"Reddish Collector's no Dead Artist", 1999.


Merry Go Round formed in 1991. In April of 1996, the group finally released their first demo, which was titled "Housou Kinshi no Shindafuri wo Suru Keppeki Shou no Jikkentai to Hako no Naka no Doku Iri Shortcake (放送禁止の死んだふりをする潔癖症の実験体と箱の中の毒入りショートケーキ)". The demo was limited to 5000 copies, and soon sold out. In August of 1996, Merry Go Round released their first mini-album, "-S-", which was a huge smash in the indies scene for its experimental gothic sound. The group also appeared on the "End of the Century Rockers III" omnibus that November as well. Merry Go Round would go on to release four singles throughout 1997, and by early 1998, established themselves to be one of the most respected groups in the Nagoya kei underground. In January of 1998, the group released their second mini-album, which was titled "Housou Kinshi no Shindafuri wo Suru Keppeki Shou no Jikkentai to Hako no Naka no Doku Iri Shortcake to Gyaku Kaiten de Mawaru Egoist no Paranoia Box (放送禁止の死んだふりをする潔癖症の実験体と、箱の中の毒入りショートケーキと、逆回転でまわるエゴイストのパラノイアボックス)". The extensively titled album was limited to only 15,000 copies, and immediately sold out, solidifying Merry Go Round as being one of the most recognized and unique groups to surface out of the underground 1990's visual kei scene. In November of 1998, Merry Go Round released their third mini-album, "#69", which was a remix album, and was also limited to only 15,000 copies. Like their previous "Housou Kinshi no Shindafuri..." album, it also sold out rather quickly. By the summer of 1999, Merry Go Round trimmed down from being a band to a duo, consisting of frontman Kazuma (真) and guitarist Hideno. This also signaled a transition in Merry Go Round's sound, which seemed to have gotten a lot more industrial-influenced during this period. Under this lineup, the duo released two singles and one full length album, "Reddish Collector's no Dead Artist", which was released in December of 1999. Despite the rather extreme lineup change, Merry Go Round maintained an extremely strong cult following, and in September of 2000, Merry Go Round released their second full length album, "Genkaku Alpha Nami (幻覚α波)", which was, unsurprisingly, a major smash in the visual underground. In 2001, Merry Go Round appeared to have taken a break from recording, but returned in January of 2002 to release their seventh single, "Kimi wa Mitsu Yori mo Amaku... (君は蜜よりも甘く...)". In December of 2002, Merry Go Round appeared on the "Yougenkyou (妖幻鏡) -Sea-" omnibus, and, a few months later, resurfaced as a four-member band once more. In August of 2003, Merry Go Round released their fourth mini-album, "Dot", which showed the group's sound slightly maturing from their earlier frantic, avant-garde style. Despite the album's impressive sales, Merry Go Round announced their official disbandment in early 2004, after over a decade of activity. In May of 2004, Merry Go Round released one final compilation album, appropriately entitled "Merry Go Round is Dead", and split that same day. Frontman Kazuma (真) went on to form the group Smells, with Merry Go Round bassist Maxx and drummer Shoji. The group had some minor popularity in the visual underground, but eventually ended up splitting in late 2009. After Smells's disbandment, Kazuma went on to form his own solo project, Highfashionparalyze, while Maxx joined the obscure group Spooky Jam. Both groups appear to still be active.