As a newcomer in the visual kei scene, XodiacK and its members are already quite experienced with countless live battles. Their distinct stage presence has already earned them quite a reputation for mystery, but we hope to shed a bit of light on this group. We are proud to present to you the first international interview with XodiacK’s vocalist, null.

Please enjoy their music samples: 黒い太陽 (Black Sun), 君に降る絶望の雨 (The Rain of Despair that falls on You), 君悲ノ鳴声 (Your Cries of Sadness) and look forward to their big revelation next year!

JRR: How did you decide on the name XodiacK?

null (XodiacK): We took the word “zodiac,” which contains the meaning of cosmos and an enormous presence, and put a twist on the word and came up with “XodiacK.”

JRR: What is the visual and musical concept of the band?

null: In regards to our visual concept, we aim to make everything extreme, but I cannot tell you the details as we will be revealing ourselves in 2009, so please look forward to that. As for music, our concept is “Galaxy Metal.” It is a sound of the universe, with a gorgeous and explosive sound. We present that sound with our band ensemble.

JRR: How did the band members meet each other?
 
null: We have all been prepared by the Absolute being.
 
JRR: Please tell us each member’s unique abilities. (Ed. Note: The band member names—null, eins, zwei, drei, vier—are numbers zero through four in German.)

null: In regards to our visual aspects, since there are still a lot of information we are withholding until next year, I will focus on our sound and our play styles. I use the one and only four-part death voice, which I call the “Elemental death voice,” to expand the cosmos space with the tunes. In other words, the combination of our music and my voice creates something that is of a different dimension.

eins (said via null): I like low keys and muted, heavy sounds so he tries to play in mostly such sounds. Overall the basic sound of the band is also heavy. Since we have two guitarists, we try not to play separately, and I try to harmonize with zwei quite often. We purposely did not decide which one of us is the lead guitarist, and both of us play as if we are both lead guitarists. Both of us play guitar solos, and stand out whenever we need to; we think it makes for good stimulation for us by doing so.

zwei (said via null): My goal is to do things others won’t do, won’t think of doing, and cannot achieve. What I want to present is the universe. To present the universe, at times there are haunting melodies that lure one’s tears, sometimes it’s noise, depending on the song, but by applying the sounds accordingly, I think it will be great if we can create the musical embodiment of the Absolute’s concept. I am very confident that my skills of making different sound effects / using the effecter is superior to all; I will not be beat by anyone.

drei (said via null): I play by my fingers (three) so I would like to keep on going after sounds that can only be created by the fingers. I think by using the fingers instead of a guitar pick a lot more variations can be achieved, so I would like to keep developing different finger playing techniques.

vier (said via null): I frequently absorb new information. I learn from experiences and people, and am never satisfied with what I have, and continuously to polish myself stoically.

JRR: You have been performing and carrying out activities as a mysterious band in 2008, why did you decide to mark 2009 as the time for revelation?

null: I will be born on January 1st.

JRR: From international webpages such as your MySpace we can see that you seem to be interested in the overseas arenas. Do you have plans to expand to overseas?

null: We definitely would like to take part in the Jrock scene that is popular in America, Europe, etc, and we would like to take over the world eventually.

JRR: Are you interested in learning English?

null: I am very interested, but I also think it would be great to have foreign listeners understand the advantages of the Japanese language.

JRR: Do you have a motto?
 
null: Liberation from mankind.

JRR: All the members other than the vocalist have been performing at lives with masks on; how do they feel about finally being able to show their faces next year?

null: The four of them anticipate the time that their powers can be fully released.

JRR: Why do they have to keep their faces covered?
 
null: It is the mission that we have been assigned.
 
JRR: What is the thing that you are most proud of?
 
null: Our presence itself.

JRR: Year 2008 is almost over; what would you like to do for the remainder of the year?

null: The preparations to maximize the liberation of XodiacK.
 
JRR: What is “visual kei” to you?

null: It is a way of presenting one’s self.   I think it is a wonderfully unique quality of Jrock to be able to combine visual and music.

JRR: Please give a comment to the overseas audience.

null: Although our actions outside of Japan is only limited to the internet for now, we will be taking on the world in year 2009 so please anticipate us, and get mixed up in my universe.

Some Sample Tracks!

黒い太陽 (Kuroi Taiyou)
{play}images/stories/audio/xoadiack_track_1_sample.mp3{/play}

君に降る絶望の雨 (Kimi ni furu Zetsubou no Ame)
{play}images/stories/audio/xodiack_track_2_sample.mp3{/play}

君悲ノ鳴声 (Kimi no Koe)
{play}images/stories/audio/xodiack_track_3_sample.mp3{/play}

 

Interview by Christina

Special thanks to XodiacK and management