Album review: Imari Tones “Nabeshima”
Imari Tones gives us Japanese Christian alternative rock on a 24-track double album.
Japan is no stranger to the weird and wonderful, especially in the creative space. Imari Tones is a band that introduces itself like this: “Imari Tones is a Christian heavy metal band from Japan. Yes, you heard it right. Japan, metal, Jesus.” Well, religion is not my thing but Japanese weirdness very much is. Musically, there’s plenty of Japanese weirdness, a little bit of metal (such as on the track “Screaming Sin”), but Imari Tones is mostly alternative rock. The album contains songs in both Japanese and English and the song material varies quite a bit, both in style and quality. As this is a 24-track double album, it would have benefitted from being scaled down in size. It’s better to have a great 12-track album then a double album with too many fillers. “Atomic Jam” is pure weirdness and one of the best tracks on this album. Another weird and wonderful song is “Extravaganza”. “Passion” isn’t quirky but it’s a good song with some metal guitars and “Sakura Day” is a beautiful little track. I dig the quirky side of this band. Next time they should probably stop calling themselves a heavy metal band and instead do a five-track EP filled with quirky and weird Japanese alternative rock. They’re good at that.
Imari Tones’ double album “Nabeshima” is out now via Sliptrick Records.
