Crossfaith Hysteria
Jul
25
7.52pm

CROSSFAITH // When Worlds Collide


To welcome back Japanese heavy metal masters Crossfaith so soon after we had but a mere taste of them should mean their September shows should be in everyone’s gig diary. The fact Crossfaith return to support The Amity Affliction alongside Pagan and Underoath just makes their magical flavour all the sweeter.

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Back in January at Unify Gathering, Crossfaith’s set was cut criminally short because of tech issues. Even so, punters dubbed their performance the standout of the entire festival. For vocalist Kenta Koie, he reckons it’s the very special bond Crossfaith have created between themselves and their fans that means high praise even when things don’t go right. “Accidents are always happening,” he says. He takes his time, as English is his second language. “On a stage it’s a monster – sometimes they [accidents] stop our set.


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“But still it’s fun! We were so excited to be on the mainstage at Unify, and at the time, it was our first show of [our] 2019 tour.

“It’s hard but I think at Unify, that festival is so focused on hardcore and metalcore music, but our DJ means we can change our atmosphere, making us totally different from other artists, so I think that’s why we always have so much energy on stage, 100%.”

Crossfaith are described as a unique presence fusing rock, metal, and electronica in their music. That said, Koie doesn’t think it pigeonholes the band. In fact, it pushes them to continue to experiment with a multitude of genres. “Oh yeah, we still experiment!” Koie says. “In fact right now we’re writing new music… but you know, in the beginning is always the hardest part.

“I think every single band has a responsibility to present their music to their audience, and we don’t want to present music which is not finished. We always focus on the beginning and now I think we will start writing this new music in a new style – but you know, still in a Crossfaith style!

“It’s the most fun part of being in a band, to change everything in time. But now, we don’t want to be a pop band, so we always have anger or something like that in our music.”

I think every single band has a responsibility to present their music to their audience, and we don’t want to present music which is not finished. We always focus on the beginning and now I think we will start writing this new music in a new style – but you know, still in a Crossfaith style!
[KENTA]

Hitting up Koie for more on any upcoming new material, he won’t say how far the music will stray from what we were given almost a year ago in the sublime 2018 release, Ex_Machina. “I wrote two songs for this new music, and two are finished. But still, we’re not inspired, so we just keep on doing it – I can’t say right now what it will sound like.”

 In true Crossfaith style, big ideas mean big albums—but Koie isn’t necessarily stuck for ideas, per se, more like he wants to one-up himself and go bigger and badder than Ex_Machina. He’s hoping that touring with old friends this September will help stir the creative juices.

 The upcoming tour with The Amity Affliction, sandwiched in a meaty line-up of punk and hardcore, is a pretty amazing position, Koie says, for Crossfaith to find themselves in. “The Amity Affliction and Underoath, we go way back.The first time we toured with The Amity Affliction was 2013 in the States for Warped Tour. Underoath, we played with them 2011 – both are two of my favourite bands. Underoath, especially, are one of the biggest inspirations for me as a singer.

“I heard The Amity Affliction have a huge crowd in Australia, and we are still you know, our role is still underground in Australia, so we’re gonna smash the other bands, smash all the crowd, with our music.

Though they’ve moved up to arena level shows in their native Japan, Koie says there is of course, still room for world domination. “I still think many people don’t know about us, so we’re gonna be a new shock in the tour!”

Catch Crossfaith touring with The Amity Affliction:

SYDNEY // Thursday 12th September // Moore Park
BRISBANE // Saturday 14th September // Riverstage
MELBOURNE // Monday 16th September // Melbourne Arena

Tickets available here.


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