J-rock Belgium: Band of the Week: BREAKERZ

From left to right: Shinpei (Gt.), Daigo (Vo.) & Akihide (Gt.)

BREAKERZ made their major debut on 25 July 2007 with their self-titled album. There are only 3 members but various support members are used for album recordings and live tours. Similar artists are Janne Da Arc and VAMPS.

Before BREAKERZ existed, vocalist Daigo fronted a glam rock band named Jzeil and had a solo career. During his solo years he took DAIGO☆STARDUST as his stage name. With this solo project he wanted to emulate his idol David Bowie. On 4 June 2007, his last performance as solo artist, Daigo announced that he would start a new project. That new project was of course BREAKERZ.

The first 2 singles were released less than a month apart and their first album followed very quickly. In August 2007 they played their first live performance at SHIBUYA BOXX. At the end of the year they released their second album and performed for a big audience while touring with Acid Black Cherry as his opening act.

BREAKERZ didn't slow down in 2008. On the contrary, their schedule was a busy as ever. They released 3 singles, a mini-album and a regular album. All of their singles reached high rankings in the Oricon chart. Even without the recordings BREAKERZ's schedule was cramped. They played live at least once a month and began a solo tour to promote their latest work. (Random fun fact: BREAKERZ performed together with GACKT for Music Fair 21 on 29 November 2008.)

In 2009 their first live DVD was recorded and their performance at annual V-ROCK FESTIVAL gained them interest from overseas, but 2010 was the year they became really popular. The single "BUNNY LOVE / REAL LOVE 2010" hit the 4^th place in the Oricon charts.

Last year they released their 5^th album "GO" and this year they released 2 singles. It doesn't seem like this band will slow down any time soon.