D'ESPAIRSRAY Archives

D’ESPAIRSRAY’s first single in 16 years “RAPTURE” reaffirms gothic edge

May 27, 2026

D'ESPAIRSRAY truly delighted fans when they announced single RAPTURE, and it was at last released on May 13, marking the band’s first new release in 16 years. On the same day, the band also shared a gothic, glo...

Visual kei festival “MASKED 2026” transforms artists in unexpected looks

Hitomi

Mar 13, 2026

Tour and event

The visual kei project MASKED launches MASKED 2026, built around the idea of visual kei being "unbound, unlimited, and free”. The project focuses on celebrating the scene through a large-scale live music festiv...

Top 10 visual kei and Japanese rock artists 2025

Erica, NBT, Jack, Mazohyst_Kyo and Jorge M.

Jan 19, 2026

Entertainment

Welcome to our annual JROCK NEWS Top 10 ranking! Each year, we strive to highlight the visual kei and Japanese rock artists who made waves, and 2025 was a fiercely competitive year. From ambitious worldwide tou...

Visual kei festival in Europe invites D’ESPAIRSRAY, MUCC, Kizu, An Cafe, JILUKA, Azavana, and more

NBT

Dec 13, 2025

Tour and event

European tour organizer B7KLAN will celebrate 20 years of activity next year with a major visual kei festival in Paris, France, taking place July 11–12. With a focus on visual kei, the festival "B7KLAN J-ROCK F...

Interview: D’ESPAIRSRAY reborn after 15 years, stronger than ever

Erica

Oct 17, 2025

Interview

After nearly 15 years away, the internationally beloved rock band D’ESPAIRSRAY shocked fans with their long-awaited revival. The band storms the stage at CROSS ROAD Fest on November 15, 2025, then tackles their...

D’ESPAIRSRAY returns with first solo show in 15 Years, “LIVE 2026 ‘RAPTURE'”

Erica and afaenia

Sep 9, 2025

New Look, Tour and event

Fifteen years after disbanding, the legendary band D'ESPAIRSRAY is making a long-awaited return. The band will reunite for their first solo concert since disbanding: LIVE 2026 "RAPTURE", scheduled for May 4, 20...

D’ESPAIRSRAY reunites after 14 years for CROSS ROAD Fest

Erica and afaenia

May 8, 2025

Disband/Hiatus/Revive, Tour and event

The wait is over—after 11 years since their last reunion, D'ESPAIRSRAY is back! After disbanding in 2011, the legendary band reunites for an exclusive performance at "CROSS ROAD Fest <DAY 1>". The two-day...

JLOCKS haircare partners with visual kei legends for ultimate rockstar products

Erica, NBT and Rin

Apr 1, 2025

Entertainment

Since the dawn of Jrock, fans have strived to recreate the epic hairstyles they see on stage. Now, achieving that iconic look is easier than ever, no stylist required! Enter JLOCKS, the ultimate haircare line f...

Interview with HAKUEI and Karyu: Wholesome talk between shy people

Dorian, Rin and Peertje

May 3, 2023

Interview

This interview was originally published by “club Zy.” in Japanese. JROCK NEWS is partnering with club Zy. and Vijuttoke with the aim to popularize Japanese visual kei globally. Learn more about our partnership ...

Interview with HAKUEI and HIZUMI: Hardships as vocalists

Dorian, Rin, Peertje and afaenia

Jul 1, 2022

Interview

D’espairsRay members revive session band Luv PARADE

Sizergyia and Dorian

Apr 2, 2022

New Band, New Look, Tour and event

Former D'espairsRay members have after more than a decade revived their session band Luv PARADE, consisting of guitarist Karyu, bassist ZERO, and drummer TSUKASA! Vocalist HIZUMI formerly in D'espairsRay also m...

Karyu of ex-D’espairsRay begins mysterious solo project

Erica

Feb 10, 2022

New Band

On February 7, former guitarist Karyu of D'espairsRay and currently-on-hiatus ANGELO officially launched his solo project, "Karyu". Karyu released artist photos and opened an official website, Twitter and Insta...

HIZUMI brings back scream vocals in “XStream”, NUL.’s first music video

NBT

Nov 1, 2019

Music Video

It's been a long time coming, but today is finally the day we get to formally introduce NUL.'s music with their first music video, XStream! This is where you'll find vocalist HIZUMI's screaming voice in shape w...

Interview with HIZUMI: NUL., a conceptless band with infinite potential

NBT and afaenia

Oct 22, 2019

Interview

After seeing and experiencing NUL.'s first performance on August 16, our minds were filled with questions! We decided to meet up with HIZUMI a couple of days later to get these questions answered.In case yo...