| Sound Horizon | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Genre: | Sound Horizon: Linked Horizon: |
| Origin: | Tokyo, Japan |
| Years Active: | 2001–present |
| Label: | Bellwood Records (2004–2006) King Records (2006–2011) Pony Canyon (October 1, 2011–present) |
| Current Members: | Revo |
| Past Members: | See Sound Horizon band members |
Sound Horizon is a Japanese symphonic rock musical group with composer (pronounced as /ja/) as the leader and only permanent member. They describe themselves as a "fantasy band" and have released works that closely resemble classical suites. Their songs often revolve around historical events and classic fairytales. When creating music based on other people's stories, the band uses the name Linked Horizon.[1] [2] [3]
Sound Horizon began with Revo releasing his music creations on the internet on his website in the late 1990s. In 2001, Sound Horizon participated in Comic Market as part of a dōjin music circle and released their first story CD, Chronicle, an all-instrumental track CD, with occasional narration, background chorus and sound effects.[4] The inclusion of actual singing began from their second release (Thanatos) onwards. Their subsequent works were released at Comic Market and M3.[3] [5]
Sound Horizon's first major release was in 2004, with the album Elysion ~Rakuen e no Zensōkyoku~ (lit. Elysion ~Prelude to Paradise~). Their first maxi-single, "Shōnen wa Tsurugi o...", which was released in 2006, includes "Shūtan no Ou to Isekai no Kishi ~The Endia & The Knights~", the theme for the PlayStation 2 simulation RPG Chaos Wars, and "Kamigami ga Aishita Rakuen ~Belle Isle~", the opening theme for the MMORPG Belle Isle.[4]
Although Aramary was their main female singer through the Elysion album, her departure afterward led Sound Horizon's style to shift quite a bit, to having many vocalists, rather than just one main female one (previously Aramary) and one main male vocalist (Jimang). Revo himself also tended to sing more often in the later albums, beginning with Roman.[5]
On September 3, 2008, Sound Horizon released the album Moira. The album featured Takashi Utsunomiya of TM Network as one of the vocalists.[6] Moira debuted at No. 3 on the Oricon weekly album charts, selling over 45,000 copies in its initial week.[7]
Sound Horizon released the single "Ido e Itaru Mori e Itaru Ido" on June 16, 2010. The single featured guitarist Marty Friedman and Vocaloid Hatsune Miku,[8] along with a beta voicebank for Vocaloid known as "Junger März PROTOTYPE β".[3]
In 2012, Revo began a new project called Linked Horizon, beginning with his work on the score for the Nintendo 3DS game , a series of EPs and album.[2] In 2013 and subsequent years, Linked Horizon performed the first, second, third, fifth and eighth opening themes, as well as the fourth and series finale ending themes, for the anime adaptation of Attack on Titan along with a series of EPs and albums.[9]
In June 2014, Revo also composed the first opening theme of Sailor Moon Crystal, "Moon Pride".[10]
In September 2020, as part of their major debut's 15th anniversary projects, Sound Horizon announced a Blu-ray story album, Ema ni Negai wo!, which would allow listeners to make choices and experience the story differently depending on those choices.[11] The "Prologue Edition" was released on January 13, 2021, and the "Full Edition" was originally scheduled for release on March 15, 2023, but was delayed to June 14 of the same year.[12]
See main article: List of Sound Horizon band members.
Sound Horizon's main albums are called 'Stories' or 'Horizons' and are numbered, starting with Chronicle.
Pico Magic, Pico Magic Reloaded, Elysion ~Rakuen e no Zensōkyoku~ and Chronology are compilation albums and are not counted as story albums.
Chronicle 2nd is an expanded reissue of the first Chronicle album.
The ninth story Nein was released in 2015, even though the eighth story, with the working title Rinne, hasn't been released yet.
| Title | Album details | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Story Chronicle |
| |
| 2nd Story Thanatos |
| |
| 3rd Story Lost |
| |
| Pico Magic |
| |
| Pico Magic Reloaded |
| |
| 1st Story Chronicle 2nd |
|
| Title | Album details | Peak position | Sales | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN [13] | |||||
| Elysion ~Rakuen e no Zensōkyoku~ |
| — | |||
| 4th Story Elysion ~Rakuen Gensō Monogatari Kumikyoku~ |
| 29 | |||
| 5th Story Roman |
| 19 | |||
| 6th Story Moira |
| 3 |
| ||
| 7th Story Märchen |
| 2 |
| ||
| Chronology [2005–2010] |
| 4 |
| ||
| 9th Story Nein |
| 2 |
| ||
| 7.5th or 8.5th Story Ema ni Negai wo | (Prologue Edition)(絵馬に願ひを! (Prologue Edition) "Wish on the Ema") | 1 (Blu-ray chart) | |||
| 7.5th or 8.5th Story Ema ni Negai wo | (Full Edition)(絵馬に願ひを! (Full Edition) "Wish on the Ema") |
| 5 (Blu-ray chart) | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||
| Title | Details | Peak position | Sales | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN [17] | |||||
| "Shōnen wa Tsurugi o..."(少年は剣を... "A Boy's Sword Is...") |
| 9 | |||
| "Seisen no Iberia"(聖戦のイベリア "Holy War of Iberia") |
| 8 | |||
| "Ido e Itaru Mori e Itaru Ido"(イドへ至る森へ至るイド "The Id That Leads to the Forest Leading to the Id") |
| 2 |
| Prologue to Märchen | |
| "Halloween to Yoru no Monogatari"(ハロウィンと夜の物語 "The Story of Halloween and The Night") |
| 3 |
| ||
| "Vanishing Starlight"(ヴァニシング・スターライト) |
| 3 |
| Prologue to Nein | |
| "Halloween to Asa no Monogatari"(ハロウィンと朝の物語 "The Story of Halloween and The Morning") |
| TBA |
|
Story Concerts are a type of theatre concerts, that each reproduce a Story Album on stage, with the singers all in costumes and acting their roles in addition to singing.
(This list does not include live recordings released as extra content with albums)
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| 4th Story Elysion ~ Welcome to the Paradise Parade ~ |
|
| 5th Story Roman ~ The Stories that Connect Us ~ |
|
| Triumph of the Second Territorial Expansion |
|
| 6th Story Moira |
|
| Triumph of the Third Territorial Expansion |
|
| Across the Horizon - 5th Anniversary Movie |
|
| 7th Story Märchen ~That Brightly Shining Era in Which You’re Smiling Even Now~ |
|
| The Assorted Horizons - Treasured Blu-ray & DVD |
|
| 9th Story Nein ~Welcome to the Western Antique Attic Shop |
|
| Title | Details | Peak position | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPN [18] | |||
| Luxendarc Daikikō |
| 15 | |
| Shingeki no Kiseki |
| 2 |
|
| Shingeki no Kioku |
| 5 |
|