Nemophila has never let anything come in their way. The new four piece, composed of Mayu (vocals, guitar), Haraguchi-san (bass), Hazuki (guitar) and Tamu Murata (drums), have released their second single, PROGRESS, as a four piece band. Stream the new single here.
Nemophila's progression has been a journey dating back to March. On March 31st, fans of Nemophila were met with sad news, as one of the founding memebers and guitarist, Saki (formerly of Mary's Blood), announced her departure from the band, deciding it was best for both her and Nemophila. Saki had been overseeing much of the band’s production and lyrics, and is considered the “big sister” of Nemophila. Her departure, though jarring, launched the band into a new era, and a slightly different sound.
While fans were concerned about the direction the music would take after Saki leaving the band, the two new singles that were released after departure still held onto the metalcore sound Nemophila fans know and love. PROGRESS held many of the original sounds and tones that made a Nemophila song so recognizable. With a combination of heavy riffs from Hazuki, complex blast beats from Tamu Murata, seamless transitions from singing to screaming from Mayu, but a new electronic/hip hop influence from Haraguchi-san, this all helped shaped PROGRESS into a very well crafted song and helped redefine what would be a "quintessential" Nemophila song.
While Saki had a lot of influence on the music, the remaining four members have been more than able to fill the space that was left. PROGRESS, while having it's own uniqueness with the extra sparkling synths that mimic Hazuki's powerful guitar riffs, also would call back to the first single the band released as a four piece, G.O.D. A sort of humming melody in the the chorus of G.O.D is mimicked in the bridge of PROGRESS. This is the first time the band would tie two songs together in this manner. The whole song has the feel of an epic, metal anime outro.
Photo credit: Masanori Fujikawa
However, the addition of electronic, almost storytelling-like music didn't start with PROGRESS or G.O.D, but rather, traces can be heard all the way back when the band's third album, EVOLVE was released in January. Nemophila has always brought a new insight to metalcore, with more positive lyrics and influences from other genres (rap, hip hop, etc); the former being the basic framework for Nemophila's image and the latter adding character and helping to shape the overall sound of the band's discography.
It’s safe to say that the title of the single was very fitting. Nemophila are definitely making progress and breathing new life into their new music. Watch out for them; they're becoming a big name in Japanese metal, and it won’t be long before they’re known worldwide.
Keep up with Nemophila: Spotify | Instagram | YouTube | Twitter
Related Posts
