Disfigura

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Band Bio

Disfigura is a Symphonic Black Metal band from Shinjuku, Japan. Formed in 2008, they gained popularity in the underground Japanese metal scene with their corpse paint, inverted crosses, and all the other good stuff that comes included with straight-up black metal. The band is also known for a traumatizing live show.

The band was started by vocalist Yoshiro "Nemesis" Kakuzawa and his then-girlfriend Shizuka "Bathory" Mizuki while they were listening to some old-school Venom and some Anthelion. They thought, "We should start a Black Metal band; most of the good ones are from Europe or Taiwan"

Yoshiro, who could belt out a mean shriek, handled vocal duties and Shizuka, a classically trained kokyu and piano player, took on the keyboards. Yoshiro's good friend Daichi "Blade" Kazuya was quickly recruited as a guitarist. A drum machine was used for the band's first jam sessions.
Within the next month, three additional members joined. Shogo "Reaper" Okuji was named the second guitarist, after quitting his past death metal band Shadowbleed. Hideki "Autopsy" Nakamura was appointed drummer and Oroku "Butcher" Kurosawa became the bassplayer; both had been serving time in an industrial metal act called NEUROBLASTER.

The band played many underground, sometimes illegal, venues. Their controversial lyrics, which revolved around gore, occultism, black magic, and "extreme" views on religion, garnered a lot of attention in the metal underground. They attracted the attention of Fallen Records when Dmitri Oskolov, frontman of Whispers to the Fallen, was browsing the forums of the official Whispers to the Fallen website. One user, who's screen name was simply "Shi", had a link in their signature reading "Plz check my band." Dmitri thought "I've got time" and check them he did.

He stumbled upon Disfigura.

Dmitri told X, CEO of Fallen Records, who hastily booked a flight to Shinjuku to sign Disfigura. Upon his request, the band simply sacrificed a goat and gave the blood to X to drink. Once he swallowed it, the band began signing the record contract... in the remaining goat blood.

Disfigura sports a stage look reminiscient of black metal and gothic style, with a heavy feudal-Japanese twist. All band members wear black and white corpse paint, leather, spikes, and bondage clothing. Shizuka in particular has a style reminiscient of a zombie geisha crossed with a goth chic.

The skeleton of Disfigura's sound is basic black metal. Shrieked vocals, tremolo picked guitar parts, and blast beats. However, the band incorporates elements of death metal and symphonics into the music. Production is crisp, yet raw. Vocals are shrieked, rasped, screamed, and sometimes growled in engrish and engineered to echo into the recesses of your mind. The band incorporates symphonic keyboards into their sound, which exist to create a creepy atmosphere rather than an epic one. Though vocals are always harsh, lead guitar parts are often melodic. The band has been known to use finger picking to chilling effectiveness. Anthelion and Chthonic are major influences.

Disfigura recorded a 7" Split EP with Living Monstrosity, contributing the tracks "Bleeding Continuous From Sex", "Necrotic Geisha Whore", and "Post-Intercourse Impale".

MEMBERS:
Yoshiro "Nemesis" Kakuzawa- Demonic Incantation (Vocals)
(Corpse paint is a black chelsea grin and black lip/eyeliner, with jagged black veins in a pattern on his face.)

Shizuka "Bathory" Mizuki- Baleful Harmony, Bloody Weeping (Keyboards, Kokyu)
(Corpse paint is heavy, messy goth makeup. Hair is done up like a geisha. Wears a tattered kimono covered in skulls with studded accessories)

Shogo "Reaper" Okuji- Shriek of Shinigami (Guitar)
(Corpse paint is a skull design with ancient curses written in Japanese script down his entire face. Always wears a hooded sleeveless vest, allowing his arm tattoos to show. His tattoos are more curses down the lengths of his arms)

Daichi "Blade" Kazuya- Chaotic Frenzy (Guitar)
(Corpse paint is a striped tribal design; waist-length hair with bleached-white stripes. Always wears a sheathed katana onstage)

Hideki "Autopsy" Nakamura- Relentless Beating (Drums)
(Corpse paint is fake stitches and scars criss-crossing his face, with white-contact lenses)

Oroku "Butcher" Kurosawa- Satanic Pulse (Bass)
(No corpse paint, but his face is obscured behind a spiky metal half face-mask. His hair hangs partially over his eyes.)


