The genre of Christian Rock is crowded with the remains of many unsuccessful artists. Those who have survived, flourished and gone on to achieve national and international success are surprisingly few.  Globally, the most famous international act to have sprung from the Christian charts is undoubtedly Evanescence; with their hardened, multi-layered, strobing guitar-work, haunting, crystal-clearly delivered lyrics and (in their early work) a Belief message carried at a subliminal level, Evanescence took their appeal to a huge audience. This is a fundamental requirement in the Christian Music genre.

Musicologists accept that the genre of Christian Music is split in to a number of sub-genres. These are:

·         Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

·         Christian Alternative Rock (CAR)

·         Christian Hardcore (CH)

·         Christian Hip Hop (CHH)

·         Christian Metal (CM)

·         Christian Punk (CP) and

·         Christian Rock (CR)

This reviewer finds that ‘God Has No Name’ by the IMARi toNES is, for the most part, in the CCM sub-genre, with occasional forays in to CR.

With the album title ‘God Has No Name’, IMARI toNES airs, of course, the age-old paradoxical question: how can God have no name if His name is God? The band then attempt to answer their own question through their own highly individual style. A mix of fast bass riffs accompanied by some wonderfully supportive drumming set the framework; overlaying these sections is a muddled blend of lighter guitar-work and distinctive vocals. The clarity of the lower registers – the bass and the percussion – are regretfully unmatched by the upper elements. At times the delivery of the vocal performance borders on the hysterical. The compositional skills of the group are remarkable given that the Occidental musical frame is so vastly different from the Oriental pattern.

The messages contained in the track titles transcend religious messages: Freedom, Never Too Late To Learn, Stay Beautiful… but the unsubtle doctrinal messages contained in the lyrics firmly mark the potential audience to this album as the ‘already committed Christians’ group. If IMARi toNES adopted a more understated approach to the Belief message they might be able to find a wider audience – and one with less conservative musical values.

It is worth noting that the market for Christian Rock is contracting. The seminal Christian band The Crucified has now explicitly rejected the classification of “Christian punk” and they have shifted to the extreme periphery of the Christian music industry. Even the hugely successful Christian rock band Zao has turned away from the Christian Rock genre. So too has Evanescence. Internationally, Religion is a contracting organism and Christian rock will contract with it. To be successful in a contracting genre any artist has to appeal to the widest possible audience. ‘God Has No Name’ doesn’t hit that mainstream appeal. As a starter though, God Has No Name is a promising work; it promises things for the future.

Reviewed By Brennig Jones

Brennig Jones, Reviews God Has No Name, IMARi ToNES

Like so many other things that we share with Japan, we also share a love of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Right now, there are many bands in Japan that are making their own versions of Rock ‘n’ Roll. In fact, one of the most famous bands in Japan is the Heavy Metal band Loudness.

Like Loudness before them, the band Imari Tones is currently making a name for themselves in the Japanese music scene. The band was formed when Tak “Tone” Nakamine took a solo recording project and turned it into a band. Along with “Tone” on guitar and vocals (as well as keys), the rest of the trio is made up of Yuki “Hassy” Hashimoto on bass, and Hide “Jake” Yamazaki on drums. Together, the trio has created a rock release entitled “Japanese Pop”.

Japanese Pop from Imari Tones is a release that contains several different styles of rock that will make you think back to other periods in music history, at least it will for American rock fans. “Skies of Tokyo” sounds like it would have come from the era of the 1980’s when Hair Bands were popular. “Winning Song” has a sound that would have fit in the 1980’s power rock, as would “New World”. And then there is the track of “That’s Why I Love You”. “That’s Why I Love You” is a power ballad with a heavy metal feel that sounds like it would have fit on Hurricane Eyes or any other album from Loudness.

And then, there is the song Juku Shiki. Juku Shiki is a song that could be described as a song with two personalities: part of the time, it sounds like a power pop song; and other times, it sounds like something from the band Devo, with the same jerky feel that Devo became known for.

