SOLITUDE

Bio:

SOLITUDE was formed in 1996, when two ex-members of SACRIFICE (Japan)* - Akira Sugiuchi (Vocals); the founding member and main composer of the band, and Toru Nishida (Bass); who joined the band around in 1989 and played on two albums - met ex-RIP RIDE guys of Yasuo Koyano (Drums) and Hiroki Nakamori (Guitar)

* SACRIFICE was one of the leading bands of the Japanese thrash/underground scene from the formation in 1985 untiil disbanding in 1992, and left a lot of impacts on young and upcoming bands then and even now. During their career, they released three studio albums, "CREST OF BLACK" (1987), "TOTAL STEEL" (1990) and "TEARS" (1992) and shared the stage with SODOM (Germany), NUCLEAR ASSAULT (USA), CASBAH, OUTRAGE, X JAPAN (all from Japan) among many others. They once featured Shinji "Samm" Tachi of ex-SABBAT on drums, who later formed MAGNESIUM and also joined METALUCIFER.

The guys continued rehearsing for as long as 3 years, composing songs and fixing the direction of the band. Their sound has tastes of various music based on Heavy Metal as its core, as if to confirm that they have been influenced by different styles of music, such as 70's Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, and most notably NWOBHM, among others. The fact that the band hails from Japan where various types of music have been imported must contribute to the unique sound of their music.

In 1998, the band picked up "SOLITUDE" as the name of the band among some candidates. Not a few imagine the great band BLACK SABBATH from this name, but they actually are fascinated by the Progressive Rock feeling this word has.

The first ever live performance was finally made in March 1999. This sensational live debut of about an hour set was reported through fanzines the internet, with such praises as "the birth of the new Defenders of Heavy Metal", "answer to what Heavy Metal is", or "sensational live performance". In September, Shingo Ida (ex-BARTOLOMMEO) replaced Nakamori. His distinctive style with emotional phrases and melodies have brought a new blood into the band's sound.

In November, they recorded two songs; one of their representative songs "Virtual Image", and "Eagle Fly" which was dedicated to their favorite British Heavy Metal Band, SAXON. This recording was only used for promotion as "SOLITUDE Demo '99".

In July 2000, the band started the recording of an album, in parallel with some live activities. On the live end, they set up a big annual event entitled "HEAVY LINK" in August, where they shared the stage with such bands as UNITED and RITUAL CARNAGE, and it became a hot topic in the Japanese Heavy Metal scene. On the recording end, as the band aimed at the highest quality they could achieve, the recording carried on until December. The album featured re-recorded versions of "Virtual Image" and "Eagle Fly", in addition to the live favorite "You Wish", the band's true value "Two Faced In My Soul" that shows various musical elements, and two instrumentals of oriental "Requiem Of The Kingdom" and their live opener "Beyond The Storm".

The album entitled "VIRTUAL IMAGE" was finally released on 5th of September, 2001 as the first-ever release of SPIRITUAL BEAST, who later grown to one of the leading independent Heavy Metal labels in Japan. The album got rave reviews from the underground fanzines and webzines, not just in Japan, but also in the US and throughout Europe, with requests for interviews flooded. The reaction was especially overwhelming in Germany, owing to the sampler CD called "Metal Crusade" from "Heavy oder was!?" magazine, which featured the title track "Virtual Image".

Koyano left the band prior to the release of the album, but the band continued the touring activities with the help from Suguru Kobayashi (ex-CASBAH), sharing the stage with various bands from OUTRAGE or RAGING FURY to DEFILED or SIGH, or to METALUCIFER, without losing the faith in their own style. In July 2003, having added Tai Syouda (ex-GUARDIAN'S NAIL, now leading SEVENTH SON) as a permanent member, they flew to Germany to appear at "Headbangers Open Air", with such greats from all over the world as TRESPASS, BLITZKRIEG (UK), STORMWARRIOR, PARAGON (Germany), CRYONIC TEMPLE (Sweden), DOOMSWORD (Italy), and KILLER (Belgium). Their performance was praised by various media, with German "Rock Hard" magazine describing them as "the highlight of the festival" among others. The fact that many metal heads kept on calling for SOLITUDE for a while after the band left the stage also proves the impact they left.

After returning to Japan, they started preparing for a new album in 2004, and first recorded "Rainbow Theme" - "Frozen Rainbow" for a SAXON tribute album "Eagleution - A Tribute to Saxon", put together by German Remedy Records. This recording, featuring aggressive vocals and emotional guitars with due respect to the original version, was the first ever recording by the new lineup with Syouda.

They continued the recording while playing selected gigs such as "Duryu Rock Festival" in Daegu, Korea (with JURASSIC JADE from Japan, MINDFLOW from Brazil etc), or first-ever opportunity to play in Sapporo, Hokkaido, but the uncompromising attitude of the band and various personal issues of each member delayed the whole process more than they had expected...

The recording, carried out at various points, was finally over and while they were waiting for it to be mixed, at the end of 2008, Syouda left the band after his 5-year stint in the band. In February 2009, the remaining 3 guys participated in a NWOBHM cover event "DENIM AND LEATHER" as "SOLITUDE with Mad Ohuchi", with none other than Takamasa "Mad" Ohuchi of ex-ANTHEM fame on drums. This resulted in Ohuchi joining SOLITUDE as a permanent member later that year.

And after 8 years from the debut album, the long-awaited (literally!) new album "BRAVE THE STORM" will finally hit the stores in December 2009. Like its predecessor, the album was produced by Fuyuhiko Inui, ex-band mate of Ida, who has been involved in various recordings as an engineer/producer from BUCK-TICK or CHARA to Hiroshi Tamaki or MAVERICK. The mastering duty was handled by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (SHADOWS FALL, THE AGONIST, MASTODON etc).

The debut album "VIRTUAL IMAGE" will also be re-issued in a new package at the same time, and the new lineup is expected to tour extensively in 2010!


Discography:
2001 Virtual Image (Spiritual Beast)
2002 Sampler / Metal Crusade Vol.4 (Heavy Oder Was!?)
2005 V.A. / Eagleution – A Tribute To Saxon (Remedy Records)
2009 Brave The Storm (Spiritual Beast)


SOLITUDE "You Wish" Live At Headbangers Open Air (Germany) 2003

Member Since:

February 06, 2007

Members:

Akira Sugiuchi - Vocals
Shingo Ida - Guitar
Toru Nishida - Bass
Takamasa “MAD” Ohuchi - Drums

Record Label:

SPIRITUAL BEAST