Dios

Overview

Dios is a Japanese band made up of vocalist Tanaka, guitarist Ichika Nito and keyboardist Sasanomaly, signed to Amuse. Their music spans J-pop, J-rock and Japanese indie.

Tanaka, who left the project Bokuno Lyric Boyomi (ぼくのりりっくぼうよみ), had been active mainly online. Ichika Nito, also a member of the instrumental band ichikoro, ranked 8th in the "10 Modern Guitarists" section of the UK magazine Total Guitar's readers' poll of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Sasanomaly works as a singer-songwriter and trackmaker and also produced tracks for Bokuno Lyric Boyomi. The three formed the band in 2021.

Formation and Name

The band's origins go back to "birthplace", an anime-song cover event held in December 2019, where Tanaka and Ichika Nito performed together and hit it off over a meal. Undecided between forming a duo or a band, they invited Sasanomaly, resulting in a group in which every member handles two or more roles.

The name comes from Dio in Tanaka's favorite manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and from Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, fertility and ecstasy. Tanaka explained the meaning as wanting to make something not fixed in charm or beauty for anyone to enjoy at any time, but something that wavers moment by moment.

Career

2021

• March 31: Announced the band's formation and released the debut single "Tohiko" (逃避行) digitally.
• August 18: Released "Gekijo" (劇場), the theme for the LINE NEWS VISION 2nd-anniversary drama Joge Kankei; it was first aired on J-WAVE's STEP ONE on July 29.
• October 12: Appeared on TV Tokyo's Premier MelodiX! performing "Gekijo".
• November 26: Released "Dark Room", the theme of the Hulu original Mirai Seiki SHIBUYA.
• December 23: Held their first one-man show, "DAWN", at Shibuya WWWX.

2022

• May 25: Released "Danmen" (断面), the theme of the MBS drama Kyoso no Musume.
• June 11: Appeared on All Night Nippon 0 (ZERO), with segments such as "Tanaka Strongest Theory", a late-night fall-asleep telephone and "Dios The World".
• June 29: Released the album CASTLE, themed around "a phantom castle that appears only when you listen to music". The first-press edition includes the "DAWN" live recording and an audio commentary.
• July 12: Performed "Virtual Castle" on Premier MelodiX!.
• Summer: Held their first tour, CASTLE, in Osaka, Tokyo, Hokkaido and Fukuoka.

2023

• February 15: Opened "CASTLE WORLD", an interactive virtual space, and released the EP Re:CASTLE, featuring five CASTLE tracks remixed by Tommg, banvox, Kan Sano, Tennyson and NYK.
• Spring: Held the Billboard Live shows CASTLE/Re:BUILD in Kanagawa, Osaka and Tokyo.
• April 26: Released the single "Loveless" (ラブレス).
• June 14: Released the single "Underground" (アンダーグラウンド).
• September 6: Released the second album ＆疾走 ("& Sprint"), expressing the idea of running through while resisting the urge to stop and face oneself.
• November 15: Released the single "Standalone" (スタンダロン).

2024

• January 31: Released ＆疾走 (Deluxe ver.).
• Released "My Gasoline" (August 14) and "Loopback" (September 18), followed by the Gasoline EP on October 9.
• November 20: Released "Bozen" (呆然).

2025 and beyond

• January 15: Released the 脱構築β EP.
• Released "B.U.G." (July 23), "One Night Cruising" (August 27) and "Hanagasumi" (花霞, September 24).
• October 15: Released the single "Seein' Your Ghost", followed by an album of the same name on October 29.

Live appearances

In 2022–2023 the band played events including MUSIC FLAGS, SYNCHRONICITY'23, ARABAKI ROCK FEST.23, VIVA LA ROCK 2023 and RISING SUN ROCK FESTIVAL 2023. In 2025 they appeared at JAPAN JAM 2025 (May), NIGHT HIKE Mid 2025 (August), SPACE SHOWER SWEET LOVE SHOWER 2025 (August), HAPPINESS JAM 2025 (September) and MINAMI WHEEL 2025 (October). Appearances at SANUKI ROCK COLOSSEUM 2026 (March) and other 2026 events are also listed.

Musical Style

Dios works within J-pop, J-rock and Japanese indie, with each member covering multiple roles. Their work leans conceptual and experimental: CASTLE was built around the idea of a phantom castle summoned by music, then expanded into a virtual space and a remix EP featuring multiple artists. ＆疾走 explores themes of confronting oneself while pushing forward.