LOVE BITES INTERVIEW

First bursting out onto the metal scene in August of 2017 with their self-titled The Lovebites EP and subsequent debut album Awakening From Abyss, Japanese quintet LOVEBITES have since quickly established themselves as the latest in a long line of bands on the verge of crossing-over into worldwide attention, with a stylish, neo-classical-infused take on power metal that’s been making waves across the metal world over the last 12 months; bagging themselves festival slots at prestigious events like Bloodstock and Wacken, along with a Metal Hammer Golden Gods award nomination for Best New Band in the process. Ahead of the release of their latest EP, Battle Against Damnation, we had the opportunity to put some questions to the whole band and find out a bit more about the record, their influences and what’s coming up in their immediate future.

At the time of writing, we’re around two weeks away from the release of Battle Against Damnation – how excited are you for your fans to finally get to hear this record?

Asami (vocals): We’re so happy to finish work on this EP and to have the opportunity not only to release it overseas, but also to be able to play it live this summer at Wacken and Bloodstock!

There’s a lot of what sounds like classic British heavy metal influences on this record, particularly the likes of IRON MAIDEN on songs like The Crusade; as well as what sounds like a lot of European power metal across most of the record. Were there any particular bands you were inspired by as you went into the songwriting for this release?

Mi-Ya (guitar/keyboards): There are a lot of British, European and American metal bands we admire, but for this EP there were two particular names that I was thinking of while writing; these were Ireland’s Gary Moore and Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The guitar solo in the middle of Break The Wall was written with Moore in mind; when I think of a bluesy guitar sound I think of him.

Are there any tracks or specific moments on Battle Against Damnation that you’re especially proud of?

Mi-Ya: The final two songs of the EP. They are connected to each other and I wrote both as a kind of love letter to Rachmaninoff. I love his Piano Concerto No. 2 and I’ve dreamt of being able to play it on piano with the backing of a full orchestra one day, but my skill isn’t quite there yet. So instead I wanted to create a kind of ‘guitar concerto’, and this turned into the tracks Under The Red Sky and Above The Black Sea. For this reason, these two tracks are very personal and important to me.

This is obviously the band’s third proper release now, after your debut, THE LOVEBITES EP, and first album Awakening From Abyss both came out last year – how do you feel the band has progressed in the time since that first EP?

Miho (bass): Well, this is really our second proper release. THE LOVEBITES EP was more of a demo we made while trying to get signed, but the label who picked us up in Japan loved it so much they released it with proper mastering, and then we got a label overseas too who also released it. We celebrated our first-year anniversary last week, things have moved so fast in those 12 months! We never expected to be able to perform overseas so quickly, especially in London – it was a dream come true. And then being added to Wacken and Bloodstock! I’m so happy with what we could achieve in such a short time.

Obviously, one of the key things that sets LOVEBITES apart from some other Japanese bands is that your lyrics have almost always been entirely in English, with the exception of ‘Bravehearted’ from THE LOVEBITES EP – how early on in the formation of the band did you make that choice and do you think it’s helped a lot with gaining new fans around the world?

Miho: All of our favourite metal bands sing in English, it just feels natural we should sing in English too.

In the time since Awakening From Abyss came out, you’ve obviously been gaining a lot more attention from Western music press and fans, including getting nominated for “Best New Band” in Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods Awards 2018. Being quite a new band, how important is it to you that you’re already getting such recognition and high praise from critics and fans?

Miho: I’m so happy that we can be accepted by such prestigious metal institutions like Metal Hammer, Wacken and Bloodstock. Sometimes I doubted myself when creating this band, in Japan I could feel some negativity when I told people I wanted to make a proper metal band influenced by classic and modern bands. But in the end I don’t care, I love metal and this is the band I’ve always dreamed of being in. I’m so happy with others can enjoy our music too. Keep it metal!

