MUCC:JRock Band Set To Release Second US Album Shion On November 25, 2008

NEW YORK (Top40 Charts/ Fontana International/ Spinefarm Records) - Japanese visual-kei band MUCC (pronounced "mook") continues to make an aural assault on the US and international rock world throughout 2008. One of the front-runners of the current JRock (Japanese rock) scene, MUCC will release their new CD SHION (Fontana International/Spinefarm Records US) - their first full album of new material released in the U.S-November 18 and the band is set to play their debut headlining U.S. shows: December 7 at New York's The Fillmore at Irving Plaza and December 10 at Los Angeles' House Of Blues Sunset Strip.

SHION was produced by MUCC guitarist MIYA and features 12 new songs: "Suion," "Fukurou No Yurikago," "Nuritsubusunara Enji," "Fuzz," "Game," "Flight (album version)," "Anjelier," "Chiisana Mado," "Semishigure," "Shion," "Sora Wasure" and "Libra (album version)." MUCC's music mixes emotional melody, Japanese exotic pop and a heavy sound with a message of "hope which exists in despair" and "warmth in sorrow and loneliness." The band-TATSURO (vocals), MIYA (guitar), YUKKE (bass), SATOchi (drums) - formed in 1997 in Ibaraki, Japan by high school friends MIYA, SATOchi and TATSURO. MUCC distributed their demos NO! (1997) and Aika (1998) at their live shows, with bass player YUKKE joining in 1999. They have been releasing albums and touring in Japan and Europe non-stop since then.

MUCC first performed in America in 2006 at the OTAKON anime convention in Baltimore, MD. With their aggressive live show and energetic sound, their debut performance blew the audience away. They then returned to the U.S. in 2007 for the sold-out JRock Revolution Festival at The Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles where they met Taste of Chaos co-founder and producer Kevin Lyman, who invited them to join the 2008 trek.

MUCC-who sing in Japanese-released the Best of MUCC (Fontana International) CD in February of this year and then joined Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine and Atreyu for the North American Rockstar Taste of Chaos trek. Before heading to the US for their special headlining gigs in December, they'll join the international installment of Taste of Chaos with Atreyu, As I Lay Dying, Story of the Year and Horse The Band. These dates run from October 9-31 and will take MUCC to Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the U.K.