Visual kei superband DRUGS, made up of ex-members of MEJIBRAY, DADAROMA, LIPHLICH, and ZORO, have dropped 4 new singles, with 3 releasing on the same day.
‘UNTIL I DIE’ first appeared on YouTube on December 2nd, and was added to streaming services shortly after. The track has a distinct nu-metal flavour, conjuring images of bands like Korn and Sepultura in their early days, with some added VK spice.
The next 3 singles were unveiled on December 15th, releasing simultaneously on streaming platforms. 3rd single ‘Echoes of the Hidden Self’ takes a noisier, discordant direction with a groovy bassline courtesy of Wataru, erratic drumming from Yoshiatsu, and wailing from both Taizo’s guitar and vocalist Tsuzuku.
Their 4th single, ‘Shi, Seisatsu’ (‘Death, reflection’), is a quiet, slow, unnerving track, and features a gentler instrumental and an acoustic guitar solo, proving DRUGS aren’t just about noise. Tsuzuku’s vocals here are full of emotion, breaking down in the latter half.
Lastly, DRUGS’ 5th single, ‘The Libra’, heads us back into nu-metal territory with deep guitar and bass through the verses, and high pitched plucked guitar screeches layered through segments.
RELATED: New VK band DRUGS debuts with single ‘NEW ORDER’: Featuring members of Mejibray, Fukuro, ZORO, LIPHLICH
The tracks follow the release of DRUGS’ first single, and major statement, ‘NEW ORDER’ back in June. Drummer Yoshiatsu recently explained on his Instagram story that he wants to do “the same thing Nirvana did…I want to question today’s rock industry, and the visual kei scene as well” going on to talk about FUKURO and DRUGS both being “raw, unfiltered sounds of real humans playing real instruments”. While both in very different veins, that raw sound is something rare in modern visual kei, and marks both bands as ones to watch.
All 5 DRUGS singles are available now across streaming platforms.
DRUGS
UNTIL I DIE
Release Date: 02/12/2025
Label: Independent
Stream: Links
DRUGS
Echoes of the Hidden Self
Release Date: 15/12/2025
Label: Independent
Stream: Links
DRUGS
Shi, Seisatsu
Release Date: 15/12/2025
Label: Independent
Stream: Links
DRUGS
The Libra
Release Date: 15/12/2025
Label: Independent
Stream: Links
