RAPTURE: The wonderful return of D'espairsray!

 

Miracles do happen. For just over a decade, it seemed as though one of my favourite bands of all-time was done for good. D'espairsray is a band that I have mentioned on this blog before and at that precise moment in time, I thought there was just no way they were coming back for even just a single. I'm happy to report that I was wrong! 

Okay, for a brief overview of the band... 

D'espairsray were formed back at the very end of the nineties, in 1999. The original and only line-up consisted of bassist Zero, drummer Tsukasa, guitarist Karyu and of course, vocalist Hizumi. The group started off with a demo tape released in that same formational year titled Ao. The following year saw a decent output with three more demos, System, Sakura and Razor being released alongside a single titled Kumo. So all in all, 2000 was a good year for the band. 2001 saw them release the first of three EPs, this one being titled Terrors. Naturally another single was also released, that being Genwaku. 2002 saw the second EP, Sexual Beast, released as well as the single Orin no Naka de Miru Yume. A banger single. Their last demo, Ura Mania Theatre also released. Next, Garnet and Maverick, two great singles charted quite well in 2003. 

Things trended upwards for the band in 2004 as Gemini charted quite highly at number 46 on the Oricon single charts. A record high for the band at the time. The third EP, Born was also released within that same year. 2005 was quite an important year simply due to the fact that the band released their very first studio album, Coll:set. Sadly it only charted at 97 with Oricon despite being superb. Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana would then break the band's previous record for a charted single in 2006 with it reaching number 41. 

Mirror, their second studio album released in 2007, fared better than Coll:set, reaching number 36 on the Oricon album charts. In fact, Mirror remained the highest charting album until the band's hiatus. The single, Squall, just performed below Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana in the singles charts, reaching 42. 2008 saw 3 singles: Brilliant, Kamikaze and Horizon released. The former: Brilliant and Kamikaze had quite the success as they both charted in at number 30. Not bad at all. Sadly Horizon peaked at 47, which is a shame. 

The year 2009 was a brilliant time to be a fan of the band. Not only did they release their third studio album: Redeemer, they also released the first compilation album: Immortal. Redeemer didn't fare quite as well as Mirror with the former only charting at number 39. Shocking really with the bangers on there including the aforementioned Brilliant, Kamikaze and Horizon. The song Final Call which was not on the album, actually managed to break the singles charts record by peaking at number 16. Amazing stuff. 

2010 was a decent year with the band releasing their fourth studio album: Monsters. Sadly, despite the single of Love is Dead equally the record-breaking Final Call's performance, Monsters only charted at 49. 

Unfortunately, the year 2011 was seen as the last before the hiatus with Hizumi's throat condition seemingly never getting better despite him having treatment for it. The band released their live performance on DVD: Human-clad Monsters: Final and a compilation album titled [Antique]. They did reunite for a single performance at a concert at Zepp Diver City on July 29th 2014, a show which also saw another of my favourite bands: lynch. perform as well.  

So... How did they officially get back together? 

Well, they surprised absolutely everyone with an announcement on the anniversary of the band's formation. On September 2025, the band announced that they would be performing a solo live concert, their first for 15 years. Not only that, but they aptly named the concert RAPTURE. The same name would be used for a single that released on May 13, 2026. The fantastically gloomy, gothic music video places emphasis on certain lyrics sung by Hizumi that illustrate the band's rebirth. "Break my past, I'm reborn. Break my fate, I'm ready." These words are not only sung by Hizumi, they are also written into a notebook in the music video. Now as for the sound, D'espairsray have not lost their unique identity as they are reborn with the very same elements that made them near and dear to my heart in the first place. I've always been enamoured with Hizumi's vocal style as I find him to have quite mesmerising cleans that truly pull you in and bring you along on an emotional journey. His unclean screams and growls often feel very visceral and raw in the best sense like they're believable. Karyu's crunching guitar riffs are still a thing and RAPTURE really brings that to the forefront. Zero's wonderfully skilled bass playing and the pounding rhythm of Tsukasa's drums are also still present. 

The only thing that's truly changed in the sound is the actual production values. It's far, far cleaner than their early work and that's not completely a bad thing despite my preference for a bit of a raw edge. 

I'm just incredibly grateful that they're back and haven't abandoned the style that made them who they are today and meaning so much to so many people, myself included. I would listen to their albums on my darkest days in order to feel a little better. It's recommended if you're into metal, visual kei metal specifically.