Sound Horizon | en

Sound Horizon (サウンドホライズン), abbreviated by fans as Sanhora (サンホラ), is a Japanese art rock/symphonic metal band comprised of the composer Revo as its leader. It was conceived in 2001 when the band released their 1st Story CD, Chronicle, at Comiket 61. Revo had previously recorded and released several demo songs via the internet in the late 90's. He is also the longest running and currently the only official member of Sound Horizon. As of the band's 5th Story concert, he is often referred to as '陛下' ('Heika' which means 'His Majesty') by fans and other members to signify his leadership position. The collective fan base is thus known as the 'Sound Horizon Kingdom'. All other members are listed as 'support members' and may differ by the albums (although some have had longer tenures with the band than others). The band refers to itself as ''幻想楽団' (or the 'fantasy band').

Their music is generally in omnibus style; an album contains multiple parts with different themes that create one long, coherent story. Both male and female vocals are utilized, with soprano and mezzo-soprano vocals being the most common. Usage of narration is not restrained and can be heard in a variety of languages including French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, German and English. This narration is often reminiscent of anime due to the frequent involvement of seiyū in narrating positions after the band's major record label debut. Various musical stylistic influences are also apparent in their music including progressive rock, jazz, pop, opera, classical, and heavy metal. Their lyrics are often mysterious and metaphorical and contain complex and fantastical themes varying from ancient curses, legends, mythology, dreams, war and paradise to lust, longing, obsession, crime, and death.

Other than Revo, the current lineup consists of about a dozen vocalists along with 4 main narrators as well as numerous guest narrators.

Leader:
Revo: The leader and founding member of Sound Horizon. He composes and arranges all of their songs. He is also a noted guitarist, vocalist, accordionist, percussionist, bagpiper and conductor.

Current supporting members (as of 2010):
yokoyan(よこやん): Illustrator, cover designer, and oldest support member. His/her identity is uncertain.

Vocals:
Jimang (じまんぐ): Has been with the group since their 3rd story CD and does narration on occasion.
Takashi Utsunomiya (宇都宮隆): Also the vocalist of TM Network
Kaori Oda (織田かおり): Also a member of Yuki Kajiura's FictionJunction project.
Yuuki Yoshida (吉田有希): A former member of the group SpringS. She has also performed the harmonica for select songs.
Remi Tanaka (田中玲美): An operatic J-pop singer known for singing theme songs for anime and eroge.
Miki Masuda (ますだみき): A relatively new singer who joined the band for their 6th story CD.
Mari Endo (遠藤麻里) : Initially a stand-in and understudy who has participated in Sound Horizon's recent live performances, but has yet to appear on a studio album.
Haruka Shimotsuki (霜月はるか): A western-style folk singer and a composer and lyricist in her own right. She has been with the band since their 3rd Story CD.
Azumi Inoue (井上あずみ): A J-pop singer best known for singing the theme songs for the movie My Neighbor Totoro.
Minami Kuribayashi (栗林みな実): A popular J-pop singer and seiyū.
Ritsuki Nakano (中野律紀) : An ethnic folk singer from Amami Oshima.
Joelle (ジョエル): A jazz singer and the latest vocalist to join Sound Horizon. She appears on the 1st Prologue Maxi CD.

Narration:
Rika Fukami (深見梨加): Narrates in Japanese. Best known for portraying Sailor Venus in Sailor Moon.
Akio Ōtsuka (大塚明夫): Narrates in Japanese. Best known for portraying Black Jack in the anime of the same name as well as providing the voice for Solid Snake.
Ike Nelson (あいくねるそん): Narrates in English. He has done minor solo work as a DJ and an MC.
Sascha: Narrates in German. The newest narrator of Sound Horizon.

