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PARTY METAL ANTHEM – what an awesome name for an album! Read our interview with ACME about their latest work here!
Thank you for having another interview with us! We are very excited to catch up with you. How are you today?
HAL: We are happy to have another opportunity to talk to you.
CHISA: I’m feeling very happy to finally deliver our new album.
SHOGO: Thank you for interviewing us again.
RIKITO: I am happy to be able to talk about another new work.
Let’s start talking about your upcoming new album “PARTY METAL ANTHEM”. On your webpage there is an explanation that it represents ACME’s unwavering positive attitude and power to turn the difficulties you face into “parties”. What has been the biggest challenge for you since the start of your career as ACME?
HAL: The world tour we did during the COVID pandemic. It has been difficult for all bands to perform as much as they would like, and it has been difficult for fans to come out to see us. Because it was such a time, we decided to go on tour because we wanted people to hear our music to cheer them up. Fewer people were able to come than before, but we had a good time.
CHISA：The COVID pandemic. We still can’t do band activities the same way as before, and I think that challenge is still continuing.
SHOGO: I want to continue being in ACME for a long time. I’m in the middle of that challenge.
RIKITO: As expected, activities during the COVID pandemic have been difficult, and we have had to take on various challenges.
Your new song, which also gave the album its title “PARTY METAL ANTHEM”, is a very energetic and fun song to listen to. The message of the lyrics is pretty powerful and straightforward, too. Can you give us a “behind the scenes” talk about this song? It can be about the production, recording or creating the song.
HAL: This song was written and composed by me. The inspiration for the song and lyrics came to me while I was climbing a mountain. So every time I listen to the song, the scenery of mountain climbing comes back to me.
SHOGO: There were some parts that were changed from the original song, and everyone arranged it to make it more ACME-like.
I personally loved the lyrics “This society that breaks your middle finger/ But to prove you’re alive, stick up your pointer and pinky fingers”. What is your favorite part of this song?
HAL: I had an injured middle finger, when I was writing these lyrics, so that’s where that comes from. I like that the song has a very intense part at the beginning, but at the end everyone sings in unison and it’s a happy ending. There are many difficult times in life, but I believe that if you think positively, you will get a happy ending.
CHISA: As I’m answering this interview, I haven’t performed it yet, but it’s great that I can picture a good live performance in my head.
SHOGO: My favorite part of this song is the first guitar riff.
RIKITO: I like that there are a lot of times when we get to sing together with the fans. I think this song is perfect for a live show because it’s something we create together with our fans.
In Hyakuirorinne, “bucket list” appears a few times. Can you share a few items on your bucket lists with us?
CHISA: I want to live on the southern islands for about a month.
HAL: Conquering Japan’s 100 Famous Mountains. For now I’m only at 20/100, but I’ll do my best!
SHOGO: I want to build a home studio.
RIKITO: I want to go fishing in the Amazon River in Brazil.
KANON is the only song in the album that has no English lyrics. Is there any particular reason why you avoided using English lyrics for this song only?
CHISA: It’s not so negative that it’s a setback, but I started to think more seriously about my own style while working overseas. It’s not just English, it’s also possible to use a different language, and of course there is the joy of being able to communicate with new people using that language. On the other hand, I feel that if I don’t seriously consider my own style, the meaning and significance of my activities will diminish. Just as you can’t live someone else’s life, a vocalist can’t exchange his body or tone. I made this to remind myself of the style of my work once again.
Also, in KANON, there is a line that goes “99年の7月 人類滅亡 生き⻑らえた世界線へ” (July ‘99, downfall of humanity toward a parallel world that has survived). It feels like a reference to Nostradamus’ prophecies. Could you give us a little bit of background story about this song?
CHISA: As a child, I had the feeling at the time that the world was really going to end. That’s why I felt like there’s no point in studying or working hard at sports. But then the world wasn’t destroyed, right? I felt relieved, but I also felt like I didn’t know what to do next. Maybe that’s why I started a band. It is said that a near-death experience changes your life, but in a sense, I thought that this event was the starting point for me. And with all the sad news and unbelievable events happening in the real world right now, I was thinking about how, if a parallel world existed, what would be the best world we live in? For example, if there was a world that was destroyed in 1999, this world might not be the best world, but it wouldn’t be the worst one either. I wrote lyrics that encourage people living in such a bad world, saying, ”Do your best, you have to do your best to make this world shine beautifully.”
