~ Remembrance ~ Let’s put things in context
On January 21st, Nightmare treated us to a full one-man show in Paris, marking the third date of their World Tour.
Let’s take a moment to revisit the band’s lineup and briefly reflect on the 25-year journey of its members:
Nightmare is a band that exists at the crossroads of visual-kei and punk rock, gradually incorporating more electronic elements in their recent work. Their songs strike a perfect balance between raw, powerful anthems filled with rage and melancholic, tranquil ballads.The cradle of the band is located in the Sendai area, where founding members Sakito and Hitsugi came together at the dawn of the year 2000. The two guitarists were soon joined by Ni~ya (bass) and Yomi (vocals). Ruka (drums) was the last to join, completing the lineup we know today.
The band’s early days were marked by a saturated, yet uniquely authentic sound, eventually evolving into a more refined style with their first full album, Ultimate Circus. In 2006, Nightmare was introduced to the world through their collaboration with the anime Death Note, when their song The World was selected as the anime’s opening theme. Since then, the band’s popularity has only grown, with a constant stream of singles, albums, and live performances, culminating in their 25th anniversary this year.
~ Promenade ~ Through dusk before the show
After their hometown shows in Japan, the members traveled to Helsinki, then London, before arriving at the Alhambra Theatre in Paris to continue their Kyokuto Ranshin Tengoku tour. The venue, which had hosted other J-Rock artists like Gackt in the past, known to be one of
some members’ inspiration, is located in the heart of Paris, not far from other iconic spots like the Bataclan. Built in 1933, the building’s classic Parisian architecture with its velvet carpets and gigantic stairs evoked the aesthetics of Killer Show or Ultimate Circus.
Keeping that in mind, the venue felt like the perfect setting for the band and their fans, coming together for one unforgettable night.
When we arrived at 5 p.m., the street was already alive with a diverse crowd of European fans queuing patiently for the gates to open.
Lolis, kote, goths, and punks mixed with the more typical Parisian crowd, a testament to France’s deep cultural attachment to Japan and its fashion influence. It was incredible to see such a diverse fanbase, with people from Malta, Italy, and even long-time fans who had followed the band since its early days.
~ LivEvil ~ The curtain falls on reality
The show kicked off at 8:15 p.m.
The crowd was already buzzing with anticipation, clapping louder and louder as the members emerged from a mist, bathed in the purple glow of synchronized blue and red spotlights.
A shortened version of Nizm! Nizm! Nizm! echoed in the background as Hitsugi, Ruka, Ni~ya, and Sakito took their places on stage almost simultaneously. Yomi was the last to appear, marking the beginning of the two-hour journey that awaited us. With the power of a galloping horse, Yomi leapt onto the platform as the first notes of Assaulter rang out across the venue.
At that moment, it was clear to everyone that Nightmare had the ability to create an entire universe around them, with all eyes aiming at them.
The crowd went wild, jumping and shaking their fists in unison with the lyrics. Ni~ya soon moved forward, bringing his calm, hypnotic presence to the front of the stage.
The show continued with Rebel, one of their most recent releases. This powerful track kept the energy high, as Yomi encouraged the crowd to jump along with him, using the French phrases he had learned for the occasion. The right side of the stage was illuminated by the presence of Hitsugi, and his guitar mounted with red lights. During the final bridge of the song, Yomi approached Sakito, resting his forehead against his lead guitarist’s chest after his solo, creating an emotional moment for the audience.
The third song of the night was Dirty, one of the fan favorites and the first tie-up song of the show. The crowd was overwhelmed with emotion, as this was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated tracks of the evening. Fans headbanged, jumped, danced, and waved in total chaos.
The band, in turn, gave their all to entertain the crowd. Hitsugi energized the audience with his dance moves and backup vocals, Sakito posed dramatically for the cameras, Ni~ya captivated the balcony, and Yomi jumped along with the crowd, while Ruka’s drums thumped like a damned man heartbeat.
Then, the venue exploded with a chorus of “Soshite”, the opening word of the refrain, and not a single soul could resist singing along.
~ Chronicle ~ A collection of tracks from every era
After a brief break, Yomi began his first MC by introducing the band members.
“I’m back!” he shouted. And indeed, it had been 12 years since their last show in Paris. Throughout the evening, he made several references to their previous performance here, showing how much it meant to him.
The setlist that night was designed to celebrate 25 years of Nightmare’s career, drawing from nearly every album. The next track, Can You Do It? from Majestical Parade, marked the start of a mini-series of songs that highlighted Yomi’s powerful voice. The audience was in awe of his vocal mastery.
The following songs : Boys Be Suspicious from The World Ruler and Mimic from Scums were equally impressive.
It was a real treat to see Sakito harmonizing with Yomi, providing backing vocals during Boys Be Suspicious.
~ Deus Ex Machina ~ The core of their European success
As the members swapped instruments, Yomi spoke in French to introduce the next song: Raison d’Être, from the Killer Show album. This track, known worldwide as the opening theme of Claymore, was one of the highlights of the night.
This time, we had a succession of four tie-up songs, each one evoking powerful memories causing the spectators to drown in melancholy.
