Metal Festivals in Tokyo

Every October for the past ten years, there is a two-day heavy metal music festival in the Tokyo area called “Loudpark“.

This year it is scheduled for 2015 October 10th (Sat) and October 11th (Sun).

Loudpark heavy metal festival; 2015 Oct 10-11.

Some of the major bands that are billed to play are: Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. Three of the “Big Four“!

And then the following month, there will be another big heavy metal festival in the Tokyo area!
OzzFest Japan is scheduled for 2015 November 21st (Sat) and November 22nd!

OzzFest Japan 2015 will be held on 2015 Nov 21st – 22nd.

Unlike Loudpark, OzzFest doesn’t have a long history in Japan. This will only be the second OzzFest in this country so far.

The first OzzFest Japan ever was held in May of 2013. I went to it with a friend of mine.
(Click here to read my post about it.)

I saw Black Sabbath, among other bands, at OzzFest Japan 2013…and they were initially billed to headline OzzFest Japan 2015, but it’s been changed for whatever reason…Ozzy will still be playing with his solo band instead.

The main acts of OzzFest Japan 2015 will be: Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society, KoRn Bullet For My Valentine, and Evanscence.

Loudpark ’13

Loudpark, the annual heavy-metal festival that is held every October in either Saitama or Chiba (near Tokyo) will be held at the Saitama Super Arena on October 19th and 20th (2013).

Many bands will play, including Stone Temple Pilots, Europe, Lordi, King Diamond and many others.

Personally, I don’t like music festivals much. Usually there are too many bands that I don’t care about.
I did go to OzzFest Japan last spring because I wanted to see Black Sabbath … but I usually prefer regular concerts with only one or two bands.

But I’m definitely not going to Loudpark this year because it is scheduled on the same weekend as the KISS concert that I’m going to!

Are you going to Loudpark ?
Are you going to see KISS in Japan?
Which seems like a better concert to you?

Animetal USA

Have you ever heard of the Japanese heavy metal band “Animetal“?

The Japanese band "Animetal".

They were an extra band made just for fun by members of other established Japanese metal bands. Animetal played heavy metal versions of Japanese anime theme songs.

The artwork of the cover of Animetal's first album (released in the mid-90's).

Animetal disbanded about five years ago…but this year, Marty Friedman (who was the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Megadeth but quit that famous band so that he could live in Tokyo with his Japanese wife) helped organize the formation of “Animetal USA“.

"Animetal USA"

Animetal USA consists of Mike Vescera (formally the lead vocalist of the Japanese band “Loudness” for a short time), Chris Impellitteri (of the band “Impellitteri”), Rudy Sarzo (from “Quiet Riot”) and Scott Travis (of “Judas Priest”).

Just like the original “Animetal”, this band sings heavy metal versions of Japanese anime theme songs…but, unlike the Japanese band, only some of their songs are in Japanese—the rest are in English.

They will be releasing their debut album on 2011 October 12 and on October 15, they will perform at this year’s Loudpark Heavy Metal Festival in Saitama, Japan.

The cover artwork for Animetal USA's debut album...due for release on 2011/10/12.

Here is the official video for “Animetal USA“‘s first single…the theme song of the anime 「宇宙戦艦ヤマト」 (“Space Battleship Yamato“):

Upcoming concerts in Japan

What type of music do you like to listen to? Do you go to concerts often?

As for me, I like heavy metal music. Actually I don’t understand why anyone would listen to anything else. 😉

There are a number of great bands scheduled to play shows in Japan soon.

For example:

● Linkin Park

– 2011 September 10, 11: Chiba, Japan
– 2011 September 13: Yokohama, Japan
– 2011 September 14: Nagoya, Japan
– 2011 September 16: Osaka, Japan

Also, on 2011 August 31, Linkin Park will play a show in Los Angeles, California to help raise money for the victims of the March 11 earthquake in Japan.
The Japanese hard rock band B’z will be the opening act.

● Anthem

The Japanese metal band Anthem are currently on a tour of Japan until the end of July (2011).

● Anthrax

In support of their new album, “Worship Music“, Anthrax will play four dates in Japan this December:

– 2011 December 12: Osaka, Japan
– 2011 December 13, 14: Tokyo, Japan
– 2011 December 16: Nagoya, Japan

The band “Hellyeah” will be the opening act for the Anthrax shows.

● Aerosmith

Hard rock icons Aerosmith will play shows across Japan in (2011) November and December:

– 2011 November 22: Kanazawa, Japan
– 2011 November 25: Hiroshima, Japan
– 2011 November 28, 30: Tokyo, Japan
– 2011 December 2: Fukuoka, Japan
– 2011 December 6: Osaka, Japan
– 2011 December 8: Nagoya, Japan
– 2011 December 10: Sapporo, Japan

● Loudpark Heavy Metal Festival 2011

– 2011 October 15: Saitama, Japan

At this year’s Loudpark, Whitesnake, The Darkness, Stryper and many other acts are scheduled to perform.

