They kept their heavy sound and lyrics referencing literature. In 1990, they released their first album Ningen Shikkaku, followed two years later by Ōgon no Yoake, after which Kamidate left the band. Their uniquely heavy sound, technical skill, and lyrics full of literary references took the judges by surprise. They first gained public attention in 1989 through a performance of their song 'Injū' ('Beast in the Shadows') on Ikasu Band Tengoku ( Cool Band Heaven), a new television music competition on Tokyo Broadcasting System Television. In 1985, after enrolling at different universities-Wajima studied Buddhism at Komazawa University, while Suzuki studied Russian literature at Sophia University-they formed a hard rock band and settled on the name Ningen Isu in 1987 when drummer Noriyoshi Kamidate joined the band, taking the name from the 1924 short story of the same name by Edogawa Rampo. Two years later, Wajima and Suzuki joined the band Shine Shine Dan ('Dead Dead Group'), a band formed by members of the local music venue, with whom they played at music festivals. Suzuki was impressed by Wajima's talent for songwriting and wrote a song called 'Demon', while Wajima wrote a song called 'Apocalypse of Iron Grill', which was not received well by the local music venue but which Suzuki liked nonetheless. It was around this time that Suzuki first exposed Wajima to the music of his favorite bands Kiss, Saxon, and Judas Priest, while Wajima shared his love of the Beatles, King Crimson, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin. Their friendship would further develop through frequent exchanges of music records. They eventually became close friends in 1981, when they both entered Hirosaki High School. ( February 2020) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)īoth natives of Hirosaki, Wajima and Suzuki first became acquainted while attending a concert at the local music venue. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. This section needs additional citations for verification.

人間椅子 by Edogawa Rampo