DELUHI & Disbandment
Earlier today I noticed that there was a recently translated Rock and Read interview at deluhists.com (by kurainanimo), and went to read it with great enthusiasm. The further I read, however, the more my heart sank. While Leda was rather tight-lipped about everything (the interview took place in early 2011), the gist of things became quite clear to me: DELUHI is truly gone.
I first heard about DELUHI in mid-2009, and they rapidly came to rival even my affections for the Gazette, which I had not thought possible. 2010 was great with a series of awesome single releases and a steady rise in their profile, and then bam, they announce a hiatus. In early 2011 that hiatus turned into disbandment, to my great shock. Entries on the members' blogs revealed it was due to Aggy's (the bassist) decision to retire, and that the other members decided there is no DELUHI without him.
Grave Seed a.k.a. Deluhi's predecessor, 2008(?).
And that I came to be rather okay with, simply because Aggy was the least important member in the band, music-wise. This is kind of an awful thing to say, I know, and I have nothing against him personally, in fact I quite like him, but I really think it true. The bass never had a big role in Leda's compositions (which is actually a little odd, since Leda himself used to be a bassist in Galneryus), and so, if someone had to be sacrificed...
It was my assumption that, even though they didn't directly say it, the three remaining members would regroup with a new bassist later. Leda even mentioned it as a possibility in his blog.
But now, after reading this interview, it seems I was quite delusional! Leda evades all the questions about the exact nature of the reasons that led to the disbandment (despite the interviewer's best attempts), but it's clear that it was more than just solidarity towards one member's decision. There seems to have been differing opinions as to what direction DELUHI should go in, musically. And visually, too; Leda at least has become less and less interested in visual kei over these past few years.
DELUHI in 2009.
Leda says that all members had different "motivations", and that it was in fact only Leda himself who wanted to continue with DELUHI after the hiatus. This actually makes me feel incredibly guilty, since I initially thought, when the announcement came, that the disbandment was Leda's doing; somehow I assumed that, being such a restless and ambitious fellow, he might be hopping onto a new exciting project, leaving Deluhi behind... I can't believe I thought that! Sorry, Leda-sensei, for ever doubting you.
Anyway. I wonder about Sujk and Juri and their "motivations". Were they unhappy with Leda's compositions? Or was it just that they wanted to keep doing visual kei, and Leda didn't? Sujk recently published his solo album, which is pretty good by the way, and judging from that, his musical tastes don't differ that much from Leda's. But perhaps he just wanted to make music of his own; it's clear he has a pretty damn good idea of what he's doing, and if there was somehow "no room" for him to do it in DELUHI...
Juri and Leda have been together for the longest time out of all the guys, and I'd imagine they're not parting ways. But what do I know? There isn't enough info or interviews of them for me to judge properly...!
DELUHI in 2010.
Why is Leda so 100% adamant that he, Juri and Sujk will not get back together, ever?? Especially when they still get along splendidly as people. Are their goals and tastes truly so incredibly different that they can't compromise? There are plenty of bands who've managed to stick together even when the members want to do different things. Queen, for example. Roger Taylor hated disco, but he still he didn't quit the band when Freddie insisted on going there with Jazz and Hot Space! He bitched about it, sure, but he didn't quit.
Oh man. This is turning into a rant, and that was not my intention. I'm just frustrated and want someone to blame for this loss to musical awesomeness. To think that Leda even said he'd wanted to take Deluhi abroad this year! Which was probably partly why he was eager to tone down the visuals... His heart has always been at least 50% with European metal, and visual kei would have been a tough sell in the metal circles here.
Latest promo pics from 2011.
I think I'm going to embittered by this whole thing. I shall get no peace until I hear some truths! Maybe someone could interview Leda again, now that Deluhi is officially dead and gone? Not that it really feels like that, at all. Everyone visited on Sujk's album, and in March there's going to be a solo live, with at least Juri popping in... Dunno what to think about it all.
This is a pretty clumsily written post, sorry about that. Somehow couldn't find the words today.