Fanatic Crisis (Japanese: ファナティック・クライシス, often stylized as FANATIC◇CRISIS, and simply called FtC by fans) was a Japanese rock band active from 1992–2005.[1][2]
Six of their singles made the top 10 Oricon Singles Chart for sales,[3] while two of their albums reached the top 10 Albums Chart.[4]
History
Formation
The band was formed in 1992 by Ishizuki, Kazuya, and Ryuji when Ishizuki was 15 years old.[5] In 1993, Shun and Tatsuya joined and they began performing around Nagoya.[5] In 1994, they released their first demo-tape Karma, with Tatsuya on drums.[1] Tatsuya left in 1995[5] after the release of the EP Taiyou no Toriko.[1] Their lineup solidified in 1995[2] when Tohru joined on the drums on the single 'Memories in White'.[1] They released their first album Mask and second EP Marble in 2006.[1]
Like many famous bands from the Tōkai region, they were spontaneously called Nagoya kei[6] along with bands like Kuroyume, Rouage, and Laputa. They were also called one of "the big four visual kei bands"[6] along with Malice Mizer, Shazna and La'cryma Christi.[7][8] Over time, fans stopped calling them visual kei as they perceived the band didn't like the name.[6] During an interview, Ishizuki explained that the term "visual kei" didn't exist when they formed the band, and it felt like a label that was being put on them by adults, suggesting they were frivolous or unserious.[6] In the same interview, Kazuya said he has grown to appreciate it.[6]
Major Debut
Their major debut came in 1997 with the release of the single "Super Soul".[8] They followed with two albums, One -one for all- and The Lost Innocent.[1]One -one for all- was named one of the top albums from 1989-1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine Band Yarouze.[9] In 2000, they switched to the Stoic Stone label (from which all subsequent albums were published) and released their sixth record, EAS. Five albums would follow before their last record, 2004's Marvelous+.[1]
Disbandment and Post-Fanatic Crisis Work
In 2005, they played their final concert at Tokyo Bay NK Hall.[10] Kazuya joined with Aoi, who was a solo artist, to form the band Bounty in 2007 and they released several singles and one album.[11] In 2011, Shun and Kazuya joined with Zero and Tsukasa (from D'espairsRay) and Ricky (from Dasein) to form the group THE MICRO HEAD 4N'S.[10][12] Ishizuki left the music industry but returned as a solo artist in 2012.[10]
Fantastic Circus
In 2019, Ishizuku, Shun, and Kazuya came together under the name Fantastic Circus to perform; they did not use their original name as not all the original members were available to reunite.[10] Originally it was meant to be a one off event, but it went so well they wanted to continue, but Covid19 put any future events on pause.[10] In 2022, they performed as Fantastic Circus again as part of a 30th Anniversary celebration of the formation of Fanatic Crisis.[10] They followed with an album release, "TENSEISM BEST SINGLES [1997-2000]", and went on tour in 2023.[6]