BLAZE: Finding Salvation Through Visual Kei

Japanese visual kei band Blaze are heading to Europe, bringing their latest album, “Determination”, and a sound shaped by some deeply personal experiences. Formed by musicians from different bands, Blaze have built their identity around the concept “For the Irredeemable,” with music that speaks to those who have found themselves at their lowest.

Ahead of their European tour, we caught up with the band to talk about their beginnings, the stories behind their songs, Nero’s move to Japan, and what fans can expect from their first encounters with Blaze on stage.

Every visual kei band has its own universe. What kind of world do you want people to enter when they listen to Blaze for the first time?

All the lyrics are filled with Mio’s memories and feelings. The members use music to bring them out to the fullest. Please be sure to read the lyrics as well. It’s as if you’re stepping into the world of a movie.

Why Blaze? Who came up with the name, and what’s the story behind it?

While there was some advice from a senior member, it was mainly because the team members strongly identified with those words.

Your concept is “For the Irredeemable”, and your fans are the Kyuunansha. Who are the irredeemable, and why did you want to speak to them?

Mio: By “the hopeless ones,” I mean us band members as well as our fans. There was a time when I wanted to die, and music saved me. Music may be nothing more than entertainment, but I believe it’s essential to living. I believe the “Rescued Ones” come to our shows with feelings similar to that.

I believe that even someone like me can save someone else, and that I can be one piece of the puzzle that is someone’s life. I can’t hold their hand or give them a push, but I can stand by them through their pain and sorrow. I’ll save them through music.

You started as a session band and became a real band in 2025, with members from four different bands. When did you realize this was more than a side project?

We had been preparing from the very beginning to operate as a band.

Your album “Determination” is one of my favourites in vkei this year, and ‘MAYDAY’ is probably my favourite song on it. It’s loud, raw and a bit chaotic. If it were a movie scene, what would be happening?

Each member has gone through some very difficult experiences in their musical careers so far. Mio wrote the lyrics for this song of ours, which could be described as a beacon of anti-war sentiment. It truly captures a scene from the eve of war.

NERO, you moved to Japan because you wanted to start a visual kei band at its source. What first pulled you into this world, and was it worth the leap?

When I was a kid, I used to look up to K-pop idols and the like, but in middle school, a senior recommended Dir en grey to me, and I was blown away by their look and music in a way I’d never experienced before. it felt like I’d discovered a whole new world I’d never known existed.

I’ve always been the type to worry about the little things, but visual kei artists seemed so strong; they confidently expressed their own worldview without being swayed by the opinions of others or public judgment.

As I looked up to them, I began to think, “I want to be that kind of person, too.” At first, I was in a band back in my home country, but I realized that since we only live once, I didn’t want to have any regrets when I died.

Regardless of whether I’d become successful or not, I was determined to try my hand at the music scene in Japan, the birthplace of visual kei, so I decided to move there. Now that visual kei has become such an integral part of my life, I truly believe that decision was the right one.

Visual kei has changed enormously over the years. What do you think makes it still exciting and relevant today?

I think it’s because, while admiring and respecting the world created by those who came before us, the younger generation has brought their own unique touch to it and continued to refine it.

More and more Asian bands are coming to Europe and we couldn’t be happier about it. How did the European tour come together, and which country are you most excited about?

Kururu: I hear more and more bands are expanding into Europe? That’s great. But it doesn’t really have much to do with our tour. This tour became a reality because fans overseas discovered us and cheered for us so loudly.

And, yes, it’s precisely because this is a BLAZE solo tour that we can put on the kind of show we want. There’s no single answer to which country I’m most looking forward to, but seeing how each one differs from Japan is part of the fun.

What can European fans expect from a Blaze live show? Give us one thing we absolutely shouldn’t miss.

It’s very difficult for Japanese bands to tour in Europe. They’ve overcome these challenges. Please feel the strength that allows them to never give up, no matter what.

If you could say one sentence to someone who has never heard of Blaze, what would it be?

Just listen quietly; we’ll talk about it later.