Good for you, Rivers Phoenix, for finding this lovely gem from Shizukaze & Kizuna, a song they released all the way back in 2013 and just put out a video for late last year:

“That’s a really cool song!” you exclaim, and you’re right, it is; there’s a lot of good metal things happening in there. And this group, they were at JAM and other pretty big events … how is it that we haven’t heard of them?

Simple: They don’t exist anymore. Or, at least, Shizukaze & Kizuna doesn’t, not as a group.

Back in the halcyon days of 2011, a pair of like-minded idol groups (who must have been with the same management, I don’t know) came together to form one. That one is the then-aptly-named Shizukaze & Kizuna, and they did some nice things until 2015, when they finally disbanded. Pure Idol Heart (which is also a website!) has the details.

So: Kind of an old video for an old song for a group that’s completely defunct for well over a year. Their agency, VERSUS PRODUCTION, must have been trying to cash in a little on an old fan favorite. Regardless, though, we’re winners, and as the PIH piece suggests, we got some nice exposure to a legit innovative force on the hard side of idol.

Ahead of the curve

Also, how amazing is it that I probably first read that piece all the way back in 2015 and managed to recall it pretty much instantly? I have a hard time remembering what I had for breakfast.