the GazettE

Labelmates of such J-rock luminaries as Kagrra, Miyavi, and Alice Nine, the Gazette eventually surpassed all of them, riding the exponential growth of the Internet and attendant Western interest in the Japanese scene to become the biggest visual kei band in the world. (Dir en Grey were arguably bigger, but they had long since left their visual roots behind.) Specializing in alternative metal with a cinematic edge and a tendency for moderate stylistic experiments such as dabbling in jazz-rock, the quintet was formed in 2002 by vocalist Ruki, guitarists Uruha and Aoi, bassist Re...