In October, JROCK NEWS caught up with the all-female hard rock band NEMOPHILA at Aftershock Festival 2022. We had a quick interview with their guitarists SAKI and Hazuki. They were buzzing from the electrifying performance and they gave us a heads up on their plans to return to America for their “Seize the Fate U.S. Tour 2023”.

Read on for their reflections on their US performances, and how they inspired their second full album Seize the Fate!

Welcome to Aftershock. You are bringing your music to a whole new audience. How do you all feel about that?

SAKI: This is the first time we are included in a festival lineup in either Japan or overseas—we are very happy. We are also glad to be back in the United States, after performing at Whisky a Go Go.

You were noticed on social media by Gene Simmons of KISS! He saw your YouTube video cover of Detroit Rock City. What happens at that moment when you get a tweet from a huge rock star?

Hazuki: We have only really known KISS through television. The feeling that they are real people who exist sank in after hearing their reaction to our playing, which we were so grateful to receive. We did not think we would reach an audience beyond Japan, so it’s an honor to be able to transcend borders through YouTube.

Hazuki and SAKI at Aftershock Festival 2022G Andrew White (JROCK NEWS)

You released a new song, Seize the Fate. How do you come up with this power that you have in your music? Where did you draw inspiration for this song?

SAKI: After completing the first album REVIVE, there were several elements that we wanted to expand upon and challenge ourselves. We tried incorporating it into our previous single STYLE. On Seize the Fate, we wanted to show that we could evolve even further, both musically and lyrically. We drew inspiration from our collective experience at Whisky a Go Go and Aftershock, with everyone in the band coming together and avowing to give it our best!

Hazuki: SAKI came up with all the lyrics, which carry a message of progressing toward our next big goal. I would say we were all inspired by looking forward to our future, and this was what united us as we wrote the music.

NEMOPHILA 2nd ALBUM「Seize the Fate」[Teaser]

Watch this video on YouTube

And you are coming back again for the “Seize the Fate U.S. Tour 2023”. Tell us about how that process is going and how you decided on coming back in March.

SAKI: Originally, we planned to tour the US following Aftershock, but we had to reschedule because of vocalist mayu’s pregnancy. We feel blessed to be able to tour outside of Japan. We hope folks in other regions will look forward to seeing us!

Hazuki: We are very excited to tour the US. There are so many characteristics that are unique to each state, and we will enjoy soaking all that in as we try to maintain our relaxed and true-to-ourselves mentality throughout the tour.

Congratulations to mayu and her family on the new baby! Before you go, do you have a final message for the fans?

Hazuki: We have released our single Seize the Fate, and then will tour Japan before flying back to the United States. We are the solo headlining act this time, a first time for us even in Japan! From these shows, we will charge up our power level to 250% and unleash it all on our American fans! See you soon!

SAKI: Hi everyone, I am really happy to come back next March. I am very excited to do a tour of the US!

Check below for details of the NEMOPHILA album Seize the Fate. Plus, if you are close to one of the venues for their tour in 2023, pick up some tickets to see them live!

Seize the Fate – NEMOPHILA U.S. tour 2023

Date	Venue	Location	Info
March 7	Goldfield Trading Post	Roseville, CA	Buy tickets
March 8	Great American Music Hall	San Francisco, CA	Buy tickets
March 9	Echoplex	Los Angeles, CA	Buy tickets
March 12	Lunario	Mexico City, MX	Buy tickets
March 16/17	SXSW	Austin, TX	Buy tickets
March 20	Gramercy Theatre	New York, NY	Buy tickets