Sel'm -NEW AGE ATTACK 3- 'SURPRISE'

On April 24, Sel’m came to Kanazawa to perform their live -NEW AGE ATTACK 3-"SURPRISE". Before the show the venue was buzzing with excitement largely for Sel'm, though a number of acts would perform before them.

The opening act of the event was Envus, followed by the three bands, SOMATIC GUARDIAN, AOI and AZAFUSE. After these four bands performed, finally Sel’m made their appearance. The members came on stage bathed in light and an SE began to play intensely, accompanied by enthusiastic shouts from the crowd. MANJ”, Tsubaki, Takuma and Nagi walked around stage and stirred the fans up, spreading their arms open. The fans immediately responded with increased shouting. When vocalist Tora appeared at last, the wild excitement of the venue grew exponentially. Tora stood on the platform at center stage and put his hands up in the air as the screams and clapping from the audience filled the hall.

The first song was Akatsuki, and the fans were head banging intensely from the start. When Tora shouted ’’Get the hang of it!” the crowds answered by pumping their fists and kept head banging dramatically along to the rhythm of this song. The guitarists Tsubaki and Nagi, and bassist Takuma came to the front of the stage and stirred up the fans. Tora said, “Show me your Kanazawa sprits and shout hard so I can hear.” The fans immediately responded by shouting and head banging. Tora shouted again, "Make me feel better! More!" He seemed especially happy to see that the fans were all pumped up. Suddenly the stage was bathed in white light and the crowd was driven wild. The heat of the fans had the venue vibrating.

The next song was N∞℃ from their first album brilliant force .It started with intensive head banging from the band members and the fans. The lighting changed to various colors in accordance with the mood of this song. Bathed in beautiful white light, Tora sang softly and gently as if he were talking to the crowd. The fans listened with rapt attention to his solo, and quiet excitement slowly began to build. When the mood changed, becoming hard like the earlier songs, the excitement returned to the stage and the fans resumed their headbanging. Tora looked out at the auditorium carefully to try to see all the fans showing their excitement. After a while he pumped his hands in the air in satisfaction, and the atmosphere buzzed from the shouts of joy from the crowd.

Following was a new song, crimson fish, from the new mini album DIVE, released on May 20th.The fans raised their arms according to the rhythm of the song, jumping and clapping their hands as it progressed. Tora showed his expert vocal ability and his voice echoed throughout the hall. Sometime his singing style changed as if telling a story to the fans, which created a really impressive moment. During the performance Tora at times began to squeeze his voice as if he had shaken everything off to get hold of what he really wanted. The fans listened entranced by the painful purity of this song. It was in this song that the variety in Tora’s singing and expression became especially apparent. During the song he shouted “Show me your hottest performance! Get crazy! OK?”, and the fans happily obliged.

After this they launched into one of their hardest songs, Shingigan. Tsubaki and Takuma played standing back to back, and afterwards Takuma and Nagi played facing each other. Finally, Tora, Tsubaki, Nagi and Takuma gathered in front of the drummer, MANJ”, and they started head banging intensely together. MANJ” shook his head and hit the drum harder than ever. Tora came out onto the platform at center stage and was lit directly by a spotlight. He wound the microphone cord around his neck and then unwound it wildly. The band was lit from behind and their silhouettes were cast across the stage impressively.

The last song was Megalomania from their second maxi-dingle dyed vacancy. The fans seemed surprised when the music started, then quickly shouting and applauding, hands high in the air. Tora riled them up: “Hey Hey! It is not enough. Get your voice louder so that I can hear you. Louder! More!” He stamped his foot on the platform to make sounds and kept shouting while he looked out into the auditorium to see all the fans, who responded by shouting harder than ever. Each band member stirred the fans with their arms wide open. Tora shouted “Great!!!” and the oneness of the hall was extraordinary and strong. They continued screaming and the atmosphere was incredibly pumped up by the flood of their energy.

The members eventually left the stage, and the fans immediately called the members' names and yelled for an encore. The excitement continued in the hall well after the members left. Without quieting down they kept calling out the band members' names over and over. Finally the light returned to the stage, and when the members made their appearance, shouts of joy rose up from the crowd immediately. Tora shouted "Get crazy!" and they launched into the next song, Road of judgement. The stage lighted up with strobe lights, and the band's performances grew mysterious and impressive. Tsubaki walked around the stage back and forth, while Nagi and Takuma came out to the front of the stage, immediately greeted by the fans there. Tora stood on the platform at center stage and shouted “Oi! Oi!” to the fans as Tsubaki, Nagi and Takuma played together and started head banging. MANJ” hit the drum powerfully and showed us his expert drumming skills. Tora sang his heart out and the fans listened intensely while pumping their fists in the air and jumping . The hall was full of head banging and applause throughout the song.

When Tora finished his song, he shouted “Thank you!” and left the stage. The applause and excitement continued to buzz the hall as the other members left the stage one by one. The last member, MANJ”, concluded with, “See you next July” and left the stage. Even after the band members had left the stage, the excitement of the hall was still hot, the applause never stopping. It was clear that Sel’m had given the hottest performance in Kanazawa that night.


Set list:

1. Akatuki
2. N∞℃
3. crimson fish
4. Shingigan
5. Megalomania
6. Road of judgement