IMARi ToNES -The First Christian Heavy Metal from Japan-: August 2014

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

METAL JAPAN compilation CD!!

Imari Tones is honored to announce that we were included in "Heavy Chains Vol.2", Japanese heavy metal compilation CD by METAL JAPAN, Japanese heavy metal webzine!

Bunch of cool metal bands from all over Japan are on this CD. We have 2 of our songs included, which are "Faith Rider" and "Iron Hammer".
Also, Tone's side project "Atsuki Ryo with Jesus Mode" has 1 song included on this CD.

Being a part of compilation CDs is an important step for Japanese rock bands. So we are happy to be on this CD among other great bands.

METAL JAPAN "Heavy Chains Vol.2" is available on our BandCamp page.
$20 may seem like a bit pricy to those living outside of Japan (pretty normal for Japanese CDs), but there is no shipping fee. So take advantage of this opportunity and check out this CD and cool Japanese metal bands!
(For some price contract reasons, we take $1 shipping fee for shipping INSIDE Japan.)

Buy "Heavy Chains Vol.2" at BandCamp
https://imaritones.bandcamp.com/album/metal-japan-heavy-chains-vol-2

Here is the track list
01 - THE END OF SADNESS / ALEISTER
02 - DOLL PLANT / DEATH☆LAND
03 - Cosmic Red / HEAT ISLAND
04 - Rebellion / Amalgam
05 - I feel myself / EASTERN SANDS
06 - You endure / EASTERN SANDS
07 - Faith Rider / Imari Tones
08 - Iron Hammer / Imari Tones
09 - Soldiers Into Hell / Atsuki Ryo with Jesus Mode
10 - 決壊前夜New version / Alchemy Crystal
11 - AufHeben / AufHeben
12 - Riot for the Reunion feat.吉村進也(BLAZE UP&WRECKING CREW) / Re-code the Name

METAL JAPAN webzine
http://heavy-metal.jp/

Thank you very much.
God bless and Rock on!

Tak "Tone" Nakamine / Imari Tones

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.