Japanese heavy metal of all kinds always seems to have been a popular thing in Europe, first thanks to visual-kei styled acts like X JAPAN and DIR EN GREY, and more recently with heavier acts like CROSSFAITH, and even idol spinoff bands like BABYMETAL becoming hugely popular over here – what do you think it is that makes Japanese metal bands so interesting to foreign audiences around the world?

Midori (guitar): We have a lot of metal bands in Japan, but it’s only the ones at the top of their game that manage to be heard overseas, so of course they’re going to appeal to fans of the genre if the music is strong enough. Metal is metal.

In terms of live concerts, you’ve got a few shows in Japan coming up in June and July, and then you’re heading back over to Europe in August for both Bloodstock Festival here in the UK and Wacken Open Air in Germany – how does it feel to be playing at such huge festivals and what should people be expecting from a LOVEBITES live performance at those events?

Haruna (drums): We’ve come so far in just a year! It’s going to be a big challenge but I’m honoured to be in this position. I think you can expect a powerful metal performance from us with a strong stage presence.

Which of the new songs from Battle Against Damnation are you most looking forward to playing live?

Miyako: It’s gotta be The Crusade! Why? Two words; twin solos!”

Haruna: I’m looking forward to playing ‘Break The Wall’ live. It’s the most aggressive LOVEBITES song yet, and the verse is easy English to sing along with; ‘Die! By! My! Side!’, I’d be so happy to see fans sing this with their fists in the air.

What else is coming up for the band in the rest of 2018 and beyond?

Miho: We want to keep creating exciting and technically challenging music and play more and more shows!”

Is there any message you’d like to give to your fans and the readers of Distorted Sound Magazine?

Miho: Thank you Distorted Sound Magazine for being interested in writing about us, and thank you for reading the interview! We hope to see you with your fists in the air at one of our live shows someday soon.

Battle Against Damnation is set for release on June 8th via JPU Records.

WITHIN TEMPTATION: CONFIRA O SINGLE “DON’T PRAY FOR ME”

 

O Within Temptation, desde o lançamento do seu último disco de estúdio “Resist” – lançado no ano de 2019, vem lançando alguns singles, mas sem a informação de um próximo disco de estúdio.


Nesta sexta-feira (8), os holandeses lançaram o quarto single da série de lançamentos, “Don’t Pray For Me”, em todas as plataformas digitais, se juntando as faixas: “Entertain You”, “The Purge” e “Shed My Skin”, como os singles lançados pós “Resist”. As versões instrumentais, também estão disponíveis.



Sobre a faixa, a vocalista Sharon Den Adel, comentou: “‘Don’t Pray For Me’ luta contra a imposição de crenças e medos aos outros e testemunha a aceitação da própria jornada de todos. É um hino sobre aceitar o fato de que as crenças podem ser fluidas, múltiplas ou francamente: diferentes. A música é sobre permitir que as pessoas persigam seu próprio destino.”

Carlos Santana passa mal durante show nos EUA: “Desidratei e desmaiei”

O guitarrista mexicano Carlos Santana passou mal e desmaiou durante apresentação nessa terça-feira, 5 de julho, no estado americano de Michigan. O lendário compositor de hits como “Samba Pa Ti” e “Europa” passa bem e já soltou um comunicado em suas redes agradecendo aos fãs e explicando a situação.

“Para todos vocês, obrigado pelas suas preciosas orações. Cindy e eu estamos bem e pegando leve. Esqueci de beber água e comer, então desidratei e desmaiei. Bençãos e milagres para todos vocês”, escreveu o guitarrista.

O site da Blabbermouth publicou vídeo em que Carlos Santana aparece em pleno palco passando mal e logo é socorrido. Um representante do músico publicou declaração dizendo que Santana foi conduzido ao hospital

HÄLLAS - ISLE OF WISDOM

 

Sherman, to the Wayback Machine! Set the date for '72 Britain. While Hällas are Swedish, the sight/sounds are decidedly Seventies prog and the lyrics, while in English are often as difficult to discern as some of the thick UK dialects. Usually not a fan of that pompous and pretentious sound/era, but I really enjoy Hällas (especially live), despite their proggy affinity. Perhaps it's the fact that only the disc closer exceeds seven minutes, the music never truly venturing down the rabbit hole, periodically pulled from the brink by more hard rock/metal sensibilities.

