Awakening from Abyss

Japan has been spitting out female-fronted bands of all kinds lately, from experimental bands like exist+trace, to hard rocking bands like Band-Maid, to furious power metal with the Japanese sound like Aldious, even a new kind of "kawaii" metal like Babymetal. So when I heard about this album, I didn't pay it a heck of a lot of attention until I decided to give it a listen about two weeks later.

This band, to be very honest, isn't like any of those others, at all. If you really want to know if this band can shred, the answer is an unequivocal "YES" with five very adorable exclamation points at the end.

The first thing you should notice when you listen to songs like The Hammer of Wrath or Shadowmaker is how the sound is much more like a cross between the New Wave of British Heavy Metal of the early '80s and the best European power metal out of the '80s and '90s, everything from Iron Maiden to Stratovarius is used as inspiration. The bass is done beautifully, the drums keep in perfect sync, which is to be expected as Haruna from the band Destrose had some success with drumming there, but on this album she really shines. In fact, if it wasn't for the vocals of Asami, it would be hard, I'd dare say almost impossible to tell that this was a female band or that they came from Japan. Asami is a dynamo singer who sings gorgeously and Midori and Mi-ya add guitarwork that is masterful and intense, and they pack it all into 61 minutes of fire that would make the metal Gods in Heaven say "Our future is safe with them".

Every track is a furious powerhouse of energy, even the slower track Edge of the World has passion and intensity that has been missing in recent albums, and in almost all power metal outside of the United States, the influences are many and felt on this album, from Manowar to Blind Guardian and even though they all feel so familiar, they are new because of the Japanese touch put on them, even the keyboard near the end of this track feels just right with the tempo of the song.

Many haters will either dismiss this band as a Babymetal clone or as a J-Pop or K-Pop group. Trust me, DO NOT LET APPEARANCES DECEIVE YOU!! These girls rip out riffs, melodies, harmonies, and beats harder than at least 90% of bands that have ever played. Give this a spin or miss out.

After their excellent 'The Lovebites EP', I was expecting Lovebites' debut album to be good, but not this ridiculously good. In short, 'Awakening From Abyss' is the only album that can rival Firewind's 'Immortals' as the best metal album from 2017. The record is chock-full of energetic riffs, blazing lead guitar work, pounding drums and passionate vocals. What more can you desire from a heavy metal album? Very little in deed. This Japanese quintet combines traditional heavy metal and contemporary power metal in an incredible manner and they seem hellbent on world domination. Song material this good certainly deserves to be heard worldwide.

On their EP, Lovebites excelled in dynamic and catchy, yet surprisingly intricate power metal with a powerful, rather unpolished production. The guitars are thick and raw and the incredible voice of relative newcomer Asami is one of the main attractions of this band. For 'Awakening From Abyss', the band has continued and enhanced this approach. At times, they end up sounding surprisingly aggressive. Songs like 'Warning Shot' and 'Burden Of Time' have a distinct Motörhead-ish vibe in the riff department, while several tracks combine recognizable choruses with riffs that angrily pound through the speakers.

No track combines those two extremes quite as deliciously as opening track 'The Hammer Of Wrath'. After a brooding, vaguely Middle-Eastern sounding guitar melody, the song is an ongoing assault of vicious riffs and memorable melodies, which is exactly what one could wish from a heavy metal track. It is hardly the only highlight of the record though. 'Shadowmaker' has everything it takes to be a modern day power metal classic - that dramatic chorus is incredible - and 'Don't Bite The Dust' is everything that classic metal bands aspire to be these days. On the lighter side - only slightly though - there are the epic semi-ballad 'Edge Of The World' and the gripping, haunting melodies of 'Liar'.

It is impressive how the members of Lovebites combine their impressive skills and end up sounding significantly better than even the sum of their parts. Guitarists Midori and Mi-Ya are all over the album with high octane riffs and impressive solos, even throwing in a few awesome trade-offs like the one near the end of 'Scream For Me'. Haruna tackles simple beats with the same conviction as busy parts and fills and though bassist Miho is not on the foreground, her aggressive right hand attack gives the music the balls it needs.

Then there is Asami's golden throat. Her range is lower and more powerful - and as a result, more pleasant to listen to - than that of most Japanese singers, though she occasionally proves to be just as forceful in the higher regions. Honestly, 'Awakening From Abyss' is one of those albums that leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. It's a boiling, dynamic and incredibly overwhelming stew of several eras of heavy and power metal. I haven't heard many contemporary metal albums this good in a while. And due to their deals with JPU Records in Europe and Sliptrick Records in North-America, the whole world has the chance to get acquainted with the music of these ladies. I suggest that you'll do so.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just go and pick up my jaw from the floor.

Recommended tracks: 'Awakening From Abyss', 'Shadowmaker', 'Burden Of Time'

Originally written for my Kevy Metal weblog.

