09-29-2018, 06:10 PM
So I found this article on Metallization when I was looking for more info on Hell Bound and it seemed like a fun read, so here it is. What was it like being the 'local heroes' of Kanazawa in the 1980's. Here's where you find out!
Article release date: 29/10/2015
Original words: Nobuaki Beppu
Original article here
Well this is going to be long, so let’s get right to the point
HELL BOUND
It is Kanazawa band HELL BOUND that we’re discussing this time. I’ve known of them for about ten years now? GENOCIDE Nippon guitarist Amaya let me listen to a demo tape saying, "There used to be this band in Kanazawa who were in ‘Battle of the Bands’ competitions a couple of times. They were surprisingly high quality.” That was HELL BOUND. I noted the name of the band, as I was amazed at the sound coming from the speaker. Like an underground American orthodox Heavy Metal band with a European flavour, it had a sound similar to bands such as OMEN and FATES WARNING, for examples. It was really surprising to me that there was no odour of J-Metal at all. If you only listened to the sound, you were struck by a sense that you were in a small American live venue in the 80’s. Above all, the quality of the songs was high, so I made a mental note of the name of the band. Amaya also said "They loved FATES WARNING. To tell the truth, I was surprised how many Kanazawa bands liked FATES WARNING. That’s a bit rude to the band members and heavy metal fans of Kanazawa, but… (Laughs).”
For N.W.O.B.H.M. bands and the releases of really obscure bands I find it surprising that the discovery and re-examination work for Japanese bands is not as advanced as such work for the bands of many other countries. It also has to do with the size of the original market for some bands, with regard to Japanese Heavy Metal as a whole. And also, unlike for releases from major labels, and bigger indie labels such EXPLOSION and MANDRAKE ROOT, it is quite difficult to know the full story when you’re talking of small indie labels or independent band productions. When we get to the level of demo tapes, the work is made more difficult. As for foreign bands, these were partly "demonstrations" before a record release, but in Japan, where the hurdle before a record release were so high, I think that there was also the aspect of them being "cassette albums". Naturally discovery and re-examination of such bands is extremely difficult. It’s no exaggeration to say that for obtaining tapes as well as other literature you have to wait for a miracle to occur. Now the internet has developed, so valuable materials from the relevant time and testimonies from experience have been uploaded in some cases. You can also see and listen to band member's official and unofficial valuable music and video. "METAL ENCYCLOPEDIA" is also something super useful, but there are many mistakes and bands that are not even listed there. (Translator’s Note: I feel like someone is trolling TadakatsuH0nda personally there
)
Can’t anyone do a "Heavy Metal Encyclopaedia of Japan"? (Laughs)
JESUS with Yuji Adachi, who was later active in TERRA ROSA & DEAD END (By the way, they played the original song "The Endless Basis"). KING'S ROAD with Hiromi Suzuki who similarly was also active at TERRA ROSA & BAD LOSER, VEIL who participated in "All Night Metal Party '84 to' 85" with SABBRABELLS and REACTION, Female Satanic Metal Band VELLE WITCH, "EVIL METAL" GYPSY ROSE, RAN-JA which had a great influence on the early ETERNAL ELYSIUM, ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE who were big friends of SILVER BACK, the phantoms PURGATORY, ALKALOID who were just a step away from an album release. These were the band that you see when you look at the shelves of demo tapes, all bands which are regrettably kept buried in the history of Japanese Heavy Metal. HELL BOUND is one such phantom band. I thought that I would not be able to hear their music or see them live anymore. But unexpectedly they had a live reunion in Kanazawa. It was a miraculous night, when they got really carried away on stage.
I was able to contact the members, and from here I’m interviewing them. I think their story is more than a million times more interesting than my poor writing (Laughs). Unlike a band from a large scene such that of Tokyo, Osaka or Nagoya I think that it is a valuable to have the contrasting story of a band from a small provincial city, and also I think that the further stories of the band members after that period are also quite interesting.
--- When was your band formed approximately? Please tell me of the course of events leading to its formation? And its travel schedule.
Mouri: The band started around 1979 (2nd year of middle school), at that time it began with KISS covers and such and gradually moved towards writing more original songs. Although the name was changed several times, at this time it was named HELL BOUND ARMY and the line-up was Mouri (Vo / G), Motono (B), Riichi (Gt), Naoki (Dr). In 1984 our guitarist and drummer graduated from high school and quit to get jobs, so I discussed it with Iwata who was playing guitar for FEAR and he introduced me to Yano.
Iwata: I was a junior at the same senior high school, and I saw him trying play and sing. And so I suggested I’d play the guitar, if he tried vocals full-time.
