2013 saw a flourish in female metal bands. Cyntia has stood out amongst all the female metal bands with their versatile musicality rooted in a solid heavy metal sound compounded with their virtuosic technique and idol-level good looks. Their song “Senkou Strings” (released on January 8, 2014) was chosen to become the new theme song for the anime “Saint Seiya Ω” that began on November 3, which has earned them mainstream publicity. Through that, the band continues to extend their fan base beyond the die-hard rock fans. It was during this time of rise that their last one-man show of 2013, Senkou no Merry Christmas, took place at Shibuya Duo MUSIC EXCHANGE on December 19.
From even before the show began, calls for Cyntia resonated throughout the concert hall. As soon as the band stepped onto the stage, vocalist SAKI shouted, “Let me hear your loudest scream!”
The show kicked off with the lead song “Shinai Egoism” from their major debut album, “Lady Made”. As SAKI elicited the fans to “bang your heads”, the temperature of the place quickly rose. The scene of the band throwing a bunch of roses into the audience in celebration of Christmas during the song was indeed memorable. The show began on a high note as they performed two fast-tempo tunes back-to-back from the get go, followed by an MC.
“Today will be an early Christmas party with Cyntia and all of you. Let’s enjoy this night from start to finish”, cried SAKI.
In contrast to the aggressive performance SAKI had been putting on this day, this relieved the audience as she revealed her true face. As SAKI described, “this next song will be a song we haven’t done in a while”, they began playing the title track from their 1st album, “The Endless World”. The entire show was packed with exciting tunes. The spacey synthesizer sound from the intro to “IV” sent shivers down the spine. The entire hall calling out “I Will” right before the chorus to the song “I Will” was stunning. The primitive percussion beat of KANOKO (Dr) starting off “Suiren no Chou” and “Chilly Nights” which featured a Christmas-taste arrangement were a thing of beauty.
During the MC right before the second half of the concert, SAKI announced that Cyntia’s live recording would see a digital distribution on December 28. This is apparently a first-ever for a girls’ rock band. Eight songs from their one-man live concert, ＜Leligo! Leligo! Leligo!＞ at Shinjuku BLAZE on September 20 will be included in the release. The first song from this day’s show, “Shinai Egoism” and “Kira Kira☆Shangri-la” and “Shaman Dance”, which were not performed this day, will be featured. The recording was taken completely live with no overdubs, something that a band of lesser musical caliber could not pull off.
This is a chance to witness the band’s masterful instrumental play accentuated by SAKI’s dynamic singing. The crowd roared in joy as this news was revealed on stage.
The second half of the show started with the cover of “Return to myself” by Mari Hamada, released last summer, introduced by KANOKO’s call, “Can you do it like it’s summer?” As the crowd shouted, “Oi! Oi! Oi!”, SAKI began showcasing her beautiful voice. The temperature of the hall quickly rose again, and it was indeed like summer had suddenly come back. From here on, a barrage of catchy tunes including “Fly away” and more were performed. The main act of the show came to a close with the aforementioned theme song for “Saint Seiya Ω”, “Senkou Strings”.
The members came back on stage in Santa costumes for the encore to celebrate an early Christmas. The show came to a fitting finish as the band performed “Through the Fire and the Desire” while the entire crowd headbanged vigorously. The setlist consisted of 13 tracks, which left us craving for more.
With the concert being broadcasted live on Niconico, it saw a lot of publicity. During the show, the band announced that they would be holding their first Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka tour beginning April 11 at Nagoya APOLLO THEATER; however, if you cannot wait that long to see them again, why don’t you give “Leligo! Leligo! Leligo!”, which will begin distribution on December 28, a listen.
