Kawakita Ryo

Ryo has played guitar since junior high school, and as a child, was heavily influenced by punk, metal, and hard rock bands, whose influenced are shown today in his playing. Ryo joined MAXIMUM THE HORMONE after the band had released their first album under an independent label, A.S.A. Crew in 1998. When former guitarist SUGI had left the band, he joined after a proposition from his older sister, the band's drummer and co-founder, Kawakita Nao. Ryo's involvement in the band after his recruitment drastically changed both the sound and image of MAXIMUM THE HORMONE. Where previously, band frontman Tsuda Daisuke would write lyrics, majority of which would be in English, Ryo now became the main lyricist for the band, writing all lyrics and becoming a vocalist for the band as well. Ryo would also now take over full composition of the band's music, creating a completely different sound from what was heard in their first album.