Fate Gear is one of the dark horses when it comes to the J-metal scene. First off, close to half the fans of the band are outside of Japan, second only to Lovebites (~70%) and even beating more well known bands like Nemophila (~45%) and Bridear (~40%). I enjoy this band because they are literally all over the map, from heavy to very melodic. The Sky Pirates featured Jill from Unlucky Morpheus and was sung nearly 100% in English. They even covered Victorius's Super Sonic Samurai and you could tell they were having too much fun with it. There's a reason this band is among my favorites.
So much I want to say... First of all, BABYMETAL is not a band! The three girls called BABYMETAL are an idol group with a backing band called KAMIBAND! But BABYMETAL did send me down the rabbit hole to Japanese music! DESTROSE was the guitarists band before this and her name is Captain MINA! DESTROSE had 19 official members and a few guest members during their career, but MINA was the only one consistent member (until the last few months when she had to step down due to health issues and eventually formed this band when she became well again)! MINA is also the main composer for both bands! Many of those 19 former members of DESTROSE formed MARY's BLOOD; LOVEBITES; DISQUALIA; MARDELAS; NEMOPHILA; LONESOME BLUE; ALBION; and OCTAVIAGRACE (there may even be a few more I missed...)! I am 60 and listen to both LOVEBITES and FATE GEAR w/o the videos (I buy a lot of CDs from Japan every month)! American music sucks today! And the Japanese bands sound fresh and exciting! The singer here is NANA and she sings for three other bands where she is the only female in the band (so it has little to do with them being all female)... SAISEIGA is another kick ass Japanese band w/ two males and two females; it's just that Japan has many more all female bands than any other place on planet Earth) I personally think this video (and a couple other recent ones) are military themed b/c of MINA's frustration over the RUSSIA/UKRAINE war, which prevented her from touring Europe awhile back (the band recently got to do a tour not too long ago, but the France tour in November just got cancelled! I have some interaction with various members of this band on social media and they are all really cool people!
As a fan of both, don't ride Babymetal off here. Many people wouldn't have even heard of this band without their efforts. Secondly, they aren't an idol band and haven't been since breaking off from Sakura Gakuin after Su-Metal's graduation. If you have actually been following them long enough. You would know their motivations and why Koba didn't want Suzuka as an idol. As her talents would have been wasted!! Not trying to be an a*** but give credit where it's due. Did you know that Mikio Fujioka was an instructor at a well known music school in Japan. He had written many books on guitar and was well respected in the Japanese music world. His death was unfortunate but please don't discrete any of these ladies. In an industry where far to few of them are around to matter. Fate Gear is one of my favorite bands BTW and are well deserving of more recognition. Captain Mina is a pioneer and one who doesn't get nearly the credit she deserves for her efforts. No hate here just, saying. 🤘🦊🎸
@ronnimetalpicodeathchamato6266 Babymetal would have disbanded a long time ago if it was abiding by Idol doctrine. In Japan, they might be seen that way, but everywhere else, they are a metal band. Idols don't last very long especially in Japan. Look to AKB48 as a good example. I know many Japanese that feel AKB48 was an abomination. They sucked out all the oxygen from the Japanese music industry. So it left no room for anyone else to thrive. AKB48 has since disbanded, so their loss won't be missed anyways. I would prefer Fate Gear myself as they have a great backstory. Not to mention savage as f*** but I give credit where it's due. I wasn't a big Babymetal fan for many years. They have worked hard to win over my respect, especially now. I wouldn't have done that if they hadn't proven themselves. I hope the rest can get more exposure though. Metal isn't that popular in Japan, as many have said, including Nemophila. So I hope more people react to them moving forward. Sorry as I wasn't trying to offend you or anything.
This song is from their Killers in the Sky album. The last two albums are concept albums with the last one called Sky Pirates. Kurosaki, the keytarist is a new member replacing Yuri on keyboards. Nana, the vocalist also has a death metal band called Gungurie. They have released two tracks on you favorite download or streaming service. Your demographics comments are way off as they attract all ages. Mina, the lead guitarist is approaching 30 years of age. The all female band culture in Japan has been going on for more than a decade. Destrose, Aldious and others precede even Babymetal. Fate Gear once again touring the UK and the EU this summer and always sell out. They visit you guys more often than any other Japanese band.