Yano: I was in a punk cover band, but only at a casual level. I had wanted to do metal but I could not find more members, so I’d already given up. Then abruptly this opportunity came up. Both HELL BOUND ARMY and FEAR were original bands, so I was happy and in high spirits (Laughs).
Mouri: We restarted as HELL BOUND with this member and composition. In the spring of 1986, Motono was dismissed. After this, Motono joined GENOCIDE Nippon who were searching for a bass before their tour. I was surprised at that (laugh). In the autumn of the same year Ohta, who was playing guitar at FEAR, joined as a bassist, and we started writing songs. And in the autumn of 1987, Yano left. I took up a Takashi as his successor and immediately rebuilt the structure.
Yano: At this time we discussed breaking up for a while, but I didn’t want HELL BOUND to disappear.
Iwata: And we kept these members until the dissolution of 1989.
--- Please tell me about the music you released.
Yano: In 1986 we announced our 1st demo with 4 songs. Mouri played the bass in Yano's absence and it was recorded with three people, completely self-recorded in a single attempt with a 4 track multi-recorder. It made us feel really ‘underground’ (Laughs). In 1987 we greeted Ohta as our new bassist, we also recorded another 8 songs by self-recording, but I was not satisfied with our work. We sold but 20 copies of a demo tape containing two songs at live venues only. Eventually we didn’t sell this work and put it in storage.
Iwata: In 1989 we announced the production of "NORWEGIAN FOREST". Takashi (bassist for today’s HELL BOUND) substituted on drums which were recorded at Kanazawa’s vanvan V4 from 1988 to 1989. It’s a proper studio work
Mouri: Actually we did some recording once at V4 in 1985. At that time, the music stores and such had become a point of contact for self-promotion, but the song was too long and needed to be re-recorded and so it wasn’t published. In our opinion it didn’t really work. It wasn’t really metal, as we were asked for something catchier. I guess they wanted it to be more commercial.
Yano: SAKURA * SAKURA were actually from Kanazawa (Note: Sakura * Sakura was a women’s hard rock band, but at the time of their major debut their music changed considerably. They released two albums before breaking up. Member Misae Takamatsu sang the first ending song of the anime "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon".) LADIA (Note: 3 person girl’s band. In their Indies era there were five members including men. They released three albums on a major label before dissolving) debuted at vanvan in due course.
--- What kind of bands were you influenced by？
Mouri: I think that the influence of IRON MAIDEN was strong when I first wrote professionally. I then started listening to JUDAS PRIEST, in a way going backwards there. After that I listened to hungrily to foreign metal bands. In the early days I was particularly influenced by QUEENSRYCHE, CRIMSON GLORY, early FATES WARNING, JAG PANZER, MERCYFUL FATE, early TROUBLE, SLAYER, AGENT STEEL, VOIVOD, ARTILLERY ... I can’t stop (Laughs).
Iwata: I listened to many bands like OZZY OSBOURNE or RAINBOW.
Yano: I liked many Thrash Metal bands.
Mouri: The French band SORTILEGE too. I forgot the only band with songs that I covered with HELL BOUND (Laughs).
--- How was the music and information obtained differently from the current Internet society that has developed?
Mouri: We bought tapes from Tower Records based on their jackets.
Iwata: At that time, Yano and I were high school students, we got Mori and Motono to re-record the tapes they had bought.
Mouri: I found some good bands from the "METAL MASSACRE" omnibus from Metal Blade that I'd buy if an album came out. Pretty obscure bands at that time in Japan like FATES WARNING, OMEN, TYRANT, VOIVOD and TROUBLE.
Iwata: Another thing were the specialised music magazines. I read Rockin 'F magazine and such, BURRN! I’ve read since the magazine was first published. I really appreciated the reviews at the end of the magazines. Because they handled stuff not on major labels.
Yano: It changed in the future, but they were criticizing the maniac bands with a condescending attitude. I laughed at 0 points for BATHORY and the like. On the contrary, it just raised my interest (Laughs). If I remember correctly SODOM also had a lousy score (Laughs). Also, from around 1991 BURRN! had ads from DISK HEAVEN that appeared in the magazine for "TO THE MARROW ~" (Note: Omnibus of 9 Death Metal from Japan including HELLCHILD and TRANSGRESSOR. It was released by Toy's Factory) or MAGGOTY CORPSE’s (Note: Death metal band where Sekine of current BUTCHER ABC was enrolled) split or GORE BEYOND NECROPSY’s (Note: the predecessor band of NOISE A GO GO'S) demo tape, which I bought. We also knew the existence of such things from fanzines, and you bought Death / Thrash metal demo tapes through them.
--- Although I did not get a feel of any touch of J-Metal when I saw you live, did you consciously exclude such a thing?
