I would not go as far as to say Penicillin is an under-appreciated band, having record sales surpassing that of Dir en grey and Malice Mizer. But one thing is for certain: this cult band deserves a lot more recognition by international J-Rock fans as they are rarely regarded as one of the best Japanese bands of the nineties. This, even though they have already left an indelible mark on the music scene of this country and are still going strong to this day. With good music and style as their only gimmicks, these faithful soldiers proved that you can still innovate without adventuring too deeply into experimental territory and have never let their fans down with a substandard album.
Inseparable friends since high school, Penicillin has amazing chemistry proven by their successful standing of the test of time. With the way things are going, it seems they are a long way from running out of steam; now more than ever, the highly imaginative heavy songs and ballads from their catalogue make them stand out even in this heaving variety of music.
Chisato's guitar is prowess. The quality of his solos is right up there with that of hide and Tak from B'z. Granted, they are not usually as fast but will often sound clearer and more nostalgic as he holds the notes the extra seconds that make the difference. Of course, he does not exclusively specialize in solos. He uses around ten guitars, switching between a few of them during live shows to capture the exact sound he wants to produce.
As for the vocals, Hakuei's hoarse and high-toned voice (yes, both) surely it gets into your head deeper and deeper after listening to any of his songs. Tall and mysterious, Hakuei is also the object of obsession for many ladies. He himself has an otaku-esque passion he shares with O-Jiro. The two of them are fascinated by bugs and never miss a chance to show-off their collection. Both are complete opposites physically but when it comes to displaying energy on stage, O-Jiro easily compensates his stature and baby face. Gisho also follows this logic a bit; his dark look and deep voice do not really correlate with his bass-style, which is higher than most bassist, almost sounding like an accompanying guitar at times. He enjoys dressing up as The Crow but will always look like Edward Scissorhands to me.
The original line-up of the band consisted of Gisho on vocals, Chisato on guitar and O-Jiro on bass. Everyone knew each other from high school and all graduated Tokai University with the same diploma but Hakuei only joined the band later, rearranging the cast for their official debut February 14, 1992.
During their first year, visuals were a primordial part of their live shows. Elaborate makeup, "dresses" and little stage plays are a few of the things that helped them gain popularity on the underground scene. Their first mini-album, Penicillin Shock, came in 1994 and was produced by Hakuei's solo project guitarist, Kiyoshi, who was also part of hide's troupe, Spread Beaver. A great response from the public encouraged them to go on producing a total of eight albums in eight years. This even includes a sabbatical year in 1996, in which members of the band worked on solo careers.
The aforementioned solo careers include Chisato with his debut album Organic Groover, of which very few copies were release. Hakuei worked (and is still working to a lesser degree) with his long-time friend Kiyoshi in a band called Machine. Kiyoshi also works with Gisho in his project oddly named R, and O-Jiro seems to have a blast doing his own thing with his friend Yasumichan in 808. Penicillin is still very much active with an album coming up on the first of October. Yojigen (fourth dimension) Diver Shonen Diver is the name of its first single and one more should follow shortly. I usually wait for albums but the cover art of this new single is so hilarious, it makes it worth the importing.