Biography

The vocalist Kiyoharu (full name Kiyoharu Mori) is a venerable patriarch of J-rock, having fronted two successful bands -- Kuroyume and SADS -- in the '90s and 2000s, in addition to leading a thriving solo career. In fact, Kiyoharu, noted for his singular vibrato, had been active since the '80s, the first important bands on his résumé being Sus4 and Garnet, but it was after 1991, when he founded Kuroyume with Garnet's bassist Hitoki, that he really shot to fame. In the '90s, Kuroyume became a crucial band for the visual kei movement, right up there with X-Japan and Luna Sea; Dir en Grey's vocalist Kyo worked as the band's roadie and emulated Kiyoharu's image later in his own career. Kuroyume became inactive in 1998, and Kiyoharu created SADS, which played a mix of post-punk and surf rock, and released CDs on its own label Fullface Records, starting in 2001. The label also handled Merry's debut, Gendai Stoic (2003). SADS split in 2003, but Kiyoharu hardly missed a beat, debuting as a guitarist in addition to handling the vocals on his solo record, Poetry (2004). The response was good, and Kiyoharu pressed on in 2005, releasing two albums, Mellow and Kannou Boogie, and touring Japan with Kirito, the frontman of another important visual kei band, Pierrot. He continued releasing new material in 2006, which saw the album Vinnybeach and its single "Slow" used in the anime series The Wallflower, and in 2007, Kiyoharu commemorated the death of his father with the album Forever Love. After that he turned largely to retrospectives, releasing Light and Shade -- a double helping of self-covers spanning his entire career, with some new songs thrown in, followed by a collection of singles in 2008 and Medley (2009), a Kuroyume cover album tied to the band's one-off live comeback in early 2009. Kiyoharu also continued to run Fullface Records and worked as a fashion, accessory, and jewelry designer. ~ Alexey Eremenko, Rovi