Sex Machineguns

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Sex Machineguns


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Origin = Japan
Genre = Power metal
Speed metal
Shred metal
Heavy metal
Years_active = 1996 - present
Label = Toshiba-EMI
Associated_acts = Elleguns
Cycle
URL = http://www.sexmachineguns.com/
Current_members = Anchang (lead guitars/rhythm guitars/vocals)
Ryotatsu (guitars)
Ken'ichi (drums)
Past_members = Sussy
Noisy
Clutch.J.Himawari
Circuit.V.Panther
Samurai.W.Kenjilaw
Speed Star Sypan Joe

The Sex Machineguns are a Japanese speed metal band. Their music is characterized by a heavy focus on bass as well as extremely fast guitar and bass solos. The band rides an image of being "Shock Rockers" by wearing crazy, exotic outfits like Visual Kei bands (although this image has been toned down recently), singing about violence (as shown in the song "FamiResuBombaa") and naming one of their live DVDs "SM Show" in a very intentional allusion to BDSM. Casting themselves as shock rockers is not the prime selling point of their music though, as they also exhibit their technical virtuosic skill on their instruments.

Biography

The Sex Machineguns started in 1992 as a low-popularity Indie group, touring live houses and clubs. Their name is intentionally similar to that of the Sex Pistols and, according to the band, "implying that [we] machineguns are more radical than [the] pistols". They gained a large fanbase quickly, and sold out their shows. They went on tour, and spread their popularity all over Japan. Once they got back home to release their first video and live CD in Spring of 1997, they had developed such a fanbase that the first press of the video sold out instantly, to all parts of Japan from Okinawa to Hokkaidō.

In 1998, the Sex Machineguns made their commercial debut with the release of their first single on Toshiba-EMI Records. The single sold out all over Japan instantly, and it was decided they would go on a debut tour (which sold out completely in every location). Magazines began to run articles, and the single sold steadily, skyrocketing the band's popularity. In September they released their first album, which was another huge hit. They went on many tours, all selling out, and topped the singles charts all over Japan. As 1998 came to a close, the Sex Machineguns had topped the charts, and played 62 concerts (all sold out).

The band's frontman announced that the band would be taking a 'activity pause' on March 20, 2006. All members at the time except for Anchang had left the band and formed a new band/side-project called Elleguns, which released a 6-track instrumental. As of December 2006, Circuit. V.Panther, Samurai. W.Kenjilaw, and Speed Star Sypan Joe have started a new band known as "Cycle". Anchang later reformed Sex Machineguns in 2007 with Ryotatsu Kuwae on guitar and Ken'ichi Imai on drums, and they released three digital download-only singles that year.

Current members

*Anchang (Koji Ando) - lead vocals, guitar (1998 - present)
*Shingo☆ (Shingo Star) - bass (June 2008 - present)
*Ken'ichi (Kenichi Imai) - drums (October 2007 - present)

Previous members

*Sussy - lead and rhythm guitar (1996 - 2001)
*Noisy - bass, backing vocals (1996 - 2003)
*Clutch. J.Himawari - drums (1999 - 2003)
*Circuit. V.Panther (Yoshikazu Yahiro) - lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2001 - 2006/9/7)
*Samurai. W.Kenjilaw (Kenjirou Murai) - bass, backing vocals (2004 - 2006/9/7)
*Speed Star Sypan Joe (Koji Ueno) - drums (1997 - 1999, 2004 - 2006/9/7)
*Iberiko Moja Malmsteen (Ryotatsu Kuwae) - guitar (October 2007 - August 2008)

upport members

*Cyzer.A.Hamberg - synth guitar (April 2001 - August 2001)
*Crazy Horse Kameen - synth guitar (April 2001 - August 2003)
*Shingo☆ - bass (October 2007 - June 2008)
*Sussy - guitar (6,7 August 2008)

Discography

Albums

olo Works

Videography

The naming scheme for the Sex Machineguns videos is as follows:
*Video Sex = A compilation of the latest music videos from the band
*SM Show = A compilation of concert video bits (SM Show 2 has a 90min full concert followed by a 20min clip of another, followed by some other clips, and then a second full 90min concert, for example)

External links

* [http://www.sexmachineguns.com Official Site (Japanese / English Language)]
* [http://blog.goo.ne.jp/sm-hmt/ Official Blog - Heavy Metal Thunder (Japanese Language)]
* [http://blog.goo.ne.jp/sm-hmt/c/14d10ad33e7624ae715be16448b3b139 Latest Live video (Currently 30 video clips taken from 2005 to the present)]
* [http://www.toshiba-emi.co.jp/domestic/artists/sex/index_j.htm Toshiba-EMI Site (Japanese Language)]
* [http://www.toshiba-emi.co.jp/vmc/artist/sex.htm Virgin Music Company Site (Japanese Language)]
* [http://viva-machineguns.oops.jp/ Viva Machineguns Fan Site (Japanese Language)]
* [http://amg-net.com/j-p-k/ Cycle Official Site (Japanese Language)]