Hi ramair, I agree with the demographics comment, it's why I challenged Kirk when he said it. We do get called naive but we do challenge each other if we think one of us says something stupid
I have to say as someone who is 60 this year, like a few of the Japanese bands, and not just the all female bands. Am I an acception, well no! If you ever read the comments about these bands you will find there are a lot of old metalheads that are into these bands, and it's not because they are good looking (not saying it does not help), it because a lot of the music that's done in the west sounds like something you heard before or they all sound the same. I blame the music industry in the west, as they are not so interested in the music, just that it makes them money. So you'll find that they will either go after bands that sound like the popular sound, or try and get a band to sound like the popular band in some way. But with a majority of Japanese bands, they are indepented and on their own labels, so they can do what they want and try sounds that are different. Also the Japanese metal scene for Japanese bands is very small. Yes metal is poopular in Japan, but it's for western bands or Japanese bands that have made it in the west. And because the scene is small bands all try different sounds to attract people, one of the reasons why they dress differently as well. And because there is that difference the older metalheads are finding something that does not sound the same, that they can get into. I think a lot of the problem with the idea of females in metal/rock come from the way they were projecred in the west, and because that is what we are used to, there is a tendancy to project that on to the Japanese culture, and think it's the same. And i'll hold my hands up and say I did as well. In the west we have had the habit of sexualizing females in metal, the scanitly clad woman all over cars, around the band or just in a video for the hell of it. It was also done to shock a prudish public. Japanese culture is very different, they have sexulized females, even at a young age, so having scanitly clad females does not have that shock facter to a prudish public, so the image of women in matel/rock is different, to ours in the west. If you go to a metal/rock concert in Japan at least 1/2 will be female if not more. The last time I was in Japan, I went to see 4 biggish Vis Kei bands, at a venue in Tokyo that had a cap of 250, and one of the things that got me was the amount of females there were, I think there were 5 men out of about 230-240 people there. The 1st all female band in Japan were Show-Ya from the 1980's, they did split up for a few years in the late 90's but got back together in the 00's. And now every year they do a thing called NaonのYaon, which is a festival they do in Tokyo, that promotes all female bands in metal/rock. So it's understanable why there are more females in metal/rock bands, and even why there are so many all female bands, in Japan compaired to the west. As I said, I 1st looked at the Japanese all female bands with my western mindset, so I understand, why comments are made about attrative females in rock/metal. Then when you see and understand the difference you realise how wrong you were. I like Japanese bands because I like the sound, male or female, not because they are attractive. OK J-pop maybe sexualized, but there are not in the metal/rock world. And I agree with what Dave said about it, but I may have gone a bit father and commented on about men watching men in skin tight clothing, but no, it's about liking the music, so can't we think the same when 4/5 females walk on stage as we do when 4/5 men walk on stage? It's because the way we portrayed the sexs in metal/rock music in the west. By the way Fate Gear, Lovebites and a few other bands came about from Destrose, I think it's around 20 bands that have/had members of Destrose over the years. Also Nana (singer) is not a member of the band, as they do not have a full time singer, they did when they started, but now they use singers, fom friends, that Mina thinks will fit the song, but they tend to use Nana the most. They have had Ibuki (solo, ex.Destrose, ex.Disqualia), RAMI (solo, ex.Aldious), Sophia Aslanides (ex.Blood Stian Child, Season of Ghosts), Maki Oyama (solo, helped Aldiuos) and many more. The bassist in the video used to be a full time member, but left to join another band, but after her replacement left, she came back as a guest to help out live and in videos, studio bass tracks are done by Mina. Most of the rock/metal bands in Japan are formed the same way they are in the west, yes Babymetal and Ladybaby are the exception. And most rock/metal bands are indepenent of the music industry, as that has it's own cash cow in J-pop. Band Maid are on a label but were together before the label, the same with lovebites. J-pop groups are mainly put together by labels or management groups, LadyBaby by a fashion magizine. Babymetal came from a J-pop/idol group and were put together by a manager, but were not supported by the management company, until they became popular. After Show-Ya, the band know for re-kick starting the all female band was Aldiuos some 4-5 years before Babymetal were a thing, Destrose were the same, and Mary's Blood who were Destrose without Mina in 2009. But yes, Babymetal kicked the door open and a lot of others followed, even bands that had been around before Babymetal, because they saw the market was out there for them. And yes some bands have come together with the idea of becoming big in the west so they can become big back in Japan. The Japanese market for Japanese rock/metal is very small, but it is big for western bands, or Japanese bands that have made it in the west or have been around for 20-30 years. So they were there but in the west we did not really know about them until after Babymetal, when the west started to look what else was over there. Sorry for this being so long:)
![Fate Gear - Unbreakable Wings [Reaction/Review]](/img/n.gif)
Fate Gear is one of the dark horses when it comes to the J-metal scene. First off, close to half the fans of the band are outside of Japan, second only to Lovebites (~70%) and even beating more well known bands like Nemophila (~45%) and Bridear (~40%).