● Whitesnake

In addition to headlining this year’s Loudpark festival, Whitesnake will play four additional shows in Japan:

– 2011 October 17: Osaka, Japan
– 2011 October 18: Okayama, Japan
– 2011 October 20: Miyazaki, Japan
– 2011 October 22: Nagoya, Japan

● Mötley Crüe

– 2011 September 28: Nagoya, Japan
– 2011 September 29, 30: Osaka, Japan
– 2011 October 3, 4, 5: Tokyo, Japan

● Def Leppard

– 2011 November 5: Osaka, Japan
– 2011 November 7: Tokyo, Japan

Upcoming metal shows in Tokyo

Are you planning a trip to Tokyo this year (or are you already here?)?
Wanna see a heavy metal concert in this city while you’re here?

There are a number of great bands scheduled to perform on stage in the Tokyo area this summer and autumn.

● First up is Faster Pussycat with special guest Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns.

Faster Pussycat

I saw Faster Pussycat in concert back in 1986 when they opened for David Lee Roth in Florida.
(And I also saw L.A. Guns on their “Hollywood Vampires” tour in 1991 in Yokohama, Japan.)

I can’t believe it’s already been nearly 25 years since that Faster Pussycat concert I saw…but this is their “25th Anniversary Tour“.

They play at 「渋谷サイクロン」 (“Shibuya Cyclone“) club on Friday, June 25th and Saturday, June 26th starting at 7:00PM (doors open at 6:30PM).
Tickets cost ¥5,000 in advance or ¥5,000 plus one drink if you pay at the door.

● Next is Bullet For My Valentine.

Bullet For My Valentine

They’re scheduled to play at the 「新木場 Studio Coast」 (“Shin-Kiba Studio Coast“) club in Tokyo on Wednesday, September 1st (they’re scheduled to play in 大阪 (Osaka) the next day)).

Their show starts at 7:00PM. Doors open at 6:00PM.

● Metallica will bring their “Death Magnetic” tour to the Tokyo area on Saturday, September 25th and Sunday, September 26th.

Metallica's 'Death Magnetic' album cover

Metallica is scheduled to play at the 「埼玉スーパーアリーナ」 (“Saitama Super Arena“).
Doors open at 5:00PM. Their show will start at 8:00PM.
Tickets cost ¥9,000.

● Also, there’s Loudpark coming up.
This is a heavy metal festival every October near Tokyo.
Click here to see my entry about it on my “Festivals in Tokyo” page.

Flyer for 'Loudpark 2010'

This year’s Loudpark festival will be at the 「埼玉スーパーアリーナ」 (“Saitama Super Arena“) on Saturday, October 16th and Sunday, October 17th.

Doors will open at 10:00AM and the first bands will begin playing at 11:00AM.
Tickets cost ¥14,000 for a one-day ticket or ¥25,000 for both days.
For an extra ¥3,000 you can get a Loudpark 2010 T-shirt.

This year’s line-up includes:

Ozzy Osbourne

KoRn

Motorhead

Avenged Sevenfold, the Japanese band Dir En Grey, Stryper, etc.

Anvil

I just watched the documentary about the heavy metal band “Anvil” titled “The Story Of Anvil“.

It was a fun movie. It’s like a real life “This Is Spinal Tap” (which is a “mockumentary”, or mock documentary, about a fake heavy metal band called “Spinal Tap”).

Anyways, I knew the Canadian heavy metal band Anvil in the ’80s. But I was never really a big fan of theirs.
Actually I had totally forgotten about Anvil for the past twenty-some years…until this movie was released last month.
But Japanese fans are famous for being dedicated for life. This documentary about Anvil begins with the band playing at a heavy metal festival in Japan in the mid-80s, and then it shows how they struggled for nearly three decades in obscurity in their small hometown in Canada…until they were offered the chance in 2006 to return to Japan and play at the LoudPark ’06 heavy metal festival in front of a huge Japanese crowd again.

The behavior of the members of Anvil in this documentary makes me think that maybe “This Is Spinal Tap” is inspired by Anvil…even though the Spinal Tap mockumentary was released in the mid-80s.

For example, in the Spinal Tap movie, one member of that band changed the numbers on his amplifier so that the maximum volume read “11” rather than “10”, and he thought that that made it louder than other amps.
And in the Anvil movie, the guitarist’s amplifier also goes up to eleven.

Also, the Spinal Tap band went to “Stonehenge” and were inspired by it and decided to add a giant 18-foot prop Stonehenge to their stage…but a misunderstanding led the prop to be designed at only 18 inches tall.
And in their movie, Anvil also went to “Stonehenge” for inspiration.

Another similarity between the two movies is that both bands struggled to become successful, often playing in front of audiences of less than six people…until they learned how popular they were in Japan.

