LOVEBITES at HYPER JAPAN Christmas 2017

Metal fans must have been good boys and girls this year. Their reward, an early Christmas present to see LOVEBITES make their international debut at London’s HYPER JAPAN Christmas 2017. Though they only formed in 2016, initially from the rhythm section of now defunct “girls’ metal” group Destrose, the band are moving quickly to make an impression internationally. Supporting their debut album, AWAKENING FROM ABYSS, released in Europe by JPU Records just a month earlier, they’re here to play two short sets over the weekend before their own headline show at the Camden Underworld.

Drummer haruna, bassist miho and guitarists mi-ya and midori take the stage, all glammed up in variations of white mini dress and shorts. haruna has broken the dress code and opted for some sensible footwear though. It’s easier to unleash her barrage of double kick bass drum in trainers than the four-inch stacked heels that the rest of the band are sporting.

With a clash of cymbals, the Middle Eastern tones of The Hammer of Wrath’s intro ring out as vocalist asami joins the band on stage and they launch into a full pelt, metal thrash. midori and mi-ya battle against each other, and some annoying feedback, with their duelling solos and between bouts of lightning fast guitar work midori yells at the crowd to get them going.

After the breathless start asami takes a moment to greet the audience, “Thank you for coming tonight. We are LOVEBITES! We play heavy metal!” and there’s no arguing with that. Their appearance and style put them at the melodic power metal end of heavy metal’s broad spectrum but the opener showed they’ve got the chops to hammer it out with the best of them.

LOVEBITES have unearthed a diamond in lead vocalist asami. She might have spent part of her earlier career as a backing singer but she’s taken the step forward to centre stage effortlessly. Her sunny personality quickly wins the crowd over and she speaks English well enough to have a little banter with them off script which always helps. On to business, she gets in a quick plug, “Our first album AWAKENING FROM ABYSS was released last month all over the world. Did you guys get it already?” and she’s thrilled to hear a large part of the crowd shout “Yeah!”

She brings the brief MC to a finish by introducing the next song, their first single from the album, Shadowmaker. The intro sounds like the opening movement to some sort of heavy metal symphony, until haruna crashes in with a torrent of drums and they’re off at full speed again. The highlight of this track comes as midori and mi-ya trade solos back and forth, then come together for a duet. On the recorded version their different styles are apparent but live their individual personalities shine through powerfully and are reflected in their playing. midori’s aggressive high speed shredding is pitched against mi-ya’s ice-cool precision melodies, then they seamlessly combine to harmonise with each other.

Next up, asami gets everyone clapping while Miho’s rapid, rumbling bass line kicks in and she namechecks each of her bandmates as they join in turn and the song’s intro builds. asami yells “Scream for Me!” The crowd gladly oblige and they’re into it again. The fast and furious guitars and drums are matched by asami’s strong vocals. She packs a powerful voice into her petite frame and while the majority of LOVEBITES songs have English lyrics, she carries them well, despite a bit of an accent. Having a background in soul, R&B and rock music, her style is not your typical power metal vocal, avoiding the overwrought excesses of the genre but she can still belt out the impressive high notes when needed.

There’s a brief break in the action as asami makes the proper introductions and we learn a little bit about each member of LOVEBITES. mi-ya loves Korean barbecue (and Star Wars) and miho is “natural born heavy metal.” midori’s English is good enough to have mastered the Anglo-Saxon art of swearing and she gives the crowd a colourful greeting. asami chips in with “She’s crazy – a crazy shredder!” and she’s not wrong. haruna pops up from behind her drum kit to say hi, giving her trademark cymbal, cut into a star shaped windmill, a spin and finally, asami introduces herself, although we don’t learn much about her, except maybe that she never stops smiling.

asami winds up the MC by introducing the next song, promising that she’s not a Liar, this is just a song about one. The intro begins gently with violins and piano on playback and asami joins with an emotional vocal, more soul diva than metal, which is part of the joy of “girls’ metal”, being able to make these stylistic switches with ease. Just as you think this is shaping up to be a ballad, it bursts into life with a cascade of drums and midori’s shredding, though for all its metal trappings, this one has more of a straight rock feel to it.

They finish their set with Don’t Bite the Dust, another all-action number. As LOVEBITES tracks tend to be epic six-minute productions their time slot only allows for five songs and it all seems to be over in a flash. They line up holding hands, laughing and smiling, to take a bow and as they depart midori and miho fling their spare picks into the crowd for souvenirs. This was a impressive debut, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the track record of these accomplished musicians. For a first step into the international market, LOVEBITES hit the ground running and didn’t let up.

Set List

01. The Hammer of Wrath
02. Shadowmaker
03. Scream for Me
04. Liar
05. Don’t Bite the Dust