Onmyo-za - 魔王戴天 25 July 2007
Onmyo-za sometimes seen as ‘Onmyouza’ or ‘陰陽座’ is an interesting Japanese metal band. Their music is what I believe most people would consider fairly normal for the metal genre. The band performs both slow ballads and furious, instrumenting thrashing songs. But the overall construction and composition is reminiscent of what I would call ‘classic metal’; as much as I write and ramble on these uploads you would think I might actually know a damn thing or two about music, but no, I’m just an idiot fan trying to use the terminology of music theorists and professional writers, heh.The name Onmyo-za refers to onmyoudou, an esoteric and traditional Japanese system of cosmology based on the concept of Yin and Yang. In late 8th century Japan the government was undergoing a significant change as the Fujiwara clan of warriors established themselves in the court aristocracy, effectively beginning the Heian period. One of the many changes that followed was the legal reinforcement of onmyoudou, which the government somewhat recognized a century earlier. But the government under the Fujiwara family increased the strictness of laws that prevented Buddhists from practicing onmyoudou and so the fortune-telling aspect of it all became a monopolized business run by Japanese people who intentionally stayed out of the clergy.Now why on Earth have I gone off on this boring history tangent? Because it provides a context for Onmyo-za’s most distinguishing characteristic: the band identifies themselves with the Heian era and reflects this in their stage appearances, music videos, lyrics, and the traditional elements of Japanese music that they blend into what is otherwise a straight-forward form of metal. The mysticism and symbolism of onmyoudou is visible in all aspects of what Onmyo-za does. You could say it is their ‘theme’, but it is so thorough and inseparable that it would be a mistake to write it off as just a gimmick. Their albums unfold like folklore, like this one: Maou-Taiten lit. ‘Demon King Conquers Heaven’. Their adoption of the onmyoudou concept is so pervasive that they even express the idea of Yin and Yang by having a male and female vocalist, the husband and wife duo Matatabi and Kuroneko, respectively. Every band member’s stage name makes a reference to cats.It all makes Onmyo-za an interesting concept metal band. And they push that concept to the extreme with great effect.Requests are welcome as always. Hope you enjoy the album everyone!