BRIDEAR are a consistently excellent power metal band.

 

In my humble opinion, Japan has the best metal scene in the world. There's so many great bands just waiting for people to discover. I want to highlight as many great bands as I can and introduce them to new folks. 

BRIDEAR formed back in 2012 in the city of Fukuoka, the sixth largest city in Japan. The founding members were vocalist Kimi, guitarist Mitsuru, and bassist Haru, all of which had previously been in a different band. Their supporting drummer, Kai officially joined the group in February that same year. 2 months later, the band had their first live performance at Spiral Factory and a second guitarist, Misa joined the band. Both Kai and Misa were recruited from a website that was dedicated to finding musicians. The band released their first demo, Pray/Another Name in August 2012. Their first official single was released through Rock Stakk and was called Thread of The Light/Roulette in 2013. They followed their first single up with their first EP, Overturn The Doom, released in the same year albeit through Movement Records. 2014 saw the band release another single, Light In The Dark/Salvation and the following year saw them release their first live concert video, Dear Bride. 

Their first album, Baryte was released in March 2016 through Radtone Music and they embarked on an extensive tour nationwide in order to promote it. They followed up Baryte with the release of the brilliant EP, Rise, in 2017. Unfortunately, 2017 also saw Misa leave the band, citing musical differences. She left after an October 28th concert. The band were swift at finding a replacement, with Misaki joining the band and performing her live debut in April of 2018. That same month, the band released another EP, Helix, although they released it through Universal Music Japan. Live Tour 2018 Marcasite, a concert video, was released that same year. Sadly, Mitsuru left the band citing a variety of differences about the bands direction, musically and otherwise. She officially left following a December 2018 performance. 2019 saw the band join Zest, a talent management agency and again switched record labels, this time to Avex Trax. Late 2019 saw the release of the full-length album Expose Your Emotions. 2 years later, they released the follow-up album, Bloody Bride which was released internationally through Setsuzoku Records. This marked the first time in which they officially released an album to the North American market. They then toured throughout Europe in 2021, becoming the first Japanese band to do so following the COVID-19 disruptions. The band released another album, Aegis of Athena in May of 2022. Misaki went on medical leave in June 2022 and the following month saw the announcement of her official departure. The band were swift in finding a replacement in Moe. 

One of the things that caught my attention with BRIDEAR was Kimi's vocals. She has such a bright, upbeat voice and it's hard not to love. She can immaculately belt out some superb high notes in full on power metal vocals and also sing some far softer, sweeter melodious clean acoustic numbers. The band have often contrasted her bright voice by having some harsh growls with Misa performing them before her departure saw Haru take over. 

The band in general have a wide variety of influences ranging from My Bloody Valentine to Jamiroquai and it really shows in their music. Just listen to the extremely catchy pop-rock style chorus of Greed and the main riff which is a great contrast due to how heavy it is. The band also made great use of electronics. There's also the vastly different Rays of Chaos, which is essentially a bluesy pop-rock track that sees Ayumi's excellent guitar work shine and she nails a fabulous solo. Their unique ability to blend all of their influences and various styles into some fascinating compositions is perhaps one of their biggest attractions.

I love how they often have lengthy intro songs on their albums. They're often exquisite compositions that leave the listener pumped and ready for more. Side of a Bullet showcases their creativity perfectly with the song starting out rather slow, building up in a similar vein to some prog-rock before transforming into a magnificent metal symphony. This was also a great showcase for one of the bands biggest strengths, the drumming. Natsumi beautifully weaved through the eb and flows of the shifting rhythms. Much like Kai before her, Natsumi is tremendous and a constant highlight throughout the bands discography. There's never been a time when the drumming failed to impress me. 

Kimi often sings in a blend of English and Japanese throughout the discography. On Aegis of Athena, she sings mainly in English. This definitely helps the band in terms of international appeal, but does come at a certain cost with occasional slip ups that are awkward, but it can be excused as English is not her first language. For me, it is a mixed bag that leans towards being a negative as I much prefer to hear Japanese lyrics as I find it pleasing to the ears.