One of the Greatest Bands You Have Probably Never Heard of

Images © Charles in San Francisco

I’ve written several pieces with titles like “See this band before it’s too late!” or words to that effect. In this case, I can’t say that because, well, it is already too late. Mary’s Blood formally disbanded in the spring of 2022, giving a series of farewell concerts before moving on to new things.

I’m still mourning the loss. They were an uncompromising group that wrote and played jaggedly beautiful songs and were phenomenal live. In a world full of fake stuff, they were the real thing.

Mary’s Blood were the first successful band to spin out of the legendary but chronically unstable Destrose. (Some other Destrose progeny include Disqualia, Mardelas, Fate Gear, Lovebites, and Lonesome Blue.)

Mary’s Blood itself had some early personnel changes but quickly settled into its permanent lineup in 2009:

• Eye-vocals

• Mari-drums

• Rio-bass

• Saki-guitars

• Yashiro-guitars (live performances only)

Rio and Mari are a tremendous, heavy-hitting back line, and it’s safe to say Saki is one of the greatest, most creative shredders who ever picked up a guitar.

When they were touring, Yashiro joined them on second lead guitar — that’s why you see five women on stage in live performances. Yashiro is an instructor at Tokyo College of Music and declined a number of offers from Mary’s Blood (and other bands) to join them full-time. She has taught many of the young, up-and-coming female guitarists playing today.

Mary’s Blood were categorized variously as hard rock or as metal. The truth is, like most Japanese bands, they can’t be pigeonholed into one or another genre. They could blast your face off one minute and melt your heart the next. You’ll see when you play these links.

“Marionette”

This is their best-known music video. The song is a rocker with overtones of Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, but, if anything, even more of an edge. It is also a showcase for the guitarist, Saki, though you never see her face — the camera is focused mostly on her hands, for good reason. She has beautiful, long, double-jointed fingers, which spider up and down the fretboard in a blur.

Saki pulls off a pyrotechnical guitar solo full of dissonant runs and general mayhem, goes back to the melodic lead, and then ends the song with more insanity. Another musician once said of her, “I can’t even play the wrong notes that fast!” My nickname for the song is “Watch someone murder a guitar without breaking any nails.”

“Infinite Love”

Most pop artists do ballads — that is their stock in trade. But there is something special about a metal band doing it. When all that power is reined in in the service of a slow, melancholy, or meditative song, it just feels different. It’s one of the reasons multiple generations love Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” even if they can’t name another song by the band.

Here are Mary’s Blood doing a power ballad. The song is ambiguous: She sings about wanting one more day together, but has the love affair already ended? Did it ever begin? You don’t need to understand the language to get the message.

Eye is already a highly emotive frontwoman, and she really pours herself into it here. Saki makes the guitar sing with two gorgeous blues-inflected solos. Sentimental? Yes, without apologies.

…….

“Rolling Start”

This starts with a Guns n’ Roses vibe and then kicks into another gear. Pure joyous rock and roll, played with the sort of elan that has been missing from rock for 30 years. (Note, you may need to unmute this before playing).

非常扎实的现场Mary's Blood / Rolling Start (LIVE)_哔哩哔哩_bilibili at BLITZ 〜Make The New World Tour 2018〜EYE SAKI RIO MARI YASHIRO, 视频播放量…

www.bilibili.com

I saw Mary’s Blood live in 2019 and feel grateful I did. They set the house on fire, but that was to be their last big live gig before the pandemic.

Eye has a new album out, and Saki has several projects, including her own solo work, which veers more in the progressive/fusion direction. Her biggest project, until recently, was Nemophila, which is an entire story unto itself. Rumor has it that Rio, Mari and Eye have been doing some informal sessions together. Whatever comes to pass, I wish only the best of luck to Eye, Mari, Rio, Saki, and Yashiro in their future endeavors.