Interview by Miriam C.
From the exciting and colorful Japan, the established screamo rock band DAZZLE VISION is slowly building a strong reputation overseas – especially in the US. So, in light of the recent events, Femme Metal Webzine exclusively reached out to Maiko, THE screamer and singer for have some updates and infos about their recent release “Final Attack”. Stay calm and let the scream be with you!
Hi there, welcome to Femme Metal Webzine. How are you?
Fine, thank you!
For many metal fans that don’t know DAZZLE VISION, do you mind introducing yourself and tell us more the band’s history?Our band was formed in 2004, and we’ve been working with the current members (Vo. Maiko, Ba. Takuro, Dr. Haru, Gt. TONY) since April of 2013. We’ve releasing CDs with over 60 original songs that we created ourselves, and we’ve performed at many events in Japan as well as overseas. We’ve performed as the tour support artist at EVANESCENCE’s Japan tour, and recently we also joined Japanese rock band SADS’s tribute album. I personally provided my scream samplings to UTAU, a vocal synthesizer similar to Vocaloid, as a voice library of the “Destructive sound Maiko”.
Your fifth full-length “Final Attack” was just released and it’s already gaining fantastic reviews. What was the genesis of this album? When did you start writing “Final Attack”‘s lyrics?The previous album “Kirari” was a very satisfying step for DAZZLE VISION, so in order to make the next album even better, we raised the standard of the production and really challenged ourselves. In 2013, when the guitarist TONY joined DAZZLE VISION, we were able to launch a new musical direction. As for the lyrics, I write almost on a daily basis. When the new direction for the album was decided, we got the melody and lyrics done at the same time.
I like very much the title, it’s very straightforward and sincere. What represent for you this title and how did you come up with it?In order to let DAZZLE VISION continuously evolve, we require our music to have exceptional outcomes, otherwise there’s no meaning for us to even exist. So if our works and live performances don’t achieve the expected outcome, we would live as it were the last days of our lives. Compared to our previous works, this one had the most challenges and we put all our hearts into it, so we decided to name it “Final Attack”. Plus — I can’t talk too much about the unannounced news now — we made a battle song of a world famous RPG (Role Playing Game), so the title and jacket are all associated with the theme.
For what I get while listening to the album is that, compared to “Kirari” – your previous album, the band’s musical direction evolved, how did it happen?Actually, most of DAZZLE VISION‘s music so far was produced by the bassist Takuro. When TONY joined us, we wanted to include his creativity and arrangement style, so we decided to create a new music style that satisfies all the current members. The result of this renewal is our new album.
Besides the album title, I really love the cover. What does it symbolize and what is your personal interpretation of it?The title symbolizes “Passion”. Although we are expressing our music as much as we can through melody and lyrics, there are still some ideas that cannot be fully expressed. We tried to express it through the staging of our live, but even then it still can’t be fully expressed. So we finally decided to express it through my personal selfportrait of me doing head-banging, and made it as an icon of “Passion”.
We are proud of every opportunity we’ve had and feel grateful for everything. Therefore, I can’t choose only one thing that I’m most proud of. I’m proud of all of them.
What is your personal balance between the touring activity and recording material?Doing both activities bring me a lot of happiness. When we record a new song, we’re able to deliver our new ideas to our fans in that recording and then again directly through live performances. The feedback we gain from the live performances are also very important to us.
Maiko, you are the singer and I might admit you’re a unique one. I mean, your scream vocals are fantastic. What are your secrets for preserving your voice? Also, you reminded me a lot of Alissa White Gluz from Arch Enemy, I don’t know if you know her….Thank you. Of course I know Alissa, and I think she’s a great singer! Regarding preserving my voice, I always take care of my throat. Wearing masks and keeping up with my vocal training are also very important too.
In 2013, you performed at Tekkoshocon 2013 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, and you recorded the show for your first official live album called “Live in Pittsburgh”. What do you remember of that particular night? What were your feelings performing in such important show?Live performance is so different from recording — you can’t go back and redo anything. Although we always try to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances, accidents still happen. When they do happen, it pushes us to make the show even better. Whenever we have a big event like that coming up, we spend more time in rehearsals, too.
What are DAZZLE VISION‘s plans for 2014?We do have big news for you this year, but it’s not ready to be announced yet. We’re pretty sure our fans will be very happy to hear it, so please look forward to it!
Well, we’re at the end, please greet your Japanese fans and our overseas readers freely. Thank you very much for your time!Thank you for always supporting us! We will keep doing our best to be the artists who are worth your support, so please keep watching us!
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