Still (sadly) a relative unknown on these shores, for the last decade, Europe, and their retro-loving homeland, have enjoyed the trio of previous releases (initial eponymous Ep and a pair of connected full-lengths), melding together synthesizers, guitar hard rock and adventurous sci-fi narrative. Must be that omnipresent ABBA influence, as the seemingly incongruous mix retains an infectious, sing-along quality.

Sounding as if an intergalactic vessel is touching down, an instrumental Moog interlude kicks off the otherwise lyrical "Birth Into Darkness", a staccato stomp (bassist Tommy Alexandersson repeatedly delivers the creepy line, "Into darkness"), until the final third, where a joyous keyboard bounce takes the melody home. It melts into more spirited "Advent Of Dawn", built around a simple, repetitive ditty. The rest is just embellishment, including a crashing guitar break. Buried within the proud strut of "Earl's Theme", the keys mimic a brass horns fanfare.

While none of the eight inclusions could be classified as speedy, the lone slow down being "The Inner Chamber", which begins like medieval madrigal, then eventually progresses to an airy/spaced out synth jam. A steady bass rumbling, guitar drive forms the backbone of "Elusion's Gate", augmented by the warm, fuzzy synth sounds. Not much elaboration in its 4:05 running time. The same is not true of "Gallivants (Of Space)" an infectious (and slightly aggressive, in terms of tempos and tones) romp, with plenty of old school keyboards (even a bit of a showcase/solo)! The slow drone of sustained organ notes backs "Stygian Depths", a quick, recurrent run of high pitched synth shattering the calm. "The Wind Carries The World" finale is all encompassing, and at 7:19, is afforded ample room to investigate all textures (timing, pace/tempo, sounds, instrumentation,etc.). However, it's not a kitchen-sink approach to songwriting. No, despite the experimentation, it retains a cohesion and the omnipresent sense of melody inherent elsewhere/throughout.

ORCUS O DIS: MEXICANOS LANÇAM O ÁLBUM “POST MORTEM” E LÝRIC VÍDEO PARA A MÚSICA “BURN IN HELL”

A banda mexicana Orcus O Dis, lançou no último dia 1 de julho o seu novo trabalho, o álbum intitulado “Post Mortem”. Contando com 7 música se apresentando um Death Metal pesado, agressivo e melódico, que conta com elementos sinfônicos muito bem utilizados, o trabalho já se encontra disponível para audição nas principais plataformas de streaming. Para divulgar o álbum, foi lançado um lyric vídeo para a música “Burn in Hell”, que pode ser conferido abaixo.

METALLICA HAD TO GIVE STRANGER THINGS SHOWRUNNERS CLEARANCE FOR USE OF "MASTER OF PUPPETS" IN SEASON 4 FINALE - "THE BAND SIGNED OFF ON THE PITCH

We Got This Covered is reporting that much like Kate Bush seeing a resurgence thanks to “Running Up That Hill” featuring prominently in the first part of Stranger Things season 4, Metallica has been given a huge boon from part two.

“Master Of Puppets”, originally released in 1986, has been given a second run at life thanks to Netflix’s hit original series. 36 years on, zoomers are all over Metallica’s iconic heavy metal track. The first-ever metal song to be selected by the Library of Congress for preservation, it’s now being preserved in streaming charts the world over.

According to a report by Variety, the show’s music supervisor, Nora Felder, explains that executive producers Matt and Ross Duffer — a.k.a. the Duffer brothers — had woven the song into the script during pre-production.

“It was another one of those ‘it has to be this song,’ moments,” Felder says. “This part of the story was anticipated to be a pivotal and especially hair-raising scene in which Eddie heroically stood tall for the fight of his life. I believe the Duffer Brothers felt that playing ‘Master Of Puppets’ throughout the extended scene was the clear choice. No other song was discussed further, and we jumped in to clear it straight away."

