"There are people who like aggressive music the way they like sports, but I think 'hardcore' is about being self-aware of what you're doing, about how to create your own space," says Tadashi Hamada, manager of independent music label Daymare Recordings. "That's my first requirement for bands. So hardcore can come in all shapes and forms."
Hamada and his label will be hosting the music festival Leave Them All Behind this Saturday at Daikanyama Unit in Tokyo. The festival, which is Daymare's flagship event, was first held in 2009 and has featured acts from both here and abroad associated with the hardcore, drone, metal and shoegaze scenes, such as Sunn O))), Isis, Godflesh, Envy and Boris.
Headlining this weekend's show will be post-metal band Jesu, led by Justin Broadrick, guitarist of seminal British industrial-metal band Godflesh. Jesu, who last came to Japan in 2007, released its new album, "Everyday I Get Closer to the Light from Which I Came," in September last year. The other overseas act on the bill is Chicago-based atmospheric-metal trio Russian Circles. Representing Japan will be instrumental post-rock band Mono, who has just returned from a two-month tour of the United States, and post-black metal band Cohol.