The end of the year is nigh, and with such a terrible year in general, what with cherished celebrity deaths, Trump being elected president, and terrorism around the world, there is another thing to add to that list of saddening events to happen in the year 2016: jrock disbandments. While a band disbanding may not be compared to the terribleness that are such things like terrorism, seeing our favorite bands go is still quite disheartening, but it is nothing but the sad truth. Here, we’d like to join the end-of-year list frenzy that every other news outlet is making during this season, and give you a “Most shocking Jrock disbandments” list for you to read. Don’t fret for too long however, as soon we will also toss a “Best new bands from 2016” your way. We just want to get the sad part over with already.

Most shocking disbandments

girugamesh

12 years. 12 years of ups and downs, but definitely one of the most iconic and successful bands to come out of the visual kei scene. girugamesh began this year with the release of their mini-album, chimera, on January, and subsequently announced a European tour for the summer. Everything was good up to this point. However, the band suddenly announced their decision to disband just before the start of the tour, leaving everyone in utter shock. We had the honor of interviewing them during their tour, them explaining their decision to end their journey together. While bassist ShuU is still active with KEEL, and drummer Ryo is active doing jrock covers on his Youtube channel, Satoshi and Nii have opted to stay away from the public eye (although Nii did cameo on one of Ryo’s videos recently). girugamesh disbanded on July 10.

BORN

BORN was one of the most popular visual kei bands around, and they had a long trajectory together to prove it. They were together before BORN was born (see what I did there?), when they were known as Remy. Many fans were quite upset with Ryoga, as he was the primary cause of the disbandment, it being his low motivation. Furthermore, it also caused guitarist Ray’s retirement from the industry, as he had decided long before that BORN would be his last band. With K going solo and Ryoga forming RAZOR last month, only Tomo is left to return to the scene — if he ever decides to. BORN gave their last performance together on May 26.

SCREW

SCREW was another of those bands alongside BORN that planted themselves among the top tier bands from Japan worldwide. For many (including this writer), it was one of the first Japanese bands they ever listened to, and it placed jrock in their hearts. The band decided to disband after ten years together, the reason being that the members felt they had reached their limit as a band. According to drummer Jin, despite remaining positive after the departure of bassists Yuto and Rui, they eventually lost sight of their goal. While many hope for the members to come back with other projects, the only one who did confirm his retirement from the music scene was guitarist Manabu, who stated SCREW was his “last dream”. SCREW officially disbanded on November 1.

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei spent eight years together before deciding to disband, but during those eight years they brought memorable music to our ears. Who can forget that incredible opening theme to Ano Hana? Or that ending theme song for Haikyuu’s second season? Alas, all things must come to an end, and this year was Galileo Galilei’s turn. The members decided — now that they had grown up and matured — that it was time to move on to better things, using a crafty metaphor of a kid growing up, maturing, and no longer wanting to hold on to his toys to explain their reasoning. The members promised to be back with other projects, though nothing is concrete. The band gave their last live on April 10.

BOOM BOOM SATELLITES

BOOM BOOM SATELLITES disbandment in the end wasn’t surprising, what was shocking about the disband itself was the reason for it. Vocalist Kawashima Miyuki had stated that he had relapsed from a brain tumor, and as such was taking a break from the band. It was his fifth time relapsing from this disease, so many were certain he’d overcome it again. However, things were looking bad when his last concerts before hiatus had to be canceled due to a sudden worsening of his health. However, he came back to the band and eventually released what would become their final EP. After releasing this EP, Kawashima’s health once again worsened, to the point where he was forced to retire from the music industry, prompting BOOM BOOM SATELLITES to disband. If that wasn’t disheartening enough, Kawashima — in the end — passed away in the comfort of his home, surrounded by family this past October.

DIV

DIV was a popular band that was emerging as one of the top bands in the last couple of years. Their oshare kei style was one that wasn’t found among other popular bands, making them stand out. The fact that they were signed to Danger Crue Records was also a big plus to them, as it is a very popular record company. However, their disbandment stemmed from bassist Chobi’s and drummer satoshi’s desire to leave the band. After much discussion, it was decided that the band would disband altogether after their last live on October 10. However, it seems vocalist Chisa and guitarist Shogo still had things they wanted to do together, as they began a duo called Chisa & Shogo.

AvelCain

AvelCain was another band along DIV that had gained popularity among visual kei fans in the past five years. They had their share of member losses, to the point where they once went from a five-man band to a three-man band in 2013. However, the band would gain a new drummer in 2015, making things seem like they were aiming for greater things. 2016 came, and pretty early in the year the band announced their separation. A reason was not stated, but unfortunately it was revealed that guitarist Kaede would be retiring from the music industry subsequently. AvelCain disbanded on July 27.

This ends our list of for this year’s most shocking disbandments. Which band’s break up caused the most shock to you? For me it was definitely girugamesh. They were beginning to sound very good after their MONSTER album, and it was such a shame that they had decided to end things when they were getting so good.

Below is a semi-complete list of all the other disbandings that occurred this year, you can help us expanding this list by commenting in the article of bands we might have missed. You should probably also check it out if you’ve been thinking that a band has been too quiet lately, maybe you’ll find the reason for that in the list. Stay tuned, however, for in a few days will be bringing you an article on the best new bands that were formed in 2016!