“Angelo Tour THE FAITH TO FOLLOW” Final

On December 28, Angelo held their tour final performance of "Angelo Tour 'THE FAITH TO FOLLOW'" at Shinkiba Studio Coast. The tour began with a performance at Kawasaki CLUB CITTA' on November 28 and consisted of shows in twelve cities around Japan. The performances were the first time they showed the physical manifestation of the sound of their delicately crafted album "FAITH." They were performances that profoundly and directly expressed the point-of-view of the album "FAITH," and it was impossible to not to feel their strong will and belief.

"Angelo Tour 'THE FAITH TO FOLLOW'" was a tour held in various places around Japan following Angelo's sixth original album, "FAITH," an album that holds true to Angelo's characteristic convictions. Following this performance at Shinkiba, only their additional show at Akasaka BLITZ on January 4 remained.

Their performance at Shinkiba Studio Coast on December 28 showed the way that Angelo is becoming one single unit, a band without any ambiguities.

They began with the instrumental track "Ruthless reward-instrumental-," the first song off the album. The song features a melody of beautiful and heartrending piano and strings, and while it played, a video was projected to convey the message of the work. Then the screen was removed and among a chorus of excited cheers, Angelo began to play the song "FAITH," a dynamic and exciting song beginning with a hard guitar riff. All the members wore black clothing, and Kirito, wearing a hood and with both arms painted white, looked like a monk. The balance of the delicate and heavy band ensemble, which conceals inside it a flaring passion, was unmistakably current Angelo.

Next they performed "OUTBREAK," a song in which TAKEO's tank-like heavy drumming mingles aggressively with the stringed instruments. The song's theme is "the modern era," and the sound gives the feeling of a thread of tension growing taught. Within the framework of this sound, Kirito shouts before the song takes a complete turn, the chorus reminiscent of one's field of vision opening with a sense of catharsis. What is most addictive about Angelo's music is that no matter how aggressive the song, the melody has a hook. Angelo enchanted the audience with the song "DOLL," in which flames rose up from the stage, ethnic guitar spicing up the Angelo-esque heavy dance rock. During "Hyouketsu," a fast-paced song with a heartrending melody similar to songs from Angelo's early days, they intoxicated the people inside the venue as guitarists Karyu and Giru came to the front of the stage and stirred up the audience. As Kirito finished singing, he gave a round of applause to the audience.

"Tokyo! Are you going crazy? Today, headbang for me!" said Kirito before Angelo transitioned into the digital, heavy tune, "HOLYWAR." The song emphasizes the transient lives of those who have fallen in the name of freedom, justice, and faith, and as Angelo performed it, the venue became a sea of headbanging. Perhaps it was to express the point of view of the album that they performed the songs in the same order that they appear on the album "FAITH," something that both the band and the fans likely desired. Angelo performed as though they were trying to express a story through the songs they'd brushed up on during the tour.

The power ballad "Voice of the cradle" was a song rocked by TAKEO and KOHTA's strong beat, Karyu's emotional guitar and Giru's subtle arpeggio creating a spectacle as they rung out through the venue. But the highlight of the song was the way that Kirito passionately sang about feelings of separation. The rawness of live version of the song was compelling. The song "CONTRACT," with KOHTA's distinctive bass, also created a lively and unique feeling characteristic of Angelo's performances. The appeal of straightforward rock and Angelo's distinctive sense of fierce individualism also mixed in a sense of belonging to no particular country.

"Let's go crazy!!" cried Kirito, and during "MADMAN MAKE QUANTUM VARIATION," the stage was enveloped showily in smoke as KOHTA moved to face Giru while Kirito and Karyu came together on the right side of the stage. Like the message of the song, the performance seemed to be going in the direction of release. Kirito pointed at the audience while singing "Souzou no Rakuen," which begins with Karyu's cutting guitar and features a light guitar solo from Giru. The message of the song inspires the feeling of escaping from the world of repetitive conflict caused by the differences in people's "FAITH." Everyone seemed to catch their breaths as they listened quietly to the last song from the album, "Beginning," which clearly expresses Angelo's intentions.

After Angelo had performed all the songs on the album, beginning with "PROGRAM," which started with Kirito yelling "Jump, jump!" they performed songs from their previous albums "RETINA" and "METALLIC BUTTERFLY," raising the temperature of the venue.

"This is our last chance to lose control this year! At the very least, move your bodies!! Let's go crazy!! Don't leave any regrets!"

Next came the thrilling dark tune "Prelude," in which calls of "Oi!" broke out instinctively in the audience along with TAKEO's dignified drumming. During "RIP," Kirito repeatedly struck his microphone stand, and during "Script error," a song with a feeling of exhalation that mixes a gothic feeling with rock and roll, the venue was enveloped in a feeling of unity as they clapped in time with the music before the main set ended.

The encore began with "EVE," a song with an excellent melody. They introduced the members and each of them made a comment.

"Are we making everyone feel good? But you can keep going, right? Let's go even crazier!" said TAKEO. With a strained smile, KOHTA made a play on words about the name of the venue, calling "Shinkiba" "New Kiba." The joke bombed, so he apologized to everyone. Giru declared, "By going on this tour, we've shed one of our skins." In order to make up for KOHTA's bad joke, Karyu seriously said, "We're filming the performance today, so let's make this a good end of the year!"

While reminiscing on the substantial tour, Kirito abruptly turned to KOHTA and teased him about his bad joke, saying "New Kiba?" and causing a roar of laughter in the venue. Another one of the many profound charms of Angelo is the fact that they have many members who, during the MCs, make a complete change from the stoic, aggressive atmosphere they display when they perform.

They began the second half of the encore with "Manic State High Pressure," in which they shot silver tape out at the audience. Kirito, who had completely relaxed, put his arm around Karyu's shoulders while waving at the crowd and repeatedly stroked Giru's head. The last song of the performance was "SCRAP," an incredibly appropriate number with which to close out the year. They performed with such strong energy that it was as if they were trying to say, "Let's put all of our memories of the year 2013 into this song!" After both Angelo and the audience had worn themselves completely out, the members said their last words to the audience.

"We're going to attack you in many ways in 2014! New Kiba, you're the best! Tokyo, you're the best! You guys, you're the best!"

The members left the stage while throwing out picks and drumsticks. Kirito, the last member left on the stage, stopped at the microphone and said, "Thank you very much! Have a good New Year!"

Let's hope Angelo will continue on strong.