The letters stand for THE CHUNK LEGEND. The band is from Yokohama, and one of its two singers is a name that many readers outside Japan will already know.

Two Singers

T.C.L has two vocalists, both founding members.

KYONO was the vocalist of THE MAD CAPSULE MARKETS, and later fronted WAGDUG FUTURISTIC UNITY from 2007 to 2011.

YAMADA came from GERONIMO and UNDOWN, and also plays in DEATHBONG.

The lineup listed in March 2026 is completed by UMATATE on guitar, who joined about eight years earlier as a support player, pins (also known as ILL DES PINS) on bass, and KEN on drums, in a second stint with the band.

What Kind of Band

The descriptions do not agree, which is a fair sign of how the band sounds to different listeners. CDJournal files T.C.L as an alternative rock and hardcore band. Japanese Wikipedia calls it hardcore punk. A punk website describes music built on thrash and hardcore. The English Wikipedia entry on KYONO calls it a metalcore supergroup.

The Records

The start date is given as around 2005 in one source and as a first show in 2006 in another. The band treats 2026 as its twentieth anniversary.

  • DEMOSTRUCTION, a demo sold only at shows, November 2007
  • Tremendous CLassixx, the first album, March 2013, on MUFFIN RECORDS
  • “NEW BEGINNING” and “RAISE UP,” digital, September 2014
  • The Cecond Lp, the second album, October 2016, MUFFIN RECORDS

In May 2015 the band restarted with a new lineup, billed as “新生T.C.L,” the new T.C.L. After the tour for the second album it paused for a year or two, and the pandemic pushed the restart back further.

INVADE

The comeback record was a split. On 8 March 2026 T.C.L and the Osaka band MINOR LEAGUE released INVADE, a 12-inch on LONG ISLAND RECORDS and MUFFIN RECORDS. T.C.L’s songs are “Sickness Sweeping” and “Trespass.”

The pairing had history. YAMADA’s old band GERONIMO had been MINOR LEAGUE’s partner on a split CD back in 1997.

In April 2026 the two bands toured with DESSERT, from Machida to Nagoya, Osaka and Shibuya.

Twenty Years

T.C.L runs its own event, FREAK OUT SHOW. Vol.19 is billed as the T.C.L 20th ANNIVERSARY, at BAYSIS in Kanagawa on 5 December 2026.

Why It Matters

A band with a famous singer can easily become a side note to that singer’s old group. T.C.L has been a working band with two frontmen for two decades, and its 2026 record was a split with the band that YAMADA’s old group GERONIMO had shared a record with in 1997.

Start with “Trespass” from INVADE, then Tremendous CLassixx.