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LOVEBITES
Battle Against Damnation EP

JPU / Victor Entertainment (2018)
Rating: 8/10

Japan most certainly has a burgeoning scene when it comes to metal, particularly with female-fronted groups coming to the fore.

With Lovebites, out of Tokyo, we get five femme fatales of ferocity who first caught my eye in 2017 with their debut album Awakening From Abyss. I was rather surprised that a new EP was to emerge so soon, but also, naturally rather grateful. Battle Against Damnation – just like the previous release – is one hell of a record featuring enough gallops, solos and power to keep you happy until bed time.

The quality on show comes courtesy of Asami (vocals), Midori (guitar), Miho (bass), Haruna (drums), and newest member Miyako (guitar / keyboards), the end result being four hammering power metal tracks that drive hard and fast. There’s firstly the blitzing thrash attack of ‘The Crusade’ with its incredible synth injections, and the pounding ‘Break The Wall’ with its pulverising percussion and vocal variations and darker rhythmic tones. Secondly, there’s the neo-Gothic sheen of ‘Above The Black Sea’ with its strong European flourishes and dramatic, lush keyboard effects and ‘Under The Red Sky’, which blends traditional metal aesthetics with very contemporary styles encompassing some killer shred work and a fine, ascending melody and vocal choir.

Lovebites bring so much to the table for you to gawp at. The vocals drift effortlessly from full-on soaring power metal volcanic eruptions to an almost clean-cut and poppy design as experienced on the closing track, which at times alienates me with its catchiness until suddenly a juddering riff comes in.

And that’s the beauty of this party; Lovebites can provide seemingly innocent structures to draw you in, but once inside, you’re blasted with a sonic panorama of fully cranked New Wave Of British Heavy Metal-styled velocity, such as with the opening tune which rambles so heavy. Even with those synths, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were dealing with a group of veterans within the genre such is the song craft and attitude, and that’s without becoming hypnotised by the soaring vocals and chorus hooks. ‘Break The Wall’ just stands out as a lump of charging thrash metal menace, however, and then that orchestral chorus flow where the keys rise up with Asami’s warbles to a wail of insane leads.

Whether dabbling in harmonious patterns or heavyweight drifts, Lovebites remain a belligerent act that will no doubt appeal right across the board and there’s nary a novelty in sight. The quintet strike as a deadly melodic metal battalion stylistically crafted and full of unexpected twists.

Neil Arnold

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