Watch out for the new Occident / Orient encounter!
It is time for SAKI (Mary’s Blood, NEMOPHILA) and Frédéric Leclercq (Kreator, Ex-Dragonforce), to launch their miraculous cross-border project, AMAHIRU!
AMAHIRU is a spawn of musical crossbreed between Frédéric Leclercq (KREATOR, Ex-DRAGONFORCE) and SAKI (MARY'S BLOOD, NEMOPHILA). They will finally release their debut album on November 27th, 2020.
Their friendship started in 2015 when MARY'S BLOOD opened for DRAGONFORCE in Hong Kong. They got along very quickly and it didn't take long until they came up with the idea to collaborate on a musical project. Many ideas exchanged between them for the following few years, and finally, the time has come to release their self-titled album.
Some prominent musicians in the metal scene gathered to make this project a real band. Coen Jansen from Epica, who helped with some keyboard works for the new DRAGONFORCE album, will be playing the keyboard. Then comes Mike Heller, who has been known as a super drummer of FEAR FACTORY and RAVEN. As AMAHIRU's vocalist, Archie Wilson was invited to join the group. This vocalist from the UK may be less known than other musicians involved in this band, but obviously he became the key to AMAHIRU's music as Fred confirms this. "He has a powerful voice, great sense of rhythm and he is versatile, cos he can hit those high notes, sing in a mid register and also be both melodic and aggressive; the perfect match for AMAHIRU." Elize Ryd from Amaranthe will also be participating as a guest vocalist.
The album also includes drum tracks by Sean Reinert from the American progressive rock band Cynic, who unfortunately passed away recently. Moreover, some track include a shakuhachi performance played by Kifu Mitsuhashi, known for being awarded the Shiju hosho (the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon) and the Order of the Rising Sun. This is what we call a combination of occident and orient. The encounter of two musicians, SAKI and Frédéric, will cause an incredible chemical reaction.
The album is mixed by the master of modern metal, Jens Bogren, who has worked with a number of renowned musicians. Mastering is done by Tony Lindgren, Jens' right-hand person. Cover artwork is done by Travis Smith, known for creating artworks for Sinsaenum, Opeth, and King Diamond.
The Japan exclusive edition will have a bonus DVD which includes 2 music videos, taken in Japan.
The international band AMAHIRU will take their first step towards world domination with their self-titled album, "AMAHIRU".
■ What is AMAHIRU?
AMAHIRU may sound like a Japanese word, but actually it is not. Oddly enough, it was coined by Frédéric himself, not by SAKI. In fact, the word was born in his dream. "We were trying to find a name and I had a dream in which someone was asking me to sign a contract for this band, Amahiru, and the number 13 kept appearing in the contract. When I woke up I actually remembered the dream vividly and started to do my little "thinking process"; I made the name AMAHIRU, so that it would be easier to pronounce for the Japanese people. But I wonder, does it mean anything? I type the name on the internet, nothing. Then I tried Hamahiru just for different spelling sake, and here is the freaky thing, Hamahiru means 13 in Basquian. And I don't speak Basquian at all!"
■ MEMBER
Frédéric Leclercq: Guitar, Bass
SAKI: Guitar
Coen Janssen (EPICA): Keyboards
Mike Heller (Raven, FEAR FACTORY): Drums
Archie Wilson: Vocal
Contents
■ Japan exclusive CD,DVD contents
[CD]
Innocent
WTTP
Hours
Way Out
Ninja No Tamashii
Vanguard
Bringing Me Down
Lucky Star feat. Elize Ryd [Amaranthe]
Waves
Samurai
Bringing Me Down(Alternative ver.) 〈feat. Sean Reinert [Cynic]〉
《Japan exclusive bonus track》
Shine
<Japan exclusive bonus DVD>
WTTP Music Video
Hours Music Video
■ EU/US edition tracklist
[CD]
Innocent
WTTP
Hours
Way Out
Ninja No Tamashii
Vanguard
Bringing Me Down
Lucky Star feat. Elize Ryd [Amaranthe]
Waves
Samurai
Bringing Me Down(Alternative ver.) 〈feat. Sean Reinert [Cynic]〉