Pop 'n' Cute - Harajuku Kawaii Fashion and Music Event Report (AkihabaraNews.com)

Squee! the System 
Mainstream Japanese society is boring. One could argue that mainstream society globally is never exciting, but the homogenous nature and stubborn adherence to routines and social hierarchies make this island nation particularly dull.

Being that it's a free country, however, those individuals who don’t fancy themselves following the herd don’t have to. As a result of the extremely dull mainstream, the subcultures that have formed in reaction to it are equally, albeit inversely extreme. And thats the stuff that we tend to associate with Japan.

The Harajuku Kawaii Scene is one such subculture, and at the POP'N'CUTE event at Shibuya Milkyway on May 24th 2014, we got to experience it first hand.

Read the rest here... 
 Do it. I rate this as one of my best pieces since my Otaku Magazine days. got 3 videos and a craptonne of kawaii pictures too.

Sexpot Night 2013-08-24

edited: 2013-09-24 Mixed up Nowhere Divine's Bassist and Guitarist's names. Thanks Mike ;)

I have been buds with Ryo from Sexpot Revenge for a while now. He always invites me to these events of his on FB and whenever I meet him in moshpits or at the store he keeps asking when I intend to attend one. When I was in Gunma however, getting here wasn't the easiest task.... Now I haven't got that excuse anymore

Loud Park 2012 (Saitama Super Arena) LIVE REPORT

"The heaviest metal festival in Japan". Or so the slogan goes. Usually one would attribute the use of superlatives to marketing and be done with it, but this time… The slogan was quite accurate...

This is a long, brutal report… so get comfy before you hit the Jump.

UNDIVIDE One-Man Live Tour "SAME SIDE (BOYS ONLY)" live report

pic from the interwebs.

Undivide is Leda's (ex.DELUHI) new project. I heard the announcement at Sujk's live and have been waiting to see them since then.

I was planning to go to their tour final on the 26th and group it in with Loud Park 12 but when i checked their live schedule and noticed that they were having a boys only lave the week before.

Buck Tick ON PARADE 2012 <LIVE REPORT> PART 2

continued from here.

I spent the evening in a hotel on on Dougenzaka hill with my cat and the next day she joined me at the festival. It was raining out so we hit up the Shibuya Don Quijote to get some clothes and got on the train to Tokyo, then Chiba. I got a rain coat from a guy selling them on the walk to the venue but I only used it to walk there. 

Once we got in I realised that whether I sweat under the plastic or get rained on I was going to be soaked anyway so I gave the coat to the cat and went Woodstock. The weather however DID mean that I didn't have my phone on me and so no guerrilla photography was done.

report after the jump ;)

Buck Tick ON PARADE 2012 <LIVE REPORT> PART 1

On a rapidly warming Saturday morning I took the train bound for Chiba. There were the usual disney tourists in their mickey mouse shirts. There were the gamers and otaku on their way to the Tokyo Game show. Then there were the band shirts, the black clothes, the big hair and the clashing colours. 

As we passed the mass market distractions and their consumers had dis-embarked they were all that was left.

They… We were heading to Chiba Port Park for Buck Tick's 25th anniversary. The Buck Tick Fest. On Parade 2012. and what a spectacular festival it was!

exist†trace - Just Like a Virgin - Shibuya O-WEST 2012/06/23 - ONE MAN - LIVE REPORT

On that Saturday we arrived in Shibuya to meet a friend and her colleague from my crazy goth/industrial clubbing days back in SA. Our intent was to see Artema at Shibuya Aube. Due to delays, when we finally made it, Artema had played and the venue was sold out. Dejected, we decided to walk around Shibuya a bit, giving the tourists a taste of my favorite part of Tokyo. We strolled up the club row in Dougenzaka to see that exist†trace was having their Just Like a Virgin One Man. I had completely forgotten that they were playing or we would have rushed there sooner. As they say, better late than pregnant.

We paid our yens and entered a rather packed O-West in time to catch the last 9 songs or so. It was money very well spent. exist†trace have always been an awesome band. I have been a fan of theirs from back in the Annunciation - The Heretic Elegy days and my support has not wavered. I have however not seen them live in a long ass time. I had forgotten just how good they were. Especially live. The show must have been great value for money as we arrived just before halfway and that was still a full show by many live's standards. They had a level of stamina that many hardcore bands would be jealous of.

