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Inseparable
friends since high school, Penicillin has amazing chemistry proven
by their successful standing of the test of time. With the way things are
going, it seems they are a long way from running out of steam; now more
than ever, the highly imaginative heavy songs and ballads from their
catalogue make them stand out even in this heaving variety of music.
As for the vocals, it took a bit of time before I could truly appreciate Hakuei's hoarse and high-toned voice (yes, both), and it might be the same for many other future fans. I basically listened to Penicillin for Chisato until one day, I clicked. Much like a slightly watered down Kyo from Dir en grey, his distorted voice slowly but surely gets into your head deeper and deeper after listening to any of his songs. Tall and mysterious, Hakuei is also the object of obsession for many ladies. He himself has an otaku-esque passion he shares with O-Jiro. The two of them are fascinated by bugs and never miss a chance to show-off their collection. Both are complete opposites physically but when it comes to displaying energy on stage, O-Jiro easily compensates his stature and baby face. Gisho also follows this logic a bit; his dark look and deep voice do not really correlate with his bass-style, which is higher than most bassist, almost sounding like an accompanying guitar at times. He enjoys dressing up as The Crow but will always look like Edward Scissorhands to me.
During their first year, visuals were a primordial part of their live shows. Elaborate makeup, "dresses" and little stage plays are a few of the things that helped them gain popularity on the underground scene. Their first mini-album, Penicillin Shock, came in 1994 and was produced by Hakuei's solo project guitarist, Kiyoshi, who was also part of hide's troupe, Spread Beaver. A great response from the public encouraged them to go on producing a total of eight albums in eight years. This even includes a sabbatical year in 1996, in which members of the band worked on solo careers. The aforementioned solo careers include Chisato with his debut album Organic Groover, of which very few copies were release. Hakuei worked (and is still working to a lesser degree) with his long-time friend Kiyoshi in a band called Machine. Kiyoshi also works with Gisho in his project oddly named R, and O-Jiro seems to have a blast doing his own thing with his friend Yasumichan in 808. Penicillin is still very much active with an album coming up on the first of October. Yojigen (fourth dimension) Diver Shonen Diver is the name of its first single and one more should follow shortly. I usually wait for albums but the cover art of this new single is so hilarious, it makes it worth the importing.
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Missing Link
Even if No. 53 is playing non-stop in my Discman, I am a bit more attracted to Penicillin's older stuff. They have not drastically altered their style since but Chisato seems less present now. Missing Link and Ultimate Velocity are among those that instantly leaves a poignant impression with some of their most popular singles. Why Missing Link exclusively? I could only pick one, unfortunately.
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Why Chaos?
There are many technically superior tracks in their song book but Chaos has a special place in my heart. It was the first Penicillin song I heard, and the beautiful contrasting introduction and guitar work won me over in the blink of an eye. |
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Official Site: http://www.penicillin.jp/ (Tip: use AltaVista's Babel Fish translator) |
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My
favourite part of Penicillin's music is incontestably Chisato's guitar prowess.
The quality of his solos is right up there with that of 
The original line-up of the band consisted of Gisho on vocals, Chisato on
guitar and O-Jiro on bass. Everyone knew each other from high school and
all graduated Tokai University with the same diploma but Hakuei only
joined the band later, rearranging the cast for their official debut February
14, 1992.
