I always love it when my hobbies collide. If you ask me what kind of music I listen to, I'll describe it as one of two things: metal, and Japanese. Well, this article has both. It's no secret that Beast in Black's founder Anton Kabanen is a big fan of the manga Berserk. You have something like a 20% to 30% chance of pointing to any one song on the band's three albums and it'll involve Berserk. Now, it might not be the most obvious thing to people at a glance, but if you look at the lyrics, it all clicks into place.

Anton was previously in the band Battle Beast, and many of the songs from the group's albums are equally based on Berserk. I think the first song I learned about was Battle Beast's "Band of the Hawk." The connection for that one is in the title and punches you in the face with its straightforwardness. One of his final Battle Beast songs is "The Eclipse" off of the band's album Bringer of Pain which is about, you guessed it, the eclipse summoned by Griffith.

If you need a better description of Beast in Black's sound besides "metal," I'd put it somewhere like power metal with some 80s synths thrown in for good measure. This is more or less Anton's sound as both Battle Beast and Beast in Black have become more and more refined in that style over the years. It's clear that Berserk has been a big part of Anton's life or he wouldn't have featured it as prominently as he has since 2011. Greek vocalist Yannis Papadopoulos provides the band with a big part of its sound too.

Recently, Beast in Black released the official lyric video for the song "Broken Survivors," from the band's most recent album, Dark Connection. Any fan of Berserk should be able to recognize the characters immediately. Both Guts and Casca, among others, are featured throughout the video.  It's a power ballad that you can match up with any other great out there.  As far as subject matter goes, it's right around when Guts rejoins the Band of the Hawk and meets back up with Casca.  

Check out the video here:

I'd also advise checking out the band's three albums, Berserker, From Hell with Love, and Dark Connection. On Dark Connection, word is that "To the Last Drop of Blood" and "Dark New World" are also based on Berserk. The album has a lot going for it and there are a number of songs that I've added to my playlist. I'll throw "Midnight Rendezvous," "One Night in Tokyo," and "Hardcore" as a few more suggestions from the album.  From the previous albums, check out "This is War," "Unlimited Sin," "Go to Hell," and "Beast in Black," which are all based on Berserk.  For non-Berserk songs, I recommend "Born Again," "Cry Out for a Hero," "No Surrender," "End of the World," and "Blind and Frozen."

I was able to see the band for the first time a few weeks ago in Santa Cruz when they headlined a tour with Seven Kingdoms (another big favorite of mine, and based off of the Game of Thrones series) and Striker. "Beast in Black" from Berserker and "Die by the Blade" from From Hell with Love were played during the set and are also based on Berserk. This tour was the first time they had ever performed in the United States. They were slated to play at the 2021 edition of ProgPower USA over in Atlanta but that event was canceled for obvious reasons.

Check out the official lyric video for "Die by the Blade" below. You see the black swordsman right at the beginning.

Beast in Black is touring again, this time alongside another big name in Nightwish. In a couple of weeks they'll be stopping by California with one show in San Francisco and two in Los Angeles.  Consider this an extension of the earlier tour as they haven't left the states since they arrived.  The tour actually started a few days ago up in Canada but they are now winding their way west.

Tour dates below.

5/4/22 Toronto, ON (CA) - History
5/6/22 Montreal, QC (CA) - Mtelus
5/7/22 Lowell, MA - Tsongas Arena
5/8/22 New York, NY - Terminal 5
5/10/22 Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
5/12/22 Chicago, IL - Radius
5/13/22 St Paul, MN - The Fillmore
5/15/22 Denver, CO - Mission Ballroom
5/18/22 San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
5/20/22 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
5/21/22 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern

You've probably noticed that a lot of my coverage focuses on rock and metal. If you're someone who listens to metal, trust me, give this band a shot.

 See you there.  And god bless Kentaro Miura, who we lost last year.