The GazettE, first founded in 2002, is a visual kei rock band that has toured the globe but for some reason never found their way to the States. 2016 marks the year they fix that with four shows, two of which are in California. Tickets range from $50 to $200 depending on if you want VIP. The tour was hinted at by snippets of shows popping up and quickly disappearing from venue ticket sites before finally made official in the beginning of the year.
Read more: The GazettE’s first US tour to stop by San Francisco
Japanese band Babymetal is a polarizing one for metal fans but they still have a die-hard fanbase. They're a combination metal and Japanese idol act; for those of you not familiar with idols it might be easier to think of the group as female-fronted metal. Whatever the case may be, fans do not have too many opportunities to see them in America. That changed this year with the announcement of a proper tour and a slew of dates to go with it. Most recently Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles were announced.
A year since the release of “Fallen”, the ending theme for the popular TV anime series, ‘PSYCHO-PASS 2’. EGOIST’s 6th single has been released worldwide with another major anime tie-in! The newly released song has been chosen to be the main theme for the animated trilogy movie ‘Project Itoh’, which is scheduled to be released in 2016, with the cover illustration created specially by redjuice!
Japanese band DIR EN GREY is no stranger to the United States. They've been playing shows across America for a little over a decade and thankfully call San Francisco one of their regular stops. The show tonight is in partnership with Goldenvoice who has presented the band in San Francisco for as long as I can remember. The venue is Slim's, a far different place from The Regency Ballroom a mile away that the band has frequented so often. Smaller, more intimate, and much more prone to selling out. If you don't want to get stuck in the cold or stuck in the back you have to arrive early. The formal name for the tour is "Never Free From the Awakening."
Read more: Concert Impressions: DIR EN GREY “Never Free From the Awakening” TOUR 15
ONE OK ROCK, hailing from Japan, has returned to California. They've played as part of the Vans Warped Tour in 2014 as well as Slipknot's KnotFest so California isn't exactly unknown to them. The San Francisco Bay Area, however, is. They had a stop in Mountain View but that was it. They still haven't made their way up to San Francisco proper so hopefully next time.
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