Aldious

Poster for a November 2012 concert by The Agonist and Aldious in Osaka.

Aldious was formed in Osaka in June 2008 when guitarist and leader Yoshi teamed up with vocalist Rami.[1][8] The name Aldious was created by Rami shortening the phrase "Ultimate Melodious."[8] The singer said that they intentionally express their femininity by wearing dresses with big hair, a style that saw the band labelled "Age-jō".[8][9][10][11][12] In November they took part in the compilation album Red Hot Burning Hell Vol.16,[13] soon after which guitarist Ruki and bassist Sawa left. In January 2009, Toki and Kaze joined as guitarist and bassist respectively, later the band self-released and sold-out their debut four-track EP Dear Slave on November 7.[8][13] Kaze left in December, and drummer Aruto joined in January 2010. March saw the return of Sawa on bass and, around this time, Aldious formed their own record label, Bright Star Records.[13] Their first single "Defended Desire", released on July 7, sold-out all 7,000 copies, reached the number 4 position on Oricon's Indies singles chart and number 49 on its regular chart.[13][14] In April, Bright Star became a sublabel of Spinning and the band released their debut album Deep Exceed on October 13, 2010.[1] It reached number 15 on the Oricon Albums Chart and sold over 30,000 copies.[15]

Determination, the band's second album, was released on October 12, 2011, and reached number 13.[16][17] The song "Spirit Black" was used as the ending theme song of the Fuji TV show Shimura Ken. The album's single, "Mermaid", was previously released on April 6 and earned the number 20 position.[18] On June 29, 2012, it was announced that vocalist and co-founder Rami was leaving Aldious due to health concerns.[19] She had informed the other members of her condition the previous year, but finally offered to leave as she felt she was hindering the band's activities.[20] A month later, Re:NO (formerly of the pop duo Suitei Shoujo) was announced as Aldious's new singer on August 3.[21] This line-up's first release was the single "White Crow" on November 14, which reached number 19 and was co-produced by Akihito Kinoshita, guitarist and leader of the veteran heavy metal band Saber Tiger.[18][22][23] Re:No's first tour with Aldious was supporting Canadian metal band The Agonist at three Japanese shows in November 2012.[24]

On May 15, 2013, Aldious released their third album District Zero, which became their first release to break the top ten.[16][25] Its song "Scrash" became the ending theme song for the TBS TV show Ranking Kingdom from June to July. It was reported that for the album the band intentionally toned down their appearance and aimed for a "pure metal sound", so as to be recognized for their musicianship rather than being an all-female band.[26]

Their fourth single and first double A-side, "Dominator / I Don't Like Me", was released on October 9, 2013, and is the group's highest charting, having reached number 12. Their next single, "Other World", peaked at number 22 and their fourth album, Dazed and Delight, released on June 18, 2014, was their lowest charting CD, only reaching the 20 position.[18][16] In September 2014, Aruto announced she was leaving Aldious and music entirely due to her upcoming marriage. She stayed with the group until the end of November 2014.[27] Aldious announced their new drummer Marina, step-daughter of American drummer Terry Bozzio,[28] on April 19, 2015. They also left their parent record label Spinning at their own request.[29]

Aldious released the triple A-side single "Die for You / Dearly / Believe Myself" on July 8, 2015. The band released their fifth album Radiant A on December 2. It was their first release on the VAA (Village Again Association) label, under their own sublabel that shares the Radiant A name, and their first featuring new drummer Marina, with a limited "Marina Edition" of the album available exclusively through HMV Group and Loppi.[30] A second triple single, "Female Warrior / Nostalgic / Fragile", was released on October 26, 2016. Throughout the year, the band played at several major festivals and concerts such as Summer Sonic,[31] Loud Park,[31] Visual Japan Summit,[32] and hide Birthday Party.[33] Radiant A became Aldious's first album released overseas when it was published in Europe by JPU Records on March 17, 2017, with two additional live tracks.[34]

The group released their sixth album, Unlimited Diffusion, on May 10, 2017.[35] The album marked the first time each of the five members contributed songs and, like their previous album, it was produced by Shinichi Kobayashi of Zigoku Quartet.[36] Their first mini-album, We Are, followed on November 29, 2017.[37] It begins with fans chanting "We are Aldious!" during a concert in Kōchi Prefecture which was recorded by Re:NO on an iPhone.[38] A second mini-album, All Brose, was released on November 21, 2018. Its title is a reference to blue roses, which do not exist in nature.[39] On November 28, Re:NO announced that she would be ending musical activities after consulting a doctor about her patulous Eustachian tube. She left Aldious after their December 17 concert at Tsutaya O-East.[40][41]

On April 20, 2019, Aldious began the national 45-date Evoke Tour with alternating guest vocalists R!N (SawanoHiroyuki [nZk]) and Saki (Cyntia).[42][43] Toki began temporary maternity leave from the group after their June 9 show due to her pregnancy. The remaining dates of the tour were performed with guest guitarist Narumi (Destrose).[44][45] The half-Filipino and English-fluent R!N officially joined the band as full-time vocalist on August 6.[46][47][48]

Aldious, with Narumi, performed their first international concert in Anaheim, California, at the NAMM Show on January 17, 2020.[49] Toki returned to live activities with a performance on March 1. On March 18, the band released a self-cover album titled Evoke 2010–2020, which also includes a new song written by R!N.[50] Their 2020 Japanese tour Unlash was scheduled to run from April 25 to November 23,[51] with their first shows in Europe scheduled to occur September 30 to October 2.[52] However, both tours were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the European dates initially rescheduled to October 2021 before being cancelled in August 2021.[53][54] Aldious held a concert with no live audience at Shibuya Club Quattro on August 14, 2020, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their debut, and released a second self-cover album, Evoke II 2010–2020, on September 30.[55]

On June 18, 2021, Aldious announced that R!N had left the band after being hospitalized for depression and stress.[56] The singer was first diagnosed in January and lost around 10 kilograms (22 pounds) as symptoms worsened.[57] She offered to leave the band and the other members accepted her resignation.[57] Maki Oyama performed with Aldious as guest vocalist for their rescheduled Unlash tour that started in July and ended in December, with the exception of the September 4 date, which was performed by just the four instrumentalists.[58][59] Oyama will also perform with Aldious on the five-date tour commemorating their 15th anniversary, which is set to begin in July 2023.[60]