Music
Kenta Koie, frontman of the Japanase hardcore metallers, gives us a fistful of essential knowledge.
With fans who set themselves on fire, lyrics that hate on the Japanese government and a sound that roooars on the dancefloor and raves in the moshpit, Osaka’s Crossfaith are getting themselves well and truly noticed.
Recently nominated for Best International Newcomer in the Kerrang! Awards 2014, they make their Download debut on the main stage on June 13.
Frontman Kenta Koie took a break from pre-production on the follow up to 2013’s Apocalyze to talk – among other things we’ve had better luck with fitting in below – about the official Crossfaith flip flops (NB he does not recommend them for moshing).
They’re the rising stars of electronicore
With a sound once memorably described as “Slipknot tearing the Prodigy limb from limb”, Crossfaith fuse hardcore metal and EDM. And have a few designs on the solar system. “It’s very simple. We love both musics, so we mix it up,” says Kenta. “But also I think dubstep and hardcore breakdown have a similar essence. How is Crossfaith going to change the world? It’s going to be like the Big Bang. We are like a black hole. We inhale everything, and then we can make new things from the destruction.”
Their live energy is electric. Literally.
Crossfaith perform with the intensity of a pneumatic drill direct to the cerebellum. But even they were freaked by what happened during a gig in Thailand. “We were on headline tour in Asia. The promoter was, like, kind of weird. We played in a tiny venue. While we were singing, one guy poured oil on himself and he set fire to his hand. At the same time, my mic gave me an electric shock. That was a big problem for me. I shouted to [bassist] Hiroki, ‘Am I going to die?’ He said ‘I don’t know’. We carried on performing. I wanted to tell the audience but my English skills were not good like now and I could not explain about it. So I touched one of them in front row and gave him the electric shock. He was like, ‘Aaargh!’ Then they understood.”
The Japanese life provides them with an excellent source of lyrical fury
Crossfaith may be an international band, but their English lyrics rage against life in modern-day Japan. “Metal bands always have an angry energy, like F**K YOU MOTHERF**KER. But with us that is not bulls**t. We had a big, big tragedy in 2011. The earthquakes gave us a couple of big problems such as nuclear plant meltdown. The true information is still hidden. Also in Japan, in our hometown Osaka, we can’t dance after 1am. We can’t dance at nightclubs or rock bars. That is bulls**t. Sometimes police come to the nightclubs and a lot of people are angry about the stupid rule. I am Japanese and I think I have to write about these things.”
Koie’s scream could strip (black) paint off a (teenager’s bedroom) wall
It’s taken time, technique, and tolerant loved ones. “Spencer from Underoath is like my teacher of the screaming. It was very hard [to learn]. You must squeeze your throat a certain way. But every single time after we practised I couldn’t speak. I practised for two months. My family told me to stop, but now they're accepting. Now we're all happy.”
They intend to have Download for breakfast (if they don’t throw up first…)
“Download has been our dream since I was young. I am so nervous. Every single night on YouTube I watch bands playing last year, I check them out. Before we go on stage we are like just proper people. We're all soft, we're not hard. But on stage… We always think about how to get the audience crazy. Every single time is the best moment in my life. We are fascinated by the stage. Stages have magic. Only performers can feel this.”
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