Aion (アイオン) is a Japanese metal band formed in 1983 by guitarist Izumi Ochiai. Aion are considered to be important to the formation of visual kei, credited as being one of the bands to start the movement in the early '80s. They are also considered to be one of the most successful heavy metal bands in Japan, touring with big bands such as X Japan and Luna Sea. As of 2010 they have released 15 full albums, 6 singles, 2 EPs and more than 10 VHS/DVD.

Band history

Aion was originally created in 1983 by Izumi Ochiai, he soon ended it in 1985 to start a new band named Mein Kampf. But this band was short lived as well, only lasting until May 1986. Izumi then decided to try again with Aion, bringing with him Mein Kampf bassist Tatsuya "Dean" Miwa and vocalist Rod, and adding Jun "S.A.B" Saburi on drums. Rod would soon be replaced by Salee, whom after a year, would then be replaced by Satoru Sasano. And with this line-up they had their first official release, the 1987 single "Hang on Night". In 1988 Satoru left and Hisayoshi Hiraga (Rosenfeld) joined, their first album "Deathrash Bound" was released in 1989 (vinyl only). Hisayoshi left soon after the album's release, and they finally got a steady vocalist when he was replaced by Nov. In 1990 they released "Human Griefman", which is basically Deathrash Bound, the only differences being Nov is singing and he also rewrote the lyrics. Signing a contract with BMG in 1990, Aion gained a following in the visual kei scene. 1991 was the year when they started to succeed, with the release of "Aionism". At that time, Aion and Luna Sea used to play a lot of shows together. This led to Luna Sea providing some backing vocals on the album. Bigger success would come in 1992 when they changed from their speed/thrash metal roots to a more stylized melodic power metal sound. The first, self titled, album with the new sound was very successful. Also in 1992 S.A.B left and was replaced by Shu. Local magazines and TV showcased them from 1991 until 1995, when their last album, "Freak Out", was released. In 1995 they disbanded, although not in the traditional sense, as Nov and Izumi continued to release their own music using the Aion name.

In 2000 Dean and Shu rejoined the band and they released the album "Magnitude". Although Shu soon left, he was replaced with the return of S.A.B, thus the "classic" Aion line-up was reunited. In 2003 they released the album "Sister". They continued to play shows in small live houses, until 2009 when S.A.B left. He was replaced by Youth-K, and in 2010 they released their first single in 16 years "Black Heart".

Official website: http://deathrash-bound.com/

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