Endon
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-Genre: Black Metal, Grindcore, Noise, Extreme Metal, Harsh Noise, Catastrophic Noise Metal
-Active Since: 2006
-Place of Origin: Tokyo, Japan
-Members: Taichi Nagura (vocals) / Koki Miyabe (guitar) / Shin Yokota (drums) / Taro Aiko (electronics) / Etsuo Nagura (electronics)
-Current Record Label: Daymare Recordings
-Current Record Label: Daymare Recordings
-Mini-Playlist to get you into them? : Included at the end for your listening pleasure!
Two months ago, I had woken up early one morning around 5 a.m. (beating my scheduled 6 am alarm clock for work that day). In my drowsiness I mindlessly ventured into my usual antics of traversing the numerous apps that make up the screen of my phone. I sort of religiously check Instagram (my preferred means of social media) all the time, so naturally that came first. Noticing that Japanese noise/metal band Boris (of whom I am a fan of) had posted on their story, I decided to take a look not realizing what I was about to watch. It was here I bore witness to a replay of a long video that Boris streamed earlier that night. It was a band playing a set; but it was unlike anything I had seen before. The lead singer was crying on stage and running around screaming in all kinds of ways. The music behind him was intensely chaotic, and for a good 17 minutes I found myself utterly captivated by this insane performance. It was certainly something I didn't forget and reflected on quite a bit throughout my work day. I had to know who was behind that performance! To my great joy, this began my newfound love for the band known as Endon.
The next day after my discovery, I gave Endon's second studio LP "Though the Mirror" (which released on June 2, 2017 via Daymare Recordings) a full listen-through. Wow... It had been a very long time since I've been blown away by a record. I'm an intense/heavy music nerd. I listen to all variations and flavors of gruesome metal and abrasive genres daily. It had been a while since I found something I felt really raised the bar and standards I've held for a few years now. Hell last time I felt this way was back in high school listening to Converge's "Jane Doe" the first time through. Anyways, let's dive a little into the history of this interesting band.
Endon began in 2006 in Tokyo, Japan when lead singer Taichi Nagura and his brother Etsuo Nagura performed in a psychedelic power electronics trio. Future member Taro Aiko, reached out to Taichi wanting to start a band. It was here that the the three conceptualized the framework of what would later become Endon: two people on electronic boards producing noise elements, with a single guitarist, drummer, and Taichi as lead vocalist. With the framework established, Taichi sought out guitarist Koki Miyabe and drummer Shin Yokota who were already performing in other bands at the time. However, with his silver tongue and insistent pleading, Taichi managed to convince them to leave their bands in order to pursue the Endon project.
Self proclaimed as playing the genre of "catastrophic noise metal," Endon as a band was primarily formed as a means of fulfillment. Endon's members in the very early days were a band of malcontents unsatisfied with the monotony of Tokyo's noise and metal scene. The band had a vision to fuse the two major genres in a way that simply wasn't being pursued at the time of their formation. With an emphasis on intensity and chaos (particularly in their live sets) Endon would undergo a large period of playing free-form music for quite a while before truly mastering the vision of a successful abrasive and masterful fusion of both noise and metal. Taichi has been very outspoken over the years of how Endon's early days consisted of a lot of friction between themselves and the audience. So mush so, that Taichi himself would get into fights with audience members during live sets. Though I'm not quite sure to the extent of how far these fights went or perhaps it was a means to accompany the themes of chaos the band was trying to exemplify. Nevertheless, things would very much begin to look up for this band as they had many great things playing in their favor.
Endon's first LP "Mama" (released in 2010) was recorded and put out with the help of Boris' own drummer Atsuo. Boris, being heralded as a legendary band fusing elements of noise and metal as well, was very well known and popular by a lot of people throughout the world. The very fact that they were taking notice of Endon and putting out their LP made a lot more people take interest in this band whom some were beginning to call "The most chaotic band from Japan." Endon's strong friendship with the members of Boris would definitely play to the success that they are now beginning to see today even here in the U.S. (as well as a cool collaborative record entitled Eros) Another factor that tends to go overlooked when looking at Endon's success in their vision can be attributed to their very own member Taro Aiko. Aiko is the creator and founder of MASF Pedals. These high quality pedals have been used by numerous bands both Western and Eastern for quite some time now. It's rather awesome and convenient when your noise elements are being fueled by the dude who makes amazing pedals necessary for creating the desperate and cacophonous elements of your sound. Aiko, is no short of a genius when it comes to noise music in this regard, and having him in your catastrophic noise metal band definitely serves as a pretty damn huge asset.
Fast forward now to their second studio LP "Through the Mirror," and it is here that I truly believe Endon has masterfully accomplished their original vision. Recorded by Converge's very own Kurt Ballou at Godcity Studios in only a week during a U.S. tour in 2016, Endon definitely took a step forward in the production aspect of things entrusting their music to a man whom very much knows his way around heavier genres of music. Where "Mama" was more so an experimental record, "Mirror" has created a sound that feels just right. It's insanely heavy and ear-crushing but yet somehow manages to do so in a way that feels very much organized and very well put together. Taichi Nagura's vocals are the thing of legends my friends. He can easily go from a screaming approach that sounds low growls (death metal stuff) to an immediate shift to a screaming approach that I can only describe as the sound of a little girl screaming her head off as she pulls off her own skin. His range is insane and he will even start to cry mid song only to transition again to his chaotic screams. To this end, Taichi has been outspoken about wanting to embody a vocal style that sounds like a whole family trying to scream on stage. He doesn't like the stagnancy of a mono-vocal scream approach that most vocalists in metal tend to employ. He really wishes to challenge himself and try all kinds of pitched screams. The album also makes use of a hand-crafted instrument by member Etsuo Nagura that I can only describe as the box with springs! No seriously he plays a box and literally looks and sounds like this! This isn't new technology, it's actually tech that has been used in noise for quite a while; the likes of which artists such as Merzbow have used. Etsuo has simply attached metal springs to a metallic box in order to strum it like a guitar. The contact microphone inside will then pick up the sound created from the strumming and is then attached to different pedals for cool distortion effects. Still rad to say you play the box in your band!
With their completion a few days ago of a massive U.S. tour opening for Boris, I can only hope that now more and more people like myself will wake up to the genius of this band! Endon is an intense band that successfully weaves the genres of black metal, grindcore, and noise in ways that frankly nobody else is doing at the moment in music. I'm utterly obsessed and spellbound by this unique form of sonic abrasion. Do yourself the favor and please listen to and support this amazing band!
You can stream and purchase their records here: https://endon.bandcamp.com/album/through-the-mirror
And lastly I will leave you with a video and a playlist I've made for you to get you into them if that's more your thing! Enjoy!
-Nights Off
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