Crossfaith

Crossfaith

Vocalist Kenta Koie live performance in Belgium
Background information
Origin Osaka, Japan
Genres Electronicore, industrial metal, metalcore, alternative metal
Years active 2006–present
Labels Razor & Tie, Sony Music,[1] Search and Destroy, Tragic Hero, Zestone, Ariola Japan,[2] UNFD
Associated acts Beartooth, Skindred
Website www.crossfaith.jp
Members
  • Kenta Koie
  • Kazuki Takemura
  • Hiroki Ikegawa
  • Tatsuya Amano
  • Terufumi Tamano

Crossfaith (クロスフェイス) are a Japanese electronicore band from Osaka that was formed in 2006. The band released their first demo "Blueprint of Reconstruction" in 2008. The band consists of vocalist Kenta Koie, guitarist Kazuki Takemura, Hiroki Ikegawa on bass guitar, drummer Tatsuya Amano and Terufumi Tamano on keyboards. They are renowned for their fusion of metalcore and post-hardcore with electronic dance music, and for their intense live performances.

They released their first studio album "The Artificial Theory for the Dramatic Beauty" through Zestone Records in 2009, and their second studio album "The Dream, The Space" in 2011 through Tragic Hero Records. Crossfaith then released their second EP "Zion" in September 2012, this acted as a promotional release to countries outside Japan.

History

Early history (2006–2012)

The band started when vocalist Kenta Koie, now guitarist Kazuki Takemura and turntablist Terufumi Tamano were in a nu metal band which they covered Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit songs.[3] This used to feature Kenta rapping as well as screaming.[3][4] After their cover band broke up Kenta wanted to start up a new metal band. To do this he asked drummer Tatsuya Amano, a fellow student at his school who was in Kenta's music club to audition. Amano's drum cover of Slipknot's "(sic)" impressed Kenta and the others so much they knew they wanted him a part of the band.[4] Turntablist Terufumi joined the new project with an inspiration from electronic dance music groups such as Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy, Terufumi would work to connect his electronica inspirations with the heavy metal covers the band was doing at the time.[4] The band formed fuelled by their hatred of Japan’s enormous pop music culture.[5]

In 2010, Koie was featured in Manafest's song No Plan B on Avalanche/No Plan B EP.

Also in 2010, the band covered the song "Omen" by The Prodigy which was featured as a bonus track on the Japanese version of Fearless Records' Punk Goes Pop 3

In their early touring history they supported bands like: Hatebreed, Machine Head, In This Moment, Bleeding Through, The Used, August Burns Red, Memphis May Fire.[6] In March 2011 Tragic Hero Records signed Crossfaith for an American release of their second album "The Dream, The Space".[5][6]

Zion, international success & Apocalyze (2012–2014)

In 2012 Crossfaith's tour schedule for around the Europe expanded, supporting Of Mice and Men with Bury Tomorrow and later in the year supporting While She Sleeps alongside Bleed From Within and Polar in September.[7][8][9] In August the band went to Japan to play the Summer Sonic festival, the largest festival in the country, where they played at 3am to 10,000 people.[7]

In September 2012 the band released their second extended play Zion, used as an introductory sampler designed to break into a bigger market.[10] Zion was named after the human city in The Matrix film series.[11] The extended play revived a popular response from mainstream critics such as Kerrang![12] and The Sydney Morning Herald.[10] Three promotional videos spawned out of the promotion of the ep: music videos for 'Monolith'[8] and 'Jägerbomb'[13] and one typography style video for Photosphere.[14] On 10 November the band performed at the 2012 Warped Tour at the Alexandra Palace in London on the 'Kevin Says Stage'.[15] The stage they played on was only a 500 capacity room[7] but security had to block the entrance to the room as it exceeded capacity during their performance.[16] Their performance at the festival garnered a lot of attention for the band.[12]

On 4 February 2013 the Zion EP was released in Europe by Search and Destroy Records[17] and just a few days after that the extended play was streamed online at SoundCloud.[18] Crossfaith performed at the Australian 2013 Soundwave festival for all 5 dates in: Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth between 23 February and 4 March.[19] They have also announced Sidewaves shows prior to the festival dates with Periphery.[20] Just two days after their appearance in Australia the band is started their March tour across the United States in support of Enter Shikari and Architects.[21][22]

