Japan’s Nemophila is back with their second album Seize The Fate and they have been making waves in and out of their country. Performing a festival show in the U.S. plus one at the famed Whisky A Go Go, they will be going on a short tour of the U.S. in March. Nemophila are a curious band with talented musicians – the big draw being guitar extraordinaire Saki, who was great with Mary’s Blood. Seize The Fate is a diverse record with many moods and influences of groove metal, shades of power metal, the dreaded nu-metal, and skater rock. 

Down-tuned guitars and Mayu’s throaty, spunky vocals leads the way as there are going to be reminders of Slipknot, Saliva, Pantera, and Iron Maiden. The vocals are mostly in Japanese with some phrases in English. The ladies seemed to put more emphasis on the choruses which are catchier than on their full-length debut Revive and the choruses go from aggressive to playful and Mayu reflects the attitude with her delivery and ups the memorability of the tracks.

The title track opener and “Enten” come in with punchy rhythms highlighted by Saki and Hazuki’s guitar histrionics – they aren’t overly technical and they flawlessly transition to startling harmonies. “Zen” brings a cultural influence and strange male vocals to contrast Mayu’s shouts. “Back Into The Wild” is like ‘00s metal mixed with a glam metal type chorus – this one was definitely made for a live crowd. “Rock’n’Roll is?” is like ‘90s rock with upbeat stylings and nifty guitar work. “Style” is a strange one – it’s pretty much rap rock, nu-metal ala Saliva and Korn – it’s weird, but I don’t hate it – the funky clean chords are neat. “Waiting For You” is pure skater rock that brings to mind Avril Lavigne. It’s a fun and cute song with smooth bass work. “Now I Here” hastens the flow as a ballad and doesn’t work with awkward vocals which doesn’t fit the vibe of the album.

3-minute speedster “A Ray Of Light” and the free-flowing “Adabana” move into the power metal finale – a triumphant instrumental with “Soaring ～To Be Continued～”. The thing with Nemophila is they write whatever sounds good to them and then put it on tape. There isn’t one prevailing type of music on Seize The Fate and it works for them with their growing popularity. For the more hardened listener and veteran headbanger – they might not be that appealing, but for ones looking for something different – check out these ladies.