Mouri: Naturally I was conscious of such. Because we had tried to avoid any resemblance to any other bands that were active at that time (especially in Japan).
Iwata: I listened to bands that were introduced in magazines for reference a lot.
Yano: It may be slightly misunderstood, but until the rise of thrash metal in the late 1980s, amongst so-called J-Metal bands, I think that there were few such bands with such a ‘tough-guy’ image as ours. Thinking that way, it may just be natural that there were no similarities.
Mouri: Also I was very particular about the English lyrics. As I'd been listening to Western music all the time, I hoped for an English feeling as a matter of course. So it’s nice to be told that it didn’t have a J-Metal feel.
--- What activities were going on around Kanazawa? And what was the feel of the Kanazawa scene at that time? And what kind of bands did you perform with?
Yano: Kanazawa is at the centre. Although there were hard rock and heavy metal bands, there were still few bands doing original songs. Although it did gradually increase. At that time the style of renting equipment to play a live show was not standard as it is now. In the early days of activities, you played at music shops and planned shows at live venues, went to local festivals or opened for someone else. Or the Yamaha contest. (Note: The MID LAND contest that was held in Nagoya. At which SABBAT etc. also appeared) or contests sponsored by the various music stores. SAKURA * SAKURA and LADIA that I mentioned earlier played hard rock and heavy metal in their early days, and also attended such contests.
MID LAND contest
Iwata: We didn’t belong to it, in about 1985 a band called Eastrage (?) started up something like a local office centred on vanvanV4 called NEXT AGE. I think that the bands live projects have increased since that time. METAL NIGHT also did regular live events. NEXT AGE was recording affiliated bands at V4 and sending out some omnibus tapes of the bands.
Mouri: V4 offered us the undercards of MEPHISTOPHELES in 1987, the OUTRAGE tour of 1988 and CRY WOLF in 1989 (Note: US hard rock band. They released a mini album from Shinjuku Records).
Iwata: Since 1986 we were invited to Matsukiya's live project due to the connections between Kanazawa vanvan V4 and Fukui’s Matsukiya Music Co. and we had our first event with GENOCIDE Nippon. I remember that we went with SAKURA * SAKURA and EASTRAGE, 3 bands from Kanazawa. After that Matsukiya invited us again, and we were brought over to perform with GENOCIDE Nippon several times.
Yano: Meanwhile we were summoned by another promotor in Fukui, for the live venue called Attic, so we also played with Fukui’s DEETH BREED and Toyama’s DAMIEN. Although we only found out later, we also appeared with Okajima’s (OKAZZY! of VOIDD and CLANDESTINED) high school band at the Matsukiya's show on March 29, 1987. There’s a title song titled "Hell Bound" on a VOIDD release, but I only just found out the other day from him that he remembered the appearance at that time and named it after us (Laughs).
Voidd / Premonatry Inscription
1. Black Fate
2. Hell Bound
3. Betrayer
4. Total Mayhem
--- You said that you went to Tokyo only once before the dissolution, but until then didn’t you get the opportunity of an expedition there? Did you tour Nagoya, Osaka and elsewhere?
Mouri: Absolutely not. We went next door to Fukui a few times. I feel like the time passed by so fast with member changes, song writing and recording. It wasn’t easy to make the right preparations to go on tour.
Yano: For Meguro live station I heard that Takashi accompanied the demo tapes to Tokyo personally for DEETH BREED’s tour and booked directly. I went to Tokyo using the equipment car.
Iwata: Unfortunately the intention to dissolve was settled when the tour was decided on.
--- Why did you break-up？
Mouri: From 1988 to 1989 around where we recorded "NORWEGIAN FOREST" we were conflicted. It seemed like we’d got lost in the maze with no exit ....future activities and musical direction, we couldn’t be certain of anything. By the time we released the demo tape, only 2 of 5 songs remained, our direction also changed.
Iwata: I got tired of band activities after six years. So there was someone who could not get on with the other members at all (Laughs). I didn’t have the energy to search for new members.
Mouri: I felt like to keeping doing this band was depriving the other members' of a private life and freedom, so now was the right time. I also had such a feeling.
Yano: I was watching HELL BOUND from the outside, but just under two years from the member change, after releasing a demo tape equivalent to a full album, also after the decision to tour Tokyo, to hear of the retirement decision was a real surprise.
--- Please tell us what you did after the break-up?
Yano: After quitting HELL BOUND in 1988, I was active in a local hardcore band called BLANQUISME. In 1988, we put out a demo tape and independently produced an EP in 1989. The hardcore live shows on the Toyama - Kanazawa tour were usually multi-band events. Tetsuarei, LIP CREAM, DEATH SIDE, GHOUL, SxOxB, RAPES, OUTO, etc. etc. Another time, just before they were first unveiled NUKEY PIKES they also came to Toyama and we played with them. I wanted to do a new band with Iwata just before the dissolution in 1989, as I wanted to quit the guitar and play bass. He was surprised that I wanted to play bass but I quit BLANQUISME and we decided to create a new band together.
