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Japanese bands flock to Korea this month

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By Jon Dunbar
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Tortionals / Courtesy of Tortionals

Tortionals / Courtesy of Tortionals

There are so many bands and performers coming to Korea from Japan this month that it's hard to keep track of them all.

It's already too late to see Japanese grindcore band Deserve to Die and goregrind band FesterDecay, who played two Seoul shows — Club SHARP in Mangwon-dong on Jan. 6 and Club Victim near Hongik University on Jan. 7 — that were organized by local promoters using the name Behind the Tongue.

If you're interested in something more digital, Japan's Ozigiri will be at ACS in central Seoul's Euljiro area Jan. 12. Ozigiri originated a sound called digital grindcore, which the act describes as a "super-fast and violent chimera sound that blends grindcore, death metal, speedcore, breakcore, dubstep and all the other extreme sounds." Also playing are local acts K-Supermotel and Sikkal, as well as a whole host of DJs including DJ yes yes, plus a midnight drag performance by Rust.

The event, titled "Over 200!" will feature genres with over 200 beats per minute. A live BPM detector will be installed so participants can " experience the bpm boundary of madness that goes beyond 200...300... maybe even beyond that without being bored." Visit @acs.kr on Instagram for more information if you want to check out the "Digital Grinding Slaughter."

Colliding tours

The weekend of Jan. 19 to 21 will have three Japanese bands on two tours colliding for one date.

Victim Records is bringing the alternative punk rock band Tortionals from Kashiwa, located in Chiba Prefecture right outside Tokyo, as well as the melodic hardcore band Upper, for a three-day tour starting in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and moving to Seoul for two more shows on Saturday and Sunday.

This tour came about as a result of Korean punk band Smoking Goose's Japan tour last March. Shunya Katoh, guitarist/vocalist of Tortionals, said he met Yoon Ki-sun of Victim Records on the tour, and asked for help to come to Korea.

"This is the first time for all the members to visit Korea. I am really looking forward to meeting everyone on the tour," Katoh told The Korea Times.


He added that the members of Upper are their seniors. "We have looked up to (them) for a long time and we are very happy to tour with them," he said. "I am sure they will surprise everyone in Korea with their live show."

Meanwhile, at the same time, the Japanese band the Skippers is also touring Korea to promote their split album with Seoul-based punk band ...Whatever That Means (WTM), and they're set to collide on Saturday night.

"Skippers is a well-known band in Japan, so of course I know their name, but this is the first time we are playing together," Katoh said. "It will be interesting to meet them for the first time in Korea."

Tortionals and Upper are at Cheongju's Club Jijik on day 1 of the tour for the 23rd Rise Up Fest, organized by Lee Chang-ok, frontman of the local hardcore band Sink to Rise. There, they'll share the stage with Smoking Goose and Sink to Rise, as well as B-Addiction and RKA.

The three members of Korean punk band Smoking Goose pose with Lee Chang-ok, middle back, lead vocalist of Cheongju hardcore band Sink to Rise, at Fushimi-Inari Temple, in Kyoto, during Smoking Goose's Japan tour last March. Courtesy of Lee Chang-ok

The three members of Korean punk band Smoking Goose pose with Lee Chang-ok, middle back, lead vocalist of Cheongju hardcore band Sink to Rise, at Fushimi-Inari Temple, in Kyoto, during Smoking Goose's Japan tour last March. Courtesy of Lee Chang-ok

That same night, the Skippers will be at The Studio HBC in central Seoul's Haebangchon area, performing with WTM as well as ska-punk band Monkey Gang War, Long Time No Shit and Gwangju-based skatepunk band TwoFive.

Then on Saturday, Jan. 20, all three touring bands will meet up together at Club FF near Hongdae. They'll play with Smoking Goose, WTM, Beacon and the recently resurrected Gwangju skatepunk band BettyAss.

Tortionals and Upper will close their tour on Sunday with a show at Club Victim, along with Smoking Goose, Idiots, Merry Hey Day, Pogo Attack, Row Brothers, TwoFive and the recently reunited Seoul skatepunk band Half-Brothers (yes, a lot of Korean bands are reuniting these days).

Visit fb.com/PoundFoolishPromote for more information about Tortionals and Upper's tour, and @wdikorea on Instagram for more about the Skippers' tour.

Final weekend

After Tortionals, Upper and the Skippers return to Japan, then the next weekend we will see three more Japanese hardcore/crust punk bands, Zikade and Marvelous, both from Ashikaga, and Wage Slave, from Fukushima. They'll be joined by local acts K-Supermotel, Pogo Attack and Distruggle.

This ambitious show on Jan. 27 is planned to celebrate the release of Mutant Rebellion, a zine made by Baek Ryun, a Korean who travels around the world to document punk scenes. Visit @baekryun__prima on Instagram for more information.

All this activity demonstrates how closely interlinked the Korean and Japanese underground music scenes are, while also emphasizing that the local scene needs people coming out, getting involved and making music in order to grow and thrive.