ASTERISM BIOGRAPHY

ASTERISM
Biography

ASTERISM is a Japanese heavy metal three-piece: HAL-CA on guitar, MIYU on bass and MIO on drums, with HAL-CA also singing lead on the band's vocal songs. The three met at a music contest in 2014 and formed the band in their early teens, starting out in their home base of Fukuoka as an instrumental group (the band's official biography; AMUSE's artist page). Since its major-label debut on SME Records in 2023 the band has also written songs with vocals, and it calls its music "mass metal". It has played in the United States, France, South Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Singapore and India, and appeared at FOX_FEST, the festival staged by BABYMETAL. In 2025 it released "GYUTTO!!", a song written with the former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman, which is also on the EP MY WAY, whose CD carries a release date of 2 December 2026.

A meeting at a Yamaha contest (2014-2016)

The three first crossed paths at The 8th Music Revolution, a music contest run by the Yamaha group, in 2014. HAL-CA entered the Fukuoka preliminary as a solo guitarist, while MIYU and MIO, who played bass and drums together as a sibling unit called O.G.I, entered the preliminary in Saga. A member of Yamaha's staff saw both performances and approached each of them, and that is where the band began (BARKS, 2017). The band's official profile gives HAL-CA's home town as Fukuoka and MIYU's and MIO's as Saga.

The name ASTERISM means a cluster of stars: the idea was of separate points of light drawing together into one shape, the way the three wanted to make music as a single unit (BARKS, 2017).

Their first full performance together came on 1 November 2015 at the Kyushu-Okinawa final of The 9th Music Revolution, where they won both the Outstanding Performance Award and the Audience Award (the band's official biography). The organiser's own record lists the entry under the name HAL-CA, playing "Rising Moon" (the Music Revolution site). In June 2016 the band issued its first single, "Got your back!~Gachiyaba!~ / Wonder Rocket", through Yamaha Music Publishing.

The Session and IGNITION (2017-2018)

In November 2017 ASTERISM opened a concert for the former DEAD END guitarist Yuji Adachi, and on the 15th of the same month Tokuma Japan Communications released its first EP, The Session Vol.1: two originals, "155" and "Magic Bullet", alongside covers of Metallica, Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne. The second EP, The Session Vol.2, followed on 24 January 2018, pairing the band's signature pieces "Rising Moon" and "YUNAGI" with covers of Rage Against The Machine, RUSH and MOTORHEAD; the Rage Against The Machine song brought in a guest singer, a first for the band. The band presented the two EPs as one set that together made up its real debut, and The Session Vol.1 was sold in a two-disc case holding a single CD (BARKS, 2017; the band's news pages).

In 2018 the band began streaming concerts on Facebook in January and launched BATTLE SESSION, a series of filmed studio performances, in April. That April "Rising Moon" was also used in a television commercial for the Japan Racing Association (JRA), shown in Fukuoka and nationally on the Fuji TV network (the band's news pages).

The first full-length album, IGNITION, came out on 22 August 2018. Nine of its eleven tracks were originals; the only covers were DIO's "Stand Up And Shout" and the Beatles' "Helter Skelter". Bootsy Collins produced "BLAZE" and "Warning" and played bass and added his voice on both, with Buckethead on guitar. As HAL-CA told it, Collins had come across one of the band's videos and shared it on his own Facebook page; when the band's staff asked him to take part, he agreed (Gekirock interview, 2018). The limited first edition added a DVD with three music videos, live footage filmed in Fukuoka and scenes from the recording sessions.

Asia and America (2019)

In 2019 ASTERISM took its music abroad in earnest. Its first Asian tour, in China and Thailand, came in January, and in March it played its first Japanese tour, Welcome to INFERNO vol.MAX, in Tokyo and Fukuoka. The same month it made its first American tour, starting at SXSW in Austin, Texas, and continuing to Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles. From April it headlined six cities in China, including the Taihu Midi Festival; in August it played the Gangwon Rock Festival in South Korea, and in October it toured five cities in South Korea and China and appeared at Music China 2019 at the Shanghai New International Expo (the band's official biography).

GUERNICA and GUERNICA+a (2020-2021)

In December 2020, about two years after its previous new release, ASTERISM put out its third EP, GUERNICA, digitally through Amuse. Its six tracks were written with Pablo Picasso's painting Guernica as their starting point; the members drew the mostly white sleeve themselves, with a fresh start as its hidden theme, and the record made more use of post-production beyond the band's own instruments (the band's news pages).

On 15 September 2021, answering requests from fans, the band added four unreleased songs to the six of GUERNICA and issued the set on CD as its second full-length album, GUERNICA+a. ASTERISM wrote and arranged every song itself. To mark the release it toured Fukuoka and Tokyo that September as "'GUERNICA+a' Release Tour 2021 ~Exhibition~" (the band's news pages; the band's official biography).

