Dead End (band)

Dead End
Dead End circa late 1987, from left to right: Minato, Joe, Morrie, You.
Background information
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Heavy metal hard rock
Years active	1984–1990, 2009–2015
Labels	Night Gallery Victor Invitation BMG Victor Danger Crue Motorod Metal Blade (NA)
Past members	Motoyuki "Morrie" Ōtsuka Tadashi "Crazy Cool Joe" Masumoto Takahiro Kagawa Masaaki Tano Yuji "You" Adachi Masafumi Minato
Website	dead-end.jp

Dead End (stylized as DEAD END) was a Japanese heavy metal/hard rock band formed in Tokyo in late 1984. Following the release of their debut album Dead Line in 1986, the classic lineup of vocalist Morrie, bassist Crazy Cool Joe, guitarist You and drummer Minato was solidified in May 1987. They released three more studio albums and were one of few Japanese metal bands to have international exposure in the United States during the eighties,^[1] before dissolving in 1990.

Dead End reunited in 2009 after almost two decades and released the album Metamorphosis. Although he recorded the drums for the album, Minato declined to participate in the reunion beyond that. The remaining three members of the band continued to tour and record until 2015. Main composer You died unexpectedly in June 2020, and Morrie and Joe expressed doubt on having any future activity as Dead End as a result.

Although they achieved only limited commercial success in their homeland, Dead End had a significant impact on its rock scene, influencing numerous musicians in, or related to, the developing visual kei scene in the 1990s. Specifically, Morrie who inspired the visual appearance and rough vocal style of many prominent singers.