SIAM SHADE is a Japanese rock and visual kei band from Tokyo. Its history dates back to 1991, and it was formed under the name SIAM SHADE in 1993. After an initial period that included A（EI）, the five-piece line-up of 栄喜, KAZUMA, DAITA, NATIN, and 淳士 was completed in May 1994.
The band's music combined hard rock energy with heavy guitar work and melodic hooks. Anthemic choruses and emotional intensity were central to its sound, alongside twin guitars, twin vocals, and technically precise performances. That placed SIAM SHADE in Japan's 1990s rock scene, and its releases on Sony Music Entertainment Japan carried that sound into the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In 1994, the band's first album, "SIAM SHADE," reached No. 2 on the Oricon indies chart. It made its major-label debut with the single "RAIN" on October 21, 1995. In 1997, it released "1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou (1/3の純情な感情)," the ending theme for Rurouni Kenshin, which reached No. 3 on the Oricon weekly singles chart and became one of the group's signature songs.
SIAM SHADE played Yokohama Arena on January 1, 2000, and gave its first Nippon Budokan concert on December 28, 2001. The band disbanded after a final Budokan show on March 10, 2002.
It reunited for a one-night Nippon Budokan concert on November 18, 2007, then returned for earthquake-relief charity shows in 2011. In 2012, it released "SIAM SHADE SPIRITS 1993," and a tour followed in 2013. Its 20th-anniversary concerts in 2015 and 2016 concluded with a final Nippon Budokan performance on October 20, 2016.