Iwata: As soon as possible after that, I tried sessions with two interested guitarists in Kanazawa, but I couldn’t get the feeling I really wanted.... so I contacted Mouri. To play the guitar (Laughs).
Mouri: I returned to being a guitarist for the first time in 6 years.
Yano: Matsumoto, who I got acquainted with in the hardcore scene was appointed as vocalist, and we decided to do thrash metal on the hard core side with the name GUST. For this band I was going to do the composition and writing of the songs mostly on my own, but I also played guitar (Laughs). GUST’s debut (April 1, 1990) was on the undercard of SxOxB. Because I had a connection to the hardcore scene, we were invited to join a band called FRAN in Toyama. We began recording shortly afterwards and released a demo tape of 6 songs in June and performed live shows. We also appeared on the OUTRAGE tour following an offer from V4, but after that there were no bands performing locally and we had a hard time working.
Mouri: In the spring of 1991 I wanted to quit GUST because of musical differences with Iwata. I was looking for a bassist, but Yano was having a second child so we decided to split.
Iwata: After we broke up, I formed a hard rock band called BUCK DRAFT featuring former HELL BOUND Takashi and a female vocalist. It dissolved after about a year after several member changes. After that I did not do much band work.
Yano: After the dissolution of GUST, I quit band activities altogether. However, I decided to continue writing songs. I didn’t have a specific goal, I immediately bought a rhythm machine and MTR and recorded the songs I write. In 1993, Kadosawa of the present GREEN MACHiNE, launched a band called OVERRIDE NEGATIVE and I was invited to participate. Because I wasn’t able to do ongoing activities, but with the promise of song writing and just demo tape recording work, I played drums for the first time in two years, but I also did a live show once. It was fun (Laughs). Because of that, I was invited to participate in ULTIMATE ATTACK (Note: Kanazawa hardcore / thrash metal / death metal omnibus released in 1994) through my tape that had been heard by Kadosawa. I decided on the name EDIBLE AUTOPSY for participation in the tape. With ULTIMATE ATTACK's record release I starting finding musicians to make it available for a live event. The members were fluid, but Iwata and Matsumoto participated in some places. When the live shows were settled, we entered the studio and continued activities whilst sometimes writing new songs and in 2007 released a split CD with EVOL, recorded in Kanazawa and Kyoto, we also took in Tokyo the following year. Currently Yano (Vo / B), Mouri (Gt), Iwata (Gt) from the HELL BOUND circle have settled in (Laughs).
Mouri: I didn’t take part any music activities until I joined EDIBLE AUTOPSY in 2006.
Yano: Around the end of 2012, I also started a band with Akira (Gt), formerly of CERBERUS, called GRIND SOUL, although I’m hitting the drums for my 20th year, thanks to this, 80% of my drum rehabilitation has been done.
--- Please tell us of the circumstances of your reunion and future activities.
Yano: In 2014 I decided to do a live show at (my own) silver wedding anniversary party, with the help of my friends or a live house owner, after asking around about what kind of event to do, it became "What if you do HELL BOUND?" So then I told the others, and it was realized by asking Akira (ex-CERBERUS) to play the bass. Originally it was only for the day, I didn’t think about anything else, but after it had finished, I suggested that I would like to do a live once more. With the consent of the members, after that I contacted Takeuchi of GENOCIDE Nippon, talking to the local band, we got hold of a venue....with the show the other day we’ve completed a full year.
Members of 2014 are Junichi Mouri (Vo), Masahiro Iwata (Gt), Hisano Yano (Dr), Akira (B: Help), Takamasa Yano (Gt: guest)
Members of 2015 (photo below) are Junichi Mori (Vo), Masahiro Iwata (Gt), Hisano Yano (Dr), Oimura (B), Takamasa Yano (Gt).
By the way, Takamasa Yano is my son born 24 years ago when GUST dissolved.
Mouri: Until the end of the other day’s show, I thought "This is really the end", but Takeuchi and Amaya of GENOCIDE Nippon, who came to see us specially from the Kanto area, many other guests and local people supporting a home town band told us they wanted us to continue, so we thought we would try HELL BOUND seriously again. Thanks to everyone who called to support us!
Iwata: We intend to keep the same members as well.
Yano: If you include songs that are not yet completed by the band, we have 40 to 50 unreleased tracks. We will carefully select from these for the time being and increase the number of songs performed and may also write some completely new songs.
Mouri: We want to perform vigorously. We'd like to play in a variety of places and would like to think of putting out releases in the future.