This is the first time I ever heard any of their new stuff. They have matured and so has their sound. You can see that they are exploring the new musical ideas as one would expect of independent musicians. It would seem that at least sound wise, they have given themselves more room to grow. The fact that their label lets them do this shows that they are valued quite a bit above the growing number of all girl VK bands. To be fair, the only reason all girl VK is growing so fast is because bands like exist†trace laid the groundwork. It took long enough for them to break through the closed mindedness of many VK fans and allowed a slew of other bands to blossom in their wake. That said. For a band of their calibre it surprises me that they are still only playing venues the size of O-West. Quality wise they are easily O-East material.

In all it was a pleasant surprise. I had wanted to see them again and I got my chance. I could also enjoy the live with my lady. I could introduce Japanese Rock and a side of Japan most tourists (who aren't already fans) never see to my friend and her colleague with one of the better acts out there.



For photos and a Japanese report check here.

Posted with Blogsy

VERSAILLES spring tour 2012 @Takasaki ClubFLEEZ 2012-05-20 LIVE REPORT

The first time I saw Versailles was at the Chateau du Versailles tour final a long arse time ago... The last time I saw them was before they officially announced Masashi as their bassist That was pretty damn spectacular, but since then, I have been to some even more amazing live events and while the memory of the first time will never fade, the impact has since been superseded by the likes of Children of Bodom, BLOOD STAIN CHILD and Deluhi. On the 20th of May 2012, Versailles struck back!

ARCH ENEMY Japanese Khaos Tour –Yokohama Blitz 2012-04-14 LIVE REPORT

I saw Arch Enemy live!

Essentially that sums up the whole live … but you can click the Jump if you want more details!

Sujk「Arkhelism Live」(2012-04-07) Report

Super live theatre AREA in Takadanobaba was a place I have never been before. A place I may have never have gone if it were not for the former drummer of DELUHI’s side project.

Yes. All of you who listen to my streaming radio show, or listen to Visual Kei should know how mind spankingly amazing DELUHI was. It was rough when they broke up. Every song of theirs i listened to reminded me of all the times i had seen them live and all the times I would never see them live again. Then Sujk made Arkhelism. Though despite being an awesome album, hearing Juri’s voice and Leda’s guitars supporting Sujk’s barrage always stirred a little self pity. When a friend was over from SA we listened to the album together and commiserated all the wasted potential and live shows that were never to be had when a random search on Google turned up info on a series of live shows to promote Sujk’s solo project. I fired up eplus and got my ticket well fast.

The show started off like many DELUHI shows did, with a recorded interview which explained the name “Arkhelism”and had a cameo by Sujk’s silly death voice alter ego. Insignificant crap IMHO but it was nice because it reminded me off all the epic lives that had come before.

When the curtains opened however, The real fun began. They played every song on the album and even played “believer” twice (once in the encore) Juri was the only other member of DELUHI who performed in the live project, even though Leda did do some guitar work on the album. Guitars were shredded by Tatsuaki Sakai from MI-RO-KU, bass was tickled by Yushi Tsuchiya from Twilight NEO and secondary vocals and samples were handled by #14 from DEFINE STRICT. The music was tight and well performed and the songs came alive in ways that not even an album as good as Arkhelism could capture. The small venue and the rough, unpolished informality of the event made it more real than any DELUHI show ever was, and I am willing to bet that connection between the band and the fans was the reason they played above and beyond anything I would have expected them capable of.

“The bass drum dictated the my heart rate and the rest of my body wanted desperately to follow…”

Sujk wrote and arranged everything and so the drumming stands out a whole lot more than most other bands. In fact tit was probably the first drum driven hardcore I have ever seen in Japan. That said, The execution was way better than a lot of the drum driven international acts I have heard (admittedly I have not seen any live before) Regardless. the drums were tight, hard and most importantly, could be felt more than heard. The drum solos were precise tight and surprisingly creative. I have never been a huge fan of drums and honestly have never been interested by drum solos before. Not even the DELUHI ones. There was something about his drumming this time that stirred me in ways that only the guitar and bass have done up to this point in my life. The bass drum dictated the my heart rate and the rest of my body wanted desperately to follow.

