Bang-Doll is a unique Japanese rock band that defies many genres. While they used to be visual kei in the makeup-wearing gothy way, they're now more of just a rock/metal band. But they still do costumes, just not in your average visual kei way (think big BIG hair and animal prints). They've recently started a revolution called "TRENDKILL", meant to overthrow the current trends in the all-too-unoriginal visual scene.

Name Origin

The name originated from the anime/manga "Five Star Monogatari" (Five-star Stories), in which there is a robot character called the Bang Doll, or "Haretsu no ningyou". It literally means an explosion's, or exploding doll (sorry, no dirty words for you). Their original name was tagged with ~Haretsu no ningyou~ afterwards, but they've since dropped it and use the phrase to describe their fans.

Theme

They say that anything goes with their music, but the main theme is "love".

Personal

My first Bang-Doll experience

My first indies live I went to without knowing any of the bands. Bang Doll (before the hyphen) was one of them. I quickly took a liking to them, due to the fun live performance, and bought a CD single. Over the next few months my interest grew, and after buying their older maxi-single I was totally hooked. I started this site around that time to show my appreciation. Since then, my love for the band has expanded infinitely. They became, in fact, the first band for me to see more than once, and the first band I went to their show being more than just interested, but being a fan.

Lives + fan interaction

Their live shows are, in my opinion, the best. They're not the type of band that thinks they're better than you-- they want you to have fun, and create a really friendly environment to do so. I have never encountered a band so eager to chat with their fans (even from onstage), and their frequent after-live drinking get-togethers even furthers it.

Music

I'd always liked their music from the start, of course. But, not being able to attend their shows throughout the year left me not able to acquire many of the CDs, which were live-only releases. The 2002 single "Downing" blew me away, after only listening to the releases of 2 years prior. It's amazing how much improvement took place. 2003 brought the "Dual Personality" CD + VHS set, another example of their leaps of advancement (and while their music videos aren't top-notch in excitement, fans will appreciate the silliness and synchronized headbanging). Their release of their first full CD, "Kuu" totally exceeded all my expectations. It just might take over the title of my all-time favorite CD.
So, what do they sound like? I'm bad at classification, but I'd have to say they definitely fall into the HARD rock category, occasionally branching into metal. It is the ultimate headbanging and going crazy music, but in a way that it's actual music, and not screaming and banging pot-lids together. Much focus on the guitars, and amazing speed-drumming. Five years has shown many changes in members, but also shown massive amounts of work and growth. November 23, 2003 brought their first one-man show, and one can only predict more in their future.

ROCK IS MY SOUL!!!