If (like me) your main obsessions are heavy metal and anime then you’re in for a treat because Tokyo quintet LOVEBITES have provided the theme tune for the new Ichigo Animation series VladLove.
It seems that LOVEBITES have the perfect name for an anime about a bloodsucking vampire girl; and it transpires they have the perfect sound too. Thunderous drums and squealing guitars introduce Winds Of Transylvania and ensure it arrives amid an explosion of pyrotechnics that sprays glistening shards in every direction. It’s an exciting tune that captures something of Iron Maiden in their 1980s prime…only LOVEBITES play faster and with much more technical prowess. In Midori and Miyako the band have a pair of guitarists who can rival metal’s best with the former pulling some impossible sounds from her guitar whilst the latter teases equally magic solos from her V-Neck.
The video for Winds Of Transylvania eschews LOVEBITES’ usual slick presentation for a more grainy, darker vibe and it works rather well. Through a camera lens filtered with a purple hue, we find vocalist Asami (with suitably blood-red lips) delivering a spirited performance. Usually moving with the grace of a swan she now flaps her skirt like a pair of bat wings and delivers vocals that soar like a succubus beneath which drummer Haruna and bassist Miho gallop in triple time. Interspersed with scenes from the anime there’s a real cinematic nature to Winds Of Transylvania and the unbridled dynamism that LOVEBITES bring make it the perfect accompaniment to VladLove.
While many bands tend to stagnate around their second and third albums LOVEBITES are finding new ways to push their sound forward. Not only a great theme for VladLove, Winds Of Transylvania promises much for the band’s forthcoming EP Glory, Glory To The World.