Article release date: 29/10/2015
Original words: Nobuaki Beppu
Original article here
Well this is going to be long, so let’s get right to the point
HELL BOUND
It is Kanazawa band HELL BOUND that we’re discussing this time. I’ve known of them for about ten years now? GENOCIDE Nippon guitarist Amaya let me listen to a demo tape saying, "There used to be this band in Kanazawa who were in ‘Battle of the Bands’ competitions a couple of times. They were surprisingly high quality.” That was HELL BOUND. I noted the name of the band, as I was amazed at the sound coming from the speaker. Like an underground American orthodox Heavy Metal band with a European flavour, it had a sound similar to bands such as OMEN and FATES WARNING, for examples. It was really surprising to me that there was no odour of J-Metal at all. If you only listened to the sound, you were struck by a sense that you were in a small American live venue in the 80’s. Above all, the quality of the songs was high, so I made a mental note of the name of the band. Amaya also said "They loved FATES WARNING. To tell the truth, I was surprised how many Kanazawa bands liked FATES WARNING. That’s a bit rude to the band members and heavy metal fans of Kanazawa, but… (Laughs).”
For N.W.O.B.H.M. bands and the releases of really obscure bands I find it surprising that the discovery and re-examination work for Japanese bands is not as advanced as such work for the bands of many other countries. It also has to do with the size of the original market for some bands, with regard to Japanese Heavy Metal as a whole. And also, unlike for releases from major labels, and bigger indie labels such EXPLOSION and MANDRAKE ROOT, it is quite difficult to know the full story when you’re talking of small indie labels or independent band productions. When we get to the level of demo tapes, the work is made more difficult. As for foreign bands, these were partly "demonstrations" before a record release, but in Japan, where the hurdle before a record release were so high, I think that there was also the aspect of them being "cassette albums". Naturally discovery and re-examination of such bands is extremely difficult. It’s no exaggeration to say that for obtaining tapes as well as other literature you have to wait for a miracle to occur. Now the internet has developed, so valuable materials from the relevant time and testimonies from experience have been uploaded in some cases. You can also see and listen to band member's official and unofficial valuable music and video. "METAL ENCYCLOPEDIA" is also something super useful, but there are many mistakes and bands that are not even listed there. (Translator’s Note: I feel like someone is trolling TadakatsuH0nda personally there
) Can’t anyone do a "Heavy Metal Encyclopaedia of Japan"? (Laughs)
JESUS with Yuji Adachi, who was later active in TERRA ROSA & DEAD END (By the way, they played the original song "The Endless Basis"). KING'S ROAD with Hiromi Suzuki who similarly was also active at TERRA ROSA & BAD LOSER, VEIL who participated in "All Night Metal Party '84 to' 85" with SABBRABELLS and REACTION, Female Satanic Metal Band VELLE WITCH, "EVIL METAL" GYPSY ROSE, RAN-JA which had a great influence on the early ETERNAL ELYSIUM, ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE who were big friends of SILVER BACK, the phantoms PURGATORY, ALKALOID who were just a step away from an album release. These were the band that you see when you look at the shelves of demo tapes, all bands which are regrettably kept buried in the history of Japanese Heavy Metal. HELL BOUND is one such phantom band. I thought that I would not be able to hear their music or see them live anymore. But unexpectedly they had a live reunion in Kanazawa. It was a miraculous night, when they got really carried away on stage.
I was able to contact the members, and from here I’m interviewing them. I think their story is more than a million times more interesting than my poor writing (Laughs). Unlike a band from a large scene such that of Tokyo, Osaka or Nagoya I think that it is a valuable to have the contrasting story of a band from a small provincial city, and also I think that the further stories of the band members after that period are also quite interesting.
--- When was your band formed approximately? Please tell me of the course of events leading to its formation? And its travel schedule.
Mouri: The band started around 1979 (2nd year of middle school), at that time it began with KISS covers and such and gradually moved towards writing more original songs. Although the name was changed several times, at this time it was named HELL BOUND ARMY and the line-up was Mouri (Vo / G), Motono (B), Riichi (Gt), Naoki (Dr). In 1984 our guitarist and drummer graduated from high school and quit to get jobs, so I discussed it with Iwata who was playing guitar for FEAR and he introduced me to Yano.
Iwata: I was a junior at the same senior high school, and I saw him trying play and sing. And so I suggested I’d play the guitar, if he tried vocals full-time.
Yano: I was in a punk cover band, but only at a casual level. I had wanted to do metal but I could not find more members, so I’d already given up. Then abruptly this opportunity came up. Both HELL BOUND ARMY and FEAR were original bands, so I was happy and in high spirits (Laughs).
