Bomb Factory (band)
Encyclopedia
Bomb Factory is a musical group from Tokyo
, Japan
with styles influenced by 70's and 80's hardcore punk
, hard rock
, and heavy metal music
. Although their mother tongue is Japanese, almost all the music they have produced since 1997 has English
song titles and lyrics.
and later relocated to Tokyo
, where they met Joe and Shira and established their band in 1991. They played shows in and around Tokyo and Yokohama
during their early years. They released their independently produced EP
, Explode a Bombshell
in 1994 and the full album Blade of a Knife
in 1996.
In 1997, Bomb Factory incorporated their own independent label, Monstar Records, and released the split CD Monstar Cup Stage 1
. This album and concurrent albums afterward contained predominantly English lyrics. During the next few years their style progressed and became more unique, attracting a larger fan base in Japan. In 1999, they began the event High Blood Pressure in which they and other Japanese rock bands showcase in. They have staged several of these events and still continue it today.
In September 1999 they began individual tours in England
, Holland, Germany
and Belgium
, marking the first time the band toured outside of Japan
. Later in November they signed with Hell Hornet Records and Limited Records and released their self-titled mini album Bomb Factory
, selling over 16,000 copies. In March 2000 the tracks "Exciter" and "Deadly Silence Beach" were chosen from this album for the game Dead or Alive 2
on the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2
platforms. In December they gained more recognition after opening for Bad Religion
during their Japanese tour.
In 2001 they played many concerts and festivals in Japan with such groups as Uzumaki, Crispy Nuts, Shaka Labbits, Super Sisters, et al. In February 2002 Bomb Factory played in The Power to Explode tour with the band Fulltrap. After this came the Rough Tour, spanning 32 different venues with bands such as Buddha Head, Fulltrap, Batch, and Monkey Pirate.
Later in June of the same year the band began their second European tour in Germany, France and Belgium. While in France they played the Rock Oise Festival and received significant media coverage on radio, TV, and even made the cover of the magazine Walked In Line. Also in 2002, the tracks "Dive" and "Crack" were used in the PlayStation
game entitled Super Shot Soccer
. In October 2004 the album Discord
(a compilation of the Fat Boost
mini album and Discord
maxi single) was released in France and their second tour of the country began soon after. In November 2004 the album Another Day, Another Life
was released.
They signed with Sea Green/Toshiba-EMI
in 2006 and on November 15 they simultaneously released the album Social Suicide
alongside their first DVD, Fifteenth: After All These Years
, commemorating the band's 15 year survival.
On November 28, 2007 they released their Greatest Hits
compilation album which includes one previously unreleased song, "Fly". Bomb Factory signed a contract with Florida record label Bieler Bros
in 2007, but later canceled. In May 2008, they signed with California label N2O Records
and subsequently released Moshing Through Tokyo in August.
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
with styles influenced by 70's and 80's hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
, hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, and heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. Although their mother tongue is Japanese, almost all the music they have produced since 1997 has English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
song titles and lyrics.
History
Brothers Jun-ya and Kazuya grew up in YamagataYamagata
-Places in Japan:*Yamagata Prefecture**Yamagata City, the capital city of Yamagata Prefecture**Yamagata Airport , an airport located in Yamagata**Yamagata Shinkansen, one of Shinkansen lines running between Tokyo Station and Shinjo Station...
and later relocated to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, where they met Joe and Shira and established their band in 1991. They played shows in and around Tokyo and Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
during their early years. They released their independently produced EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Explode a Bombshell
Explode a Bombshell (album)
Explode a Bombshell is the first mini-album CD release by punk rock band Bomb Factory. The album was an independent release and is extremely rare. It is unknown how many pressings were produced...
in 1994 and the full album Blade of a Knife
Blade of a Knife
Blade of a Knife is the first full-length album by punk rock band Bomb Factory. It was released in August 1996 on an independent label and contains 12 songs.-Track listing:-External links:*...
in 1996.
In 1997, Bomb Factory incorporated their own independent label, Monstar Records, and released the split CD Monstar Cup Stage 1
Monstar Cup Stage 1
Monstar Cup Stage 1 is a split single by Japanese punk rock bands Bomb Factory and Ugly Duck United. It was released on June 1, 1997 and was the first album to be released on the newly formed Monstar Records label. The single contains four songs, the first two performed by Bomb Factory and the last...
. This album and concurrent albums afterward contained predominantly English lyrics. During the next few years their style progressed and became more unique, attracting a larger fan base in Japan. In 1999, they began the event High Blood Pressure in which they and other Japanese rock bands showcase in. They have staged several of these events and still continue it today.
In September 1999 they began individual tours in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Holland, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, marking the first time the band toured outside of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Later in November they signed with Hell Hornet Records and Limited Records and released their self-titled mini album Bomb Factory
Bomb Factory (album)
Bomb Factory is the self-titled second EP by punk rock band Bomb Factory. It was released in November 1999 on Monstar Records/Hell Hornet Records, and contains 7 songs...
