Rouage

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Rouage (stylized ROUAGE) was a Japanese visual kei rock band from Nagoya, formed in 1993 and active until 2001. They helped start the Nagoya kei subgenre and were known for their gear-inspired name.

The original lineup was vocalist Kazushi, guitarists Rika and Rayzi, and drummer Shono. Bassist Kaiki joined in 1994, staying until 1995.

Rouage released their debut single Silk in February 1994, followed by a self-titled debut album in March 1994 that was first limited to 5,000 copies, with another 5,000 reissued in July. After Kaiki left in 1995, the band faced breakup rumors but instead signed with Universal Music Japan and released the single Queen in April 1995. Their album Bible appeared in June 1995 and became their best seller.

In 1996 the single insomnia was used as the theme for the TV show mew, and the song was later covered by the band Lin. Bassist Yuki joined the group in August 1996. In March 1997 Rouage released the album Mind, but Yuki soon left, and the band continued with support bassists. They released Children on December 3, 1997; the track Endless Loop was used as the opening theme for the Legend of Basara anime. Diaura later covered it for a compilation of visual kei and anime songs.

The band toured with the Children’s Room tour across 15 shows and played the Shock Wave Illusion festival on July 16, 1999, alongside acts like Dir En Grey and Pierrot. In 2000 Rika left the band, and Shono departed in February 2001, after which Rouage disbanded.

In 2006, albums Bible, Children, Mind, Lab, and Soup were re-released, though re-releasing their live albums was not approved by Rika.