Juri’s vocals were on par with the drumming. In short. It is the best vocal performance I have ever seen him give, seeing as it was the final show in the Arkhelism Live tour, I am willing to bet it was truly his best performance EVER. I have been to all but 2 of DELUHI’s bigger tour finals and I have seen the DVD of at least one of those that I missed. Juri hit notes I never knew he could and held them. He was approaching Daniel Heiman heights at one or two points. Yes he was pushing his voice to the limits. The passion on his face while he was singing showed he was at his max, but it held. and it held well. His screams to were more varied than I have ever heard. Any points that sounded like recording tricks or mixes on the CD he actually screamed. I doubt he would have explored the extremities of his voice this well had it not been for the solo project, as there were more than a few times where he sounded amazing but nothing like DELUHI. No recording could ever capture it. No report could ever truly describe it.

“they could not only harmonise their screams, but hold the harmony while they varied their pitch…”

Juri was not alone in the vocal onslaught however. #14 was my favourite surprise of the show. He had a deeper more traditional hardcore scream than Juri and he does not come from a big band with a large pack of fans that need to be pleased. He had a more  brutal hardcore edge that I liked about the Arkhelism CD the first time I heard it. He made it proper metal. My metal. Having him there also created something that I had never seen performed successfully in a Japanese band before (and very few international ones do it well at that)… The scream harmony. Juri and #14 Their different tones and professional control of their screams mean they could not only harmonise their screams, but hold the harmony while they varied their pitch. I doubt this is anything new but It was the first time I have seen it executed this well live while still retaining all the passion and energy that comes with the one off live experience. I also like # 14 a little more because he seemed to be singling out, making eye contact and showing the horns to all the actual metal fans in the audience (myself included). My domo-kun shirt didn’t scream metal-head but all warriors of steel know who their true brothers and sisters are.

Guitars and bass were support. They were not bad, Not at all, but Tatsuaki and Yushi were not quite big band skill level. Not yet. but there was precision and professionalism which counted for a whole lot. I felt the guitar was probably the weakest link but despite that he never once let the music down. Because the drums were in the driving seat and they were perfect you could overlook the places where the guitars were just not Leda. If he was, it might have been too much awesome in one place though. As it is, It took more strength and willpower to hold back storm than I knew I had.

If Leda was there and on par with Sujk and Juri, I would have had no choice but to release the beast. Sadly the crowd was not one that would understand, nor one that would be capable of sustaining a pit to match the power of the music. The venue was also laid out in a way that promoted herd mentality synchronised actions that plague VK (it’s ok to be different as long as everyone is the same different at the same time). I daresay though, even if there was a mosh to be had, there was not enough actual space to get fluid movement. It’s OK though, I have stored the energy up and will unleash it to ARCH ENEMY at Yokohama Blitz this Saturday. Blitz indeed.

Yes… Arkhelism Live.

“Yo from Matenrou Opera made a guest appearance and he brought with him his 6 string bass”

The real treats came with the encore. As they usually do. Those that care (and many do for some reason) will be pleased to know that Juri got a cake for his birthday. Yes that is a big deal to many of the online fans it seems. More important though as the man who brought it out. Yo from Matenrou Opera made a guest appearance and he brought with him his 6 string bass (with the cool LEDs on the neck) While he is no Masashi or Yu-To (That's Leda’s other name) He can still rip it um pretty damn well. With him on stage they tore up a cover of “Battery” by Metallica. This was epic on many levels. Firstly, as Juri explained before they played. It is a very famous song, but not everyone in the room that night would know it. I love it when VK artists show their true colours and I love it more then their rabid fans are taken by surprise. Which is what happened. Battery being Battery, every metalhead in the room was psyched while the hyenas looked desperately to the stage for directions on how to wiggle their fingers. Mainly however, it was a testament to Sujk’s drumming. because even with Juri’s amazing voice. He is no James Hetfield. Sujk however would have made Lars Ulrich jump out of his skin. Yes. He is that good a drummer. He just never got to show it until DELUHI broke up.

