New album for 2024 but a tour supporting the European tour of PAIN from October
The Japanese "Samurai Metal" band debuts their new album, which will be released by Napalm Records on 12 January 2024 under the same name as the band. So the Japanese band Ryujin will release "Ryujin" in the first half of January 2024!
The Japanese band from Gyze formed in 2011 and which Mgmeia has already featured on YouTube. It should be noted that the album will be bilingual, mixing Japanese and English in its songs, and will feature production and several guest appearances by Matthew Kiichi Heafy of Trivium. It's no surprise that they're mixing their power metal with super-fast riffs, which is already customary in these parts, combined with traditional Japanese instruments, from the old orchestral Gagaku to the more modern anime or hentai themes, as you prefer!
They're not new to these parts. Ryujin have appeared at various festivals around the world, with their own identity, bringing culture to metal stages with traditional instruments such as Shamisen, Dragon Flaute, Erhu or Taiko and, of course, all accompanied by one of the gods of guitar today, Ruoji Shinomoto!
RYUJIN mastermind Ryoji Shinomoto says about the album and new single:
"This is the first album of the evolution from Gyze to RYUJIN! We want everyone to enjoy Samurai Metal from the Far East! Produced by Matthew, it opens new doors for us and we are honored to release it on the legendary Napalm Records!"
Featured guest Matthew Kiichi Heafy adds:
"RYUJIN delivers music unlike anyone else on the planet. It was their original sound that initially grasped my attention and left me needing to have more and more of what they do. I am humbled and honored to have been able to contribute to this upcoming masterpiece… this opus!
This is the album the world needs."
RYUJIN is produced by Matthew Kiichi Heafy and mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis, with guest appearances by Heafy (vocals and direction on several tracks) and Mukai Wataru of the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, cello. Blending Japanese and English lyricism, RYUJIN's tracks feature titles based on the words of the Ainu people of Hokkaido, RYUJIN's home region, as well as famous Japanese paintings and idioms.
Setting a sinister and exciting stage, the opening instrumental track of the album "Ryujin", "Gekokujo" shows a veritable Death Metal marathon of spectacular folk-inspired riffs. Drummer Shuji Shinomoto and bassist Aruta Watanabe are unstoppable in their instrumental skills and techniques.
"Raijin & Fujin" was this power metal band's first single, featuring Matthew Kiichi Heafy, making a hurricane of rhythms and riffs. In contrast, the calm, clean vocals on "The Rainbow Song" take us into a melodic, modern and innovative world of this style of heavy metal.
Tracks like "Dragon, Fly Free" and "Kunnecup" invite the listener to sing along with RYUJIN as they paint musical canvases of adventure and positivity. "Scream of the Dragon" returns to extreme influences between uplifting choruses and a story that mixes English and Japanese lyrics, before "Gekirin" ventures into darker death metal influences - cascading into nautical-inspired melodies (as "Ryujin" is a dragon god of the sea in Japanese mythology, these oceanic musical themes weave seamlessly throughout the album).
The album nears the end with three heart-gripping, primarily Japanese-language opuses - the rock-opera-like ballad “Saigo No Hoshi”, the powerfully victorious and traditionally-inspired “Ryujin” and a cover of Linked Horizon’s“Guren No Yumiya” - widely known as an opening theme of popular anime series Attack On Titan. The album finishes with a bonus English-language version of “Saigo No Hoshi”, with vocals once again performed by Matthew Kiichi Heafy.
RYUJIN illustrates an exotic sonic experience that will transport music lovers to a world of fantastic adventure and technical extravagance!
RYUJINtrack listing:
1. Hajimari
2. Gekokujo
3. Dragon, Fly Free
5. The Rainbow Song
6. Kunnecup
7. Scream of the Dragon
8. Gekirin
9. Saigo No Hoshi
10. Ryujin
11. Guren No Yumiya
12. Saigo No Hoshi (feat. Matthew K. Heafy) (Single Edit)
RYUJIN supporting Pain European-Tour:
05.10.2023 Cologne, DE @ Essigfabrik
06.10.2023 Drachten, NL @ Iduna
07.10.2023 Hengelo, NL @ Metropool
08.10.2023 Antwerp, BE @ Kavka Zappa
10.10.2023 Glasgow, UK @ Ivory Blacks
11.10.2023 Manchester, UK @ Rebellion
12.10.2023 Birmingham, UK @ The Asylum
13.10.2023 London, UK @ O2 Academy Islington
14.10.2023 Amstelveen, NL @ P60
15.10.2023 Paris, FR @ La Machine Du Moulin Rouge
16.10.2023 Nantes, FR @ Le Ferrailleur
18.10.2023 Porto, PT @ Hard Club
19.10.2023 Lisbon, PT @ RCA Club
20.10.2023 Madrid, ES @ Chango Club
21.10.2023 Pamplona, ES @ Sala Totem Aretoa
22.10.2023 Lyon, FR @ La Rayonne
24.10.2023 Ljubljana, SI @ Cvetlicarna
25.10.2023 Adda, IT @ Live Music Club Trezzo Sull‘
26.10.2023 Zagreb, HR @ Klub Mocvara
27.10.2023 Bucharest, RO @ Quantic Club
28.10.2023 Cluj-Napoca, RO @ Form Space
31.10.2023 Sofia, BG @ Club Mixtape 5
RYUJIN is:
Ryoji Shinomoto - Guitar, Vocals, Shamisen, Erhu, Dragon Flute & Orchestration
Shuji Shinomoto - Drums, Vocals
Aruta Watanabe - Bass, Vocals