Then, in May the band is main supporting band on Bring Me the Horizon's headline tour of the United Kingdom.[13][23] After their tour with Bring Me the Horizon they performed two headline shows at the Barfly in London and the Sugarmill in Stoke supported by We Butter The Bread With Butter,[24] but due to the success of the London show sold they upgraded the venue to the Camden Underworld.[25] Their performances were praised as offering "constant energy" and how Amano Tatsuya's drum solos were "stunning".[24] This show was at the Underworld just a year after their show there supporting Of Mice and Men.[4] Across July and August Crossfaith United States touring festival Warped Tour[22] and will perform at Reading and Leeds Festival in the United Kingdom.[1] Crossfaith will release their third studio album Apocalyze in Japan on 4 September 2013[26] and on 9 September in the United Kingdom.[1] The album was recorded at Machine Shop Studios in New York City in January 2013[14] and will be released on Search and Destroy[26] and Sony Music.[1] Prior to the release of Apocalyze, Crossfaith released three music videos: We Are the Future, Eclipse and "The Evolution".[1]

"Madness" and Xeno (2014–present)

On October 8, 2014, the band released a three track long single titled "Madness". The track listing consists of the three songs: "Madness", "Dance with the Enemy", and "S.O.S.".[27] Crossfaith has also announced they will be playing the entire Vans Warped Tour in 2015 for North America, as well as also playing SlamDunk Festival in the United Kingdom in the May of 2015. Crossfaith released their fourth full length album Xeno on September 18, 2015.

On July 27, 2016, the band released another maxi single titled "New Age Warriors", featuring three new songs: "Rx Overdrive", which had an accompanying music video, "Kill 'Em All" and "Revolution".

Musical style

Crossfaith have used clean vocals since their first album, on the song "K". It is the only song on that album which uses clean vocals. On "The Dream, The Space" the used clean vocals on the songs "Omen" and "Demise and Kiss", did not use any clean vocals on the Zion EP, and did on there third Album "Apocolyze" on the songs "Eclipse", "Scarlett", "Only The Wise Can Control Our Eyes", and "Counting Stars". After Apocolyze, on the song "Madness", the majority of the song used clean vocals. On their upcoming album Xeno, most of the songs on the album use clean vocals. Crossfaith also incorporates spoken word and whispers into their songs. A lot of their songs are fully screamed, as opposed to other songs, where they use clean vocals more, which is more common in their newer music. They have typically been considered as electronicore,[10][22] due to their blend of influences from metal,[6][10][22] electronica[5][28][22] hardcore,[23] metalcore[5][24][28] and industrial metal.[14] The band's music is seen as a combination of metalcore instrumentation and vocals with keyboards and industrial synths.[12][28] They have been described as "Slipknot tearing the Prodigy limb from limb",[7][22] and have been seen as a fusion of "metal, dance beats, raging punk fury and an energy that's entirely Crossfaith's own".[29] The band has always wanted to write English lyrics as they felt their music is quite westernised.[22]

The band's EP Zion showcases their synthesiser dominated sound, particularly on "Monolith"[28] showcasing "double-kick beats, rapid chugging riffs and atmospheric bursts".[5] While the party anthem "Jägerbomb"[23] is seen as "pure Pantera Groove metal with an underlying dash of synth"[30] and is credited as solidifying Crossfaith's reputation as a party band.[4] The pace of the record slows with "Dialogue", a "techno-infused instrumental" interlude[5] with a "slow, tense electronic beat".[31]

For their third album Apocalyze the band wrote lyrics which dealt with different subject matters. "We Are The Future" is written about bands who don't wish to sound like anything else which exists.[29] "Deathwish" is a fictional tale about a man who wishes to seek revenge on his girlfriend's killer[29] and "Countdown to Hell" which is about being bullied when at school.[3] "Only The Wise Can Control Our Eyes" confronts the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster[29] and how the band believes the government is withholding information about the disaster from the public.[3] When commenting on the reasons behind writing about the disaster Kenta said "when I started writing the lyrics for the new album I thought I have to write about it for other Japanese people, but not really about [the] politics, [more] about the nuclear thing".[32]