Which is why I am stoked. Yes the show marked the end of the lives associated with Sujk’s solo project. While there may be more in the works it wont be here for a while and the band will likely be different. But there will be more lives. Leda has announced his solo project which should be equally amazing. Who knows. Maybe Juri has something in the pipe of his own as well. DELUHI may be no more but the talent, power and sheer awesome that they brought to music will continue.

Love Rock 4 @ Trust 55–Takasaki (2011-10-09) Live Report of sorts… PART 2

 

Continued from here.

So having built up a charge of energy worthy of a metal show far beyond that which I had expected for a show of this size. I waited to see if the following band would do anything to let me release that charge…

In two words… FU*K YES!

Love Rock 4 @ Trust 55–Takasaki (2011-10-09) Live Report of sorts… PART 1

We just had another long weekend in Japan and slap bang in the middle of it was another one of those big small live festivals at Trust 55 in Takasaki. After making so many friends the last time, I knew my lady and I would have fun at this event. I was right…

Beyond The End Of Tears vol.2 LIVE REPORT (2011-09-17)

My lady told me about a live that her underclassman was performing in and mentioned that Flowers for the Broken Spirit was going to be playing. It coincided with the information given to me by their guitarist when I chatted to them at the Blood Stain Child live a few weeks before… The one I had said I would try my best to see.

It was decided then.

Blood Stain Child and others - CLUB FLEEZ Takasaki 2011-08-24. Live Report.

After the last time I saw Blood Stain Child, It was pretty obvious that I would be seeing them again. Getting to see them in my local however was quite the surprise! Even more so was the fact that they were with a bunch of really good support acts. The theme was female fronted hard rock. Apologies for the photo quality, I needed to snatch them with my iPhone...

Children of Bodom @ SHIBUYA AX June 2011 Live Report… Amorphis was there too :p

It has been too long since I have been to a decent live. I was looking at the COBHC site with my lady because I knew there was bound to be a tour for the new album “Relentless Reckless Forever” and the likelihood that they would come to Japan was high… As it turns out it was only 2 weeks away. Lucky me. I booked, head to the 7-11, played and picked up… I was going to see my favourite band live… AGAIN!

Rusty Note ~ Shibu Rock Fes 2011

I heard about this little event from a teacher who lives in Shibs but works in Annaka. He happens to be a guitarist as well. After never having time, I went to see his band at the Shibukawa Rock Festival … Since the mother had met him as well i took her and  we mad a morning of it.

EXTREME AGGRESSION #6 Kichijoji Crescendo *2010-12-18* live report

I have been looking for a Blood Stain Child live show for a long time. Being from Osaka and being famous in the west means that they don’t often come through to Tokyo, and the nature of the Metal industry in Japan means that When there are good lives they are not often at the most convenient times. When I found this event, I jumped on it.

It was one of those many band festival type events with BSC headlining. The downside was that BSC had a very short set, the upside is that i discovered 2 new bands.

full report after the jump.

Mad Metal Misdemeanors [2010-12-11] A live report of sorts

Last year around this time I went to a live show at a University in IIdabashi. I went through again this year to have an epic time partying to epic music with epic people. This year was no different. I just took waaay more pictures.

Hit the jump for the full report!

LOUD PARK 2010 ~ Part 4

Yeah

I haven’t forgotten… but it takes a long time to write up all this awesome.

If you haven’t read the rest, DO IT!!!!

Alexisonfire

Would have been more interesting if Alexis was actually on fire… whoever Alexis actually is. The band sounded like a conversation with the manager of the Pearl Drums stand and tasted like a Lotteria Supper. Hey. Since I discovered the wonders of one handed moshing to Turisas before this, I needed to pack in the power to continue the fight.

I heard them once on YouTube… didn’t care much for them. and after a power act like Turisas. It wasn’t worth the effort.

Kuni

With a full belly I returned to the seating area to watch some metal in comfort (I may be getting old, but I really like having comfy seating between moshes)

Kuni was, and for that matter, still is an anomaly to me. He is one of those monster Japanese metal legends from back in the day. and I DO mean LEGEND. He is a guitarist that gets a bunch of other awesome names in metal to occasionally form a band and perform.

