A few days ago, Queen Bee was announced for Washington's premiere anime convention, Sakuracon. Today, word of a stand-alone concert spread. The location will be Los Angeles's Regent Theater in downtown Los Angeles and will take place on April 11.
Japanese rock band MAN WITH A MISSION and Japanese signer milet are set to collaborate on "Kizuna no Kiseki," a new song for the opening of the upcoming anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Swordsmith Village Arc. The song was revealed at the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Swordsmith Village - World Tour event held in Japanese theaters nationwide. The official announcement was made on the Kimetsu TV YouTube channel, which also featured new artist photos and messages from both artists.
Raul, the youngest member of the JPop supergroup Snow Man, made his global runway debut at Paris Fashion Week 2023. He walked the runway for the Yohji Yamamoto POUR HOMME 2023-24 A/W Collection on January 19th, marking his first in-person appearance as a professional runway model outside of Japan.
Sabaton just announced that BABYMETAL will accompany them for the European leg of The Tour to End All Tours, beginning in April 2023. They kick things off in the United Kingdom on April 14. BABYMETAL and Lordi will support Sabaton as they make their way across Europe.
ONE OK ROCK will grace the American shores once more in a litle over a week's time. Just a couple of days ago, their tenth album, "Luxury Disease," was released globally.
Today, NEMOPHILA announced two tours. The first one is Japan, and the second one, and more important for me, is for North America.
Well, technically North America, but more like California and Mexico. One of my friends did point out that it's right before SXSW so we may well see them there too.
We're about a week out from Sacramento's Aftershock Festival, and details and scheduling have been released. Japanese bands BAND-MAID and NEMOPHILA have been announced for 30 minute sets. Expect them to hit hard and heavy in order to make the most of that scant half-hour.
NEMOPHILA's set will be on day 2 at 435 PM at the DWPRESENTS Stage, and BAND-MAID's set will be on day 4 at 310 PM at the Coors Light Stage.
About a month ago, the news that BAND-MAID would release an anime-style music video was announced. The group has made good on its promise.
So, this was a night of firsts.
First time for me at the Fox Theater. First time for me to see Epica. First time for one of my friends and concert buddies to see both Epica and Sabaton. Not to mention, the first time I'm seeing Sabaton after a dreadful last two years. The pandemic has not been kind to live concerts, and I've seen many a tour be canceled, postponed, or cut short early. It was a good night. I've always wanted to see Epica, and Sabaton is one of my go-to bands time after time. This show was a natural choice for me.
A couple of months ago, I introduced you to the European bands Nightwish and Beast in Black. This time around, we have one more of the big names of power metal, Sabaton, backed up by the more symphonic Epica. We are currently on the eve of Sabaton's latest American tour, The Tour To End All Tours, which is set to start on September 15. And before the Editor-in-Chief asks, yes, both of these bands are relevant to our coverage here. If you're a power metal fan, you should see these bands. They are well worth the journey, and you'll even learn a thing or two.
ATARASHII GAKKO! took the stage once again in California, this time at Crunchyroll Expo. This marks the third time they have performed in America.
Crunchyroll Expo is fast approaching. On Friday, July 22, anime fans at San Diego Comic Con were given a sneak-preview of one of the musical acts, ATARASHII GAKKO!. In Japan, they're known as 新しい学校のリーダーズ (ATARASHII GAKKO NO LEADERS), and the quartet brings a frenetic pace that transcends any one genre.
UPDATE: The worst case scenario has come to fruition. The hopes would be that Tomomi was the only one to become infected and that she would get over it quickly. It is not unheard of for someone to be back on their feet in less than a week. Sadly, the exact opposite happened: the rest of the band began showing symptoms. This is not unexpected, give how close bands are. Management has officially pulled the stops on the North American leg of the MIRROR World Tour. Tickets will be refunded. With any luck we might be able to see the band again after they do the rest of the world tour but that is to be determined.