Ezo (band)
Template:Short description Template:Infobox musical artist
Template:Nihongo was a Japanese heavy metal band originally formed as Flatbacker in the spring of 1982 in Sapporo, Japan<ref name="Nippop">Nippop's EZO Profile Template:Webarchive Retrieved Sep 21, 2007</ref> out of the remnants of two high school bands, Power-Station and Scrap. EZO has been named a "seminal influence by such artists as Steve McDonald of Redd Kross and Michael Steele of The Bangles."Template:Sfn
History
EZO consisted of Masaki Yamada (vocals), Taro Takahashi (bass), Shoyo Iida (guitar) and Hiro Homma (drums).<ref name="AMG">AllMusic EZO Profile Retrieved on Sep 21 2007</ref> They released one demo cassette (Minagoroshi) in 1984 and two albums (1985's Senzo and 1986's Esa) in Japan as Flatbacker in the mid-1980s before coming to the U.S.<ref name="Nippop"/> Rumor has it that Gene Simmons of Kiss, who produced their self-titled U.S. debut album,Template:Sfn was behind the band's name change to EZO,Template:Citation needed inspired by Ezo, an ancient name for Hokkaidō.<ref name="Nippop"/> They released two albums for Geffen Records, 1987's EZO and 1989's Fire Fire, before being dropped from the label and internal differences led to the band's demise.<ref name="Nippop"/>
Vocalist Masaki Yamada joined fellow Japanese heavy metal band Loudness in 1992 and drummer Hiro Homma joined Loudness in 1994.<ref name="Nippop"/> In 2000, the original Loudness lineup reunited and Masaki and Hiro left the band.<ref name="Nippop"/> Hiro Homma was the drummer for the Japanese metal band Anthem from 2001 to 2013 and vocalist Masaki Yamada is now the bass player for the New York-based band FiRESiGN.
A single guitar riff from EZO song "House of 1,000 Pleasures" served as the signature sound of syndicated radio network Z Rock.Template:Citation needed
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Title | JP | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Minagoroshi(皆殺し) (Demo, as 'Fratvacker') | ||
| 1985 | Accident(戦争) (as 'Flatbacker') | ||
| 1986 | Esa(餌) (as 'Flatbacker') | ||
| 1987 | EZO | 6 | 150 |
| 1989 | Fire Fire | 19 |
Videos
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1985 | War is Over (as 'Flatbacker') |
| 1988 | E・Z・O |
| 2004 | Returns |