“You could say he was

a metal Santana.”

Great metal. a bit too old school for me but it was enjoyable (since I had a comfy chair) I liked the act better than I liked Alexisonfire… but it wasn’t mind-blowing. Having said that… A few thousand fans did disagree with me. The stage was packed and the audience was generating some epic energy. Its possible that that's the reason I found watching them so enjoyable. Because honestly. They really are not my style.

Spiritual Beggars.

Wait WHAT??? Blasted hippies in bellbottoms singing about love. hehehe.

Yeah basically they were hippies that make metal. Its proper metal. just not my style.

Angra

What is it about Brazil and steel. They pump out power metal like a Thai hooker pumps out ping pong balls! And its damn good stuff! Ok so like the old school power puritans would probably call it crap but then ALL puritans (even metal ones) need to wake up and realise the world is turning.

“…long flowing hair blown around by stage fans”

Angra was power. Proper power. They even had the Stratovarius like power stance and long flowing hair blown around by stage fans. There was one member who didn’t have hair though. It would have gotten caught in his instrument. Yup they had a Violin. While violins in metal are not new I have never seen one so effectively used in power metal before. These guys were unreal. and they fed of the crowd more voraciously than any band at the festival… up to that point anyway..

MOTÖRHEAD

I  saw MOTÖRHEAD!!!!!!

When I think about this I wonder if it was real or if I was having some weird ass dream. I mean. On stage. Right there. Was THE MOTÖRHEAD. and they sounded excellent. When you see an artist with that reputation you expect top quality. Halford didn’t cut it. These guys flayed it! It was intense. They played a few new tracks but for me it was hearing all those classics that made them the legendary band that they they are.

I will be the first to admit that they are not nearly my favourite metal act. but they are quality.

Besides seeing Metal grannies screaming for Lemmy like high school girls was priceless.

Avenged Sevenfold

The last mosh of Loud Park 2010. While not the last mosh of the year I am going to be hard-pressed to find one on this scale the rest of this year so I had to give it my all. Sadly Avenged sevenfold lacks the power of some of the other bands that played but they were by no means weak. They got the circles going good.

The tone of their show was tempered by the loss of their drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan but the crowd fuelled their energy and it was a mix of power and remembrance.

They played a fair amount from their latest album ‘Nightmare’ which was known by the crowd but had skipped my attention while I have been here. It was impressive stuff. I feel it sounds a little more (for lack of a better word) mature than the earlier stuff. In the end it is up to you whether you like it or not… Me? I was 60/40 toward like but Loud Park being Loud Park I tended to gravitate toward genki over maturity.

“Avenged sevenfold lacks the power… but they were

by no means weak.”

Its ok. They played plenty of their classics.

I attempted to get the figure 8 pit going again but the fans were not as intense as the ones in 3 inches of blood. very few got the idea. even though it seemed like the only logical thing to do given the proximity of the two circles. I may have needed another usher to help guide the flow. It may have been the fact that A7X fans lack the will to break out of their comfort zones. Maybe they just aren’t insane. In the end I still had a great time.a and i kept the gap from clogging up with spectators with the occasional well placed charge…

Ozzy Ozbourne

Rob Halford may be the (self proclaimed) god of metal. But Ozzy IS the prince of darkness (and his new music is actually good).

What would be a synonym for Ozzy Osbourne?

I can’t think of just one. In fact I needed help from the web to make a list of enough words that mean Ozzy Osbourne.

alarming, astonishing, awe-inspiring, awful,beautiful, breathtaking, exalted,  fearsome, formidable, frantic, frightening, grand,  impressive, intimidating, magnificent,majestic, mind-blowing*, moving, overwhelming, shocking, something else, striking, stunning, stupefying, terrible,terrifying, wonderful, wondrous…   You get the idea.

You will get those who say ‘Oh I saw Ozzy at this and this festival and he was alright I suppose’ or things along those lines. In fact a number of people, when I asked them to come to loud park, said things just like that.

“…seeing someone as old as my dad on stage just having the time of his life was in itself worth the effort and money.”

