Who still remembers D=OUT? They’re still active and back with the Speed Disk label, which recently uploaded a new music video for the band!
D=OUT started at the end of 2006. The band was started by vocalist Kouki after his previous band, Mist of Rouge, disbanded in 2003. After this, he decided to join forces with guitarists Ibuki and Hikaru, bassist Reika and drummer Minase. They quickly gained popularity and before they knew it they had gigs in Holiday Shinjuku and Ikebukuro Cyber. After their second single Shirohata Sengen they landed at the indie label Speed Disk.
In 2011 the band transferred to PS Company, which wasn’t good news for everyone since not everyone is a fan of PS Company and feared the band would change too much. But, in 2016 there was some news: the band left PS Company because they did want to go in a different direction and since April 2016 they have a contract at the label Speed Disk again! In the meantime, Minase retired from his position as a drummer and was replaced by Naoto. On the 16th of November, the single and music video for 卍 (Manji) was released.
The symbol in the title resembles a swastika, which is quickly associated with the symbol used by the Nazis in the second world war in the Western countries. That version, however, is mirrored and at a 45-degree angle. This version is a lot older and has various religious meanings and variations (left-turning and right-turning). The manji is right-turning and follows the arms of the clock. In Japan, this symbol stands for luck, protection and good health. In Japanese maps the Manji are seen to mark the Buddhist temples in the area.
The video doesn’t have a large line of the story, but there is some in there regardless. The band members are possessed, they have white eyes with dark rings, wild hairstyles and are wearing white traditional clothing. The rest of the members we only see later in the video, but the video starts off with vocalist Kouki. He sees a little girl in front of a temple and follows her inside where he finds a lot of manji symbols. They ride a sort of elevator down and outside again. When they are on a bridge, the little girl waves and liberates the members of evil. Afterwards, the members slowly return to their former selves, no longer possessed and no longer looking like they are either. The girl, however, has disappeared completely.
The video has traditional elements, but also modern ones. It’s also really colourful. The music has modern beats, the bass and guitars sound really good and are pleasant to listen to. The song is catchy and doesn’t bore you easily. The vocals from Kouki are what you can expect from him. With this video I can see that this is more the style of Speed Disk, meaning the way the video is constructed, but also the looks of the members. Even their music sounds different. This is their second release after returning to Speed Disk, and I am curious to see how the band will develop themselves further at this label they graduated from previously! If you’re curious too, you should definitely follow them!
Rating: 75/100