And an usual coincidence is that “This Is Spinal Tap” was directed by Rob Reiner…and the drummer of Anvil is named Robb Reiner.

I’m convinced. Anvil is the real Spinal Tap.

Here’s the official trailer for “The Story Of Anvil“:

And here’s the scene from “This Is Spinal Tap” where the guitarist is convinced that having “11” written on the amp makes it louder:

On this day in August…

◎ Forty-seven years ago today (1962 August 5), Marilyn Monroe died.
Did you know that in January 1954, she and baseball legend Joe DiMaggio traveled to Japan for their honeymoon?

◎ Tomorrow (August 6) is the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing of 広島 (Hiroshima, Japan) by the U.S.
August 9th will be the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing of 長崎 (Nagasaki, Japan).

Last year at this time, I wrote a post about the anniversary of this sad event that includes the last letter written by a kamikaze pilot to his young daughter. (Click here to read it).

◎ 2009 August 15 will mark the day that Japan surrendered and ended World War 2 sixty-four years ago.
Last year, I wrote a post about this day too. (Click here to see it.)

War is terrible. And it’s known that Japan did many bad things during World War 2, but so did every country involved. Including the “Allies”.
Most people agree that it’s best that Japan lost World War 2…but dropping an atomic bomb shouldn’t have been done, and definitely should never be done again.

This is the BBC documentary “Hiroshima” (89 min):

Have you ever heard of 山口彊 (Tsutomu Yamaguchi)?
He’s the only person known to have survived both the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

山口彊 (Tsutomu Yamaguchi)

His hometown is 長崎 (Nagasaki, Japan), but on 1945 August 6 he went to 広島 (Hiroshima, Japan) on a business trip.
He suffered burns, ear and eye damage when the “Little Boy” bomb was dropped on Hiroshima while he was there.
Because of his injuries, he was sent back to a hospital in his hometown. So he was in Nagasaki when the “Fat Man” bomb was dropped on that city!
He had misfortune of having been in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki when they were atomic bombed. But was lucky to have survived both times.

◎ August 15 – 17 will be the 40th anniversary of the “Woodstock Music & Art Fair“.

Woodstock promo poster

That famous three-day music festival occurred the year I was born. 1969.
I understand it was a major era-defining event for Americans who were teenagers or young adults at that time.
Personally, I don’t think I would’ve gone to Woodstock even if I was my parents’ age.
I’m not a big on music festivals. I like concerts…but all day music festivals with numerous performers seems too much to me. (Summer music festivals are currently very popular in Japan right now. The three-day “Summer Sonic” is scheduled for this weekend near Tokyo and Osaka. Others are “Fuji Rock Festival“, “Rock In Japan“, “Loudpark Heavy Metal Festival“, etc., but I have never gone to one.)

Also, I wouldn’t have gone to Woodstock because I don’t like the “hippie folk music” that was performed there. The only bands on the set-list that seem half-way decent to me are Johnny Winter and Jimi Hendrix.

If I went to a music festival, it’d be the “Loudpark Heavy Metal Festival“, “Crüe Fest“, or “OzzFest“.

Ozzy Osbourne's "OzzFest"

敬老の日

Today is 敬老の日 (Respect For The Aged Day).
(I wrote a short FAQ about it here).

My kids bought a small gift for their 94-year old great-grandmother. They took it to her house and paid her a visit.

—-
Yesterday we went to 上野 (Ueno, Tokyo).
As we were leaving 上野駅 (Ueno Train Station), we passed the Hard Rock Cafe, Ueno Stn Tokyo. We didn’t go in, but I noticed this poster outside the cafe:

I like the American rock band Mötley Crüe, and I know that they’re coming to this year’s Loudpark Heavy Metal Festival in October (see my “Festivals In Tokyo” page)…but according to this poster, they’ll be playing dates in Japan after the festival, too.

From there, we went to the big 「やましろや」 (Yamashiroya Toy Store), and then we went to a lake that has rental boats.

We rented a boats for our daughters and they had fun paddling around the lake for a half-hour.

Here are a couple of videos of the boats on the lake (none of the videos of my kids are online):

After that, we saw some people feeding the 亀 (turtles) and 鯉 (carp).
It was crazy. They started swarming to get the bread:

A nearby shrine:

At shrines in Japan, you can buy your fortune. After you read it, you tie it to one of these:

You can also buy an 絵馬…which is a wooden board that you write your wish on and then tie it near the shrine so your wish may come true.
Here are some people’s 絵馬 with their wishes written on them:

The shrine was setting up in the evening for the 祭 (festival) the next day (today):

My wife and daughters folded bamboo leaves into boats:

We stopped at an Okinawan store in Ueno to buy some Okinawan food. I really like Okinawan food.

This シーサー (Shiisaa) was outside the store. They are Okinawan mythological guardians (usually found in pairs):

And here’s an intersection in Ueno at night: