High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Black Mages were a Japanese instrumental rock band formed in 2002 by Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito - three composers for Square Enix. The band arranged Uematsu`s Final Fantasy video game series-based compositions in a rock style often similar to progressive metal, achieved with the additional use of synthesizers. Since its inception, the band had expanded to six members with the addition of Keiji Kawamori, Michio Okamiya and Arata Hanyuda. On August 7, 2010, Nobuo Uematsu announced the band had disbanded, but he would continue to perform rock arrangements of his music as a part of another band, the Earthbound Papas.