INFLUENCES: Anthelion, Chthonic, Intestine Baalism, Abigail Williams, Marduk, Bathory, Dimmu Borgir

LYRICAL TOPICS: Pro-Atheism, Occultism, Horror (from Western slasher flick-influenced to Japanese Onryo), black magic, gore, dismemberment, war.

SOUND: Production was used sparingly on earlier releases, then became crisper. Guitars are overdriven, yet solos are echoey and cleaner. Drums are thick and reverberated, and keyboards are not so much the main melody but rather exist to add to the mood and backup the riffs. Vocals are delivered in a rasp, scream, shriek, or growl, with large amounts of echo.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yoshiro and Shizuka broke up on good terms after founding the band. After tha band's first few shows, they felt they worked better as band mates and friends than lovers. It is now a rumor that Yoshiro is involved with Miyako Reisukei of The Forgotten Falling.

Band Gear

Albums / EPs

Wrath of Emptiness (WOE) Date Released: 9/8/2011   Tracks: 17 Sales: 11   Listens: 16 "And when all angels fade, Sky opens, and dark swallows the sun, And kneeling servants of dying God? Condemned to bow to new age of slaughter, to wrath of emptiness..." Bathory speaks as the harbinger of the apocalypse over the doom chug of heavy guitars, haunting demonic choruses and strings, and thunderous percussion that serves as the intro to "Wrath of Emptiness", Disfigura's fourth album. A truly epic undertaking, the standard edition of "Wrath of Emptiness" is a 4-disc digipack. The first two discs contain the songs. Apart from two sorrowful Kokyu-interludes, the entire album is technical, brutal, and maddeningly unrelenting. Mixed by Jacob Wolfman of Werewolf Concerto fame, the guitars sound like barbed wire slicing flesh. Nemesis' vocals are more brutal than ever before, delivered in either a piercing black metal shriek or a guttural death metal growl. The third disc contains Disfigura's traumatizing music videos and live footage, never before-seen. The fourth disc contains video samples of horrific mind twisting terror set to ambient music composed by Bathory. The footage contained within tells a horrific, original story that only the bravest will be able to comprehend... Deluxe Addition Contains 4 Vinyl discs of the album, a rare laser disc version of the fourth disc, and an exclusive poster of the band signed by the members. Yoshiro "Nemesis" Kakuzawa- Vocals, lyrics Shizuka "Bathory" Mizuki- Keyboards, Kokyu Shogo "Reaper" Okuji- Lead Guitar Daichi "Blade" Kazuya- Rhythm Guitar Hideki "Autopsy" Nakamura- Drums Oroku "Butcher" Kurosawa- Bass *Miyako Rey and Jacob Wolfman perform guest solos on the title track Produced by Disfigura/Miyako Rey/Jacob Wolfman Mixed by Jacob Wolfman Music videos: -Dismembered With Ritual Blade (Dark Mask) -Asphyxiation By Barbed Wire (Of Shadows Born) -1000 Puncture Wounds (Empire of Thorns)

Empire of Thorns Date Released: 4/14/2011   Tracks: 12 Sales: 10   Listens: 20 Disfigura returns from the American Massacre tour thirsty for global blood. After the ambient opener, "Shade", Empire of Thorns is an expertly calculated symphonic black metal assault. Thunderous percussion and tense symphonics back up killer riffs and ripping vocals. Empire of Thorns has sharper production values than Disfigura's previous albums, allowing the band's full fury to crush the listener under the pummeling bass. It sounds great in the car.

Of Shadows Born Date Released: 1/7/2011   Tracks: 11 Sales: 6   Listens: 11 Disfigura's second album takes a more symphonic approach to their songs of dismemberment and sacrifice. Brutal lyrics are rasped in engrish to chilling effectiveness and riffs are tremolo-picked at insane speeds. A new addition is the use of tradtional, normally calming kokyu played in aggressive keys to create a creepy atmosphere, courtesy of Shizuka. Lastly, Living Monstrosity frontman Dean "Corpse-Raper" Taylor contrasts Yoshiro's shrieks with his brutal growls on the 5th track.

Dark Mask Date Released: 11/10/2010   Tracks: 11 Sales: 10   Listens: 23 The debut album from Japanese Industrial Black metal band Disfigura. Save one acoustic break in "Countess of Sick Pleasure" (A tribute to the virgin-killing Elizabeth Bathory), The album is a relentless assault of shrieks, screeching guitars, and creepy keys until the end, where the instrumental "Dystopia" concludes the album with melancholy acoustic chords and picking awash in reverb and echo. The album was recorded in a mausoleum, for the authentic effect and sound.