ABOUT:
Some bands you just have to hear. Japan's KOENJIHYAKKEI (aka Koenji Hyakkei aka Hundred Sights of Koenji) are just such a band. Headed by vocalist / composer / drummer extraordinaire Tatsuya Yoshida (of the renowned bass and drum duo RUINS), KOENJIHYAKKEI is Area and ELP at their most excessive; Deus Ex Machina with tempo changes multiplied by 100; and Magma at their orff-ian choral, fusion jazz, overcharged gospel peak. All of which is meaningless to those unfamiliar with the aforementioned bands. Maybe that explains why advance listens have yielded head-scratching comments comparing KOENJIHYAKKEI's fourth album (and USA debut) "Angherr Shisspa" to Stereolab, Yes, Queen, Melt-Banana and "something so far off Broadway it's on the moon". All that makes the band sound indecipherable and impenetrable. Fortunately, that's not the case, there's plenty to latch onto, densely packed into the album's 50 minute running time. In the heady, heavy prog-circles, Koenji is already firmly established; renowned as the ultimate contemporary progressive rock outfit; with three albums and a live dvd released in their native Japan (and heavily exported around the world). KOENJIHYAKKEI explodes with glittery keyboard lines, speedy bass/drum workouts, emotive reed respites, and operatic female vocals that take the listener from sheer exuberance to absolute apocalypse... And all this is performed with superhuman technique in extremely catchy, complex arrangements.

Reborn, Koenjihyakkei battle in the higher dimension... radiated.
This is your end.

Nivraym - New Release:
Nivraym is the third studio album by Japan's Koenjihyakkei. Led by Yoshida Tatsuya of the progressive-hardcore drum and bass duo Ruins, Koenjihyakkei's Nivraym is the bands purest, most uncompromising expression of Zeuhl music to date, blending progressive rock, symphonic rock, fusion and neoclassicism with the energy of hardcore punk, the volume of metal and the attitude of rock in opposition.

Previously available only in Japan, Nivraym has been extensively rebuilt for this 2009 worldwide release. The band has gone back to the original master recordings and the current line-up has added new flourishes, additional overdubs, re-recorded drum tracks and the entire album has been remixed and remastered at Japan's Magaibutsu Studio!

ALSO SEE: RUINS