They have many reasons why Ozzy is in some way not anything special. And to be fair, metal is such that he actually isn’t anything special. So he did a lot for the music but times change and I am all for the changing and evolving of metal as a musical force (yes I am growing up). But wow. He was amazing. and seeing someone as old as my dad on stage just having the time of his life was in itself worth the effort and money. Yeah ‘Iron Man’, ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Mr Crowly’ live did help some. Just a bit ;P

But yeah. People have said he is old and a bit of a fool. Which is true. His reality show didn’t really paint him in the best light (or rather just told the truth). But wow. I have never seen someone (aside from me :P ) having so much fun before. He was almost like a child in his delight.

He will never stop performing. He can never stop performing. He will likely die on stage to a packed house. I am honoured to have seen him and before he does. To have felt his energy. To have tasted the legend that he has built up. It was truly a spectacular experience.

<Part 1>  <Part 2>  <Part 3>  <Part 4>

LOUD PARK 2010 ~ Part 3

2010-10-17

3 Inches of Blood

“WAIT!!!!

CANADA MAKES

GOOD METAL!!??!!”

I actually made it to the arena on time despite having had almost no sleep and being terribly tired from the previous day’s shenanigans. I kinda went all out the day before without realising it. I had not regretted it…YET.

3 Inches of Blood was always going to be an epic kickoff I had heard their stuff before and was suitably impressed. The kicker was when they announced themselves and said that they were from Canada… WAIT!!!! CANADA MAKES GOOD METAL!!??!! And then I realised that just because every Canadian (well save a certain badass bar owner) I have met is a pussy in the music department (sorry Li, I love you but its true) it doesn’t mean that all of Canada is comprised of musical pussies. 
Clearly out there, somewhere brothers of steel reside in the soft cushy Canadian snows.
The band was epic. they got the circles teeming within 2 songs and they were big circles. so big that at the small choke point between the two sections in front of the stage was separated by only a small group of people. I saw opportunity for a smashing time. I linked up with another massive foreign guy and we double teamed the gap creating a small breach. we then funnelled the one half’s circle into the other and vive versa.
Moshpit engineering

WE MADE A FIGURE 8 PIT!

No joke. Thanks to the bizarre setup of barriers in front of the stage that prevented HUGE circles like last year, we managed to create a new form of pit.
You all missed it.
Yes.
It WAS EPIC!
but it took its toll…

Trash Talk

I messed up my already messed up elbow up.
It was not in good shape the day before but I actually pushed it to a point where the original injury couldn’t compare pain wise. It was dizzying. I could not move it. I thought I may have properly torn the ligaments this time. A sprain of note.
I couldn’t take it. I went to look for the medics to give me something to ease the hellfire. All I can say is that its was good thing that nothing serious happened in the way of injuries at Loud Park. They were WOEFULLY UNDERPREPARED for a medical emergency. It would be illegal in most other places to have something that big without proper paramedics on call. Usually there would be quite a few and an ambulance on call.

“the staff didn’t even know where the medical facilities were”

F@CKALL!!! NOT A SINGLE PARAMEDIC IN SIGHT! I was horrified. If someone had say, had an allergic reaction, Asthma attack, or something along those lines, they would have died. most of the staff didn’t even know where the medical facilities were let alone whether there were any. In the end they had to run to the bloody entrance to ask someone then get them on a radio then they took me there (getting lost 2 times). don 2 flights of stairs around countless corners in the bowels of the stadium before they took me to a tiny room with 1 doctor to average looking assistants and a dodgy bed. Admittedly all I wanted was a medical grade painkiller, and the magic patches that make muscle pain go away but what a mission.
I missed Trash Talk.
I didn’t care though, because they were rather too monotonous for my liking.

Halestorm

Lzzy Hale is HOT!!!!
now that I got that out of the way, on with the write up.
Think Jo Day. That's Halestorm. there was nothing really separating them and Jo Day musically, I prefer Halestorm just because Lzzy is my age and is hot (i may have mentioned that before)
Interesting fact, The drummer is her brother (hence the band name) they make good music to sit down and ease away the pain in my arm. Assisted by painkillers, magic patches and strawberry tapioca milkshake. In the end though the one thing that really stood out about them was the fact that Lzzy Hale is HOT! I will listen to them ,but they are nowhere on my lets buy their music list. Take a listen. Many of you will like them I’m sure.