Band members

Live at Groezrock 2013, Belgium
Timeline

Discography

References

Footnotes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Crossfaith: Eclipse video premiere". The Daily Telegraph. (Telegraph Media Group). 23 July 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  2. ↑ http://www.ariola.jp/
  3. 1 2 3 4 Longbottom 2013, p. 43.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Mörat 2013, p. 54.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Candice Haridimou (17 February 2013). "Review: Crossfaith – Zion [EP]". Alt Sounds. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "Tragic Hero Records signs Crossfaith // News // Lambgoat". Lambgoat.com. 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  7. 1 2 3 4 David McLaughlin (26 January 2012). James McMahon, ed. "Ne Music Overload! Crossfaith". Kerrang!. London: Bauer Media Group (1450): 23. ISSN 0262-6624.
  8. 1 2 "Video Exclusive: Crossfaith - Monolith". Rock Sound. (Freeway Press). 3 May 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  9. ↑ Tom Smith (12 June 2012). "Crossfaith Return to the UK: September – November 2012". Japan Underground. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Kam Noack (1 November 2012). "Review of Crossfaith's Zion EP". The Sydney Morning Herald. (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "On The Record: Crossfaith". Bombshellzine.com. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  12. 1 2 3 James Hickie (15 December 2012). James McMahon, ed. "Japanese mob (Briefly) show why they'll be 2013's breakout stars". Kerrang!. London: Bauer Media Group (1445): 50. ISSN 0262-6624. Bring Me The Horizon may have been Warped Tour UK's big draw, but this Japanese five-piece were definitely the festival's 'did you see?' sensation. This six-track EP serves to temporarily state the appetite of anticipation for their third full-length album, showcasing their combination of metalcore and industrial synths.
  13. 1 2 "Crossfaith Announced As Main Support To Support Bring Me The Horizon". Rocksound. (Freeway Press). 5 February 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  14. 1 2 3 Simon (26 November 2012). "Crossfaith post new video!". Kerrang. (Bauer Media Group). Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "Warped Tour UK 2012 Is Go!". Rocksound. (Freeway Press). 10 November 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  16. ↑ David McLaughlin (26 January 2012). Ben Patashnik, ed. "Ne Music Overload! Crossfaith". Kerrang!. London: Bauer Media Group (169): 86, 87. ISSN 1465-0185.
  17. ↑ Merlin (22 January 2013). "Crossfaith Finally Announce UK Release Of 'Zion' EP". Metal Hammer. (Future Publishing). Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "Crossfaith Stream 'Zion' EP". Rocksound. (Freeway Press). 7 February 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  19. ↑ Mike Hohnen (3 August 2012). "Soundwave 2013 Lineup + Rumours". Music Feeds. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  20. ↑ Tom Mann (16 January 2013). "More Sidewaves - Anthrax,Periphery, Crossfaith, Fozzy,This Is Hell". Faster Louder. (Sound Alliance). Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  21. ↑ "Architects (UK) To Join Enter Shikari On North American Tour". Plug In Music. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mörat 2013, p. 53.
  23. 1 2 3 Biddulph, Andy (July 2013). "Bring Me The Horizon [9] Support: Crossfaith [8], Empress [7]". Rock Sound. London: Freeway Press (175). ISSN 1465-0185.
  24. 1 2 3 Matthew Clewley (6 May 2013). "REVIEW - Matthew Clewley gives his verdict on metalcore band Crossfaith". This Is Staffordshire. Local World. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  25. ↑ "NEWS: Crossfaith's headline London show has been upgraded!". Dead Press. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  26. 1 2 "Crossfaith announce new album Apocalyze, album art, release date and track listing". Kerrang. (Bauer Media Group). 2 June 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  27. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/madness-single/id916131959
  28. 1 2 3 4 Ant May (January 31, 2013). "Crossfaith – Zion EP". Planet Mosh. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Longbottom 2013, p. 42.
  30. ↑ Stephen Hill (7 February 2013). "Crossfaith – Zion E.P Review". Rock Sins. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  31. ↑ Sean Hendrie (5 February 2013). "EP Review: Crossfaith - 'Zion'". Caught In The Crossfire. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  32. ↑ Mörat 2013, p. 56.
Bibliography
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