and Secret Base, and its extensive discography and side-projects.
The current lineup of the band consists of Hirosuke Nishiyama (vocals), Atsushi Nakagawa (guitar/chorus) and Akio Imai (bass/chorus). Musically the band has drawn from punk, pop, industrial and noise, across their various releases.
History 1993–1995: Early years Prior to forming Balzac, vocalist and songwriter Hirosuke Nishiyama was frontman for Astrozombies, a band from Kyoto, Japan, that was heavily influenced by the Japanese rock group Gastunk and the American punk band Misfits. After releasing just one demo cassette, entitled The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hirosuke decided to disband and started his next project, Balzac, in 1992. The name of the new band came from the famous French novelist and playwright, Honoré de Balzac. Hirosuke first came in contact with the novelist's work during junior high school; he liked how the name sounded and decided to use it. The band's first lineup consisted of Hirosuke Nishiyama on vocals, Yoritsugu "Anti" Azuchi on bass, Tetsuya on guitar and Naoki on drums. During that time the band released their first demo cassette, which was limited to 13 copies only, entitled Scapegoat666.
In 1993, by the release of their second demo cassette, Descent of the Diabolos, the band went through their first lineup change. Guitarist Atsushi Nakagawa and drummer Koji replaced Tetsuya and Naoki, respectively. This new lineup went on to release the band's first single, "The Lord of the Light and of the Darkness", on their own record label, Evilegend13 Records. Over the next few years the band released four more singles, "Atom Age Vampire in 308" (on MCR), "Isolation From No. 13" (on HG Fact), "When the Fiendish Ghouls Night" (on Evilegend13 Records), and were part of some various artists compilations.
By 1995 the band managed to release their first full-length album, The Last Men on Earth, after being signed to Alchemy Records. This would be their only release on Alchemy. Just before releasing their 3rd single, "Isolation From No. 13," the band lost its long-time bassist (and Jerry Only lookalike), Anti, as well as their drummer, H. Nishio. A long-time friend of Hirosuke's and avid Balzac fan, Akio Imai, joined the band as the new bassist. Masami sat behind the drums for the next few releases.
1997–1999: Breakout During 1997, when they were about to record their second full-length album, Deep - Teenagers from Outer Space, the band once again found themselves without a drummer. They recruited another long-time friend and very experienced drummer, Futoshi Okano, to fill the spot. They would call upon him a few times over the years to help out with recordings when they found themselves without a drummer. Okano is a very technical drummer and was able to include his signature sound into the new recordings. Member swaps were not the only changes for the band happening at that time; they also became a part of Diwphalanx Records on Halloween of that year. Though not a major label, Diwphalanx Records is very well known in the indie scene throughout Japan. All subsequent major releases by the band would be on Diwphalanx Records, or on the band's own label, Evilegend13 Records.
In the year of 1998, Kill joined the band as the new drummer, while they began to gain real recognition and notoriety in the indie scene. At this moment they had caught the attention of the recently re-incarnated Misfits. Now being headed by original member and long time bassist Jerry Only, Balzac was asked to open for The Misfits when they came for their first Japanese tour. This would mark a milestone in the band's career, which would lead to much success for Balzac outside Japan in the coming years. This year was explosive to the band, as they were playing in much larger venues and to a bigger crowd. They released a split CD with The Hate Honey, were featured on the Devilock Night video, released their own VHS, entitled Video Deep II, and their third album, 13 Stairway - The Children of the Night. They launched a full-scale all-Japan tour to promote their album and played to sold-out crowds.
In 1999, Balzac released a split single, "Oldevils Legend of Blood", with friends and fellow Japanese rock band Sobut. They released a special 12-inch version of "Isolation From No. 13", a remixed tape as a special box set with toy industry friends, T.W.I.M (The World Is Mine) whose headquarters are in Nagoya, as well as playing on a Gastunk tribute album. On Halloween they released one of their most popular singles, "Into the Light From the 13 Dark Night", on vinyl, CD, and cassette. It would be re-recorded in many different versions over the next few years. They also released the flexi 7-inch including "Neat Neat Neat," a Damned cover. This year also marked the beginning of the band's own fan club, the Fiendish Club. Obviously modeled after The Misfits' Fiend Club, it offered fans a great way to stay in touch with the band and to receive some very rare items at the same time; it was exclusively for people living in Japan. Eventually the band would create the Fiendish Club International and the Fiendish Club Europe, exclusive versions of the original Fiendish Club for people residing outside Japan and in Europe, respectively.