There are 7 amazing songs in your new album, 2 of them are new songs and 5 are from your recent singles. Which song was the easiest and which one was the hardest to complete?
HAL: Personally, it was easy for me to leave the arrangements for ULFHEĐNAR (ウルフヘズナル), Hyakoshiki Rinne (百色輪廻), and Kanon (カノン) to other members. PARTY METAL ANTHEM was made mostly by myself, so it was tough. All the members said was, “I want you to make it sound like a lead song,” so I created it while thinking, “What is a lead song…?”
CHISA: It wasn’t easy, but it was especially difficult to record two songs with completely opposite moods, TASOGARE (黄昏) and ULFHEĐNAR(ウルフヘズナル), on the same day.
SHOGO: It was difficult to mix each song. The hard part is that you can’t see the goal because you have to incorporate everyone’s opinions.
RIKITO: The most difficult during the bass recording was ‘STAND UP.” Even now, it’s difficult to perform live.
Lucky for your overseas fans, you are very interested in performing overseas. You have performed in America and Canada so far. I’m sure you want to go to a lot more countries from now on as well, but if you had to choose one country you absolutely want to visit, which country would it be?
CHISA: It’s hard to choose one because I would like to tour anywhere in the world if possible, but right now it’s Brazil.
HAL: I would like to go to London, England. The fans in London held a visual kei DJ party, including ACME, so this time I want to do a real live show.
SHOGO: I want to show off to my father by performing in London before he dies.
RIKITO: If I had to choose just one, it would be Brazil, home to the Amazon River.
You have been collaborating with a lot of different bands at various events. What has been your favorite moment so far? Can you share with us an interesting episode during these collaboration events?
CHISA: In my private life, I’m not a very sociable person, and I don’t really like talking to anyone other than my close friends, so when I suddenly get asked to collaborate, I feel anxious and nervous. But when the collaborative performance goes well on stage, I feel happy because I feel like our hearts have connected through the music.
HAL: We recently collaborated with MADKID at a convention in Hawaii. At that time, we did a cover of “Ready steady go,” and before the performance, I joked, “Did you remember AI WO TORIMODOSE (愛をとりもどせ)? Or was it CHALA HEAD CHALA (チャラヘッチャラ)?” and MADKID was like “Eeh?!”. That was fun.
RIKITO: I’ve collaborated with a lot of artists so far, and everyone who collaborates with me often praises ACME’s playing and performance, so I’m always glad about the opportunities.
Also, is there any band or artist you would love to collaborate with in the future?
CHISA: I would like to collaborate with CDawg again.
HAL: It would be fun to collaborate with Japan’s leading metal artist, BABYMETAL.
SHOGO: I would love to collaborate with Slipknot.
RIKITO: I would like to collaborate with RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
Next, we would like to ask you a few questions to give our readers a chance to get to know you all better. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, can you please tell us about it.
CHISA: I have a personal jet ski license and a food hygiene manager’s license.
HAL: Actually, I can go down the stairs a little faster than other people. It’s usually not very useful, but I activate this ability when I’m in a hurry.
SHOGO: I’m good at car racing games.
RIKITO: I’m good at basketball and baseball.
You all can communicate well in English but are there any other languages you would like to learn someday?
CHISA: I don’t feel like I can speak English very well yet, but I want to perform in South America, so it’s Spanish.
HAL: There are a lot of tourists from China now, so if I master Chinese, I will be able to make more friends.
SHOGO: I can’t speak English at all, so first of all I need to learn how to speak English.
RIKITO: Right now, I would like to try other languages after I can speak English better .
Who was your biggest inspiration when you first got into music?
HAL: It’s Taylor Swift. If you listen to the songs I compose, you can see how much I was influenced by her.
CHISA: It’s Slipknot.
SHOGO: Linkin Park
RIKITO: My first influence was STING.
Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us today. Before we close this interview, please leave a message for your overseas fans!
CHISA: Thank you for your continued support. I’m looking forward to seeing you at live shows again.
HAL: Please invite us to your country! I am always mentally ready. If you come to our live show, you’ll definitely have a great time, so if ACME comes to your area, please come and see us!
SHOGO: Please support us as we continue to make great music!
RIKITO: I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the live house. We look forward to your continued support.
Interview: Gamze
Translation: Gamze
English Edit: Franzi
It would be great if you could support us with a small donation.
It might not be much for you, but it would help us providing more and better interviews in the future.
With a little bit of your support we might be able to realize even more!
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