HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, composed of six members, originated the summer of 2003 after meeting at a music festival. It’s difficult to place them in one specific genre; their music is better described as a mix between rock, pop and rap. The first track off their album G8VER would make a person believe he or she is about to listen to a rock band, but when the next track begins the person is given a dose of pop instead of rock.
In such a short time, HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR has gained much popularity and have already performed overseas in the USA.
The band originally started with MEG and SASSY who were working on a Metallica cover band. They were soon joined by their classmates KAZUTO, mACKAz and YUSUKE, forming a new band by the name of ANTI-NOBUNAGA. ANTI-NOBUNAGA received a tremendous response when they played for a sold out crowd in the summer of 2003 at a yearly festival in Okinawa. Due to the amount of popularity the band was receiving, many major record labels took notice allowing them to contribute a track on the compilation album Okinawa 2003.
At the Music Picnic Festival, MAKI also grabbed the attention of many major record labels. Eventually, through their labels, MAKI and the guys of ANTI-NOBUNAGA were introduced thus forming HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR. A little over a year later, and all under the age of 20, they were first announced as a major label band signing with the Sony Label in Japan.
When HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR made their debut in January 2005 with their single PRIDE, it became a huge success and was even used as the opening theme for the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam Destiny, which also reached #2 in the Oricon charts. Since the single was a hit, they decided to release a remix single entitled PRIDE REMIX. Since then all of their single released have been in the top 25 on the charts. Considering HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR is relatively new to the industry, they have been very successful with the release of several hits and two opening themes for anime shows.
All band members grew up, and are still based, in Okinawa. Before MAKI came on board, the other five members use to perform at clubs located at the northern area of Okinawa called Koza where people from the U.S. Army gathered on their days off. They would play many cover songs from Western bands that the people there were familiar with, allowing them to gain an appreciation for Western music.
Over the next year, the band went on a media blitz, performing for shows such as Music Fighter, Music Station and Hey! Hey! Hey! at various times. During August, the band released “Days,” their fourth single, selling 7,679 copies and not breaking the top 20 mark on the Oricon charts. Despite this setback, the band was still honored with the Japanese Record Grand Prix’s Rookie of the Year award, and Mākii’s grandmother who had just died was given a tribute just before their performance.
In April 2006, the band released their second album Gou on Progressive after only releasing two singles for the album. The album sold less copies than their first album, but it stayed on the Oricon charts longer and managed to gain a higher peak position than their first album. The band’s first single of the year was “Ichirin no Hana” and was used as the third opening to the anime adaption of Bleach. This was the first and currently only single to break the top five mark on the Oricon charts since their debut with “Pride.” They also played their first American concert at an anime convention in Houston, Texas on April 28.
The band then went on a large-scale tour of Japan. They played 65 venues over the course of the next five months. They released their seventh single, “Dive into Yourself,” in August. The song was used as the opening song for the video game Sengoku Basara II. For a time this was the band’s second lowest selling single and was also their lowest ranking single among the Oricon charts, only managing to reach the 24th spot on the weekly charts. Their 8th single “Enrai: Tōku ni Aru Akari” (遠雷~遠くにある明かり) was released on October 25 and used as the ending theme for the third Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny: Special Edition compilation movie. The single entered the charts 12 spots higher than “Dive into Yourself” at number 12. “Energy”, a b-side song from the “Style: Get Glory in This Hand” single was used in a tribute compilation album composed for Death Note: The Last Name.
Mākii made her acting debut with the December 2006 movie, Anata wo Wasurenai (I Won’t Forget You). The band performed two songs for the film, “Tadoritsuku Basho”, the film’s theme song and “Oxalis”, an insert song. The two songs were released as a doubled A-side single. When Anata wo Wasurenai was released, it entered the Japanese box offices in the 10th position. Also, another song “Resistance” was used as the theme song for a Nintendo DS game based on Bleach, Kokui Hirameku Requiem.
On February 4, the official High and Mighty Color website released various 30 second previews of songs from the band’s third album, San (参), which was released on February 21. The album contained 15 tracks with 10 being new releases. The album was ranked number 10 on the Oricon daily rankings during its first day and 16th on the weekly charts.
In March, it was announced that Yūsuke would work with former Porno Graffitti bassist, Masami Shiratama. Yūsuke provided vocals for the joint single entitled “Honnō“, the single was released on May 23 featured Yūsuke using what the band describes as his machine gun vocals.
The band also made their second American performance on May 11 and May 12 during 2007′s Anime Central anime convention. The band performed 12 songs and were opened by the Spiral Spiders.
The 10th single from the band was released on August 1, 2007. The title track of the single, entitled “Dreams“, was used as the second ending theme to the anime Darker Than Black. During its first week, the single entered the Oricon charts at the 24th spot.
On September 24, 2007 it was announced on the band’s official page that the 11th single from the band will be released on December 12, 2007. On October 5, 2007 it was announced on the band’s official page that the 11th single is to be named “Amazing“. On November 4, 2007 it was announced that the band would be releasing a single collection album entitled 10 Colored Singles featuring the first 10 singles and a bonus track titled “Ichirin no Hana (Live Studio Version)”. It also includes a DVD with music videos that never made it to DVD like “Style”, “Dreams”, “Here I Am”, and the new music video for “Mushroom”. The band also contributed to a Luna Sea memorial album, performing the song “Rosier”. The album was released in December 2007.
The 12th single “Flashback” was released on February 27, 2008. It will be the second double a-side single from the band and will be used in promotion with the anime series Hero Tales. Their 4th album Rock Pit was released on March 19 and became their lowest selling album to date.
The band began the fourth volume of their Live Bee Loud tour on March 17, 2008 at the famous Club Quattro in Japan. They then went on to perform at 13 other venues across the country, with the final venue being in their hometown of Okinawa. The 13th single of the band is a cover of one of T.M. Revolution‘s early singles, “Hot Limit”. The visual style of both the music video and the promotional images is meant to mimic that of the original. This was also the first time since “Ichirin no Hana” that Sony Music Entertainment had produced a commercial for advertisement of a single from the band. The single went on to garner the best sales for the band in nearly two years and ranked at number 20 on the Oricon charts in the weekly rankings for its first week.
On July 1, 2008, it was announced that Maki had married Dreams Come True singer Masato Nakamura on June 22, 2008 and would be leaving the band by the end of 2008. In her parting message, Mākii thanked her fellow band members and all of their fans for supporting her and the group for such a long time. A special event was planned for Mākii’s graduation from the band as well as at least one more single before she left the band. It was also announced that the band will begin searching for a new vocalist in early 2009.
High and Mighty Color appeared at the Zepp in Nagoya on August 15 as part of the Steal The Show Friday night lineup. Zepp is a private club venue known for having popular artists. They performed alongside 175R, One Ok Rock and Gollbetty. The 14th single from the band, “Remember“, was released on October 15, 2008 and is the final single featuring Mākii as a band member.
The first live DVD from the band was released on January 25th and reached the 11th spot on the Oricon weekly DVD charts, reaching a peak of 9th on the daily charts. After the departure of Mākii the band began auditions for a replacement vocalist, the auditions were open to women for a month before calls backs and performances were done. On February 9nd, 2009, the band announced that a replacement vocalist was found, whose information would soon be added to their website after an extensive overhaul. The band plans to begin work on a summer single and live tour to promote the new vocalist in May.
Having grown up and gaining an immense appreciation for Western music, the band looks forward to continue having opportunities to perform in the U.S. with hopes of HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR becoming a special band for people outside of Japan.
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