- Iron Maiden, Halestorm, Rage (Band)
- Miho: Pantera, Mötley Crüe, Anthrax, Steve Harris, Nikki Sixx
- Haruna: Helloween, Uli Kusch
- Midori: Kiko Loureiro, Nuno Bettencourt, Yngwie Malmsteen
- Miyako: Deep Purple, Rainbow, Ritchie Blackmore
- Asami: Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin
- Destrose, Light Bringer, A Drop of Joker
Lovebites (stylized as LOVEBITES) is a Japanese all-female heavy metal band (Power Metal, with elements from Thrash Metal and Traditional Heavy Metal), formed in 2016 by former Destrose members Miho and Haruna. Its lineup consists of Miho on bass, Haruna on drums, Midori and Miyako on guitar (with Miyako occasionally using piano/keyboard instead), and Asami on vocals. After signing to Victor Entertainment, the group released both their debut EP and their first album, The Lovebites EP and Awakening from Abyss, in 2017 before performing their first overseas concerts at the end of the year. With another EP and album released in 2018, Battle Against Damnation and Clockwork Immortality, Lovebites quickly garnered international attention and won that year's Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award for Best New Band. They released their third album, Electric Pentagram, in 2020, and it reached number 9 on the Oricon chart, becoming their highest-charting to date.
In 2021, Lovebites wrote the song "Winds of Transylvania" to be used as the opening theme of the anime series Vlad Love and were named an official ambassador for the series. They released their third EP, Glory, Glory, to the World, which they recorded during the COVID-19 Pandemic, on March 10, 2021. The sold out national Ride for Vengeance Tour was originally set to take place between January 24 and March 5, but was rescheduled to between March 12 and April 6 following the Japanese government's declaration of a second state of emergency due to the pandemic and its extension.
On August 17, 2021, bassist Miho announced her departure from the band. The other members and their staff had held "countless meetings to find a way for her to stay," but ultimately decided to respect her decision. As a result, Lovebites temporarily suspended all activities, but assured fans that they would return. On October 21, 2022, a Youtube video
premiered announcing their new bassist, Fami. Fami is a 20-year-old bass player from Japan who has experience of performing live and working with many artists since her teenage years. She has also produced her own solo album, writing all the music and lyrics, and is experienced in expressing herself as an artist.
Discography:
- The Lovebites EP (EP, 2017)
- Awakening From Abyss (2017)
- Battle Against Damnation (EP, 2018)
- Clockwork Immortality (2018)
- Daughters of the Dawn - Live in Tokyo (Live album, 2019)
- Electric Pentagram (2020)
- Five of a Kind - Live in Tokyo 2020 (Live album, 2020)
- Glory, Glory, to the World (EP, 2021)
- Heavy Metal Never Dies - Live in Tokyo 2021 (Live album, 2021)
- In the Beginning: The Best of 2017-2021 (Compilation album, 2021)
- Judgment Day (2023)
- Knockin' at Heaven's Gate: Live in Tokyo 2023 (Live album, 2023)
Member solo works:
- "Etude op. 23" by Miyako (EP; classical piano covers of metal songs)
Lovebites provides examples of:
- Added Alliterative Appeal: Their first album is Awakening from Abyss. Their fourth album, Judgement Day contains the tracks "Wicked Witch" and "Soldier Stands Solitarily"
- Alphabetical Theme Naming: With the exception of their first release, The Lovebites EP, their albums and EPs begin with sequential letters of the alphabet, starting with Awakening From Abyss.
- Amazon Brigade: They appear as onna bugeisha (feudal Japanese warrior women) in the music video for "When Destinies Align".
- Amazonian Beauty: Midori, she's involved in bikini fitness when not playing in the band.
- Animal Motifs: A wolf usually apprears on covers for the band's music.
- Clip Show: The music video for "Nameless Warrior" consists of clips and footage of the band from 2016 to 2021.
- Color-Coded Characters: The band as a whole usually wear white, to contrast with the stereotypical black of the metal genre.
- Damsel out of Distress: The music video for "Judgement Day" begins with a woman running away from a strange shadow that is menacing her. She falls over before spotting a sword planted in the ground conveniently near where she fell, at which point she stands up, grabs the sword and uses it to dispatch the shadow.
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Fan Community Nicknames: Their fans are known as the "Wolfpack". -
Friendly Fandoms: With Halestorm, since their name comes from a Halestorm song. They opened for Halestorm on their 2019 tour of Japan. - Gratuitous English: Despite all members being native Japanese speakers, all of their songs are in English, with the exception of "Bravehearted", which was written before the band was formed.
- Heavy Mithril: Several of their songs might qualify, but it's often difficult to tell if the fantastic elements are meant to be literal or metaphorical. Three unambiguous examples are "Winds of Transylvania" (the OP of Vlad Love), "Spellbound" (about the myth of Medusa), and "M.D.O." (based on the "Ressurection" arc of Manga/Phoenix).
- Hope Springs Eternal: Many of their songs feature themes of finding hope in the face of despair.
- Metal Band Mascot: The wolf that appears on all their album covers.
- Ms. Fanservice: All members are qualified and Midori is a bikini fitness model.
- Out-of-Genre Experience: Metalheads might be surprised to see Miyako play Fryderyk Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude" as the lead-in to "Swan Song". For the members themselves, vocalist Asami came from a Soul and R&B background (as well as being a trained ballerina) and had no experience with heavy metal before she auditioned for the band.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: While none of the members are big by any stretch (the tallest is Fami at 160 cm), Asami (147 cm) and Haruna (146 cm) take the cake. Despite their heights, Asami has a set of lungs that can belt out metal vocals with the best of them, and Haruna can play fast-paced drums for a two hour concert.
- Red Baron: All the members (sans new bassist Fami) have individual nicknames:
- Midori: "The Golden Touch"
- Haruna: "Little Big Engine"
- Miho: "Natural Born Headbanger"
- Midori: "Crazy Shredder"
- Asami: "The One and Only Voice"
- Shout-Out:
- The band's name comes from "Love Bites (and so do I)" by Halestorm, which they performed at a rehearsal and felt fit well with Asami's voice.
- The melody for "The Crusade" is based on "Aces High" by Iron Maiden.
- "Don't Bite the Dust" is influenced by and named after a stand from Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure Diamond Is Unbreakable (which itself is named after "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen)
- They have covered "Eagle Fly Free" by Helloween and "Painkiller" by Judas Priest.
- "Swan Song" takes elements from Fryderyk Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude" and Antonín Dvořák's "New World Symphony"; Asami writes lyrics after the music is composed, and writes them to match the mood of the song. Having performed classical ballet, the piano and classical motif on the track made her think of Swan Lake.
- The band has called "Set the World on Fire" their Slayer tribute.
- "Golden Destination" is their tribute to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
- Miyaki's Etude op.23 EP consists of classical piano covers of metal songs: "Battery", "Far Beyond the Sun", "Eagle Fly Free", 'The Loner', "Burn", and Lovebites' own "Addicted".
