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The Back Horn | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | Indie rock,alternative rock,post-grunge |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | Victor Entertainment Speedstar Records |
| Members | Masashi Yamada Eijun Suganami Kohshu Okamine Shinji Matsuda |
| Past members | Naoki Hirabayashi |
| Website | thebackhorn.com |
The Back Horn (ザ・バックホーン; stylized asTHE BACK HORN) is a Japaneserock band, formed in Tokyo in 1998.
The band got started around April in 1998, when the original members all came to Tokyo from the countryside where they all lived, all for different reasons. They met, and decided to start a band. First called Gyorai, they soon changed their name to The Back Horn. This name was based on Matsuda's misreading of the "backhoe" he used in his construction work. From the beginning, one of the features of the band was a harsh sound and lyrics dealing with decadence and destruction, war, peace, isolation, love and death. In a 2005 interview, the band members listedNirvana andRadiohead as inspiration for their musical style.[1]
Following their first notable performance at theFuji Rock Festival in 1999, they released a mini-albumDoko e Yuku on Kando Records. Seven months after that, they released their first full-length,Yomigaeru Hi. After this, the band got signed to a major label, Speedstar Records. Although they, to this day, still remain on Speedstar Records' roster, they're still often thought of as an indie band. It was also around this time when Hirabayashi decided to leave the band.
It was only after their first albumNingen Program got released on Speedstar Records, that they found a new bassist, Okamine Koushu, though he wasn't immediately made a full-time member. He was however involved in recording of the next album,Shinzou Orchestra, and while touring for the album, the band announced that he was now an official member. In the period when The Back Horn were between bassists, vocalist Yamada overtook bass duties.
As the band was becoming increasingly popular, they were asked to provide music for 2 movies:Kiyoshi Kurosawa'sBright Future and Kazuaki Kiriya'sCasshern, releasing the albumIkiru Sainou in between them.
After a couple of tours, including a show at theRock In Japan festival, a couple of single releases and the release of their first live DVD, they released their 5th full-length,Headphone Children, considered by many to be a concept album. The songKiseki from the album was used in the horror movieZoo. The tour following Headphone Children was a huge success and the band decided to release a live album of it, entitledUbugoe Chainsaw which contained the best performances of songs from the tour. 2 months later, Back Horn played their first show in Europe, at a festival inBarcelona, Spain.
The band then released several singles and did some shows, including an acoustic street tour with only Yamada and Suganami, where they performed on the streets of Japan for free. In April, 2006 they released their 6th full-length,Taiyou no Naka no Seikatsu, and then their 7th album in May, 2007, self-titledThe Back Horn. Their 16th major single release,Wana, was used as the first ending theme to the 2007 anime seriesMobile Suit Gundam 00. In January, 2008, they released a compilation albumBest the Back Horn to celebrate their 10-year anniversary. Their 8th album titledPulse was released on September 3, 2008.
The song "Blade" by The Back Horn is used as the entrance music for Japaneseprofessional wrestlers andmixed martial arts fightersYukio Sakaguchi andHikaru Sato. It was also used as the theme music for theDramatic Dream Team event "Max Bump 2013" and was the official theme song for their Hard Hit sub brand from 2010 to 2012.
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