Mouri: We restarted as HELL BOUND with this member and composition. In the spring of 1986, Motono was dismissed. After this, Motono joined GENOCIDE Nippon who were searching for a bass before their tour. I was surprised at that (laugh). In the autumn of the same year Ohta, who was playing guitar at FEAR, joined as a bassist, and we started writing songs. And in the autumn of 1987, Yano left. I took up a Takashi as his successor and immediately rebuilt the structure.
Yano: At this time we discussed breaking up for a while, but I didn’t want HELL BOUND to disappear.
Iwata: And we kept these members until the dissolution of 1989.
--- Please tell me about the music you released.
Yano: In 1986 we announced our 1st demo with 4 songs. Mouri played the bass in Yano's absence and it was recorded with three people, completely self-recorded in a single attempt with a 4 track multi-recorder. It made us feel really ‘underground’ (Laughs). In 1987 we greeted Ohta as our new bassist, we also recorded another 8 songs by self-recording, but I was not satisfied with our work. We sold but 20 copies of a demo tape containing two songs at live venues only. Eventually we didn’t sell this work and put it in storage.
Iwata: In 1989 we announced the production of "NORWEGIAN FOREST". Takashi (bassist for today’s HELL BOUND) substituted on drums which were recorded at Kanazawa’s vanvan V4 from 1988 to 1989. It’s a proper studio work
Mouri: Actually we did some recording once at V4 in 1985. At that time, the music stores and such had become a point of contact for self-promotion, but the song was too long and needed to be re-recorded and so it wasn’t published. In our opinion it didn’t really work. It wasn’t really metal, as we were asked for something catchier. I guess they wanted it to be more commercial.
Yano: SAKURA * SAKURA were actually from Kanazawa (Note: Sakura * Sakura was a women’s hard rock band, but at the time of their major debut their music changed considerably. They released two albums before breaking up. Member Misae Takamatsu sang the first ending song of the anime "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon".) LADIA (Note: 3 person girl’s band. In their Indies era there were five members including men. They released three albums on a major label before dissolving) debuted at vanvan in due course.
--- What kind of bands were you influenced by？
Mouri: I think that the influence of IRON MAIDEN was strong when I first wrote professionally. I then started listening to JUDAS PRIEST, in a way going backwards there. After that I listened to hungrily to foreign metal bands. In the early days I was particularly influenced by QUEENSRYCHE, CRIMSON GLORY, early FATES WARNING, JAG PANZER, MERCYFUL FATE, early TROUBLE, SLAYER, AGENT STEEL, VOIVOD, ARTILLERY ... I can’t stop (Laughs).
Iwata: I listened to many bands like OZZY OSBOURNE or RAINBOW.
Yano: I liked many Thrash Metal bands.
Mouri: The French band SORTILEGE too. I forgot the only band with songs that I covered with HELL BOUND (Laughs).
--- How was the music and information obtained differently from the current Internet society that has developed?
Mouri: We bought tapes from Tower Records based on their jackets.
Iwata: At that time, Yano and I were high school students, we got Mori and Motono to re-record the tapes they had bought.
Mouri: I found some good bands from the "METAL MASSACRE" omnibus from Metal Blade that I'd buy if an album came out. Pretty obscure bands at that time in Japan like FATES WARNING, OMEN, TYRANT, VOIVOD and TROUBLE.
Iwata: Another thing were the specialised music magazines. I read Rockin 'F magazine and such, BURRN! I’ve read since the magazine was first published. I really appreciated the reviews at the end of the magazines. Because they handled stuff not on major labels.
Yano: It changed in the future, but they were criticizing the maniac bands with a condescending attitude. I laughed at 0 points for BATHORY and the like. On the contrary, it just raised my interest (Laughs). If I remember correctly SODOM also had a lousy score (Laughs). Also, from around 1991 BURRN! had ads from DISK HEAVEN that appeared in the magazine for "TO THE MARROW ~" (Note: Omnibus of 9 Death Metal from Japan including HELLCHILD and TRANSGRESSOR. It was released by Toy's Factory) or MAGGOTY CORPSE’s (Note: Death metal band where Sekine of current BUTCHER ABC was enrolled) split or GORE BEYOND NECROPSY’s (Note: the predecessor band of NOISE A GO GO'S) demo tape, which I bought. We also knew the existence of such things from fanzines, and you bought Death / Thrash metal demo tapes through them.
--- Although I did not get a feel of any touch of J-Metal when I saw you live, did you consciously exclude such a thing?
Mouri: Naturally I was conscious of such. Because we had tried to avoid any resemblance to any other bands that were active at that time (especially in Japan).
Iwata: I listened to bands that were introduced in magazines for reference a lot.