Tokyo and Animetic (2022)

In April 2022 ASTERISM moved its base from its home town of Fukuoka to Tokyo and restarted after the pause forced by the pandemic (the band's official biography). In May it unveiled a new artist photo, a new logo and a redesigned official site, and announced Animetic, a concept album of covers: nine theme songs from anime of the 2000s onwards, chosen by the members and rearranged as instrumental metal. Four of them, from 「廻廻奇譚」 in May to 「シルエット」 in August, came out ahead of the album, which Asterhythm Music released digitally in September. Its release shows in Tokyo and Fukuoka, "'Animetic' Release Tour 2022 ~After Recording~", included the band's first live stream of a headline concert.

In December the band released "Ichizu / unravel" digitally with the Norwegian anime-song singer PelleK.

The major-label debut and the vocal records (2023)

In February 2023 ASTERISM joined NEXT GENERATION NEXT CREATION, a music project run by Sanyo Foods' cup-noodle brand CupStar, and a web commercial carrying its song 「カップスターの唄~ASTERISMより愛を込めて~」 was published (the band's news pages).

On 31 March the band made its major-label debut with its fourth EP, ASIDE, released digitally by SME Records. For a group that had until then let its instruments do all the talking, it was the first record with vocals on every track (Sony Music Labels' press release). With it came the label "mass metal", from "mass" in the sense of the general public: the band defines it as metal that reaches the masses, resonates with them and is loved by them. HAL-CA said the songs were written because the band wanted to carry its music in words and voice as well as through the instruments, and the official site introduces ASTERISM as a Generation Z three-piece playing instrumental mass metal (the band's news pages and biography). The band's own timeline also uses the words "major debut" for The Session Vol.1 in 2017, but its profile and its label's announcement both give the 2023 move to SME Records as the major-label debut.

In April ASTERISM played KNOTFEST JAPAN 2023, Slipknot's festival at Makuhari Messe. In June it released its second concept covers album, Animetic+p, again through Asterhythm Music: the nine songs of Animetic plus versions of "Ichizu" and "unravel" recorded with PelleK, eleven in all. That June it also appeared on J-MELO, NHK World-Japan's English-language music programme; in July it played the opening ceremony of Anime Expo in Los Angeles and gave free concerts in California and New York, and in August it performed at GAMERS8 - Gamers Cosplay Cup in Saudi Arabia (the band's official biography).

In September the fifth EP, BESIDE, followed ASIDE as a second collection of vocal songs, and on 1 November the third full-length album, DECIDE, was released. All eleven of its songs have vocals, and some date back to writing begun during the pandemic in 2020 (the band's news pages). The tour that came with it, ASTERISM "DECIDE" Release Tour 2023 -THE DECISION-, covered more cities and shows than any the band had played before: it opened in Nagoya on 4 November, went on to Osaka and Fukuoka and ended at SHIBUYA CYCLONE in Tokyo on 23 November, a sold-out show. Also in November the band played Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2023.

THE DECISION, FOX_FEST and PLANET OF METAL (2024)

In March 2024 ASTERISM released its first live album, THE DECISION (Live in Tokyo 23.11.2023), recorded at the last night of that tour. Its sixteen tracks include "PEACE", a new song first played on the tour. The same month the band appeared at Japan Expo Sud in Marseille, France. In July the film of the same concert followed as its first live video, THE DECISION (Live in Tokyo 2023), released digitally to buy or rent on Apple TV and Amazon (the band's news pages).

In May came PLANET OF METAL, a collaboration EP with the illustrator Acky Bright, whom the band had met and got on with at Anime Expo in July 2023. They first wrote a story together; Acky Bright drew its scenes and ASTERISM wrote music from the pictures. The seven tracks follow the band across a planet at the edge of the galaxy, with one song for each of six enemies: a dragon, a ninja, a squid, a zombie, a robot and a titan. In June the same seven tracks were also issued on CD together with a 28-page art book as the Collaboration MUSIC BOOK (the band's news and discography pages).

On 25 and 26 May the band played FOX_FEST, the festival BABYMETAL staged at Saitama Super Arena, as the guest band of METALVERSE. The bill for both days was BABYMETAL, ELECTRIC CALLBOY, POLYPHIA, Bilmuri and METALVERSE, and ASTERISM performed alongside METALVERSE on each day (the band's news pages). In July it returned to Anime Expo in Los Angeles for a second year and also played Japan Expo 2024 in Paris; in August it appeared at the metal festival CRASH CRISIS, and in November it toured Los Angeles, Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo as ASTERISM Live Tour 2024 -PLANET OF METAL- (the band's official biography).

First collaborations and an anime tie-in (2024-2025)

On 14 December 2024 ASTERISM was booked for the NH7 Weekender festival in India, but the event was called off on the day. That night the band played a free, hastily arranged headline show at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pune instead. Later that month it released "Metal Gandhara", written with Pineapple Express, a fusion band based in Bangalore. It was ASTERISM's first collaboration, and its video was shot in Bangalore, Pineapple Express's home city, with a crew of about a hundred Indian film-makers; it was published on 20 January 2025 (the band's news pages).

In January 2025 the new song "Crescendo" began airing as the opening theme of the television anime Even Given the Worthless ‘Appraiser’ Class, I'm Actually the Strongest, the band's first anime tie-in. The song was released digitally that January and on a CD and Blu-ray set in March (the band's news pages).

