Area51

Interviewer, writer: akfgfan
Band Members: Kate Cain (Vocals), Yoichiro Ishino (Guitar), Takeshi Ochi (Keyboard), Kensuke Imai (Drums)
Questions Answered by: Yoichiro Ishino



Rising power metal band, Area51 stands out from many other metal bands based in Japan. With their female vocalist and symphonic melodies, this band is anything but ordinary. Now the band has released their first album "Ankh" on iTunes worldwide and plans to release another one by the end of the year. JMI was able to catch up with Area51 to discuss their recent activity and success.



Thank you for this interview. Your band is fairly new to the metal scene in Japan. Could explain how the band started?

Our band is relatively new, with about a 4 year history. Back then, I was basically writing songs according to my strong vision, with our ex-singer alone. The real band started after Ken, our drummer, joined. He was really in sync with our direction. After that, we spent about 2 years auditioning different singers, and found Kate who is our singer now.

What attracted your band to play metal music?

When I started playing guitar in high school, I was all about playing music like the The Beatles, my favorite band back then. Then, after starting to play, I was blown away by heavy metal. Especially Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, that really did it for me. Anyway, words can’t describe how shocked and excited I was. Ever since then, I’ve always been interested in very technical and melodic sounds. The band’s musical direction is a very natural interpretation of this.

Though women are gaining more fame in metal, what was it like for AREA51?

I started thinking of metal with female vocals 6 to 7 years ago, because I am absolutely convinced that female unique expressions would be a great match for this kind of music. Actually, I didn’t even know that there were female vocal metal bands out there.

Of course I know many great female vocal bands today, but the approach of AREA51 is different from any of them. The real core is that we have a J-POP (Japanese pop music) approach towards singing. Until now, this has been well appreciated, and is working very well.

Do you feel that your band will have a heavy impact on the Japanese music scene in the near future?

That’s a tough question. Of course it’d be great if so, but in reality we would need considerable support from a major label. If we can manage to get this, of course I believe we can have a strong impact, since there aren’t really bands like us in today’s Japanese main stream music scene.

What bands have been most influencial on your music?

Like I said before, I have a very strong influence from Yngwie Malmsteen, and also the guitar work of Chris Impellitteri. Many refer to him as the shredder, but I am very much into his rhythm guitars, haromonies, and soloing structures. As for the composing side, I’d say my main influences are Stratovarius, VItalij Kupulij, Yoshiki of X Japan, and Symphony X. Of course there are many more, but these are the main ones.

Kate’s main influences are J-Pop and V-Kei, so she’s really not so much of a metal head. This may sound strange, but it’s actually very important not to have the same metal background, for the chemistry. If everyone was only into metal, our sound philosophy would be quite limited, don’t you think? For all of us to always be open to new possibilites, her background and inputs are essential for us as a band.

Just recently, your first album "ANKH" became available to download on iTunes in 22 countries. What kind of reaction have you recieved from fans and new listeners?

It’s only started recently, but we’ve received lots of positive feedback regarding the availability in 22 countries. In addition to the positive response we have for our first album Ankh, the iTunes arrangement is definitely as exciting.

Will you continue to release new albums on iTunes and other online stores?

In addition to the next album, we also plan on having live recordings available in the iTunes Store, which will be the only available source for the 22 countries where available. For all other countries, we’ll be thinking of how to distribute accordingly.

Do you prefer playing at music festivals with other bands or at small concerts?

We enjoy playing in both settings, of course. However, we are not really aiming to play in huge events with many bands, here in Japan. Our fans are coming to see us, rather than to see too many bands at the same time.

If we can play abroad, both large festivals and solo concerts would be awesome. They should both be as enjoyable.

What’s the atmosphere like at your live shows?

Japanese fans typically listen to the music without going crazy. I’ve seen many guitar players in the front row who just stare at my fingers, without moving at all. We’ll be heading out to Brazil in August, and I’m very excited to see how the crowd will react, since it’s a completely different country.

I understand that you are working on a new album that will be released at the end of 2007. Will the new album have a theme or message?

Yes it will. We are in the middle of recording as I write this. It’s not going to be a concept album, but much gothic flavored lyrics. Kate loves writing such lyrics, you know. And she’s very good at it.

Are there any musical differences between your new album and "ANKH"?

There will be more variation compared to Ankh, we are taking things one step further. Many things will be on the same lines as Ankh, but you’ll find some completely different type songs. We’ll even have a 15 minute song! A beautiful ballad as well. Our new keyboard player Takeshi and I will have lots of solo battles, too. I am very happy with the progress so far, and can’t wait to make it available to everyone.

Also, we’ll have the mastering done in Finland for this album. Mika Jussila of Finnvox Studios will be the doing the work. Mika has already worked for bands like Stratovarius and Nightwish, he’s absolutely one of the best mastering engineers in the world. It’s such a privelidge to be able to work with someone like him, especially since I grew up with Stratovarius, lots of albums he worked on!

What makes a great AREA51 song?

This may sound a bit abstract, but I try to convert colors and images I have in my mind, into music. These colors and images I have, I usually get from things I see or hear, but sometimes come from stories I come across as well.

Your band is quite talented musically. What advice would you give to someone that wants to be a musician?

The most important thing is to make sure you really listen to the sound. This goes for your own sound, and also to feel small nuances and changes when listening to CDs. You listen to music with your ears, right? Playing an instrument is not just about training your fingers, that’s only part of the story.

The other thing is, not to keep on copying other people’s work. It’s very important in the beginning, of course, but in the end originality is the most important aspect of your playing and song writing. One should always keep in mind that he or she should establish his or her originality.

What are your dreams and future plans for AREA51?

We’re planning on playing in Brazil in August, but other than that, we’d love to be able to tour many different countries in the world, in the future. It’d be great if we can go on world tours after each album release. We really have to make sure we establish ourselves and our style with this next album.

Can you give a message to your fans?

We are very thankful to everyone supporting us. Really, a million thanks! It’s such a miracle, such a good feeling to get many messages from fans around the world. The global iTunes release is also very exciting. We hope you enjoy Ankh, until we come out with our second album towards the end of the year. I really hope we get to play in front of you guys in the near future! Stay Metal!

Additional Information

Official Site
Check out Area51’s Official Site for more information on their history, lyrics, discography, and more!


Area51 @ J-Music Ignited
Click here to see J-Music Ignited’s page for Area51!

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