I enjoy this band because they are literally all over the map, from heavy to very melodic. The Sky Pirates featured Jill from Unlucky Morpheus and was sung nearly 100% in English. They even covered Victorius's Super Sonic Samurai and you could tell they were having too much fun with it.
There's a reason this band is among my favorites.
So much I want to say...
First of all, BABYMETAL is not a band! The three girls called BABYMETAL are an idol group with a backing band called KAMIBAND! But BABYMETAL did send me down the rabbit hole to Japanese music!
DESTROSE was the guitarists band before this and her name is Captain MINA! DESTROSE had 19 official members and a few guest members during their career, but MINA was the only one consistent member (until the last few months when she had to step down due to health issues and eventually formed this band when she became well again)! MINA is also the main composer for both bands!
Many of those 19 former members of DESTROSE formed MARY's BLOOD; LOVEBITES; DISQUALIA; MARDELAS; NEMOPHILA; LONESOME BLUE; ALBION; and OCTAVIAGRACE (there may even be a few more I missed...)!
I am 60 and listen to both LOVEBITES and FATE GEAR w/o the videos (I buy a lot of CDs from Japan every month)! American music sucks today! And the Japanese bands sound fresh and exciting! The singer here is NANA and she sings for three other bands where she is the only female in the band (so it has little to do with them being all female)... SAISEIGA is another kick ass Japanese band w/ two males and two females; it's just that Japan has many more all female bands than any other place on planet Earth)
I personally think this video (and a couple other recent ones) are military themed b/c of MINA's frustration over the RUSSIA/UKRAINE war, which prevented her from touring Europe awhile back (the band recently got to do a tour not too long ago, but the France tour in November just got cancelled!
I have some interaction with various members of this band on social media and they are all really cool people!
As a fan of both, don't ride Babymetal off here. Many people wouldn't have even heard of this band without their efforts. Secondly, they aren't an idol band and haven't been since breaking off from Sakura Gakuin after Su-Metal's graduation.
If you have actually been following them long enough. You would know their motivations and why Koba didn't want Suzuka as an idol. As her talents would have been wasted!! Not trying to be an a*** but give credit where it's due.
Did you know that Mikio Fujioka was an instructor at a well known music school in Japan. He had written many books on guitar and was well respected in the Japanese music world. His death was unfortunate but please don't discrete any of these ladies.
In an industry where far to few of them are around to matter. Fate Gear is one of my favorite bands BTW and are well deserving of more recognition. Captain Mina is a pioneer and one who doesn't get nearly the credit she deserves for her efforts. No hate here just, saying. 🤘🦊🎸
@@BlazinNSoul I have known all that info long before you and the three girls called BABYMETAL are still an idol group!!!
@ronnimetalpicodeathchamato6266 Babymetal would have disbanded a long time ago if it was abiding by Idol doctrine. In Japan, they might be seen that way, but everywhere else, they are a metal band. Idols don't last very long especially in Japan.
Look to AKB48 as a good example. I know many Japanese that feel AKB48 was an abomination. They sucked out all the oxygen from the Japanese music industry.
So it left no room for anyone else to thrive. AKB48 has since disbanded, so their loss won't be missed anyways. I would prefer Fate Gear myself as they have a great backstory.
Not to mention savage as f*** but I give credit where it's due. I wasn't a big Babymetal fan for many years. They have worked hard to win over my respect, especially now.
I wouldn't have done that if they hadn't proven themselves. I hope the rest can get more exposure though. Metal isn't that popular in Japan, as many have said, including Nemophila. So I hope more people react to them moving forward. Sorry as I wasn't trying to offend you or anything.
This song is from their Killers in the Sky album. The last two albums are concept albums with the last one called Sky Pirates. Kurosaki, the keytarist is a new member replacing Yuri on keyboards. Nana, the vocalist also has a death metal band called Gungurie. They have released two tracks on you favorite download or streaming service. Your demographics comments are way off as they attract all ages. Mina, the lead guitarist is approaching 30 years of age. The all female band culture in Japan has been going on for more than a decade. Destrose, Aldious and others precede even Babymetal. Fate Gear once again touring the UK and the EU this summer and always sell out. They visit you guys more often than any other Japanese band.