The link with Marty Friedman began when HAL-CA appeared alongside him on the television rock variety show ROCK FUJIYAMA (the band's news pages); Friedman has recalled that he and HAL-CA played ASTERISM's "STARS" on the programme (Guitar World, 2026). On 8 March 2025 Friedman and ASTERISM shared the bill of Guitar Monsters Japan vol.2 at Daikanyama UNIT in Tokyo, where they gave a surprise first performance of "GYUTTO!!", a new song they had written together. It was released on 30 April under the name ASTERISM & Marty Friedman, and that evening YouTube's THE FIRST TAKE premiered their one-take performance of it: the band's first appearance on the series, whose recording followed as the digital single "GYUTTO!! From THE FIRST TAKE" in May (the band's news and discography pages). The countdown show ROCK FUJIYAMA COUNTDOWN 2025-2026 at the Cotton Club in Tokyo on 31 December 2025 was likewise billed around Friedman and ASTERISM (the band's news pages).

In June the band took part in an Apple Watch commercial, 「心臓からのメッセージ」, playing part of the new song "Blink of Ray" in its live scene. The band calls it the most vicious metal song it has written; it was released in October and later opened the next album (the band's news pages).

Kick Down the Wall (2026)

On 14 January 2026 ASTERISM released its fourth original full-length album, Kick Down the Wall, digitally and as a fully limited CD+BOOK edition with a 48-page booklet. Its eleven tracks set hard, uncompromising instrumentals that go back to the band's roots beside aggressive vocal songs, and the band named its theme as growing up. Having played together since they were children, and having been watched as players who were good for their age, the three had come to find walls inside themselves; the album is where they put the struggles of the last few years (the band's news pages).

Days after the release, on 17 January, the band set out on a headline tour of Fukuoka, Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo, ASTERISM Live Tour 2026 "Untitled", whose Tokyo show at Spotify O-WEST on 1 February sold out. On 31 May it celebrated the album at Shibuya WWW in Tokyo with ASTERISM LIVE 2026 -Kick Down the WWWall-, playing the whole of Kick Down the Wall in running order to a sold-out room (the band's news pages).

HAL-CA's own work widened in 2026 as well. At METALVERSE #3 - GARDEN OF EDEN, the headline show METALVERSE played at Spotify O-EAST in Tokyo on 9 May, she played guitar as one of the musicians of METALVERSE VΛND PROJECT (MVP), the group's girls' band project (METALVERSE's official site; Gekirock, 2026).

MY WAY and MIO's break (2026)

In July 2026 the new song "MY WAY" was announced as the ending theme of the television anime Mezametara Saikyō Sōbi to Uchūsen-mochi Datta node, Ikkodate Mezashite Yōhei to shite Jiyū ni Ikitai (「目覚めたら最強装備と宇宙船持ちだったので、一戸建て目指して傭兵として自由に生きたい」). The series began on Tokyo MX and BS11 on 4 October, and the song was released digitally the same day (the band's news pages; the anime's official site). The CD MY WAY, with a release date of 2 December 2026, is an EP of five tracks: the title song and its instrumental version, the new "What’s my life?", arranged and produced by MEG (MEGMETAL), and "GYUTTO!! (w/ Marty Friedman)" and "Metal Gandhara (w/ Pineapple Express)". The band bills it as a collaboration EP (the band's news pages; Oricon).

In September 2026 the band announced that MIO would step back from activity for the time being to recover from ill health, and that ASTERISM would carry on as a duo of HAL-CA and MIYU in the meantime (the band's news pages).

ASTERISM was on the bill of MARTY FRIEDMAN JAPAN LIVE 2026 at the Cotton Club in Tokyo on 28 September. In October it was announced that the band would be the special guest on Friedman's Latin American tour, "SCENES" Live in Concert 34th Anniversary Tour of Latin America, ten cities in six countries from São Paulo on 11 November to Mexico City on 24 November, and that HAL-CA and MIYU would also play in Friedman's own backing band (the band's news pages). Friedman himself has said that HAL-CA would play some of the shows as his second guitarist (Guitar World, 2026).

On 5 November the band announced the title of its February 2027 national tour, ASTERISM LIVE TOUR 2027 "What’s Your Life?", and put the tickets on general sale: four shows, at INSA in Fukuoka, Live House ANIMA in Osaka, ell.FITS ALL in Nagoya and SHIBUYA CLUB QUATTRO in Tokyo (the band's news pages).

About the sources

The sources are ASTERISM's official website, asterism.asia (its biography pages in Japanese and English, its news and its discography); the artist page of its management, AMUSE; Sony Music Labels' press release of 2023, published on ORICON NEWS; Yamaha's Music Revolution website; METALVERSE's official website; the official website of the anime whose ending theme is "MY WAY"; BARKS (2017); Gekirock (2017, 2018 and 2026); ORICON NEWS (2026) and Oricon's artist pages; Guitar World (2026); and the THE FIRST TAKE channel on YouTube.