Music / exist†trace

Left to right: miko, Mally, Jyou, Naoto, and Omi

The band in 2013. From left to right: Omi, miko, Jyou, Naoto, and Mally

exist†trace are an all-female Visual Kei band formed in Tokyo in 2003. The band was initially a quartet until Mally joined the band in 2004. They started off playing Melodic Death Metal/Gothic Metal, but have softened a bit over the years, with more emphasis on the "melodic" part than the "death" part—although, during live shows, they still perform their earlier melodeath songs alongside their more recent Hard Rock songs.

In June 2012, exist†trace performed a special concert, entitled "JUST LIKE A VIRGIN", which was broadcast live worldwide on Nico Nico Douga; a month later, the band announced that the concert would be released as their first live DVD.

Members:

• Jyou - vocals
• Omi - lead guitar
• miko - rhythm guitar, backup vocals
• Naoto - bass
• Mally - drums

Discography:

• Annunciation -the heretic elegy- (EP, 2006)
• Demented Show (EP, 2007)
• Recreation eve (2008)
• VANGUARD -of the muses- (EP, 2009)
• Ambivalent Symphony (EP, 2009)
• TWIN GATE (2010)
• TRUE (EP, 2011)
• THE LAST DAYBREAK (EP, 2011)
• VIRGIN (2012)
• WORLD MAKER (2014)
• THIS IS NOW (2016)

Tropes which apply to exist†trace:

• all lowercase letters: the band itself and miko.
• Bifauxnen: Omi and Mally, sometimes Jyou to a lesser extent. Naoto can look quite masculine as well, but not in a bifauxnen-type way.
• Careful with That Axe: Jyou's long screams are the defining feature of "RESONANCE".
• Classy Cravat: Omi in the "GINGER" video.
• Cool Mask: All the members wear one of these during live performances of "Little Mary to utsukushiki nikushimi no Danube".
• Costume Porn: Not to the extent of some other Visual Kei bands, but still present.
• Deliberately Monochrome / Splash of Color: The "TRUE" video, which is entirely black-and-white...except for Jyou's red hair. Ditto for the EP cover.
• Delinquent Hair: Omi, Mally, and Naoto.
• Distaff Counterpart: To the traditionally all-male Visual Kei lineup. Additionally, unlike other VK bands, where you have men who intentionally adopt feminine aesthetics, most of the members of exist†trace are women who intentionally adopt masculine aesthetics.
• Dramatic Shattering: Mally smashes a concrete wall and Jyou smashes a mirror in the "RESONANCE" video.
• Elegant Gothic Lolita: miko's fashions wander into this territory occasionally, though her current style is closer to ero lolita. Naoto's earlier costumes were very feminine with lolita influences, which occasionally confuses newer fans who are used to her considerably more masculine present look.
• Epic Rocking: "Cradle" (6:06) and "Hai no Yuki" (6:31).
• Epic Instrumental Opener: "Overture" preceding "Ambivalence." It often gets omitted during live performances, though.
• Eyepatch of Power: Mally.
• Fluffy Fashion Feathers: Omi in the "RESONANCE" video.
• Genre Shift: Went for a Lighter and Softer sound because Jyou had damaged her vocal chords due to unclean screaming.
• Gratuitous English: Occasionally. Jyou's pronunciation isn't very good.
• Gratuitous French: "L'obscurité éternelle de l'aube" and "Ciel libre, chant de la terre" from TRUE.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: miko in the "RESONANCE" video.
• Harsh Vocals: Common from Jyou in their earlier songs. Omi and Naoto occasionally provide background growls, such as in "TRUE" and "VANGUARD".
• Hell-Bent for Leather: Mally and Jyou.
• In the Hood: Besides the masks that all the members wear during live performances of "Little Mary to utsukushiki nikushimi no Danube", Naoto also wears a hood.
• Lady Looks Like a Dude: In the early days, everyone except the very-feminine miko. These days Jyou is growing her hair out and wearing more feminine clothing, and Mally, while not exactly feminine, is starting to look more tomboyish as opposed to masculine. Recently Omi is also starting to look less like a Bifauxnen and more like a punky Goth. (see above, second picture)
• Lecherous Licking: In the "RESONANCE" video, where miko licks Omi's neck.
• Lighter and Softer: Their more recent music can perhaps be best described as being Hard Rock.
• Little Black Dress: Jyou wears one of these during live performances of "KISS IN THE DARK" and "Anata".
• Lucky Charms Title: The band's name.
• Lyrical Dissonance: Not obvious to non-Japanese-speaking fans, but looking up a translation of "Little Mary to utsukushimi nikushimi no Danube" reveals that the song is much, much more disturbing than it sounds.
  Hey, Papa, embrace me
  So tight that I can't even breathe...
  You stopped cold like this
  Why aren't you waking up?
• Masquerade Ball: During live performances of "Little Mary to utsukushiki nikushimi no Danube", all the band members wear masks, Jyou wears a black robe lined with fur and carries a glass of red wine (which she drinks at the end of the song), and miko and Omi or Jyou (depending on the performance; the "JUST LIKE A VIRGIN" concert featured miko and Jyou) waltz together during the violin instrumental section.
• Metal Scream: Jyou can pull this off as well as any man can. This is nearly ubiquitous in their earlier songs, but used relatively sparingly in their newer work.
• Miniscule Rocking: "-overture-" (1:27) from Ambivalent Symphony.
• Non-Appearing Title: Most of their songs.
• Only One Name
• Pimped-Out Dress: As worn by miko.
• Power Ballad: "Cradle", "NEVERLAND", and "Little Mary to utsukushiki nikushimi no Danube".
• The Quiet One: Omi and Naoto, who rarely speak in interviews beyond introducing themselves. In one video message, in which the band members were asked which kanji best described them and why, Omi and Naoto wrote their explanations down on a piece of paper and had Mally read them out loud.
• Rearrange the Song: Recreation eve, the band's first compilation album, includes a re-recording of "JUDEA", their first big song.
• Retraux: The music video for "JUDEA" is extremely grainy and looks a couple decades older than it is (and not just because they didn't have the money for a better-looking video).
• Rockers Smash Guitars: In the "RESONANCE" video, where Omi smashes her guitar onto a TV set.
• Signature Headgear: Naoto's fedora.
• Smoking Is Cool: Mally's and Naoto's cigars in the "GINGER" video. Ironically, Mally doesn't smoke in real life, and actually finds it kind of gross.
• Soprano and Gravel: Jyou does this all by herself.
• Spiky Hair: Omi.
• Spiritual Successor: They're the Japanese answer to Dark Tranquillity.
• Stage Names
• Surprisingly Gentle Song: See Power Ballad.
• Vocal Dissonance: On the rare occasion that she speaks, Omi actually has a surprisingly feminine voice.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Depending on whether you consider women wearing suits to be crossdressing.

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