History
Galneryus was formed in early 2001 by guitarist Syu (formerly from Valkyr, Animetal, Aushvitz, and Masaki Project) along with vocalist Yama-B, frontman of AxBites, Rekion, River End and solo artist of Gunbridge. Both veterans of the Japanese metal scene they formed Galneryus with the intention to "express both of their musical tastes/ideas" and so they started looking for additional members to complete the band. They recruited A ..boards (who had previously played with Syu on Valkyr), Shôgo Himuro on Bass, and Toshihiro Yui (formerly of Cemetery, Honey Quest) on Drums.In October 2001, the band released a 2-track demo titled United Flag. The demo was self-produced and released independently. This EP started gaining the attention of both fans and independent Japanese record labels as well.
After playing with other Japanese metal bands like Fairy Mirror, Mephistopheles, Galactica Phantom, Mastermind, and Concerto Moon, Galneryus went back to the studio to record a second EP titled Rebel Flag which was released through the independent label Iron Shock in August 2002. The EP again used support musicians to fill the band slots, with Shôgo Himuro again in bass, Toshihiro Yui again on drums, and Yoshinori Kataoka ..boards (replacing A).
After this EP, the band started receiving several record deals and started touring more. In 2003, they were invited to play the 'Melodic Metal Festival' in Japan which featured Swedish power metal band Dragonland, as well as Australia's Dungeon. As a result, Dragonland invited Galneryus to play with them the next time they toured Japan.
Galneryus was also invited to perform on two metal compilation cover albums with other bands such as Masaki Project, Saber Tiger, and Mephistopheles. Galneryus performed the song "Black Diamond" (originally from Finnish power metal band Stratovarius) on the compilation album Stand Proud! III and performed the song "Soldier of Fortune" from Japanese heavy metal band Loudness on the compilation album Japanese Heavy Metal Tribute Tamashii II. For these songs, the band used supporting musicians Toshihiro Yui on drums, Yusuke on bass, and Yuhki ..boards. Both compilation albums were released simultaneously in December of 2002 on the same day through Iron Shock and distributed through Japanese record label VAP.
VAP itself signed Galneryus and the band set to work on writing and recording their full-length album The Flag of Punishment which featured all 5 EP songs re-written and re-recorded and also cover art by famed Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano. At this time Galneryus ceased using temporary members and recruited permanently Tsui on bass, Yuhki ..boards (formerly of Ark Storm and Marge Litch), and Junichi Satoh on drums. The album was finally released in October 2003.
In March 2005 Galneryus released their second album Advance to the Fall. They released their third full-length album (Beyond the End of Despair...) in July 2006.
After the Live for Rebirth tour, Tsui left Galneryus and Yu-To (Deluhi) was recruited to fill in for bass. The band shortly after released One for All - All for One in 2007.
Recently, Galneryus has debuted on iTunes Music Store making their material widely available in the United States.
Musical Style and Appearance
Since the band formed, Galneryus adopted a dress style that bordered between Visual Kei and Sci-Fi. However, recently they have adopted a more modern dress with the release of their third full-length album. Galneryus also writes all of their lyrics in English. However, in more recent songs, in particular, Serenade, Everlasting and The Night Craver, there are Japanese lyrics. Syu mentioned in a recent interview that the band would be incorporating some Japanese lyrics into their new album One for All - All for One. Their songs "Alsatia" and "Cause Disarray" are featured on the anime Mnemosyne as the opening and end theme, respectively.Current Line-up
* Syu - Lead/Rhythm Guitars/Backing Vocals* Yama-B - Vocals
* Yu-To - Bass/Backing Vocals (Also known as 'Leda' in DELUHI)
* Yuhki - Keyboards/Backing Vocals
* Junichi Satoh - Drums
Discography
Albums
* United Flag (EP, October 21, 2001)* Rebel Flag (EP, August 23, 2002)
* The Flag of Punishment (October 22, 2003)
* Advance to the Fall (March 23, 2005)
* Beyond the End of Despair... (July 12, 2006)
* ONE FOR ALL - ALL FOR ONE (August 22, 2007)
* Reincarnation (September 10, 2008)
Singles
* Everlasting (June 27, 2007)* Alsatia / Cause Disarray (March 19, 2008)
* SHINING MOMENTS (July 30, 2008)
DVD
* Live For Rebirth (November 22, 2006)* Live For All - Live For One (March 5, 2008)
Compilation Contributions
* "Soldier Of Fortune" (originally from Loudness) - Japanese Heavy Metal Tribute Tamashii II, released on December 11, 2002* "Black Diamond" (originally from Stratovarius) - Stand Proud! III, released on November 12, 2002
* "Struggle For The Freedom Flag" - Hard Rock Summit In Osaka, released on June 16, 2004)
* The songs for Death Note: The Movie
Music Videos
* "Struggle For The Freedom Flag" (The Flag of Punishment)* "Silent Revelation" (Advance to the Fall)
* "My Last Farewell" (Beyond the End of Despair...)
* "Everlasting" (Everlasting)
* "New Legend" (One for All - All for One)
* "Alsatia" (Alsatia / Cause Disarray)