2000–2005: Expansion 2000 saw The Misfits back touring Japan, and Balzac was there opening for them once again. Directly after, they played a string of shows with The Mad Capsule Markets. In this year there was a lot of heavy touring for the band, but they managed to release another video and the Kubrick sets. These sets included cute Medicom Toy Co. versions of the band members and their "Hands of 9 Evils" 7-inch was included in the package. Soon after, they released a figure, this time a 12-inch RAH version of the band's mascot, the Paperbag Man. In December 2000 Balzac released their next full-length album, Zennou-Naru Musuu-No Me Ha Shi Wo Yubi Sasu. It was a concept album and sold extremely well. The album was very dark and had very strong industrial influences. Balzac opened their first retail store in Osaka, Japan during this year. "Shocker!!!" was something they had wanted to open for a long time. It is a small store where they sell their own original brand, Shocker!!!! merchandise, as well as band merchandise. Hirosuke also has his own clothing brand called "Dementia Thirteen" which is also available through the store. Most recently, they have also launched yet another clothing brand, "Culture", and are in the process of fully releasing another one called "XXXxxx".
In early 2001 the band released numerous singles, as well as a box set featuring the amazing artwork of Japanese manga artist Suehiro Maruo, which had been used on the album Zennou-Naru Musuu no Me ha Shi wo Yubi Sasu. They also contributed a noise rock version of "Day the Earth Caught Fire" and another very catchy pop-influenced song, "The Silence of the Crows" on the Abstruct Madness split with Rocky and the Sweden and Delta. "The Silence of the Crows" would prove to be an instant hit with many fans. Near the end of the year the band found themselves once again without a drummer. Kill quit the band for personal reasons and was replaced by Takayuki. He had been a friend of the band's for many years and had just quit playing for the band The Batties Boys. They also opened their second retail store, Coffin, in Kyoto.
For 2002 Balzac released a split single with The Misfits. Balzac covered the songs "The Haunting" and "Don't Open 'Til Doomsday" as a medley, while The Misfits covered the Balzac's "Day the Earth Caught Fire". In April 2002 Balzac released their fifth full-length studio album. The album was a double disc set called Terrifying! Art of Dying – The Last Men On Earth II. The first disc was mostly new material while disc two was a complete re-recording of the band's first full-length CD, The Last Man On Earth. On Halloween the band was invited to play in New York City, United States, with The Misfits, making this the first time the band played live outside Japan. They were received very well and would be asked back to tour the following summer.
The year of 2003 would be a huge one for the band internationally. Before touring with The Misfits, The Damned, The Dickies, and Agnostic Front, they released a maxi-single entitled "Beware of Darkness". It was included as a part of a special 4-figure toy set from Medicom Toys Co. The video for the song was recorded in the US and was released in May 2003. There was a censored, as well as uncensored version, due to the graphic nature of the video. They also released their first USA CD, Beyond the Darkness, on the newly founded Misfits Records. In September they released Out of the Light of the 13 Dark Night on the German label, G-Force Records.
In 2004 they released their sixth full-length album, Came Out of the Grave. It was released in a special edition long-box with a Be@rbrick figure inside. During that summer they played a large festival with American punk rock band Rancid, and released a tour documentary about their first US tour, The Fiend Fest. It featured artwork by an American fan, Tony O'Farrel. They also played their first tour in Europe during the summer. The band had truly become an international success. The band also released a special limited single entitled "Zodiac Killer" under the name Zodiac and even played a special live show as the "secret" side project band. They also played a special live show playing only Misfits covers as a part of a very special live event during the Christmas holiday season.
By 2005 they released the single "D.A.R.K". Soon after they released a mini album entitled Dark-Ism. This mini album included a song entitled "Yami no Hikari e" which had a much different sound than previous Balzac recordings. They shot a promotional video clip for the song too (released with a full-color hardcover photo history book), which was also very different from their other videos. It showed the world another side of the band that had not been explored much. This song was originally performed on stage with Hirosuke playing rhythm guitar. This year also saw the band touring Japan again for the Darkism Tour. Late in the year they played the track "Moonlight", a Buck-Tick cover for the tribute album Parade -Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick-, as well as a version of The Damned's "Smash It Up" for a tribute to The Damned. They also released a special picture disc 7-inch with T.W.I.M where they included the new song, "(I Touched the Silence of the) Rain". This was an earlier, rough version of the song that would later be included on the "Horrorock" single, which was included with a new 12-inch Paperbag Man figure from Medicom Toys Co., which came in two limited colors.
2006–2008: Deep Blue and Hatred