BRIDEAR @ Melkweg – 1st October 2021
Words by Miriam Cadoni
After more that 2 years and 2 lockdowns, here in The Netherlands we are back to enjoy the sweaty and warm environment of a (little) concert hall. Despite being a really special concert, this one of which I’ll talk about in this report is even more special. Due to the band in question. Indeed, it’s quite rare that a Japanese band touches Dutch soil and this makes the event even more exclusive.
In this specific case, we are talking about the heavy metal/j-rock band BRIDEAR. The Fukuoka all-female metal band have been active since 2012. And after a line-up turnover, the band kept on steadily releasing and touring both oversea and nationally. Recently, the band has stricken a deal with the UK-based specialized label and booking agency Setsuzoku Records/Orion Live. Of allow them to internationally release their third full-length “Bloody Bride”.
For this occasion, the international release features a different cover album and it features the exclusive track “The Moment”. In order to promoting this amazing release, the band has embarked on a short EU tour. Whose first date was in Berlin and it will comprise of Amsterdam, Brussels, London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester. And for this occasion, I’ve attended their second show in Amsterdam.
Let me start by mentioning how diverse the crowd was. Indeed, at the show were present a different and heterogenous audience with no age limitation. This is an evident proof of how the Japanese culture and music have spread overseas. In this matter, I’ve also met hard-core fans who have travelled from Belgium only for the band.
Throughout the show, the band has played songs from their discography. By then offering a lot of appetizers from their current release “Bloody Bride”. making the show even much more explosive. When the singer KIMI, the bassist HARU, the two guitarists MISAKI and AYUMI, and last but not least, the drummer NATSUMI are together: they are force to be reckon. And it feels like from those guitars are spitting fire.
Maybe I’m exaggerating but “The Moment”, “Light in the Dark”, “Brave New World” are to be considered the top moments of this amazing gig. As a final consideration, I warmly recommend to check out this great band but also the current Japanese scene. Thanks to the major oversea breakout some years ago of BABYMETAL. More and more exciting acts from Japan are visiting our European cities.
facebook.com/pages/BRIDEARJapan/362117963922182