IMARi ToNES -The First Christian Heavy Metal from Japan-: "Atomic Live!" We released a free download live album.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

"Atomic Live!" We released a free download live album.

Yes, we have just released a live album.
A good thing is, it's a free download.

To spread the word, we tried to write some "press release" thing.
I'm not even sure if my English is correct.

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For Immediate Release

Japanese Rock Band Tells The World About The Crazy Situation in Japan with their "Atomic Live!" album

Yokohama, Japan - March 5, 2015 - Japanese rock band Imari Tones releases "Atomic Live!", a live album recorded in Fukushima, to send a message about the dangerous situation in Japan.

It was not something planned beforehand, when Imari Tones, Japanese Christian rock band, played a live recording session at Studio Back Beat, Minamisoma, Fukushima, the music venue that was only 15 miles away from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

This recording happened in November 2014. The band was touring in Japan with an American rapper Gallery Cat, as a part of The Extreme Tour. The Extreme Tour is a grass root Christian music tour that has been around in USA since 1994. Imari Tones joined their USA tour in 2012, and brought the tour to Japan in 2013. This 2014 tour was 2nd year for The Extreme Tour in Japan. The tour line-up included other Japanese Christian artists such as CLOD, Soul of Faith, GeeBars, and Kaori Yamamoto.

Imari Tones was in Fukushima, when a certain gig was cancelled at the last moment. The band didn't want to disappoint their fans, so they sought for an alternative venue. They found out Studio Back Beat in Minamisoma was the only available choice for them, and the venue was located only 15 miles away from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, that had been broken since the Tsunami disaster on March 11, 2011. When they booked the venue, they also decided to do a live recording for this off the cuff gig.

The result is "Atomic Live!", which was just released on the band's website. It's an unconventional live album recorded at a small venue with only handful of fans.

"We thought it was a good opportunity to carry the message to the world" says Tak Nakamine, the singer/guitarist of the band. "Because things are so crazy in Japan right now. The Fukushima nuclear power plant has been broken. It's still leaking a lot of radioactivity things to the ocean as well as into the air. However, the government and electricity companies keep saying it's safe and there is no immediate danger. Most people in Japan are living their life just pretending nothing has happened. That's the craziest part. We're not going against nuclear energy in general or anything. We just want to say things are crazy and extreme. Doing a live recording session only 15 miles away from the broken nuclear plant is crazy. But people don't see it crazy anymore. Because we are living in the craziness, what used to be crazy now isn't crazy."

There is a hidden message in the artwork. On the album cover, Tak is standing next to the banner says The Extreme Tour Japan, but the word "Tour" is crossed out. As a result it reads "The Extreme Japan". Tak says it's a message about how things are crazy and extreme in Japan right now.

Although it's carrying a controversial message, the music on this album is all about God and Christianity. Imari Tones, call themselves "The first Christian heavy metal band from Japan", is one of the few Japanese bands who declare Christian heavy metal openly.

"The reason we came to Fukushima was to spend time with people here" Tak continues, "and the reason we came to Minamisoma venue was to pray. After all, we are Christians. We believe, with God's help, things can be changed in a positive way."

Imari Tones decided to release the album as a free download, to spread the music and the message. "Atomic Live!", recorded at Back Beat, Minamisoma, Fukushima, Japan, is available at the band's website and BandCamp.

Imari Tones website

http://www.imaritones.net/

Imari Tones BandCamp

https://imaritones.bandcamp.com/album/atomic-live

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Bio, Bio, Bio...

IMARITONES BIO

Written by Phil Putnam

Of the long list of factors that make ImariTones stand out from the world around them, it is their drive, their reach that tops it all. An unapologetically Christian heavy metal band out of Japan, Tak, Hassy, and Jake have a passion to reach beyond their culture to make the music they love, and to reach beyond their music to bring Jesus into their culture. While drawing comparisons to legends like Van Halen, Rush, and Stryper with their hybrid of old school metal/glam/Brit/70's prog rock, they are one of very few bands in the world that can claim true originality. How so? They are the first Christian heavy metal band ever to come out of Japan.

"There are very few Japanese bands who say 'Hey, we're a Christian band.' A Christian band from Japan almost sounds like a joke, since most people in Japan are Buddhists, or Atheists," says Tak, founder, guitar/vocalist, and frontman of ImariTones. Things didn't start out Christian for Tak, though. Having started playing electric guitar at age 14 and joining his first band at 15, Tak gained local teen success in his hometown of Toyohashi and won awards for his songwriting. However, he quit the band at 17 to pursue a career as a lawyer. Music stayed with him, though, and while playing an acoustic show in Harajuku Tokyo in December of 2007, Tak was impressed by several Christian performers who were playing as well. Feeling that Jesus may be the larger meaning behind music that he always felt was there, his mind and heart opened to Christianity.

Breaking many written and unwritten rules of Japanese culture, Tak, Hassy on bass/background vocals, and Jake on drums/background vocals, are reaching upward and forward to see changes happen in the world. Currently based in Yokohama, their astonishing 15-album discography includes Hero of the Lights, Color of Hers, fireworks, Japanese Pop produced by metal legend Sascha Paeth (Angra, Edguy, Rhapsody of Fire, Avantasia, Kamelot), Welcome to the School, and their most recent release Victory in Christ. Not content to play the standard soft pop/rock of the major label Christian industry, their music is 100% heavy metal and 100% independently recorded and produced. Victory in Christ hit the street in October 2010 with the single "Faith Rider" leading the charge. Originally written as a parody of the big 80's metal of Judas Priest and Stryper, it quickly became a fan favorite and was put on Victory in Christ.

With both their commitment to making stellar heavy metal music and their driving passion to share Jesus with their native Japan and the rest of the world, ImariTones is always reaching to join these two primary goals together. "Since we are a Christian band, our goal is not business success," says Tak. "We are not chasing glory in this world. We are chasing the glory of God." Staying independent and record label-free is an important part of the process for them. "We don't believe in 'music business', especially in Japan, and have chosen to go independent, looking for our own way. We really want to change something about society and about what people think and believe. That's our ultimate goal."

That ultimate goal, to see their native Japan embrace Christianity, is what they reach for most of all, even while their sights are set on the USA and the rest of the world. Some think they're a joke, or a contradiction, that Christianity, Japan, and heavy metal just don't belong together. Some think they're ahead of their time. But if you ask Tak, Hassy, and Jake, they'll say they're doing exactly what they love at exactly the right time, and they're never going to stop reaching for more.