The roots of Gonin-ish reach back as far as the year 1995, when keyboarder Masashi Momota was a member of WWW, a Japanese progressive metal band, which disbanded the next year after only one public performance. Masashi met up with guitarist Akiko "Anoji" Matsuoka, who played in the all-female thrash troupe Oblivion and brought a taste for death metal into this union, which first resulted in a cover-band paying tribute to Swedish prog-legends Anekdoten, where Akiko took over the duties as bassist and singer. Soon their artistic vision went beyond playing cover versions, and in 1997 the project evolved into a band with new members joining. That same summer, the appellation Gonin-ish was found. Already at this early stage, a specific way of working developed with Momota taking the lead as main composer and Matsuoka deciding to express an ideal of chaos by writing all lyrics in her native tongue of Japanese.

When their self-titled debut came out in 2000, people described Gonin-ish's music as progressive rock, death metal, art rock and fusion. Whatever the genre, the truth is the listen proved to be both extremely enjoyable and a colourful lesson of inheritance and innovation. Gonin-ish's debut immediately generated a massive surge of interest in their homeland, leading to a host of shows including the famous Shibuya On Air West as well as touring with native bands and finally being the support act of Black Dahlia Murder in February 2004. After several changes, the perfect line-up surfaced, when Gonin-ish started recording their second album Naishikyo-Sekai in 2003, which was finished in 2004 and finally released in 2005, creating an even greater impact in Japan. Their success and recognition helped Gonin-ish's dreams to come true, when they were invited in 2008 to play support for their heroes Anekdoten.

Now the band's sophomore effort, Naishikyo-Sekai (meaning "your inner world"), finally gets its long awaited and deserved Western release. This highly original masterpiece is not bound by any genre but to true art, creation and expression. Welcome to a new chapter in music, a new chapter in Japanese culture and a new contender in the world of progressive metal: taste the most delicious musical creation from the Land of the Rising Sun!

(Source: season-of-mist.com)