Along with Juku Shiki, the most interesting tracks on the Japanese Pop album come at the very end of the release. When the rest of the album features Tak “Tone” Nakamine as the band’s singer and guitarist,  “I” is a track that features Tak on double duty as he plays both guitar and keyboards. “I” shows that Tak is a very fine pianist as well as guitarist. “I” also sets itself apart from the rest of the album as Tak sings the lyrics to the song in Japanese. This is the first of two songs on the album that features Japanese lyrics as the band also includes a Japanese version of “Winning Song” at the end of the album. The band actually sounds a little better this way because the English lyrics become difficult to understand at certain spots because of Tak’s accent. But as I always point out, he can sing in English while I can’t even speak Japanese. A little difficulty understanding someone singing in a language other than his own is acceptable.

The album Japanese Pop by Imari Tones also seems to have a “two personalities” feel in the production of the tracks. This feel comes from the fact that Tak Yonemachi produced seven tracks of the release, and Sascha Paeth, a German producer that is known for his work with heavy metal bands, produced the remaining three tracks.

Japanese Pop is a very appropriate title for the album by Imari Tones. With the different styles of rock that are contained on the album, there is no one genre of rock that the album could be filed under; the only way to describe the music on the album is by calling it “pop”.

With the different styles that are contained in the album, Imari Tones created a very solid and entertaining album in Japanese Pop. As the album is not currently available for purchase in the United States, you can find Japanese Pop, the current album by Imari Tones by going to http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/imaritones.

Reviewed By Matheson Kamin

Matheson Kamin, Reviews IMARi ToNES, Japanese Pop

At one time, Shonen Knife penetrated the American punk rock market, although you have to poll the old school fans in order to cue to mind the seminal Japanese femme trio.  Ditto eighties metalheads who keep the memory of Loudness and E-Z-O alive largely unto themselves. 

Nowadays, as Japan has crashed its media will into a gradually-receptive American-Rome power market (currently on the ropes, as current headlines relay), Puffy Amiyumi briefly became pop rock darlings who took the Beatles’ best lines and riffs and turned their grossly-addictive bubblegum hooks into a small franchise.  Meanwhile, Boris and Balzac have become hipster elite of the American sludge and punk undergrounds.  Kodo…they’re an entity of wonderment unto themselves.

Japan’s flourishing entertainment culture infected North America with the dreadful Pokemon, but it at least enriched our appreciation of animation with Akira, Bubblegum Crisis and Strait-Jacket, as it has in horror and martial arts fantasy epics varying from Audition to Shinobi.

Beware of Imari Tones.  This spiritually-based pop-rock trio is within grasp of breaking through internationally, if you go by their rocksteady rhythm section that hails eighties hair rock and power metal, thrown akimbo with diverse modes related to pop punk and emo.  This group, spearheaded by guitarist/vocalist Takahiro “Tone” Nakamine, likes to rock as much as they do to bounce on butterscotch clouds.  Though this may be the first time you’re hearing the name Imari Tones, in Japan they have more than a handful of albums including Japanese Pop.

What Imari Tones has going for them is a keen ear for slick grooves, pop-mindedness and a hell of a guitar framework with which to deliver a driving, clean-cut instrumental sound.  Musically-speaking, you can put Imari Tones onstage opening for Whitesnake or even Jimmy Eat World. 

Coming off with a pleasurable beat and happily swirling guitar lines on the largely-yummy open track “Winning Song,” the only thing getting in Imari Tones’ way is Tone Nakamine’s lopsided and overbearing vocals. 

Unfortunately, the majority of Japanese Pop is a bit of a grind to sift through because of Nakamine’s off-kilter wailing, and the likely reason for this is the man admirably sings most of the album in English.  In order to gratify his would-be expanded audience, Nakamine overcompensates by delivering his notes with sometimes unnerving pitches, none more painful than on the musically-emotional “Skies of Tokyo” (a shame, since the instrumental finale is wonderful) and the embarrassing falsetto-fest of “I.”

