The band started with the members Meg and Sassy working in a Metallica cover band. The two founding members played in this band for two years before they decided that they wanted to go further with their talents than just cover songs. After leaving the band, Sassy offered Mackaz the opportunity to join, he accepted and invited long time friend Kazuto to join the band as well. Oddly, the vocalist was the final member to join the original band. Meg sat in on a school performance one day and one voice stood out to him. Meg offered Yuusuke the chance to join the band; he initially rejected this due to wanting to be a solo singer, but joined after Meg reportedly asked him to join every day for nearly four months. The band, known as Anti-Nobunaga at this time, played mainly in small coffee shops and art theaters for about a year. Sassy, the band leader, sent demo tapes to every major Japanese label, all of whom rejected the band. It was not until a small Japanese label signed the band that they found their first big break. The band was now playing areas further from their local Okinawa until they landed a spot at the yearly music festival of Okinawa.
Maakii and the Music Festival
During the summer of 2003, at a yearly music festival in Okinawa, the band's label hyped their spot and eventually they ended up playing for a sold out crowd. Due to this festival being a "per show" ticket selling one, it meant that Anti-Nobunaga was the only band to play for a sell out crowd. A scout for a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan was in the crowd and offered the band the chance to produce music for an upcoming various artists album entitled Okinawa 2003. The band then composed their two and only completely original songs under the name of Anti-Nobunaga entitled Meaning and Hate You!. At another festival known as the "Music Picnic Festival", vocalist Maki also grabbed the attention of the same scout that found Anti-Nobunaga. The scout felt that both projects on their own were not remarkable, but combined, the band could be something never before seen on the Japanese music scene. Maakii first rejected the offer due to her wanting to study English abroad but was later convinced by her future band-mates to join. With the addition of Maakii the band took on a new name, High and Mighty Color (H and MC). After six months of perfecting their craft, the band was moved up from SMJ's minor label to their major label, in league with bands such as Orange Range. High and Mighty Color is some times referred to as the sister band of Orange Range, because they are both from the Okinawa area, an area known for musical fusion thanks in part to various military bases stationed there and were both discovered at the same music festival. They spent much of 2004 writing and recording, in late 2004 they released their first single, "Over" which was only sold through Tower Records stores. It sold out in the time frame of a month and became immensely scarce, thus it was re-released the next year. The album sat at number one spot of the indie Oricon charts for an entire month.
2005
During 2005, the band released their first official single, titled "Pride." It was originally going to be attached to a Japanese football event being held at the same time, but was picked up for something else. A Sunrise music partner was looking for a song to use for Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny and "Pride" was chosen to be that song. At the time, the show was the number one rated anime in Japan, and being attached to this helped the single's sales immensely. With a final sell count of 223,208 copies, "Pride" remains the band's best selling single since the official start of their formal career.
Over the next year, the band went on a media blitz, performing for shows such as Music Fighter, Music Station and Hey! Hey! Hey! at various times. During August, the band released "Days," their fourth single, selling 7,679 copies and not breaking the top 20 mark on the Oricon charts. Despite this setback, the band was still honored with the Japanese Record Grand Prix's Rookie of the Year award, and Maki's grandmother who had just died was given a tribute just before their performance.
2006
In April 2006, the band released their second album Gou On Progressive after only releasing two singles for the album. The album sold less copies than their first album, but it stayed on the Oricon charts longer and managed to gain a higher peak position than their first album. The band's first single of the year was "Ichirin no Hana" (一輪の花) and was used as the third opening to the anime adaption of Bleach. This was the first and currently only single to break the top five mark on the Oricon charts since their debut with "Pride." They also played their first American concert at an anime convention in Houston, Texas on April 28.
