Viṣṇu

Viṣṇu (ヴィシュヌ) was Kyo's second band and the one where he changed his stage name from 殀磨 (Yoma) to 京 (Kyo). They formed right after the disbandment of 月蝕, sometime between April and June 1994 and renamed to Masquerade in May 1995. The band name is often written as Visun.

Member History

Aili, Seine, Kyo, Masa and Rei

As with Gesshoku, the member history of Viṣṇu isn't entirely clear. What can be said for certain is that the vocalist and bassist stayed the same throughout the band's history. At some point during the band's history, only Kyo and Rei were members.

Last lineup

• Vocals – 殀磨 (Yoma) / 京 (Kyo)
  • Kyo still called himself 殀磨 (Yoma) at least until October 1994, but changed it to 京 (Kyo) at some point before the disbandment live in May 1995.
• Guitar – Seine
  • Seine joined the band along with Aili as a replacement for Shuji. He stayed with them during their name change to Masquerade and later disbandment, and joined Kyo in 廃人黒薔薇族 afterwards.
• Bass – 麗 (Rei)
  • Along with Kyo, Rei was one of the two constant members of Viṣṇu. When he seceded in May 1995, the band changed their name to Masquerade.
• Drums – Masa
  • Masa already performed in Gesshoku, but it's unknown when he joined Viṣṇu. On the flyer for the live on October 31, 1994, no drummer is present. Like Seine, Masa stayed with the band until the disbandment of Masquerade, but didn't play in 廃人黒薔薇族.

Known past members

• Guitar – Aili
  • Aili played support guitar and seceded at some point, leaving Seine as the sole guitarist.
• Drums – Shura
  • Shura can be seen on the earliest photo of Viṣṇu, along with Yoma and Rei. He seceded at some point and was replaced by Masa.

Unclear members

• Guitar – Shuji
  • According to Seine, Shuji had already performed in Gesshoku and was replaced as the guitarist of Viṣṇu by Seine and Aili at some point. However, his name doesn't appear in any known material.

Live History

Date	Venue	Notes
1994.05.12	枚方BLOW DOWN	According to Kisaki's old website, LAYBIAL performed on this date with 月蝕. As 月蝕 had disbanded in April, it might've been Viṣṇu who actually performed.
1994.07.23	京都ROCK天国	Live debut.
1994.09.25	寝屋川VINTAGE BAR	On a flyer for these lives, only Kyo and Rei are shown. It's unknown what happened to Shura.
1994.09.26	尼崎LIVE SQUARE VIVRE
1994.10.31	寝屋川VINTAGE BAR	On a flyer for this live, Kyo, Rei, Aili and Seine are shown.
1995.01.12	京都MUSE HALL	Allegedly their fourth live. Possibly one of the earlier lives was cancelled.
1995.??.??	Unknown (in Nagoya)	–
1995.??.??	枚方BLOW DOWN	–
1995.05.24	京都MUSE HALL	Last live with bassist Rei and before renaming to Masquerade.

Release History

Viṣṇu has only one known release, a one-track demo tape titled 真紅 (Shinku). However, the following song titles were provided by Seine for Viṣṇu and Masquerade: neo-nazis (or Neo ナチス (Neo Nachisu)), 風の無い処へ (Kaze no nai tokoro e), SABBAT, SLAVE, MANIA, ICE and END. They also had an unnamed ballad. Interestingly, Viṣṇu also performed AIR and 幻覚の華, the two songs that would later be released by Masquerade.

Picture	Name	Tracklist
	真紅 (Shinku)	1. 真紅 (Shinku)

Gallery

• 

  Shura, Kyo and Rei

• 

  Masa, Seine, Kyo, Rei and Aili

Navigation

Members	Dir En Grey History
	Before Dir En Grey • 1997 • 1998 • 1999
京 (Kyo)	ALBATROSS (roadie) → 黒夢 (roadie) → 月蝕 → Viṣṇu → Masquerade → La:Sadie's → Dir En Grey • sukekiyo • Petit Brabancon Other bands: 婦夜婦夜 • 狂殺会 • 化け化け族 • 廃人黒薔薇族 • TWO MONSTROUS NUCLEAR STOCKPILES • 第三帝國楽団 • 腐乱シネマ帝國楽団
薫 (Kaoru)	DIE:STERIA → CHARM → La:Sadie's → Dir En Grey Other bands: TWO MONSTROUS NUCLEAR STOCKPILES, TTT
Die	1st band (on drums) → 2nd band (LINDBERG cover band, female vocalist, Die on guitar) → 3rd band (ZIGGY cover band, on vocals) → Ka・za・ri → La:Sadie's → Dir En Grey • DECAYS
Toshiya	1st band → 如月 → cruel • GOSICK (roadie) → Unknown band (T-kun on vocals) → PIERROT (roadie) → GOSICK → D†L (support guitar) → Dir En Grey
Shinya	人工天使 → Siva → Ruby → La:Sadie's → Dir En Grey • SERAPH Other bands: Unknown session band (Vo. Unknown / Gt. #4 / Gt. SHIGE / Ba. KISAKI / Dr. Shinya) • 廃人黒薔薇族