I was browsing online for music-related information when I came across them. Who on earth are these kids? I could hardly believe my eyes. ASTERISM was a three-piece band—guitar, bass, and drums—and they were young. So young that “kids” hardly felt like an exaggeration. And they were instrumental. Their technique was astonishing. Curious to learn more, I discovered that they came from almost the same part of Japan as I did. The guitarist, in particular, seemed to be from a nearby town.
Shibuya eggman, July 12, 2022
The crowdfunding-reward T-shirt I later had them autograph it.
Some time later, in the summer of 2018, I learned that they were launching a crowdfunding campaign to finance their first album, IGNITION, so I was happy to back the project. Until then, their music had been released piecemeal, and being able to hear it collected in one album felt like a major step forward. The opening track, “BLAZE,” featured funk icon Bootsy Collins (production, bass, and voice) and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Buckethead. It gave me chills.
At the time they were still in high school and based in Fukuoka, although they had begun playing occasional shows in Tokyo. Soon after IGNITION was released, they performed in Shimokitazawa, and I finally had the chance to see them live. I did not take photographs at that show; I began photographing them at another Shimokitazawa performance in January 2019. Since then, I have attended and photographed around twenty shows, mostly solo concerts. It would be presumptuous to call these images a chronicle of the band, but they are photographs filled with memories.
LIVEHOLIC, January 19, 2019
Guitar HAL-CA
Drums MIO
Bass Guitar MIYU
At a show at Shimokitazawa LIVEHOLIC, I once managed to stand front and center. The members’ sweat flew toward us, and at the end we exchanged high fives—the kind of closeness only a small venue can offer. I used a smartphone the first time I photographed them, so the image quality was poor. After experimenting, I reduced the saturation and ended up with images that had a character of their own. More than the image quality, I fondly remember looking up from a spot where HAL-CA and MIYU seemed to tower over me. MIO was difficult to photograph, and there was hardly ever a chance to capture all three members in a single frame.This show marked the starting point of my ASTERISM photography.
Dallas & Houston, March, 2019
When I learned that they would be performing in the United States in March 2019, I knew I had to see them, so I attended the shows in Dallas and Houston.
In front of the billboard outside the Dallas venueThey kindly posed for a photo with me.
Austin, Texas, hosts the enormous SXSW festival, whose music program fills the city with countless live performances. ASTERISM was scheduled to take part. Local fans, feeling that a single SXSW appearance would be a missed opportunity, organized additional shows in Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles. The venues were modest and not especially well equipped. I got to know the fans who had arranged the local venues, as well as members of the band’s staff, and the atmosphere was warm and friendly. After the shows, the band members came out to the merchandise area and spent time with their fans.
I shot these photographs with a camera about three generations older than the one I use now. The greatest difference was focusing speed: whenever the subject moved, far too many shots ended up out of focus. After replacing the camera in 2021, my success rate improved dramatically. Even so, I think I captured some unusually interesting angles on this trip. The photographs shown here are a mix from Dallas and Houston.
One more memory: just before the Dallas show began, I was in the restroom when one of the members rushed in, clearly in a panic. That certainly caught me by surprise.
In front of Shibuya MODI, September 9, 2023
Bass Guitar MIYU
Drums MIO
Guitar HAL-CA
This was a free public session in the plaza outside Shibuya MODI—the only time I ever saw them perform in broad daylight. I doubt there were even fifty people in the audience, and all three members were smiling; the atmosphere was wonderfully relaxed. I do not imagine they would play a session like this anymore.
Planet of Monster Tour: Fukuoka EVOL, November 10, 2024 & Daikanyama UNIT, November 29, 2024
I brought a print of a photograph I had taken in Fukuoka, and they signed it at the meet-and-greet in Tokyo! !(^^)!
In 2024, ASTERISM released the album Planet of Metal, followed by commemorative shows in Fukuoka, Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo. The project tells a story in which the members of ASTERISM battle monsters including dragons, zombies, ninjas, and titans. Los Angeles-based artist Acky Bright created an illustrated book for the story, and ASTERISM supplied the music. During the concerts, his artwork was projected on the screen for each song, creating a colorful stage show.
Debut performance of the anime theme song
At the final show in Tokyo, they performed a new song, “Crescendo,” which had been chosen as the opening theme for the anime Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest. It was their first anime tie-in. While I was creating this page, it was also announced that another new song, “MY WAY,” would be the ending theme for the anime Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship!, scheduled to begin airing in October 2026. I am looking forward to that as well.
Kick Down the WWWall, at www in Tokyo, May 31, 2026
MIYU
MIO
HAL-CA
Their fourth full-length album, Kick Down the Wall, was released in January 2026, and a special concert followed at the end of May.They said they simply wrote the music they themselves wanted to play and, as ever, it is packed with breathtaking technique. MIO explained on social media that the title of one track, “MET/AL SUPREME,” pays homage to Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. It is also exciting that the album was mastered by Ted Jensen.
They had also played the material on the “Untitled” tour through February, but this performance seemed to carry even greater intensity.
HAL-CA’s kicks, in celebration of Kick Down... (^-^*)
Beyond the shows pictured here, I also attended the launch concerts for their second album, GUERNICA, and third album, DECIDE, as well as “Guitar Monster,” where they performed alongside Marty Friedman and others. I have shared photographs from these concerts on the Instagram account I started in 2019.
HAL-CA’s extraordinary guitar playing, said to have “a better sense of rhythm than the rhythm section”
MIYU wielding a wildly unconventional seven-string bass and delivering growls
MIO driving the band’s rhythm, making a single bass drum sound like a double-bass setup
ASTERISM moved its base to Tokyo in 2022, made its major-label debut in 2023, and now performs overseas as well. I look forward to watching their journey continue. (I have completely taken on the perspective of a proud grandfather.)
