Despair

There have been at least five bands called Despair:

1) First vomited forth by a stagnant Japanese music scene in 2001, DESPAIR swiftly rose to prominence thanks to an uncompromisingly aggressive sound and dynamic stage presence. In 2005, DESPAIR made their European debut with dates in the U.K. and at 'Wave Gotik Treffen', sharing the stage with such luminaries as Psyclon Nine and Haujobb. Throughout 2006 and 2007, they have been consolidating their formidable live reputation at shows across Japan. With a trio of EPs and numerous appearances on compilation albums, magazines and DVDs under their belt, DESPAIR have now returned to the studio to hammer out the basis of an eagerly-anticipated new album due in 2008.

Featuring the live favourite JARRING GOD and moodier, down-tempo FILTH PIG, 2006 EP 'Deserted Technology Riot' redefined the brutal vision first laid out in 2004's high-impact debut 'Beautiful Japanese Sight'. 2007's remix EP 'Rewired Riot Technology' - where 4-to-the-floor dancebeats fuse effortlessly with breakcore and breakbeat elements - twists and turns in totally unexpected musical directions while maintaining the visceral punch and haunting qualities that DESPAIR's audience has come to expect.

Guitar, bass and drums - the traditional tools of a rock band - have been abandoned in favour of a totally technological approach. All original and found sounds are mangled and re-processed into a brutal industrial sound-collage which recalls the structural approach of classic Skinny Puppy crossed with Atari Teenage Riot - punctuated by periods of ambient tranquility reminiscent of a melancholy film score. This musical style is mirrored in the lyrics, where intentionally-scrambled English forms new rhythmic patterns of meaning akin to the cut-up texts of William Burroughs - delivered in primal screams.

DESPAIR - the greatest hope of Japan's emerging industrial scene.
DESPAIR - the cyberpunk soundtrack of 21st-century Tokyo's disaffected underground.

(taken from DESPAIR's official 2008 biography c/o DEATHWATCH ASIA)

Keyboardist Jude (aka Jamie Nova) is also the frontman of half-British/half-Japanese post-gothic rock outfit Sins Of The Flesh

More info and music available here:
www.despair-nation.com
www.myspace.com/tokyocyberpunkisolation


2) Despair was a technical thrash metal band from Germany, featuring multi-instrumentalist Waldemar Sorychta. They release their first album "History of Hate" in 1988 with following line-up:

Waldemar Sorychta – guitar, vocals
Robert Kampf – vocals
Markus Freiwald – drums
Marek Greschek – guitar
Klaus Pachura - bass

In 1990, they released their second album, "Decay of Humanity" with Andreas Hentschel as vocalist. Two years after, in 1992, "Beyond All Reason" album came out, but then Despair split, and Sorychta continued his work with Voodoocult and Grip, Inc.

3) DESPAIR was a 90's metallic hardcore band, fronted by Scott Vogel (Terror, Buried Alive, Slugfest, among others). And then, there was moshing...

4) Black Metal band from Wales, UK. Releasing their debut EP on Scottish experimental label, Dead Eternity Records.

5) Despair was a heavy metal band from Poland, but they changed name to InDespair. They released their first promo 'No Escape'. More info here: http://myspace.com/ndspr

6) Despair was a Btitish Glam Rock band, considered by many to be proto-punk.