zilch is formed by hide when he decided to try to break into the international markets. As such, it consists largely of Western musicians.
V&G. hide / G. Ray McVeigh / B. Paul Raven / D. Joey Castillo
By the end of 1996, nearly half of their debut album is recorded, although it is postponed by their label, cutting edge, due to its controversial lyrics. This is also the case for their first music video they created, "ELECTRIC CUCUMBER", which, according to hide, was filmed in 1996, although it was not released until early 1998 due to the label's reservations about its topic matter.
DJ. I.N.A. joins.
V&G. hide / G. Ray McVeigh / B. Paul Raven / D. Joey Castillo / D. I.N.A
hide passes away at age 33, thus leaving zilch's future in limbo.
zilch decide to go on without hide, and gather support from numerous artists both domestically in Japan and overseas.
Although never official, guitarist Ray McVeigh starts becoming the de-facto new primary vocalist of zilch. Bassist Paul Raven also leaves around this point.
V&G. Ray McVeigh / D. Joey Castillo / D. I.N.A
zilch release their second full length album, and first without hide, "Skyjin", which features bass support from J and Duff McKagan of Guns 'n Roses fame. It also features musical guests Maki Fujii from SOFT BALLET, as well as rappers Kool Keith and Ol' Dirty Bastard. A guitar track from hide is also on "HIDE AND SEEK", presumably one of his last before his passing. Despite the high budget behind "Skyjin", the album suffered from mediocre reception both critically and commercially, reaching number 33 on the Oricon charts, compared to their album with hide, 1998's "3.2.1", which reached number 5.
The remaining members of zilch decide to disband
Former bassist Paul Raven passes away of a heart attack at the age of 46.
zilch was a non-vkei band. They were active from 1995 to 2002 and are now disbanded.