It was hard to take notes during the second tie-up song of the evening. The energy everyone was giving, living the moment in perfect osmosis, led the writer to take the permission to dance and shake his head slowly, hypnotized by the languorous rhythm.
The air became grievous and the ambiance turned more liquid as the spotlights made the stage shine as the surface of a lake under the moonlight. Sinking deeper in the waters of nostalgia, Lost in blue was performed as the soundtrack of our languishing hearts. The opening theme song of Mouryou no Hako, is a song about introspection, exploring the themes of dissociation and disappointement. The band was very solemn while performing, every member stayed at his dedicated spot, excepting Yomi who was wandering like a soul lost in the daedalus of elegy only guided by a slight incident of euphoria during the last verse.
The band became even more solemn for the next song which was certainly the second most awaited song of the show : Alumina.
The ending theme song of Death Note has been welcomed with a lot of excitement from the concertgoers. It was funny to watch a Light Yagami cosplay, really living the moment. The band was aware that the fans had big expectations from their performance as they were very concentrated and wanted to offer the best memories to everyone. A slight variation could be noticed by everyone as Sakito sang some of Yomi’s lines during the last part of the song.
Sinners, title track of their last released single,was then performed to awaken the concertgoers, and erase the blues from their mind. Hitsugi was giving himself up by dancing and headbanging like a damned body so everyone could follow his example during the opening song of Duel Masters King !.
With, another one of their latest releases ended this section before a brief MC break.
~Parade~ A Nightmarish perfection
By telling that Yomi wrote the name of Ni-ya in a black notebook to introduce the next song, dedicating a whole MC to chat about it, the reader might already know which one was about to be performed. Obviously we are talking about The world, which after all these years can’t be disassociated with Death Note anime adaptation.
The most awaited song was acclaimed by the fans with shouts and tears of joy as it brought back a lot of memories. Every part of this representation was perfect, from the eye contact with the audience, the gestures, Hitsugi‘s proximity with fans, Ni~ya‘s aura surrounding the venue, Ruka’s beat sounding like a call from beyond the grave along with Sakito‘s solo reminding the voices of angels. Without any doubt The world united everyone under a feeling of liberation headbanging like unleashed dogs. Nippongaku speaks for the whole audience by saying we wouldn’t mind this kind of nightmares every single night.
The following performance was the oldest song of the band to be played, but also the one after which the tour was named. Kyoukuto Ranshin Tengoku from the album Ultimate Circus. It felt like every measure was innate for the band, as this anthem is one of their career’s cornerstones. Nightmare was shining with confidence and benevolence and the members were very close physically and spiritually. United in the front stage, they gave us the best instrumental harmony since the beginning of the show, before splitting and igniting each corner of the stage with fiery energy.
~ Demand ~ Begging darkness to not last
As the band members disappeared behind the blinding lights, the crowd began shouting for an encore. To serve the fans some more memories, the band members talked one after another trying to use French if possible before treating us with four final songs. The first encore track, Tokyo Shonen from Libido, electrified the crowd, especially the millennials in the audience. The aggressive yet melodic rhythm composed by Ruka raised the energy in the room.
“404” extracted from scums, followed, with its saturated electronic touches driving the audience wild. Hitsugi took charge here, encouraging everyone to jump with him.
Then came the sole track from To Be or Not to Be, Gokujou Noushin Rengoku Isshiki, which was a perfect moment for headbanging.
The show ended with Quints from Carpe Diem, a song that felt like a celebration of their success. As Yomi sang, “I need no more music to make money, I know it’s a contradiction, because maybe I love it,” it seemed like a way to thank the fans who had supported them through the years. Some of us had followed them since the early days, others had discovered them more recently, but we were all part of their success.
The Kyokuto Ranshin Tengoku tour was the first to visit Europe, though Nightmare is no stranger to playing to packed stadiums in Japan. Let’s not forget to thank the Japanese fans who helped pave the way for the band’s European success.
~ Bye-bye ~
The sound of high fives between the members and the fans in the front rows was like an alarm clock, signaling that the time to awaken had come.
After bowing and waving to the crowd, the members disappeared behind the blinding lights. Hitsugi returned briefly to deliver his final words: “Je vous aime.”
The setlist for this show was slightly different from the one played in Tokyo, reworked to better resonate with the European audience.
It was a true journey through Nightmare’s story, with nearly every album represented that night. The band proved once again that they are a pillar of the visual-kei scene, continuously evolving when necessary while staying true to their foundational sound. Europe had waited almost 25 years for this tour, and the Kyokuto Ranshin Tengoku tour was definitely worth the wait. The music was intense, the members remained incredibly close to their audience, and the small moments that can’t be captured in live videos touched everyone’s heart.
This night will remain one of the most memorable for all the fans, who will likely struggle to return to reality after being enveloped in such raw emotion.
These memories will inspire daydreams of more world tours, as fan pages across the internet are already showing.
NIPPONGAKU speaks for everyone in offering one final thank you to the band.
NIPPONGAKU France staff (Leon) with NIGHTMARE.
📸: Julia