From the land of the rising all-girl metal bands, Lovebites has finally given us their first full-length, and the hype is real. Crankin' heavy guitars, powerhouse drum mix, beefy low end and pretty white dresses, it's all there. Awakening from Abyss is loaded with vivacious fast tracks, some uptempo stompers, galloping mid-tempo heaven, and even the lone ballad can't contain itself, refusing to be the runt of the litter by eventually cresting into a blistering heavy metal extravaganza. There's no AOR or blatant Jpop numbers to question their intentions, for these babes have just unleashed one hell of a ripping power metal album.

As much as vocalist Asami has a generally warm tone that can occasionally shatter bricks when she goes for the high shrill attack, it's the dazzling duo of guitarists Midori and Mi-Ya that undoubtedly draw the most attention, and I'm talking about the ears here, not (just) the eyes. These songs are rife with dueling solo attacks, with both guitars having their own singular tone, making it easy to tell which side of the net the ball is on. The sheer variety of their soloing prowess provides a sweet flurry of scales not strictly beholden to flowery shreds or raucous raunch. They are also a formidable doubles team, weaving and intertwining their melodies and steamrolling together with cutthroat riffs. And damn do they punch out some ballsy monsters, with "Burden of Time" in particular being a fucking nimble blues-tinged riffosaurus. Christ I love that song as those guitars roar over a prime speed metal concrete foundation, which brings us to the former Destrose rhythm section. Not only is Haruna a wonderful pounder on the drums, she's a lot of fun to focus in on at times, always game for sudden tempo shifts and vibrant drum-rolls. Bassist Miho may not garner as much solo attention, considering that Midori and Mi-Ya seem to be consistently jousting for glory, but she certainly provides that all-important anchor with a strong presence in the mix, and she does gets blips of spotlight time.

As anyone familiar with me knows, I dig a good fast song, and Awakening from Abyss wastes little time in delivering the goodies. Even the unnecessary intro starts cooking at the halfway mark, but it's "The Hammer of Wrath" that unleashes the onslaught, initiating like it's going to be some Egyptian themed ditty, but stealthily shifting into a thrashy power burst, hammering away with high speed velocity. This song is one hell of an announcement that Lovebites weren't teasing with the fast tracks on their debut EP, this is their bread and butter. Thank fuck, and the fury doesn't end there at all, as "Shadowmaker" offers a ripping power metal avalanche of super-busy guitar riffs and melodies that rip my pants off to the mistral wind. There's also "The Apocalypse" and "Bravehearted" providing some raging fury, with both being first released on their debut EP. "The Apocalypse" actually still ranks as my favorite song of theirs, matching the speed with an inimitable chorus and a dark heavy middle section.

This brings up a slight hang-up, in that all four songs from the EP are included within this full-length with mostly minor to borderline unnoticeable differences, with the exception of "Bravehearted.” I mean, I'm a fan of all four songs, and "The Apocalypse" fucking rules, but damn I kinda feel sorry for that EP, as it's now regulated to a "for collectors" status in a way.

Except for "Bravehearted." The EP rendition has Asami singing in Japanese, and her tone is a little deeper as a result, and she sounds wonderfully smooth with effortless conviction. For this Awakening from Abyss version, she sings in English, but with a thick accent while enunciating words at a drastic, exaggerated level. It's like she's getting all her English tutoring from Elvis Costello. In fact, the entire album is sung in English, but it honestly doesn't seem like it. Normally I don't really pay attention to lyrics in metal, and this wasn't an issue for the EP, but now with this full-length, I eventually found myself inadvertently straining my ears to understand Asami's delivery, which rather annoyed me for the first couple of go-rounds. I was reminded of a tour I took of the Ben & Jerry's Factory, in which the tour guide had this grotesquely pronounced lisp. It was a painful experience, and by the end of the tour I had learned absolute shit about the fucking place except that their ice cream was expensive, but at least I got to see some conveyor belts and tanks filled with milk or something, I’m not sure since I couldn't understand anything. Thankfully Asami has no lisp, but hearing the original version of "Bravehearted" kind of makes me wonder what some of these other songs would be like if she stuck with her native tongue. Don't get me wrong, she still sings great, but if she could evolve up to a level of English enunciation like Aya Kamiki from Oroborus, then eternal glory would be reached.

It's more than worth dealing with in the end, because the songs themselves are all winners to such an extent that after a few listens I don't even care what language she's dishing out. Even the song that treads closest to some pop trappings, "Inspire", defies expectations as Haruna suddenly decides to go crazy and drop a quick but full-on drum solo during the first couple of verses. It sounds friggin' nuts but it's great, and the guitars never resort to chugging simplicity which would force Asami to provide all of the melodies. There's also some keyboards peppered about throughout the album, providing accentuation but never taking the spotlight.

For all intents and purposes, these lovely white-dressed princesses uncorked a vintage bottle of napalm with this release. Not a dud in the mix, and along with the four EP tunes, plenty of new potent offerings to be enjoyed. From the epic "Edge of the World", to the rampant "The Hammer of Wrath", to the just fucking awesome heavy metal stampede of "Burden of Time", Awakening from Abyss is an absolute treat, and as long as the lyric sheet is handily available, it's perfect.