Balzac (band)

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Balzac
Balzac performing at B72 Club in Vienna, Austria, 2005. Clockwise: Atsushi, Hirosuke, Akio and Takayuki.
Background information
Origin	Kyoto, Japan
Genres	Horror punk[1][2] hardcore punk electropunk digital hardcore alternative rock[1] punk rock[1]
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Alchemy, Diwphalanx, Misfits Records/Rykodisc, FiendForce, Gan-Shin, Evilegend13
Members	Hirosuke Nishiyama Atsushi Nakagawa Akio Imai Takayuki Manabe
Past members	Tetsuya Yoritsugu "Anti" Azuchi Naoki Koji Hajime Nishio Kill Masami Futoshi Okano Masami
Website	http://www.balzac.jp/

Balzac (typeset as BALZAC) is a Japanese punk rock band formed in 1992 in Kyoto. The band was founded by singer and songwriter Hirosuke Nishiyama, who has remained the only constant member of the band since its creation. Since the beginning, Balzac was highly influenced by the sound and image of the American horror punk band Misfits and, especially during the very early years, Glenn Danzig's Samhain, adopting and combining the musical and visual style of both bands to create their own. Balzac's lyrics, though not always serious in tone, often deal with themes of darkness, loneliness and fear.

Balzac has gained a certain amount of recognition and exposure outside of their native country, where they are well-known. Currently they have five official clothing brands (Shocker!!!, Dementia 13, Culture, XXXxxx and Balzac) with one store in Japan, plus three online stores (Shocker Webstore, Shocker World Wide and Shocker EU). They also have their own official record label called Evilegend 13 Records on which they have released EPs, singles and videos. Balzac is also well known for its toy releases, some created by the companies T.W.I.M. and Secret Base, and its extensive discography and side-projects.

The current lineup of the band consists of Hirosuke Nishiyama (vocals), Atsushi Nakagawa (guitar/chorus), Akio Imai (bass/chorus) and Takayuki Manabe (drums/digital effects/chorus). Musically the band has drawn from punk, pop, industrial and noise, across their various releases.