Nevertheless, Imari Tones has their moments such as the Bangles-meets-Hawthorne Heights ditty “Karma Flower” and they put in a very heroic effort on “Iron Hammer,” where the group amps up with some classic metal riffs and a focused drive all around.  Nakamine’s guitar solo is especially impressive here.

Musically-speaking, Japanese Pop has the energetic goods to make them a potential winner.  Imari Tones knows how to play their instruments as well as craft upbeat and catchy tunes.  More work in the vocal department (and recorded with less overbearing echo) and this will be a group to keep your eyes on.

Reviewed By Ray Van Horn

Ray Van Horn, Reviews IMARi ToNES, Japanes Pop

God Has No Name reflects Japanese band IMARi ToNES newfound focus on Christian hard rock. In a tip of the hat to old school phonograph records, this latest CD is broken down into two parts. The first section is labeled “Our Side”, and the second half is titled “His Side”. It’s an overall song suite that suggests a spiritual education, beginning with a track called “Welcome to the School”, and ending with one titled “Graduated from the School”. IMARi ToNES, one is lead to believe, is out to school listeners on hard rock, with a little religion thrown in for good measure.

      This trio, which has been together since 2004, is based in Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan. Its members include Tak “Tone” Nakamine on guitars and vocals, Yuki “Hassy” Hashimoto on bass, and “Hide “Jake” Yamazaki at the drums. Nakamine guitar work and singing are the act’s two most distinguishing features. His voice often modulates from a low, conversational tone, to a high pitched screech.

     Musically, listening to God Has No Name might take you back to the heyday of Hollywood’s Sunset Strip; back to a time when groups like Poison and Stryper ruled the rock world. Nakamine is highly skilled at pulling off the kind of fast guitar solos that make audience member jaws drop in unison. Conversely, this band also knows how to put together memorable pop-rock songs, too. For instance, “I Love You Now Ur on Your Own” has a nicely chugging rhythm part, with drumming that nostalgically brings Van Halen’s skin man, Alex Van Halen, to mind. That was an era when David Lee Roth was still with the band and all was well with Pasadena’s finest.

      Although this rock act clearly has its metal chops down pat, God Has No Name opens with a track that comes off closer to British music hall music than anything else. Over a loping beat, Nakamine leads the way like a joyful pied piper. This same melody is reprised again, by the way, with “Graduated from the School”. And while the beat to this latter version is far more rock-friendly, the track nevertheless tones the proceedings down considerably with acoustic guitars and a shuffling rhythm. IMARi ToNES reveals a quieter side with “Stay Beautiful”, which has a slow, old time rock & roll groove, which features a sweetly bluesy guitar solo.

     One of this disc’s most intriguing song titles is “Rockn’ Roll Is the Proof God loves us”. This is likely not ground commonly explored by most theologians and skeptics. In fact, many religious folk have asserted that rock & roll is solid proof that the devil has control of modern music. On the tune itself, Nakamine sings/speaks much of its lyric while Hashimoto plucks out a funky bass line. There are moments during this track, in fact, where The Sweet (of “Ballroom Blitz”) comes front and center to mind.

      IMARi ToNES may be a faith-oriented rock act, but they are by no a means preachy one. For instance, “He’s Still With Us” includes the following line: “Where is the God who game me my life?” This particular lyrical tactic utilized, one imagines, to put the band members in the shoes of fans who may be spiritual seekers.

     The only potential pothole in IMARi ToNES’ road to success is Nakamine’s recurring struggle to enunciate clearly in English. When the songs are slower, as with “Stay Beautiful”, his vocalizing is as clear as day, but whenever the sonic gets revved up loud and fast, his singing oftentimes gets eaten up by the busy mix.

     Guaranteed, IMARi ToNES is like no other hard rock band you’ve heard before. Their Japanese take on American hard rock, along with their overt spiritual overtones, makes this a truly exotic find.

Reviewed By Dan MacIosh

Dan MacIntosh, Reviews God Has No Name, IMARi ToNES