When it came to securing the needle drop, all clearances had to go directly through the band. She says, “I got in touch with Metallica’s management office and carefully went over the scene and what the intent would be. I knew the clearance would be taken seriously as we had used one of their songs (‘The Four Horsemen’) in season 2 and had learned at that time that they were fans of the show. ‘Master Of Puppets’ is a pretty significant song in their catalog, and I think it’s considered a favorite in their live shows. I wanted to be respectful in making sure that Metallica fully understood what context the song was being used in, plus how integral it was to the scene and for this exciting new character, Eddie Munson, who no one had met yet in previous seasons.”

The band signed off on the pitch.

Read the complete report here.

Season four’s dramatic finale aired on July 1, and the song is currently sitting at #26 on Spotify’s Top 50 - Global chart. Sitting much further ahead is “Running Up That Hill” which tops the charts still, a month on from the first part of season four.

JINJER: BAIXISTA CONCEDE ENTREVISTA SOBRE O QUE TESTEMUNHOU DURANTE A GUERRA NA UCRÂNIA, SEU PAÍS NATAL

A banda de metal ucraniana Jinjer fez seu primeiro show ao vivo desde a invasão russa de seu país natal em 10 de junho, na edição deste ano do Greenfield Festival , que foi realizado em Interlaken, na Suíça. O show aconteceu poucos dias depois que foi anunciado que a banda havia recebido permissão das autoridades para deixar sua nação devastada pela guerra e fazer uma turnê pela Europa neste verão como embaixadores do país. Perguntado em uma nova entrevista com o Chaoszine da Finlândia como tem sido para ele e seus companheiros de banda estarem de volta ao palco depois de todos os eventos tumultuosos das últimas semanas, o baixista do JINJER Eugene Abdukhanov disse:
"Bem, tem seus prós e contras. Por um lado, estar no palco para este set de 45 [minutos], 50 [minutos] ou uma hora é a terapia perfeita para mim, e é a única vez que posso esquecer a guerra - apenas tocando música e me conectando com a multidão. Porque todas as outras vezes, meu humor realmente sobe e desce constantemente - ele oscila para frente e para trás, para frente e para trás. E posso me sentir absolutamente bem em um ponto, mas depois de alguns minutos estou totalmente deprimido - deprimido do jeito que mal consigo agir. E ser capaz de tocar é de finitivamente uma cura."

De acordo com Eugene , o apoio de seus amigos e fãs tem sido esmagador.
"Fui bombardeado com mensagens de texto - todos os meus amigos, que estavam apenas verificando como as coisas [estavam] com todos. Recebi um monte de mensagens de fãs de todo o mundo. Mas de alguma forma conseguimos superar isso."


Três meses atrás, a JINJER lançou novos designs de mercadorias para ajudar a arrecadar fundos para apoiar seu país. Em abril, o esforço resultou em mais de US$ 150.000 arrecadados, com os rendimentos definidos para serem distribuídos diretamente para organizações de caridade da escolha da JINJER .

Você pode obter as duas camisetas aqui .

No início de março, Abdukhanov disse à BBC News que havia abandonado seu trabalho diário para se concentrar na crise humanitária imediata. Ele acrescentou que estava trabalhando no estabelecimento de uma instituição de caridade “para ajudar os militares, para ajudar os civis” e logo se juntaria a seus amigos na administração de um abrigo que fornece “abastecimento de alimentos, água [e] proteção” para as pessoas deslocadas pelo conflito.

Sobre como os fãs do JINJER reagiram à invasão da Ucrânia, Eugene disse na época:
"Recebi alguns textos de nossos fãs russos, pedindo desculpas e dizendo que eles são definitivamente contra isso... tentando justificar isso. Mesmo que algumas pessoas tenham essa posição militarista, elas têm vergonha de não mencionar isso para mim."