Yano: It may be slightly misunderstood, but until the rise of thrash metal in the late 1980s, amongst so-called J-Metal bands, I think that there were few such bands with such a ‘tough-guy’ image as ours. Thinking that way, it may just be natural that there were no similarities.
Mouri: Also I was very particular about the English lyrics. As I'd been listening to Western music all the time, I hoped for an English feeling as a matter of course. So it’s nice to be told that it didn’t have a J-Metal feel.
--- What activities were going on around Kanazawa? And what was the feel of the Kanazawa scene at that time? And what kind of bands did you perform with?
Yano: Kanazawa is at the centre. Although there were hard rock and heavy metal bands, there were still few bands doing original songs. Although it did gradually increase. At that time the style of renting equipment to play a live show was not standard as it is now. In the early days of activities, you played at music shops and planned shows at live venues, went to local festivals or opened for someone else. Or the Yamaha contest. (Note: The MID LAND contest that was held in Nagoya. At which SABBAT etc. also appeared) or contests sponsored by the various music stores. SAKURA * SAKURA and LADIA that I mentioned earlier played hard rock and heavy metal in their early days, and also attended such contests.
MID LAND contest
Iwata: We didn’t belong to it, in about 1985 a band called Eastrage (?) started up something like a local office centred on vanvanV4 called NEXT AGE. I think that the bands live projects have increased since that time. METAL NIGHT also did regular live events. NEXT AGE was recording affiliated bands at V4 and sending out some omnibus tapes of the bands.
Mouri: V4 offered us the undercards of MEPHISTOPHELES in 1987, the OUTRAGE tour of 1988 and CRY WOLF in 1989 (Note: US hard rock band. They released a mini album from Shinjuku Records).
Iwata: Since 1986 we were invited to Matsukiya's live project due to the connections between Kanazawa vanvan V4 and Fukui’s Matsukiya Music Co. and we had our first event with GENOCIDE Nippon. I remember that we went with SAKURA * SAKURA and EASTRAGE, 3 bands from Kanazawa. After that Matsukiya invited us again, and we were brought over to perform with GENOCIDE Nippon several times.
Yano: Meanwhile we were summoned by another promotor in Fukui, for the live venue called Attic, so we also played with Fukui’s DEETH BREED and Toyama’s DAMIEN. Although we only found out later, we also appeared with Okajima’s (OKAZZY! of VOIDD and CLANDESTINED) high school band at the Matsukiya's show on March 29, 1987. There’s a title song titled "Hell Bound" on a VOIDD release, but I only just found out the other day from him that he remembered the appearance at that time and named it after us (Laughs).
Voidd / Premonatry Inscription
1. Black Fate
2. Hell Bound
3. Betrayer
4. Total Mayhem
--- You said that you went to Tokyo only once before the dissolution, but until then didn’t you get the opportunity of an expedition there? Did you tour Nagoya, Osaka and elsewhere?
Mouri: Absolutely not. We went next door to Fukui a few times. I feel like the time passed by so fast with member changes, song writing and recording. It wasn’t easy to make the right preparations to go on tour.
Yano: For Meguro live station I heard that Takashi accompanied the demo tapes to Tokyo personally for DEETH BREED’s tour and booked directly. I went to Tokyo using the equipment car.
Iwata: Unfortunately the intention to dissolve was settled when the tour was decided on.
--- Why did you break-up？
Mouri: From 1988 to 1989 around where we recorded "NORWEGIAN FOREST" we were conflicted. It seemed like we’d got lost in the maze with no exit ....future activities and musical direction, we couldn’t be certain of anything. By the time we released the demo tape, only 2 of 5 songs remained, our direction also changed.
Iwata: I got tired of band activities after six years. So there was someone who could not get on with the other members at all (Laughs). I didn’t have the energy to search for new members.
Mouri: I felt like to keeping doing this band was depriving the other members' of a private life and freedom, so now was the right time. I also had such a feeling.
Yano: I was watching HELL BOUND from the outside, but just under two years from the member change, after releasing a demo tape equivalent to a full album, also after the decision to tour Tokyo, to hear of the retirement decision was a real surprise.
--- Please tell us what you did after the break-up?
Yano: After quitting HELL BOUND in 1988, I was active in a local hardcore band called BLANQUISME. In 1988, we put out a demo tape and independently produced an EP in 1989. The hardcore live shows on the Toyama - Kanazawa tour were usually multi-band events. Tetsuarei, LIP CREAM, DEATH SIDE, GHOUL, SxOxB, RAPES, OUTO, etc. etc. Another time, just before they were first unveiled NUKEY PIKES they also came to Toyama and we played with them. I wanted to do a new band with Iwata just before the dissolution in 1989, as I wanted to quit the guitar and play bass. He was surprised that I wanted to play bass but I quit BLANQUISME and we decided to create a new band together.
