D-MAD DEVIL
D-Mad Devil is a solo music project by Daichi, an artist based in Osaka, Japan, since 2018, with roots in early 2010s metalcore and post-hardcore.
Daichi started writing metalcore songs using some MIDI VST plugins on his computer in June 2018. He uploaded demo tracks to YouTube under the name "D-Mad Devil." After that, he continued writing more songs in the early 2010s post-hardcore style and uploading them. The songs received positive feedback from his small Twitter following.
In May 2019, Daichi wanted to take his music to the next level. He reached out to Christian Grey, the vocalist of Villain of the Story, whom he admired, to feature vocals on one of his songs. Daichi had a song designed for Christian's vocals and sent him the demo. Christian described the song as a "diamond in the rough" and offered not only to feature his vocals but also to co-write the song with Daichi. This was Daichi's first opportunity to work with a professional artist. He worked with Lee Albrecht, the guitarist of Hollow Front, for mixing and mastering the song to ensure it was done properly. On September 28th, he released the single "Giving It Everything (feat. Christian Grey)" on all major music platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), marking the beginning of his journey as a solo artist.
In November 2019, Daichi began working on his debut EP (6 songs) as a new project and co-wrote the first song of the EP with Christian again. The collaboration was deeper than the previous single, and Daichi learned more about songwriting from Christian. Daichi then contacted Kuan Chang Chiu of Strong Tones Studio in Taiwan for mixing and mastering to achieve a more unique sound, deciding to hire him for the whole EP's production. On April 3rd, 2020, he released the first song, "Holding On," off the EP as a single, which received more reactions than ever before. From spring 2020 to early 2021, he continued working on writing the rest of the EP's songs with Christian.
Despite many schedule delays due to the pandemic, the long-awaited debut EP was finally completed in spring 2021. The EP, titled "One With the Darkness," was released on June 4th.
In 2022, Daichi began working on his new album project. As with the debut EP, he collaborated with Christian Grey on songwriting but worked with new producers from Will Carlson Audio for production. At the end of 2022, he released a brand new single, "Wither," as the start of a new chapter, which received highly positive responses and was featured on one of Spotify's biggest official metal playlists, "All New Metal."
In 2023, Daichi received label interest and signed with Theoria Records (home to bands like A Scent Like Wolves, Softspoken, etc.). He released a new single, "Who I Am (feat. Christian Grey)," alongside the signing announcement. The song and its music video marked the deepest collaboration between Daichi and Christian yet.
His highly anticipated first album, "Legacy of the Devil," was released on May 24th, 2024. The album featured the lead track "Legacy," featuring Randy Pasquarella from If I Were You. It was again featured on the "All New Metal" playlist, holding the #19 position, and on another official playlist, "Fresh Metal," on Amazon Music (#4 position) during a week when many major metal artists, such as Bring Me the Horizon, BABYMETAL, Electric Callboy, and Black Veil Brides, also released new music.