Reckless Love

Hair metal from the 80s is awesome Hair metal from now is not so much. especially when the band in question hasn’t actually done anything new. Sure they play their own songs and have many a fan in Japan, but really. Hair metal is dead. It had its heyday, and we all love it, we just don’t need and don’t want any more.
I must say though they did have the VK boygirl thing down pat and as a result the front of their stage was teeming with hyena but honestly musically, VK has waaaay more to offer.
I was still in pain though so I fired up the electronic copy of The latest Honorverse novel and got me some real entertainment… and another Strawberry Tapioca milkshake (It was good milkshake, They used real full cream cow juice.)
Yeah
I was not particularly phased by them.

Turisas

Still not really able to use the arm, moved to the seating area closest to the stage for Turisas. the band I was looking forward to the most. The band who’s shirt I bought and was wearing. The fans were chanting long before the sound checks were over. They walked onto the stage to a thunderous roar that I was surprised to hear. Flaming testicles on a sick!!! they are popular in Japan!!!
They began with ‘To holmgard and beyond’. The circles were up and spinning before the first verse was through. I watched. I craved. I headbanged and by the 2nd chorus I couldn’t take it any more. How the hell could I sit on the side for this? Screw sanity and screw the certain injury I was about to cause… I stormed up the stairs around and back down through the crowd of stragglers at the back forcing my way to the front all before the 3rd verse was done.
HOLMGARD AND BEYOND! I entered the fray in time for the last chorus.
The one handed stance was developed. The festival held promise once more. I was charged up with a fury that Bryan would have been proud of. With one hand I not only enjoyed but also dominated the pit I was in. The inevitable ego boost only made the pit better.
Turisas played brilliant music but they also fed of the massive support they had. They got better and so did the atmosphere. I know I can only say “They were so damn good” so many times but they truly were. They made all of the first day look like a warm-up. Even Dir en grey with their home turf advantage didn’t hit this hard. In addition to the feeding of the crown they actually interacted. they got us participating and more importantly, they explicitly asked for a wall of death… and gave us good time to prepare it.

“I was charged up with a fury that Bryan would have been proud of”

There was this skinny white boy in a slipknot shirt who took it upon himself to tell people what to do. he had the nerve to push me and tell ME to get back like he was the king of the pit. he clearly wasn’t in the preceding circles (or any of the pits the day before) because he should have known better (as a number of moshers there did). On the hallowed grounds of the (Saitama Super) Arena I exemplified his stupidity and showed him why he was 100 years too early to take on seasoned veteran. Sadly however it was not a clean battle. He never openly challenged me nor did he have the balls to come straight at me. in the end the result was the same but I prefer proper charges (like the one that sent me flying onto my arse the day before) He didn’t respect his place in the hallowed arena and I didn’t respect him.
I felt a lot Like Crixus did when Spartacus didn’t know his place. Lets hope that one day he too manages to take on Theocles and slay him (Like Crixus.. I tried the day before and was found wanting)
The skinny boy aside, Turisas fans are a brotherhood (some chicks too but they are honorary brothers) We were all warriors of steel together. Paying tribute to the leaders of our clan. Shouting. Chanting. BATTLE!!!!
We also got one of their new songs. First time it was ever played live. Unfortunately I was enjoying it so much that I forgot what they called it. We will find out soon enough when they release their new album.
It was not all so epic sadly…
The beer song was a bit of a disappointment because we couldn’t take beer to the stage but its ok because I tanked up afterwards to make up for it. Turisas made Japanese beer taste good. Very good.

Possibly the best beer I’ve had here.

All through out the day There were many more legendary bands and amazing acts but none so thoroughly epic as Turisas.

The heart of Turisas was forged by four winds

In a smithy high up in the skies

On an anvil honour, with a hammer of blood

The Four Winds pounded

Battle Metal!

<Part 1>  <Part 2>  <Part 3>  <Part 4>