Iwata: As soon as possible after that, I tried sessions with two interested guitarists in Kanazawa, but I couldn’t get the feeling I really wanted.... so I contacted Mouri. To play the guitar (Laughs).
Mouri: I returned to being a guitarist for the first time in 6 years.
Yano: Matsumoto, who I got acquainted with in the hardcore scene was appointed as vocalist, and we decided to do thrash metal on the hard core side with the name GUST. For this band I was going to do the composition and writing of the songs mostly on my own, but I also played guitar (Laughs). GUST’s debut (April 1, 1990) was on the undercard of SxOxB. Because I had a connection to the hardcore scene, we were invited to join a band called FRAN in Toyama. We began recording shortly afterwards and released a demo tape of 6 songs in June and performed live shows. We also appeared on the OUTRAGE tour following an offer from V4, but after that there were no bands performing locally and we had a hard time working.
Mouri: In the spring of 1991 I wanted to quit GUST because of musical differences with Iwata. I was looking for a bassist, but Yano was having a second child so we decided to split.
Iwata: After we broke up, I formed a hard rock band called BUCK DRAFT featuring former HELL BOUND Takashi and a female vocalist. It dissolved after about a year after several member changes. After that I did not do much band work.
Yano: After the dissolution of GUST, I quit band activities altogether. However, I decided to continue writing songs. I didn’t have a specific goal, I immediately bought a rhythm machine and MTR and recorded the songs I write. In 1993, Kadosawa of the present GREEN MACHiNE, launched a band called OVERRIDE NEGATIVE and I was invited to participate. Because I wasn’t able to do ongoing activities, but with the promise of song writing and just demo tape recording work, I played drums for the first time in two years, but I also did a live show once. It was fun (Laughs). Because of that, I was invited to participate in ULTIMATE ATTACK (Note: Kanazawa hardcore / thrash metal / death metal omnibus released in 1994) through my tape that had been heard by Kadosawa. I decided on the name EDIBLE AUTOPSY for participation in the tape. With ULTIMATE ATTACK's record release I starting finding musicians to make it available for a live event. The members were fluid, but Iwata and Matsumoto participated in some places. When the live shows were settled, we entered the studio and continued activities whilst sometimes writing new songs and in 2007 released a split CD with EVOL, recorded in Kanazawa and Kyoto, we also took in Tokyo the following year. Currently Yano (Vo / B), Mouri (Gt), Iwata (Gt) from the HELL BOUND circle have settled in (Laughs).
Mouri: I didn’t take part any music activities until I joined EDIBLE AUTOPSY in 2006.
Yano: Around the end of 2012, I also started a band with Akira (Gt), formerly of CERBERUS, called GRIND SOUL, although I’m hitting the drums for my 20th year, thanks to this, 80% of my drum rehabilitation has been done.
--- Please tell us of the circumstances of your reunion and future activities.
Yano: In 2014 I decided to do a live show at (my own) silver wedding anniversary party, with the help of my friends or a live house owner, after asking around about what kind of event to do, it became "What if you do HELL BOUND?" So then I told the others, and it was realized by asking Akira (ex-CERBERUS) to play the bass. Originally it was only for the day, I didn’t think about anything else, but after it had finished, I suggested that I would like to do a live once more. With the consent of the members, after that I contacted Takeuchi of GENOCIDE Nippon, talking to the local band, we got hold of a venue....with the show the other day we’ve completed a full year.
Members of 2014 are Junichi Mouri (Vo), Masahiro Iwata (Gt), Hisano Yano (Dr), Akira (B: Help), Takamasa Yano (Gt: guest)
Members of 2015 (photo below) are Junichi Mori (Vo), Masahiro Iwata (Gt), Hisano Yano (Dr), Oimura (B), Takamasa Yano (Gt).
By the way, Takamasa Yano is my son born 24 years ago when GUST dissolved.
Mouri: Until the end of the other day’s show, I thought "This is really the end", but Takeuchi and Amaya of GENOCIDE Nippon, who came to see us specially from the Kanto area, many other guests and local people supporting a home town band told us they wanted us to continue, so we thought we would try HELL BOUND seriously again. Thanks to everyone who called to support us!
Iwata: We intend to keep the same members as well.
Yano: If you include songs that are not yet completed by the band, we have 40 to 50 unreleased tracks. We will carefully select from these for the time being and increase the number of songs performed and may also write some completely new songs.
Mouri: We want to perform vigorously. We'd like to play in a variety of places and would like to think of putting out releases in the future.
Feel free to request a translation here. And check out my previous work in this section.
Please bear it mind I'm always busy though and it may take a while!
Please bear it mind I'm always busy though and it may take a while!
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