DaiKaiju | |
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Origin | Huntsville, Alabama |
Genres | Surf punk [1] |
Years active | 1999–Present |
Labels |
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Members |
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Past members |
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Website | daikaiju |
Daikaiju (stylized "DaiKaiju") is a kaiju-themed surf punk band from Huntsville, Alabama, now based out of Houston, usually consisting of two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. [2] The band formed in the winter of 1999 and first performed in January 2000. The band has played shows across Europe, eastern Asia, and North America. As of 2023, the band is still actively touring.
Daikaiju originally formed in the winter of 1999. [3]
In 2005, the band released their first full-length album, Daikaiju. Of the album's ten tracks, five were previously recorded (in an earlier form) on 2001's Monster Surf, [4] and two more were previously heard on 2002's The Phasing Spider Menace. [5] The album received mostly positive reviews from critics, with Pitchfork Media giving the album a 7.8/10, praising the band's "prog muscle" and calling it an "impressive full-length debut". [6]
In 2010, the band released their second full-length album, titled Phase 2.
In a 2012 interview with Florida Geek Scene, the band was asked about the change in personnel between Daikaiju and Phase 2. [7] Daikaiju, in response, referred to the departing members as "casualties".
In 2013, the band toured the Far East visiting China, South Korea, and Japan. Its visit to Japan, in particular, was highly anticipated by fans and the band itself. [8] Daikaiju tied Public Image Ltd. as the 'Best show by a foreign touring act' in Time Out Beijing's "Year's end roundup: the best of Beijing music" for 2013. [9]
Daikaiju performs while wearing kabuki masks, and using pseudonyms. They do not speak during performances, instead communicating using hand signals. [10] The band often sets fire to their instruments during live shows.
Due to how secretive the band is, they rarely grant interviews, and do not mention their real names or private lives (apart from their opinions on monster movies such as Tristar's Godzilla, which they agreed to call Godzilla "in name only") in the interviews they do agree to. [7] [11]
It is a reflection of how wild Daikaiju's live performances are that, on their own website as well as in interviews, they refer to these performances as "attacks"; [7] or instead, in a 2013 interview with Time Out Beijing , referring to them as "Most exciting shower of golden radiance!!!" [11] This likely refers to the band's tendency to use lighter fluid to spray their instruments while the instruments are on fire.
The similarity of the band's sound to Man or Astro-man? has fueled some unconfirmed speculation that the band may contain members of that band. [6] The band's only response to this speculation, a denial (though characteristically vague), appeared in an August 2012 interview:
"Daikaiju have many member of man: secret-man, rock-man, hit-man, and mobile-man!!! Daikaiju also like taste of astro-man but have preference of lizard-man... or aqua-man!!!" [8]
The band has released two EPs, three studio albums, and two singles.
Name | Release Type | Label | Release date |
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Monster Surf | EP, Six tracks [12] | Migoto Radiation | February 2001 |
Little Darlin' | Track from compilation album American Graffiti Revisited | OmOm Music | 2001 |
The Phasing Spider Menace | EP, Three tracks, Three videos [12] | Valiant Death Records | February 2002 |
Overture | Track from compilation album Jesus Christ Surferstar | OmOm Music | April 2003 |
Daikaiju | Studio Album, Ten tracks [6] | Reptile Records | March 8, 2005 |
Phase 2 | Studio Album, Ten tracks | DingDong Records | September 21, 2010 |
Double Fist Attack | Single | DingDong Records | February 19, 2013 |
Spiral Serpent Strike | Track from compilation album Monsters Of Surf | DingDong Records | January 21, 2014 |
Cock Lobster | Single | DingDong Records | February 4, 2017 |
Deluxe Electric Ninja Mistress | Split with Harriers Of Discord | DingDong Records | May 14, 2019 |
Red Tsunami | Single | DingDong Records | March 10, 2022 |
Phase 3 | Studio Album | DingDong Records | February 21, 2023 |
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or kaiju, that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films produced by Toho Co., Ltd., five American films and numerous video games, novels, comic books and television shows. Godzilla has been dubbed the "King of the Monsters", an epithet first used in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), the American localization of the 1954 film.
Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese epic kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects directed by Sadamasa Arikawa and supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the Godzilla franchise, and features eleven monster characters, including Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Anguirus, and Minilla. The film stars Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Yukiko Kobayashi and Yoshio Tsuchiya.
Kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. A subgenre of science fiction, it was created by Eiji Tsuburaya and Ishirō Honda. The word can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monsters.
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