Ariola Meeting 1993

Be Afraid (1992)

AION is a Thrash metal band from Osaka, formed in 1983 by guitarist Izumi. AION was critical to forming visual kei, and they're one of the bands to start the movement in the early '80s!

One of the most successful Japanese metal bands of the early 1990s, AION charted on the Oricon music chart and toured with bands such as Luna Sea.

As of 2010, they have released 15 albums, six singles, 2 EPs, and more than 10 VHS/DVDs.

MA-G-MA (1992)

Aionism [Full Album]

Aion was created in 1983 by Izumi Ochiai; in 1985, he ended it to start a new band named Mein Kampf (which included future X guitarist Kerry and Color drummer Toshi). But this band was short-lived also, only lasting until May 1986. Izumi then tried again with Aion, bringing with him Mein Kampf bassist Tatsuya "Dean" Miwa and vocalist Kenichi "Rod" Fujisaki, and adding Jun. "S.A.B" Saburi on drums. Rod would soon be replaced by Salee, who after a year, would then be replaced by Satoru Sasano. And with this line-up they had their first official release, the 1987 single "Hang on Night". In 1988 Satoru left and Hisayoshi Hiraga joined, their first album Deathrash Bound was released in 1989. Hisayoshi left soon after the album's release, and they finally got a steady vocalist when he was replaced by Nov.

1990 brought the release of "Human Griefman," which has been accused of being "Deathrash Bound," only with Nov, singing his own lyrics. When I first saw this, I had to find out for myself, and following a brief sampling of the two side-by-side. My ears tell me they are entirely separate albums!

AION was signed with BMG in 1990 and gained a following in the visual kei scene. 1991 brought further success. with the release of Aionism. At that time, Aion and Luna Sea often performed together; this led to Luna Sea providing some backing vocals on the album.

Enormous success would come in 1992 when they changed from their thrash/speed metal roots to a power metal sound. The first album with the new sound, Aion -Aion-, was very successful. Line-up changes continued in 1992; S.A.B left and was replaced by Shu.

Local magazines and TV showcased them from 1991 until 1995, when their last album, "Freak-Out" was released. In 1995 they disbanded, although not in the traditional sense as Nov and Izumi continued to release their own music using the Aion name and I would say fortunately for the fans, reverting to their original thrash and speed metal sound!

History of the beginnings of AION!
Hold on tight and watch all the changes!

Hang on Night　（１ｓｔＥＰ）

ヘヴィーメタル特集　AION密着

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Dean and Shu rejoined the band In 2000, when they released the album Magnitude in three versions: Japanese, English and All English.
Shu soon left, and was replaced with the return of S.A.B, thus the "classic" Aion line-up was reunited! In 2003 they released the album Sister. They continued to play shows in small live houses, until 2009 when S.A.B left. Support drummer Youth-K was recruited in his place, and in 2010 Aion released their first single in 16 years "Black Heart". Aion took part in Luna Sea's Lunatic Fest at Makuhari Messe on June 28, 2015.
Bassist Dean and vocalist Nov, who were in the band for the last 17 and 28 years respectively, both left Aion on April 18, 2017, leaving guitarist Izumi as the only official member.

Band Members
Current Members Former Members

Taro – vocals 1983Potukun – vocals
Shin'ichi "Shin" – drums
Hideki – drums 1983–1985
Ray – bass 1984–1985
Kamizi – vocals 1985
Kenichi "Rod" Fujisaki – vocals 1986 (Mein Kampf, Justy Nasty, Craze)
Salee – vocals 1986–1987
Satoru Sasano – vocals 1987–1989 (Paranoia, Sweet Death)
Hisayoshi Hiraga – vocals 1989 (Rosenfeld, Thread Worm)
Shue "Shu" Sakai – drums 1992–1995, 2000 (Virus, Girl Tique)
Jun "S.A.B" Saburi – drums 1986–1992, 2000–2009 (Virus, Lizer) Died October 2, 2016.
Nov Takafumi – vocals 1989–2017 (Paranoia, Z-Sect, Volcano, Zigoku Quartet)
Tatsuya "Dean" Miwa – bass 1986–1995, 2000–2017 (Mein Kampf)

Izumi Ochiai – guitar and leader 1983–1985, 1986–present (Mein Kampf, The Braincase)Youth-K – support drums 2009–present (Batcave, BPM 13 Groove, Raglaia)

Discography
Studio albums Live albums

Plasmatic Mania (April 8, 1992) No. 46
Threatened Species Mania (December 13, 2011)

Singles
"Hang on Night" (July 1987)
"Fatalism" (August 3, 1990, distributed at a Nakano Kokaido concert)
"Gasp for Breath" (August 5, 1990, released with the music magazine Rockin' f)
"Be Afraid" (October 2, 1991) Oricon Singles Chart Position: No. 45
"Piece of My Life" (1991, limited to 3,000 who purchased "Be Afraid" & Aionism)
"Aion -Aion-" (愛音～AION～, August 5, 1992) No. 68
"Missing" (February 23, 1994)
"Black Heart" (October 13, 2010)

Deathrash Bound (March 21, 1989)
Human Griefman (February 25, 1990)
Aionism (October 8, 1991) Oricon Albums Chart Position: No. 37
Aion -Aion- (愛音～AION～, August 21, 1992) No. 34
Z (Z [ZETTO], June 2, 1993) No. 40
Absolute (March 2, 1994) No. 41
Freak-Out (November 22, 1995) No. 96
Mithras (February 22, 1997, fan-club only)
Eve (April 4, 1998, fan-club only)
Ceremony of Cross Out (September 9, 1999, fan-club only)
Judge of Death Line (September 9, 1999, fan-club only)
Manners of Kill and Wound (September 9, 1999, fan-club only)
Magnitude (December 24, 2000, fan-club only, 3 versions: Japanese, English and English with Japanese)
Sister (October 24, 2003, fan-club only)

EPs
MA-G-MA (November 25, 1990)
Sei・Aion (聖・愛音, December 16, 1992) No. 77

Nine Bells (July 7, 2012)