Interview

Interview: BAND-MAID unpacks sold-out US tour and aggressive EP “Unleash”

Jan 7, 2023

Between a wildfire US tour, and prepping for their first big concert of 2023, BAND-MAID sat down for an interview with JROCK NEWS. The metal maidens from Tokyo had a lot to say about their US tour experience th...

Interview: NEMOPHILA guitarists SAKI and Hazuki reflect on US performances

G Andrew White and Nori

Dec 18, 2022

Interview, Tour and event

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 electrifyin...

Interview: Kouki and HIZAKI’s philosophies of visual kei

Erica and Omatsu

Dec 8, 2022

Interview, Tour and event

Musicians Kouki (D=OUT) and HIZAKI (Versailles, Jupiter) rocked Nekocon 24, held from November 5-7 in Hampton, VA. After a hectic weekend of autograph sessions, a Q&A panel, and no less than three live conc...

Interview with Sick²: Diving into the pure chaos of digital rock

Erica, Dorian and Omatsu

Oct 30, 2022

Interview, Releases

Digital rock band Sick² is a band of duality. They're instantly recognizable by their flashy, eye-catching costumes and upbeat melodies. Yet when you dive deeper into their lyrics, you're often met by darker th...

Interview with Jose Mangin: Metal Ambassador on Jrock and Jmetal

G Andrew White

Oct 18, 2022

Interview

During our coverage of Jrock bands at Aftershock Festival 2022 in Sacramento, CA, we sat down with the official host, Jose Mangin. He is regarded as the most distinguished personality in hard rock and metal tod...

Interview with Madmans Esprit: Shaping brutal but warm album

Rin

Oct 16, 2022

Interview

Madmans Esprit is an avant-garde metal band from South Korea that incorporates elements of visual kei into both their sound and aesthetics. The band started as the solo project by independent artist Kyuho in 20...

Interview: SCANDAL reflects on touring challenges and looking forward

G Andrew White and Nori

Sep 19, 2022

Interview, Tour and event

On July 15, SCANDAL made the fourth stop on their North America WORLD TOUR 2022 "MIRROR" in Atlanta, Georgia. JROCK NEWS was in the crowd.This tour, previously planned for 2020 but delayed by the COVID-19 p...

Interview: How touring abroad changed ACME’s worldview completely

Erica

Aug 20, 2022

Interview, Tour and event

On July 18, visual metalcore quartet ACME played their first-ever concert in New York.ACME commanded a packed dancefloor, assaulting them with crisp, high-treble drums, chugging basslines, and melodic guita...

Interview with sources: Spanning the spectrum from classical to rock

Erica

Aug 13, 2022

Interview

Neoclassical trio "sources" is unlike any other band in the Jrock scene right now. The instrumental band fuses classical music with genres spanning the spectrum from rock to pop. Now, newly signed to JPU Record...

Interview with blank paper: an enigmatic sensation from the future

Erica and Peertje

Aug 1, 2022

Interview

Little is known about the enigmatic rock band blank paper, who will perform at Otakuthon in Montreal on August 5. All the general public knows is that it appears to not be human.A glance at blank paper's ba...

Interview: NEMOPHILA before kicking ass at Whisky a Go Go part 3

G Andrew White

Jul 24, 2022

Interview, Tour and event

Before NEMOPHILA took the stage at Whisky a Go Go on July 1, we had a sit-down chat with them. In person, their candidness and sweet personalities were charming and disarming. So, we had to find out how these i...

Interview with SUGIZO: “All humans should have a sense of love and harmony”

edoh+

Jul 6, 2022

Interview

Hot on the heels of the recent release of SHAG's new album THE PROTEST JAM and Rebellmusik music video, we've been presented an opportunity to pick the brains of the mastermind behind the thoughtful album.I...

Interview with NEMOPHILA: “We are here to kick your ass!” part 1

G Andrew White

Jul 1, 2022

Interview, Tour and event

Making their first debut in America, NEMOPHILA prepares to perform a sold-out show at the world-famous Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, CA. As a crowd gathers on the Sunset Strip, there is much anticipation for thi...

Interview with HAKUEI and HIZUMI: Hardships as vocalists

Dorian, Rin, Peertje and afaenia

Jul 1, 2022

Interview

This interview was originally published by “club Zy.” in Japanese. JROCK NEWS is partnering with club Zy. and Vijuttoke with the aim to popularize Japanese visual kei globally. Learn more about our partnership ...