Hi ramair, I agree with the demographics comment, it's why I challenged Kirk when he said it. We do get called naive but we do challenge each other if we think one of us says something stupid
I have to say as someone who is 60 this year, like a few of the Japanese bands, and not just the all female bands. Am I an acception, well no! If you ever read the comments about these bands you will find there are a lot of old metalheads that are into these bands, and it's not because they are good looking (not saying it does not help), it because a lot of the music that's done in the west sounds like something you heard before or they all sound the same. I blame the music industry in the west, as they are not so interested in the music, just that it makes them money. So you'll find that they will either go after bands that sound like the popular sound, or try and get a band to sound like the popular band in some way.
But with a majority of Japanese bands, they are indepented and on their own labels, so they can do what they want and try sounds that are different. Also the Japanese metal scene for Japanese bands is very small. Yes metal is poopular in Japan, but it's for western bands or Japanese bands that have made it in the west. And because the scene is small bands all try different sounds to attract people, one of the reasons why they dress differently as well. And because there is that difference the older metalheads are finding something that does not sound the same, that they can get into.
I think a lot of the problem with the idea of females in metal/rock come from the way they were projecred in the west, and because that is what we are used to, there is a tendancy to project that on to the Japanese culture, and think it's the same. And i'll hold my hands up and say I did as well. In the west we have had the habit of sexualizing females in metal, the scanitly clad woman all over cars, around the band or just in a video for the hell of it. It was also done to shock a prudish public. Japanese culture is very different, they have sexulized females, even at a young age, so having scanitly clad females does not have that shock facter to a prudish public, so the image of women in matel/rock is different, to ours in the west. If you go to a metal/rock concert in Japan at least 1/2 will be female if not more. The last time I was in Japan, I went to see 4 biggish Vis Kei bands, at a venue in Tokyo that had a cap of 250, and one of the things that got me was the amount of females there were, I think there were 5 men out of about 230-240 people there.
The 1st all female band in Japan were Show-Ya from the 1980's, they did split up for a few years in the late 90's but got back together in the 00's. And now every year they do a thing called NaonのYaon, which is a festival they do in Tokyo, that promotes all female bands in metal/rock. So it's understanable why there are more females in metal/rock bands, and even why there are so many all female bands, in Japan compaired to the west.
As I said, I 1st looked at the Japanese all female bands with my western mindset, so I understand, why comments are made about attrative females in rock/metal. Then when you see and understand the difference you realise how wrong you were. I like Japanese bands because I like the sound, male or female, not because they are attractive. OK J-pop maybe sexualized, but there are not in the metal/rock world. And I agree with what Dave said about it, but I may have gone a bit father and commented on about men watching men in skin tight clothing, but no, it's about liking the music, so can't we think the same when 4/5 females walk on stage as we do when 4/5 men walk on stage? It's because the way we portrayed the sexs in metal/rock music in the west.
By the way Fate Gear, Lovebites and a few other bands came about from Destrose, I think it's around 20 bands that have/had members of Destrose over the years.
Also Nana (singer) is not a member of the band, as they do not have a full time singer, they did when they started, but now they use singers, fom friends, that Mina thinks will fit the song, but they tend to use Nana the most. They have had Ibuki (solo, ex.Destrose, ex.Disqualia), RAMI (solo, ex.Aldious), Sophia Aslanides (ex.Blood Stian Child, Season of Ghosts), Maki Oyama (solo, helped Aldiuos) and many more.
The bassist in the video used to be a full time member, but left to join another band, but after her replacement left, she came back as a guest to help out live and in videos, studio bass tracks are done by Mina.
Most of the rock/metal bands in Japan are formed the same way they are in the west, yes Babymetal and Ladybaby are the exception. And most rock/metal bands are indepenent of the music industry, as that has it's own cash cow in J-pop. Band Maid are on a label but were together before the label, the same with lovebites. J-pop groups are mainly put together by labels or management groups, LadyBaby by a fashion magizine. Babymetal came from a J-pop/idol group and were put together by a manager, but were not supported by the management company, until they became popular.
After Show-Ya, the band know for re-kick starting the all female band was Aldiuos some 4-5 years before Babymetal were a thing, Destrose were the same, and Mary's Blood who were Destrose without Mina in 2009. But yes, Babymetal kicked the door open and a lot of others followed, even bands that had been around before Babymetal, because they saw the market was out there for them. And yes some bands have come together with the idea of becoming big in the west so they can become big back in Japan. The Japanese market for Japanese rock/metal is very small, but it is big for western bands, or Japanese bands that have made it in the west or have been around for 20-30 years. So they were there but in the west we did not really know about them until after Babymetal, when the west started to look what else was over there.
Sorry for this being so long:)
Great comment, we appreciate the level of detail you went into