MUCC

??? (MUCC) is a japanese rock band formed in Ibaraki, Japan in 1997. The band has four members: ?? (Tatsurou Iwakami, vocals), ?? (Masaaki Yaguchi, guitar), YUKKE (Yusuke Fukuno, bass) and SATO? (Satochi Takayasu, drums). In 1997, ex-member Hiro was the bassist, replaced by YUKKE in 1999. The band's name, decided upon by guitarist ??, was originally the name of a character from the Japanese children's program "Ponkickies.

The band's name, decided upon by guitarist ??, was originally the name of a character from the Japanese children's program "Ponkickies." The band is also known as ?six-nine? from a play on words, since six-nine can be pronounced ?muku? (??) in Japanese. June 9th (6/9) is also known as "MUCC day" by their fans.

In 2000 the band had their first interview in the monthly publication FOOL'S MATE, issue 221. TATTOO (on vocals) changed his name to Tatsurou and the band's name MUCC was changed to ??? (pronounced MUKKU). On 6/9 ("MUCC day") they released their first CD single ???/?? (Shoufu/Hai) and a second press of their album ???????? (Antiiku).

They went on their first tour in Europe in 2005 after they had been signed by the French label Soundlicious, which released their full albums. They mainly performed in France and Germany. In 2006 they were contacted by the German label GAN-SHIN and started a new tour in Germany. In August of 2006 they performed at Ram's Head Live for Otakon, their first United States performance. Their biggest European tour was in spring 2007 when they released their album "??" (Gokusai). They visited the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, France, Switzerland and Germany. Their concerts in Germany were a coupled tour with the band Balzac. In May they performed in the United States for the second time during the J-rock Revolution Festival.

In 2008 their album "??" (Shion) was released, not only in Japan but also Europe and the United States as well. The band performed on the touring festival "ROCKSTAR Taste of Chaos 2008" in the United States from March through April, headlined by Atreyu and other bands. In June they performed at the hardrock festival Sweden Rock Festival 2008.

In late July through October 2008 they continued the "ROCKSTAR Taste of Chaos 2008" tour in Europe. "ROCKSTAR Taste of Chaos 2008 International" was originally limited to the United Kingdom with a different lineup than the United States tour. However, shows were extended to Scandinavia, Netherlands and Germany upon the fans' wishes.

In August 2008 they worked together with Ken from L'Arc~en~Ciel. Ken produced their single "???" (Ageha) which was released on August 27th, 2008 in Japan and digitally for overseas fans.

On January 28th, 2009 they released a new single "???" (Sora to ito) together with Ken from L'Arc~en~Ciel.

On March 4th, 2009 their 9th album "??" (Kyuutai) was released.

Official homepage: http://www.55-69.com