The band then went on a large-scale tour of Japan. They played 65 venues over the course of the next five months. They released their seventh single, "Dive into Yourself," in August. The song was used as the opening song for the video game Sengoku Basara II. For a tim
Япония
The band started with the members Meg and Sassy working in a Metallica cover band. The two founding members played in this band for two years before they decided that they wanted to go further with their talents than just cover songs. After leaving the band, Sassy offered Mackaz the opportunity to join, he accepted and invited long time friend Kazuto to join the band as well. Oddly, the vocalist was the final member to join the original band. Meg sat in on a school performance one day and one voice stood out to him. Meg offered Yuusuke the chance to join the band; he initially rejected this due to wanting to be a solo singer, but joined after Meg reportedly asked him to join every day for nearly four months. The band, known as Anti-Nobunaga at this time, played mainly in small coffee shops and art theaters for about a year. Sassy, the band leader, sent demo tapes to every major Japanese label, all of whom rejected the band. It was not until a small Japanese label signed the band that they found their first big break. The band was now playing areas further from their local Okinawa until they landed a spot at the yearly music festival of Okinawa.
Maakii and the Music Festival
During the summer of 2003, at a yearly music festival in Okinawa, the band's label hyped their spot and eventually they ended up playing for a sold out crowd. Due to this festival being a "per show" ticket selling one, it meant that Anti-Nobunaga was the only band to play for a sell out crowd. A scout for a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan was in the crowd and offered the band the chance to produce music for an upcoming various artists album entitled Okinawa 2003. The band then composed their two and only completely original songs under the name of Anti-Nobunaga entitled Meaning and Hate You!. At another festival known as the "Music Picnic Festival", vocalist Maki also grabbed the attention of the same scout that found Anti-Nobunaga. The scout felt that both projects on their own were not remarkable, but combined, the band could be something never before seen on the Japanese music scene. Maakii first rejected the offer due to her wanting to study English abroad but was later convinced by her future band-mates to join. With the addition of Maakii the band took on a new name, High and Mighty Color (H and MC). After six months of perfecting their craft, the band was moved up from SMJ's minor label to their major label, in league with bands such as Orange Range. High and Mighty Color is some times referred to as the sister band of Orange Range, because they are both from the Okinawa area, an area known for musical fusion thanks in part to various military bases stationed there and were both discovered at the same music festival. They spent much of 2004 writing and recording, in late 2004 they released their first single, "Over" which was only sold through Tower Records stores. It sold out in the time frame of a month and became immensely scarce, thus it was re-released the next year. The album sat at number one spot of the indie Oricon charts for an entire month.
2005
During 2005, the band released their first official single, titled "Pride." It was originally going to be attached to a Japanese football event being held at the same time, but was picked up for something else. A Sunrise music partner was looking for a song to use for Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny and "Pride" was chosen to be that song. At the time, the show was the number one rated anime in Japan, and being attached to this helped the single's sales immensely. With a final sell count of 223,208 copies, "Pride" remains the band's best selling single since the official start of their formal career.
Over the next year, the band went on a media blitz, performing for shows such as Music Fighter, Music Station and Hey! Hey! Hey! at various times. During August, the band released "Days," their fourth single, selling 7,679 copies and not breaking the top 20 mark on the Oricon charts. Despite this setback, the band was still honored with the Japanese Record Grand Prix's Rookie of the Year award, and Maki's grandmother who had just died was given a tribute just before their performance.
2006
In April 2006, the band released their second album Gou On Progressive after only releasing two singles for the album. The album sold less copies than their first album, but it stayed on the Oricon charts longer and managed to gain a higher peak position than their first album. The band's first single of the year was "Ichirin no Hana" (一輪の花) and was used as the third opening to the anime adaption of Bleach. This was the first and currently only single to break the top five mark on the Oricon charts since their debut with "Pride." They also played their first American concert at an anime convention in Houston, Texas on April 28.
The band then went on a large-scale tour of Japan. They played 65 venues over the course of the next five months. They released their seventh single, "Dive into Yourself," in August. The song was used as the opening song for the video game Sengoku Basara II. For a tim