to me, the ultimate visual band – and probably so due to the driving force of their guitarist, their doll-faced cross-dressing leader, mana. throughout the years [1993-2001] they had a few line-up changes, namely, their drummer [gaz, who was replaced by kami, who unfortunately has passed away] and all 3 of their singers [tetsu, who left to form a new band called zigzo, who have recently disbanded – then the super-popular gackt, who went solo – and finally the ultra-charming klaha, who is also starting a solo career], but that only adds to the variety of their repertoire. this is one of my all time fave bands, and as such, they had to disband! but most of their members are following different directions. you will find some of them on this guide.

music style:
the tetsu years – solid goth rock, very melodic, some ppl have a problem with tetsu's voice, personally i love it; tetsu was a great lyricist too; songs like 'kioku to sora' or 'baroque' are mizer classics.
the gackt years – gackt brought a romantic touch to the band and an even deeper taste for all things french. expect plenty of sappy ballads, a few dance/electronica tunes but also great overwhelming musical scores.
the klaha years – didn't last long, but the music they made was amazing! a return to their goth tunes but with a terrific operatic twist [their typical duelling guitars chanting against pipe organs]. klaha is a trained opera singer and he knows exactly what to do with his voice. their 'bara no seidou' album is one of the best gothic rock pieces i've ever heard. they also released a couple of singles before disbanding.

visual style:
their indie years were pretty much your typical goth wear, but when they reached the peak of their popularity with gackt their style became really flamboyant. has to be seen to be believed! after gackt left they took on a more gothic look once again, a very classy and polished look, even considering those awe-some bondage outfits they wore for a while... ;D

line-up:
final line-up: mana [gu/syn], közi [gu/syn], yu~ki, [ba], klaha [vo]
former members: gaz [dr], tetsu [vo], gackt [vo]
eternal blood relative: kami [dr]

current status:
disbanded!! [december 2001]

pv:
beast of blood [imo their best video], illuminati [yaow! ;], gekka no yasoukioku, kyomu no nakade no yuugi. there are plenty of others, live performances too, but these are probably my faves. you can find their videos in vhs and dvd.

misc:
to be noted, they have a number of photobooks and video/concert dvd's/vhs available – check out their fan club video cd 'societe de parente', it's highly entertaining! there's also the usually highly treasured volumes of the 'ma cherie' fan club magazine. malice mizer also released a memorial album containing 2 instrumental tracks composed by kami plus a track composed by the band in his memory [there's also a secret track by him included in the 'beast of blood' single]. they filmed 2 movies.

related links:
› official site (jp)
biography, discography and more.
eternite (jp)
kami memorial shrine.
k&k's malice mizer (en)
site with info, discography, lyrics and more.
kamimura (en)
a kami shrine.
kamis mizer (kr)
site with info, scans and other media.
more info @ jrocker.com (en)
information, profiles, discography.
scape (en)
has a section on malice mizer. also has sections on the solo projects of mm's members.
the secret world of malice mizer (en)
no longer updated, still stuck on the gackt era, but contains good info about the band.
yu~ki fanclub (en)
well he *is* underappreciated!
yu~ki no kisho (en)
a very cool yu~ki fansite.

audio samples:
kioku to sora | bel air | shiroi hada ni kuruu[...]