IMARi ToNES -The First Christian Heavy Metal from Japan-: February 2010

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

New songs uploaded

Hi this is Tak "Tone" Nakamine from Imari Tones,
the first Japanese Christian heavy metal band from Japan.

Our new recording session, it is called "God Rocks", now finished.
We uploaded several new songs to MySpace and Reverbnation.

http://www.myspace.com/imaritones
http://www.reverbnation.com/imaritones

As you see, our new songs are very Christian.
You can feel the power of Holy Spirit.
I guess probably you will like the song called "Love Is To Do Something
No One Dares To Do", which is about sacrifice and devotion.

With this new recording, 2010 it's gonna be a very important year for us.
And we are gonna make it a big year.

Please support and spread the word, thanks.

And we are just about to leave for our USA East Coast Tour soon.

This time we are going to attend Millennium Music Conference in
Harrisburg Pennsylvania.
And we will have several other gigs in the cities around East Coast.

If you are near, please come by and see us and we will be very glad.

Here is the schedule.
For more detail, check our website or MySpace blog.

Please note that most of the bars are +21.

February 20th (Saturday)
Capital Area Christian Church, Harrisburg PA
(Millennium Music Conference show case)
We play 8:20PM slot
All ages show

February 21th (Sunday)
Gloryzone church, Bohemia NY
(11AM church service worship music, and 6PM concert. For details please
check with the church)
All ages show

February 23th (Tuesday)
Otto's Shrunken Head, NYC
We play 9PM slot

February 24th (Wednesday)
The Wonderland Ballroom, Washington DC
We play 9PM slot

February 25th (Thursday)
MOJO 13, Wilmington DE
We play 10:30 slot

Febryary 26th (Friday)
Clash Bar, Clifton NJ
We play 9:45 or 10:30 slot

That's all for now.
Thank you very much and God bless you all!

Love In Christ,
Tak / IMARi ToNES (Japan)
http://www.imaritones.net/

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.