, selling over 16,000 copies. In March 2000 the tracks "Exciter" and "Deadly Silence Beach" were chosen from this album for the game Dead or Alive 2
Dead or Alive 2
Dead or Alive 2 is a fighting game in the Dead or Alive series. It debuted in arcades in October 1999 and was released on February 29, 2000 for the Dreamcast....
on the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
platforms. In December they gained more recognition after opening for Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
during their Japanese tour.
In 2001 they played many concerts and festivals in Japan with such groups as Uzumaki, Crispy Nuts, Shaka Labbits, Super Sisters, et al. In February 2002 Bomb Factory played in The Power to Explode tour with the band Fulltrap. After this came the Rough Tour, spanning 32 different venues with bands such as Buddha Head, Fulltrap, Batch, and Monkey Pirate.
Later in June of the same year the band began their second European tour in Germany, France and Belgium. While in France they played the Rock Oise Festival and received significant media coverage on radio, TV, and even made the cover of the magazine Walked In Line. Also in 2002, the tracks "Dive" and "Crack" were used in the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
game entitled Super Shot Soccer
Super Shot Soccer
Super Shot Soccer, known in Japan as , is a 2002 soccer simulation video game, which was developed and published by Tecmo for the PlayStation...
. In October 2004 the album Discord
Discord (album)
Discord is a compilation album by punk rock band Bomb Factory. It was released exclusively in Europe on MHP/Skalopards Records and includes all tracks from the Discord maxi single and Fat Boost mini album , as well as the popular track "Exciter".-Track listing:-External links:*...
(a compilation of the Fat Boost
Fat Boost
Fat Boost is the third mini-album by punk rock band Bomb Factory. It was released in December 2002 on Monstar/Limited, and contains 6 songs plus one hidden track which is an audio clip of someone vomiting.-Track listing:...
mini album and Discord
Discord (single)
-External links:*...
maxi single) was released in France and their second tour of the country began soon after. In November 2004 the album Another Day, Another Life
Another Day, Another Life
Another Day, Another Life is the fourth full-length album by punk rock band Bomb Factory. It was released in November 2004 on Monstar Records/Limited Records, and contains 11 songs.-Track listing:-External links:*...
was released.
They signed with Sea Green/Toshiba-EMI
Toshiba-EMI
(formerly , is one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. in June 30, 2007 after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. The current CEO and president is San-e Ichii. When EMI Music Japan was trading as Toshiba-EMI, it was...
in 2006 and on November 15 they simultaneously released the album Social Suicide
Social Suicide (album)
Social Suicide is the fifth full-length album by punk rock band Bomb Factory. It was released in November 2006 on Sea Green/Toshiba EMI, and contains 11 songs.-Track listing:-External links:***...
alongside their first DVD, Fifteenth: After All These Years
Fifteenth: After All These Years
Fifteenth: After All These Years is an extensive DVD by Bomb Factory. It contains 23 live performances, 8 music videos, 40 photos, and one bonus video with interviews and commentary scattered throughout the live and bonus footage....
, commemorating the band's 15 year survival.
On November 28, 2007 they released their Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Bomb Factory album)
-External links:*...
compilation album which includes one previously unreleased song, "Fly". Bomb Factory signed a contract with Florida record label Bieler Bros
Bieler Bros. Records
Bieler Bros. Records is an independent record label based out of Florida, USA.-History:Bieler Bros. Records was formed in January 2002 by brothers Aaron and Jason Bieler...
in 2007, but later canceled. In May 2008, they signed with California label N2O Records
N2O Records
N2O Records was founded in 1997 with the first DJ compilation Home Invasion Vol. 1 CD/LP of Los Angeles DJ's that produce harder sounding electronic, drum and bass, breakbeat and hardcore techno...
and subsequently released Moshing Through Tokyo in August.
Band members
- Jun-ya - vocals
- Kazuya - guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocals - Joe - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Shira - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals
Studio albums
- Blade of a KnifeBlade of a KnifeBlade of a Knife is the first full-length album by punk rock band Bomb Factory. It was released in August 1996 on an independent label and contains 12 songs.-Track listing:-External links:*...
(1996) - Go This WayGo This WayGo This Way is the second full-length album by punk rock band Bomb Factory. It was released in January 2002 on Monstar Records/Hell Hornet Records, and contains 15 songs. Track 8 appears on Tecmo's Super Shot Soccer soundtrack for PlayStation....
(2002) - Another Day, Another LifeAnother Day, Another LifeAnother Day, Another Life is the fourth full-length album by punk rock band Bomb Factory. It was released in November 2004 on Monstar Records/Limited Records, and contains 11 songs.-Track listing:-External links:*...
(2004) - Social SuicideSocial Suicide (album)Social Suicide is the fifth full-length album by punk rock band Bomb Factory. It was released in November 2006 on Sea Green/Toshiba EMI, and contains 11 songs.-Track listing:-External links:***...
(2006)