| In February 1991, tetsu and hyde, along with Hiro (guitar) and pero (drums), formed the band and named it after a film that tetsu had seen. After a year of gaining notoriety in their hometown of Osaka, Hiro left the band on June 12, 1992. pero soon followed on December 30 of that same year, supposedly to join up with his friend Hiro again. tetsu convinced his friend ken to quit his studies in architectural design and join the band. A new drummer, sakura, was recruited after tetsu saw him play. In 1993, the band released their debut album, Dune under the indies label Danger Crue, which was met with plenty of success and rose to number one on the Oricon indies charts. This caught the attention of some major labels, so in 1994, they signed for Sony's Ki/oon division, releasing their second album, Tierra (Spanish for "Earth") that same year. Heavenly followed in 1995, and True, their first million seller, in 1996. In 1997, sakura was arrested for heroin possession and quit the band. This became lowest point in the band's history. When news of sakura's arrest became public every ounce of Laruku's popularity was stripped. Just as they had reached a peak in their career, CDs were being pulled off the shelves, and any songs that were used as theme songs were quickly replaced. There was no evidence of the band's existence, and their next single "The Fourth Avenue Cafe" was indefinitely postponed and has never been released. Many believe that the whole incident was blown tremendously out of proportion. L'Arc-en-Ciel was quiet for a little while, but they were not ready to give up. They continued to be featured on magazines, but as a three-man band L'Arc-en-Ciel. They then created a "L'Arc-en-Ciel cover band", "The Zombies", which was the three-man band L'Arc-en-Ciel themselves covering and making fun of their own songs. They also covered artists such as Marilyn Manson. In 1998, they released their first single since sakura left 「虹」 (Niji — Rainbow). yukihiro was the drummer for this release, but was only listed as a support member. However, the band members were quickly impressed with his drumming skills and made him the official drummer not long after niji's release. L'Arc-en-Ciel was back, and what better way to prove themselves then by organizing a concert, aptly titled "Reincarnation"; this was the reincarnation of L'Arc-en-Ciel. The first concert date of the new tour in Tokyo Dome had an attendance of 56,000 and sold out in four minutes, a Tokyo Dome record as well as a testament to their popularity. Their next album was Heart, in 1998, which, like their second major album "Heavenly" is seen as a transitional album: trying to forget the past, but also trying to maintain their originality and success. L'Arc-en-Ciel released three more albums of new material during the next few years. Ark and Ray which were released simultaneously in 1999, and were the first Japanese albums to be released the same day in many different Asian countries. The release of Ark and Ray marked the high point of their career, with each selling over two million copies (no other release from the band managed to reach two million). Real followed in 2000, which was the last CD of new material for some time, although many more compilation and remix albums would follow. L'Arc-en-Ciel also composed several theme songs for various anime series, including DNA², Rurouni Kenshin, Great Teacher Onizuka, and Fullmetal Alchemist. They also created the ending theme song to the movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. After a while, however, the various members began working on various solo projects. hyde released several solo albums (as HYDE), ken founded Sons of All Pussys, tetsu started Tetsu69 and yukihiro played with Acid Android. The band seemed close to calling it quits. In June 2003, Laruku came back to play a series of seven concerts in Tokyo called the "Shibuya Seven Days", and announced a new album for release in the following year. So, in February 2004, their first single in more than three years came out, followed by another one in early March. Finally, their long-awaited new album, Smile, was released on March 31. Shortly afterwards, on June 2, 2004, the single 自由への招待 ("Jiyuu e no Shoutai") introduced "P'unk-en-Ciel", a partial change, for the first time on CD with "Milky Way". In the past, the band also played a P'unk version of "Round and Round" live. On July 31, 2004, L'Arc-en-Ciel made their U.S. concert debut at Otakon 2004. Approximately 12,000 people attended the concert, which was held at a outside venue for the first time in Otakon's musical guests history, the 1st Mariner Arena located near the Baltimore Convention Center. In 2005, the band released various singles, including "Killing Me" , "New World", and "Jojoushi", which appeared in their last album, Awake, released on June 22 with twelve tracks, including "Lost Heaven", the end theme for the Fullmetal Alchemist film. In addition, the band will go on their "Asialive 2005" tour, and as the name suggests, the band will be performing in Korea and China as well as Japan. Japan's two concerts will take place at the Tokyo Dome. More information about "Asialive 2005" can be found at their official website at the bottom of this page. On May 31, 2005, Tofu Records, Sony Music Japan's U.S. label, released the DVD of the Otakon 2004 concert. On July 20, 2005 "Link" was released; also known as the opening theme of the film Fullmetal Alchemist, it was the first Laruku single after "Awake". This single also includes a new version of "Promised Land". |
