Interview w/ Kaoru from
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What were you going for musically with the new record?
Kaoru: We tried to set an oriental atmosphere and wanted to make not only heavy sounds but also beautiful ones.
How will it be different than your last disc The Marrow of a Bone?
I think you will find on this album that it's not all hard and heavy but it's really beautiful and something that lets you visualize several scenes.
Are there any specific scenes you're addressing?
I'd rather not say yet, because we want everyone to feel it by themselves when they listen to it.
Why did you decide to sign with The End Records for the release?
We thought they would be the most motivated to work with us among labels we had as options.
A lot of metal bands do really cheap videos and don't put much thought into them. However, you always put a lot of time and effort into your videos. Do you think the music videos are as artistically important as the album?
Very important! It doesn't make any sense for the band unless our will is reflected to everything that we can express ourselves. Basically, we like creating things and essentially have to spend time for it.
Tell us about the video for "Dozing Green" Who shot it, what is it about?
Mr. Hiroyuki Kondo, who has been working on our video works more than 10 years, has directed this music video. We thought it would be boring to simply edit footage expressing destruction and pain and our performing scene, so we decided to set video screens behind us so as to show both images at the same time.
Was there anything difficult about the shoot?
Nothing special, but I heard that when some members set off bottle rocket near the locale, they got yelled at by neighbors for all that noise.
Are the other songs on the album going to be similar to "Dozing Green?"
Nope. Maybe song with similar atmosphere though… Well, but, there is no similar or same song on this album at all.
Any funny stories about things that happened while recording the album?
Well, we have only painful memories. I can't say anything more.
Asian metal seems to be getting more attention these days internationally. Dir En Grey, Sigh and Cthonic have all gotten a lot of press in the past couple years. What other Asian bands should we keep our eyes out for?
The Mad Capsule Markets is one of my longstanding favorite bands although they suspend their activities now.