Exist Trace are a 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...

ese metal

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...

 band of the visual kei

Visual Kei

is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its...

 style, and consisting entirely of female members. They're from 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...

, 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...

, and initially formed in June 2003.

To date, the band has released five singles, four EPs, and a compilation album Exist Trace has also appeared on ten omnibus albums as well as two live DVDs featuring several bands on the Shizuoka

Shizuoka Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...

-based Sequence Records label. Exist Trace released a new EP on October 21, 2009, entitled Ambivalent Symphony.

Exist Trace made their U.S. debut at Sakura-Con

Sakura-Con

Sakura-Con is an annual three-day anime convention held during March or April at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington.- Programming :...

 2011 in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

. On June 15, 2011 they released their major label debut on Tokuma Japan Communications, the EP True.

Musical style

Exist Trace's music can be described as melodic death metal

Melodic death metal

Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...

, with vocalist Jyou's growls

Death growl

A death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, and harsh vocals among other names, is a vocalisation style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal and black metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres.Death...

 and shouts throughout many songs, which contributes to their dark undertone. Their guitar sound often features heavy distortion and technically virtuosic riffs and solos. Their sound is heavily focused on their bass and drumming, which helps define their musical style. The lyrics are mainly based on gothic themes, and their music style has resemblance to gothic metal

Gothic metal

Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...

.

Members

• Vocals: Jyou (ジョウ)
• Lead guitar: Omi (乙魅)
• Rhythm guitar: Miko (ミコ)
• Bass: Naoto (猶人)
• Drums: Mally (マリ)

EPs

• Annunciation -The Heretic Elegy- (December 13, 2006)
• Demented Show (September 9, 2007)
• Vanguard -Of the Muses- (April 22, 2009)
• Ambivalent Symphony (October 21, 2009)
• TRUE (June 15, 2011)
• THE LAST DAYBREAK (October 19, 2011)

Singles

• Ambivalence (August 28, 2005)
• Riot (July 17, 2006)
• Funeral Bouquet (January 10, 2007)
• Liquid (July 18, 2007)
• Knife (June 2, 2010)

Omnibus

• Drive Up!! vol. 1 (April 15, 2005) Corrosion
• Summit 03 (November 29, 2006) Mabushii Hodo no Kurayami no Naka de (眩しい程の暗闇の中で)
• Deviant's Struggle (June 20, 2007) liquid
• Fool's Mate Select Omnibus Seduction#1 (December 16, 2007) Sacrifice Baby
• Summit 04 (January 30, 2008) Venom
• Summit 05 (December 10, 2008) Judea
• Shock Edge 2009 (October 14, 2009) Liquid
• Neo Voltage (May 26, 2010) Unforgive You
• Iron Angel (January 15, 2011) Liquid
• Final Summit 2000~2010 (February 16, 2011) Mabushii Hodo no Kurayami no Naka de (眩しい程の暗闇の中で)
• Mariannes (July 20, 2011)

DVD

• Silent Hill 2061125 Pavilion which deer barks (January 31, 2007) SACRIFICE BABY
• 0704272930 (September 18, 2007) Lilin/JUDEA
• Visual-kei DVD Magazine vol.4 V-Rock Special (March 31, 2010)