Instrumentalists:
Shingo Saito (斉藤慎吾): The concertmaster and lead guitarist of Sound Horizon. Goes by the nickname "Jake".
Atsushi Hasegawa (長谷川敦): The bassist of Sound Horizon. He is also one of Motoi Sakuraba's session bassists as well as the bassist for the progressive rock band Gerard.
Ryo Sakagami (坂上領): The flutist of Sound Horizon.
Kenichi Fujimoto (藤本健一): The drummer of Sound Horizon. Goes by the nickname "Ken☆Ken".
Watanabe☆Fire (わたなべ☆ファイヤー): The saxophonist of Sound Horizon.
Hirokaju Ebisu (恵比須弘和): Produces the behind-the-scenes sound effects for Sound Horizon.
Gen Ittetsu (弦一徹): The studio violinist of Sound Horizon. His orchestra, Gen Ittetsu Strings, plays for the band's studio recordings.
Kyoko Ishigame (石亀協子): The live violinist of Sound Horizon. She participates as part of a string quartet with Maiko, Mio, and Machi and serves as 1st violin.
Tomotaka Saka (坂知学): The effects manipulator for Sound Horizon's concerts. Also serves as an additional percussionist.
Maiko Sato (砂糖舞妓): The live cellist of Sound Horizon.
Mio Wakamatsu (若松美緒): The live violist of Sound Horizon.
Machi Okabe (岡部町): The other live violinist of Sound Horizon. She serves as 2nd violin.
Eiji Kawai (河合英史): The keyboardist of Sound Horizon.
Marty Friedman: The newest solo guitarist of Sound Horizon and a former member of heavy metal pioneer Megadeth
Motoi Sakuraba (桜庭統): The newest pianist and keyboardist of Sound Horizon. Famous for his compositions for the Tales Series of video games.
JUN-JI: The newest drummer of Sound Horizon and a former member of visual kei pioneer SIAM SHADE

Former members:
Aramary: Vocal, chorus, narration. (Currently a member of Rain Note)
Kyoko Oosako (大迫杏子): Keyboards and Piano
Yasrow (やすろー): Voice
Haseri (葉芹): Voice
Kii Miyasaka (宮坂紀伊): Voice
Yukari Shinozaki (篠崎ゆかり): Violin
Yoshimi Iwasaki (岩崎良美): Vocal, chorus
Kanako Ito (伊藤佳奈子): Violin (solo)
Kana Strings: Orchestra
Ryoji Nanto (南都亮二): Drums
Sigeru Tamura (田村滋): Bass
Naomi Ishikawa (石川ナオミ): Drums
Hanako Uesato (上里はな子): Violin

Participating Seiyu:
Akio Ohtsuka (大塚明夫)
Rika Fukami (深見梨加)
Mamiko Noto (能登麻美子)
Nobuo Tobita (飛田展男)
Norio Wakamoto (若本規夫)
Yukana (ゆかな)
Yuuko Minaguchi (皆口裕子)
Hikaru Midorikawa (緑川光)
Yukari Tamura (田村ゆかり)
Souichirou Hoshi (保志総一朗)
Noriko Hidaka (日高のり子)
Houko Kuwashima (桑島法子)
Marina Inoue (井上麻里奈)
Rikiya Koyama (小山力也)
Yuuichi Nakamura (中村悠一)

Discography:

Doujin:
1st Concept Story CD(plus)「Chronicle」 (12/30/2001)
2nd story CD 「Thanatos」 (08/11/2002)
3rd story CD 「Lost」(12/30/2002)
1st Pleasure CD 「Pico Magic」 (05/04/2003)
2nd Pleasure CD 「Pico Magic Reloaded」 (08/17/2003)
1st Story Renewal CD 「Chronicle 2nd」(03/19/2004)

Major releases:
Major 1st Album 「Elysion ~Rakuen e no Zensōkyoku~ / Elysion 〜楽園への前奏曲〜」 (10/27/2004)
Major 2nd Album：4th Story CD 「Elysion ~Rakuen Gensō Monogatari Kumikyoku~ / Elysion 〜楽園幻想物語組曲〜」 (04/13/2005)
1st MAXI Single 「Shōnen wa Tsurugi wo... / 少年は剣を…」 (10/04/2006)
Major 3rd Album：5th Story CD 「Roman」 (11/22,/2006)
1st Story Maxi 「Seisen no Iberia / 聖戦のイベリア」 (08/01/2007)
Major 4th Album: 6th Story CD 「Moira」 (09/03/2008)
1st Prologue Maxi CD 「~Ido e Itaru Mori e Itaru Ido~ / イドへ至る森へ至るイド」 (06/16/2010) .