LOVEBITES’ fifth studio album “Outstanding Power” released in Japan on February 18 of this year, but in Europe the album will be released through Napalm Records on May 8. We had the opportunity to speak with Asami, the vocalist of LOVEBITES, and ask her some questions about the new album and LOVEBITES in general.
While we are pretty sure that you’ve at least heard the name ‘LOVEBITES’ before, we did ask Asami to describe her band in her own words, just in case: “I’m Asami, the vocalist of the heavy metal band LOVEBITES. We are a power metal band composed of five Japanese women. Our sound is primarily influenced by European heavy metal, and we sing heroic lyrics in English.”
As Asami just said, LOVEBITES is a Japanese band consisting of five women who sing their lyrics in English, but their European metal influence caused them to soar much higher than the skies of Japan alone. With performances at big festivals like Graspop, Wacken Open Air and Download Festival they can definitely say that they’ve conquered the hearts of fans in Europe as well.
And yet, they only recently performed at the legendary Nippon Budokan in Japan. “Having worked towards the goal of standing on the stage of Budokan, it was a very moving experience. Thankfully, the show was sold out so the view we had from the stage was breathtaking. Many fans came from overseas to see us as well, so I think everyone had a great time!” Asami comments.
If you’re familiar with the band and its members, you might know that Asami wasn’t a metal-vocalist until she joined the band. “My challenge began with the ideas of seeing what would happen when I, someone who always sung R&B and soul music, started singing metal. I wanted to see the resulting chemical reaction! At first I had some doubts, but as I continued singing metal I felt excitement and joy as possibilities I hadn’t known existed for myself began to open up. Since then I’ve started writing songs and surprisingly, I’ve come to love thrash-metal type songs the most. With each release I approach it with the strong desire to create thrash metal songs no matter what. I’m now a complete heavy metal singer!” She explains when asked about what drew her to the metal genre as someone with a completely different background until LOVEBITES.
“I always give my all, pushing beyond my limits.”
“Our new album “Outstanding Power” was released right before our performance at the Nippon Budokan, so we put even more effort into it than usual. As a result, I think it’s a work filled with ‘overwhelming power’, featuring a diverse range of unique songs. Some of the lyrics were inspired by the music, but they’re also sprinkled with messages that reflect our beliefs. So I hope you’ll read all the lyrics as well.” She says, but when we create something, don’t we always try to outdo ourselves the next time we create something new? The previous album, “Judgement Day”, was released three years ago – on February 23rd 2023 – but was there anything she felt like she had to improve on with this new album? “No, there isn’t anything. I always give my all, pushing beyond my limits. I’ve had tons of songs that got scrapped over the years, but I approach songwriting with the attitude of wanting to create something better, so I think that’s only natural. During the recording, the fast-paced verse in the second song, “Silence the Void”, was incredibly difficult. I don’t think I’ll ever sing it again.” She explains before laughing. “Just kidding! But my personal favorite song to sing is “Eternally”.”
The first song on the tracklist of “Outstanding Power” also happens to be the first song that was revealed, through a music video. “The Castaway” showcases the band playing on a pirate ship in white outfits, combined with the heroic lyrics in English Asami already described in her introduction. But what made them pick this song as the leading music video for this release? What makes it more special than for example, “Silence the Void”? “What we always value the most is that we are a heavy metal band. This song fully showcases that while also retaining our unique style. So we decided to make this the music video for this album.”
As already mentioned, LOVEBITES will be releasing “Outstanding Power” through Napalm Records here in Europe, but the Japanese release of the album came in multiple versions packed with different extras for fans to enjoy. Through the magic of the internet we can of course import directly from Japan, but in Europe Napalm Records also added something unique: “Our European label, Napalm Records, will be releasing our album “Outstanding Power” on May 8. There are also T-shirts available that can only be purchased from the Napalm web store.” Asami explains before continuing: “We’ve been creating music for a long time, so of course we’ll continue to do so. We’re also considering releasing a live recording of our performance at the Nippon Budokan.”
If you look at LOVEBITES’ discography, you’ll undoubtedly notice the live recordings that the band has already released. With a milestone like Nippon Budokan just behind them at the moment of this interview, we’re not surprised to hear them say they’re at least considering a live release of this performance.
With this performance behind them, you could definitely say ‘they’ve made it’ in Japan. With this much success as musicians, Asami has something to say to all aspiring musicians out there: “Sing the way you want, play the way you want, do what you love, however you want. Music is freedom.”
We’ve been asking Asami questions the entire time, but unfortunately we’re already nearing the end of our time for today. Sadly that means we already have to start wrapping up this interview, but we can’t do so without a message from Asami for all of you:
“Have you ever listened to LOVEBITES? If not, listen to them right now! I want more people to know that there are amazing metal bands in Japan, and that there is a five-member all-female band called LOVEBITES. Just give them a listen, you won’t regret it. I guarantee you’ll be hooked!”
As mentioned prior, LOVEBITES’ fifth studio album “Outstanding Power” will be released in Europe through Napalm Records. Even though Asami didn’t mention it in the interview, the album will be released as a CD, but also as two differently colored LP records – one turquoise, one yellow marble. Additionally, there’s also a limited stock of an autographed version of all different versions of the album, and of course the T-shirt that Asami did mention.
All of these and more can be found on the webshop of Napalm Records, which you can visit by clicking this link.
Lastly, we want to give a special thank you to Kevin (KevyMetal) and Napalm Records for helping us with setting up this interview.
More about LOVEBITES
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雪 (Yuki) is the owner and driving force behind Arlequin.
She originally started the project in 2009 as a photographer under the name of Arlequin Photography, but developed an interest in journalism and translation ever since. Because of these interests interviews and reviews were added to the project, until it eventually hit the limits as a "photographer" in 2021, and Arlequin Magazine was added to the mix.
雪 (Yuki) is a native Dutch speaker with a graphic design degree, which means she is also the main person behind Arlequin Creations.
After all these years, she's still the one responsible for the interviews and most of the live photography you see here at Arlequin, but the majority of reviews and behind-the-scenes work is also done by her.
The reviews she writes are from the viewing point of an overseas fan, and thus written in English before being translated to Dutch, Spanish and Japanese. In the English versions she also tries to explain the meaning behind certain kanji or song titles to the readers, but what you don't see here is that these explanations are omitted in the Japanese versions in order to appeal to these readers more.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.