MAN WITH A MISSION (MWAM) Chasing the Horizon Tour at Manchester Academy 3, February 27th, 2019

Playing only two UK shows on their ‘Chasing the Horizon Tour’ Planetmosh went to Manchester to catch the latest craze.

Kicking bands like Slipknot and Babymetal up the arse!  Man with a Mission are the new masters of gimmickry who adorn Wolf-heads for their stage wear.  Taking you on a rollercoaster ride of the senses MWAM are not shy of experimenting when it comes to their electro-rock-metal sound!

For a band relatively new to British shores, MWAM has a following. And it’s good to see their fans are as ferocious as the sound the band plays. Vocalist Tokyo Tanaka is a smash as he raps very Zack de la Rocha’ style on the blistering opener  Database which oozes metal guitars blended with hardcore techno synthesisers, provided by their keyboardist/DJ.  Already their fans are raising their hands in a ‘rarr’ like pose, breaking the usually raised horns pose seen by the heavy metal crowd.

Tonight’s audience was crossover mix of rock, indie and dance fans and they seem to appreciate the twist of music given to them by MWAM from the futuristic sounds of 2045, to Broken People which was even heavier on the bass line,  it instantly reminded of Pendulum with its drum kick beats.  MWAM is a band that breaks many contradictions with their high energy dance-rock metal extravaganza, and they do it so well, especially in stage wear of fake Wolfheads, as they moved about the stage and interacted with the crowd.

Enveloping a diverse range of music styles on their albums MWAM, have really honed their craft into giving a no balls straight in your face live act. It’s great to see a band as serious about their music, as well as ensuring their fans are having fun at the same time!!

Taking you on a musical mission of their epic journey so far, MWAM even added a one song DJ set during their epic show which also included a mini-movie intermission. Roadies wheeled out two very large flat screen TV sets, which were positioned either side at the front of the crowd.  It narrated various video cuts along with live festival performances, comparable to Leeds festival, which they played last year. Leading the band nicely in to perform an acoustic version of Chasing the Horizon with Tanaka taking up an acoustic guitar, even that giant wolf-head didn’t hinder his performance!

Man with a Mission by Alex English

MWAM is a powerhouse of their own anthemic riffs, but one stands out, as they do their only cover of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit but it’s not a straight-up cover but a rip-roaring mash-up, with explicit fucking lyrics to boot. They keep the body of the song but change the verses listen here to the full version! Asking ‘Do you like Asian?’ they sing in their native Japanese on Fly Again,  language is no barrier when it comes to music, and the vibe and energy of the song keep the audience bouncing along.

Taking a short break and a change of Wolf-heads, yep they don full faced Wolf-heads and sound equally as good as they encore with Take me under and closer Seven Deadly Sins, after which they very proudly announce that they will be heading back to the UK to play Download festival in June this year!! Now that does sound like the place to be this summer! If you’re going to Download Festival this year be sure to check out Man with a Mission.

https://www.mwamjapan.info/

https://en-gb.facebook.com/MWAMjapan/

 

MAN WITH A MISSION IS
Tokyo Tanaka – vocals / Jean-Ken Johnny – vocals & guitar
Kamikaze Boy – bass / DJ Santa Monica – DJ / Spear Rib – drums

 

MWAM Setlist

 

Intro Tape

Database

Take What U Want

Broken people

Raise Your Flag

Break the Contradictions

Emotions

~Drums & DJ Session~

Chasing the Horizon

(Acoustic Version)

~Short Movie~

Hey Now

Get Off of My Way

Dead End in Tokyo

Winding Road

Smells Like Teen Spirit

(Nirvana cover)

FLY AGAIN

My Hero

Encore:

Take me under

Seven Deadly Sins

 

About Alex English