[geist]
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[geist]

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Band Rock Metal

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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Press


"Otakon Concert: [geist] and Kanon Wakeshima"

"[geist] proved both skilled and energetic. ...

"'Starlight Opera,' the most clearly anthemic song, was straight-ahead J-rock, and best showcased the talents of the band as a whole. The rhythm guitarist’s distinctive picking style, the bassist’s excellent underlining work, and the spirited drumming came together to win [geist] many fans. Even though few knew of them at the start, by the end, there was a noticeable change in the audience. Watching the final song was like watching a young Luna Sea perform – not yet at their peak, but clearly full of energy, determination, and talent." - Felix Lin, Anime Diet


"[geist] is here. First full length album"

"I first saw [geist] perform in 2007, they were opening for The Candy Spooky Theater in Baltimore. At that time they didn’t have a drummer or a vocalist but I remember them putting on an entertaining set anyway. Flash forward two and a half years and they’ve gained vocalist Kane, drummer Sai, and a guitarist Kei has been replaced with new guitarist Kuni. They’ve played in front of 3,000 at Otakon, gone on their first tour, and after a long winding road have now debuted their first full length album.

"Don’t let the first few seconds of electronica fool you, this is a rock/metal album that wouldn’t be out of place in a pile of Dir en grey and MUCC cds. Like a MUCC album, this album peaks and falls in intensity. While there aren’t any ballads coming from [geist], hard driving songs like “Mizery”, “Hero Gravity”, “Brilliant Black”, and the title track “Grotesque” are balanced out by less brutal, but still firmly rock tracks like “Starlight Opera”. However that’s not to say that that more intense and screamy songs are demonstrations of how loud Kane can scream and how fast Sai can drum throughout the entire songs like you might see on some metal albums, the individual songs like the album itself features peaks and valleys that go towards furthering the impact of the songs’ most brutal parts.

"The three songs that left the biggest impression on me were “Grotesque” with its intense opening, “Starlight Opera” for its chorus, and “Paranoia” for blending parts of Moi Dix Mois, X Japan and Dir en grey into something awesome. They managed to bring organs and piano into the track without it sounding dated or like generic power metal. They’ve brought it into the present, something Yoshiki hasn’t been able to do since X Japan reformed in 2007.

"[geist]’s usage of two guitarists is far more then an aesthetic choice, frequently overlapping different riffs to good effect. They also mix up the guitar effects nicely from song to song which really goes to establish a unique instrumental identity for each track. A lot of popular bands have a hard time effectively keeping their guitar effects fresh from song to song and end up having a lot of songs that are indistinguishable from each other to anyone but a fan *cough Onmyo-za cough*. [geist] is establishing on their first CD that they intend to try to keep sounding fresh.

"[geist]’s Grotesque is available as of today, and you can join them and Gelatine in Baltimore for their CD release concert tomorrow night." - Lee Miller, The Other East


"The Best Albums of the Decade Part 9: 2009"

"[geist]'s Grotesque was pretty cool. For a VK band based in Maryland." - Go Wells, jrocknyc


Discography

2010
"Itsuwari no Reigi" (single)

2009
Grotesque (album)

2008
Itsuwari (EP)
"The Brilliant Black" (single)

2007
"nevaeHell" (single)
Kaijin no Hana (demo)

Photos

Bio

Visual kei and Japanese rock have swept America, and there is hardly better proof of its influence than [geist]: an American group devoted to the sound, look, and feel of visual style Japanese rock.

In 2007, [geist] acquired vocalist Kane, who moved back to Baltimore from Georgia to join the band. They played an impromptu "guerilla" show at Baltimore's Otakon, the largest Japanese culture convention on the East Coast, and the subsequent release of their debut single, "nevaeHell," triggered nearly 1,300 plays in just over a two-week period.

The following year, [geist]'s lineup gelled when Kazuya's longtime friend, Sai, joined on drums. [geist] performed alongside jpop darlings Mitsumassyu, played again at Otakon, and released their blistering yet lyrical second single, "The Brilliant Black." September saw the release of their first EP, Itsuwari. And in October, they opened for the acclaimed Zazen Boys in Baltimore. Soon after, [geist] expanded to include Kuni (ex-Ajipulse) on guitar.

[geist] then made their NY debut by playing at the CD release show of their good friends, Gelatine. They returned to New York twice, opened for Sony artist Kanon Wakeshima on Otakon's main stage, and went on a 5-date tour of the East Coast - all while working on their full-length debut, Grotesque. Grotesque, featuring 13 tracks of passionate, brutal music, was released in October 2009.

Currently, [geist] is composing new material.