Saboten Con

MELON BATAKE A GO GO Adds Two New Members as Their US Debut Approaches

/ DAEMON

MELON BATAKE A GO GO have just announced that two new members will be joining the lineup. Kotomi Kuzuki and Usako Minano of sister unit The Grateful a MogAAAz will be joining the psychobilly sidekick heroes on a rotating basis.

Kotomi Kuzuki and Usako Minano

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From Outer Space to Arizona: MELON BATAKE A GO GO to Make their US Debut

/ DAEMON

For those of us who can’t currently get into Japan to see idols, we just got the best possible news: the idols are coming to us!! Chaotic Harmony have just announced that rockabilly idols from outer space,  MELON BATAKE A GO GO will be making their US debut at Saboten Con in Phoenix, Arizona this coming Labor Day weekend.

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All Good Things Explode: BURST GIRL Announce Dissolution

/ DAEMON

In the latest episode of “COVID Ruins Everything”, BURST GIRL’s international debut has been postponed to never.  The strongest and most crazy punk idols have unexpectedly announced that they will be disbanding two weeks from now on the third of October. While three years and eight months is not a bad run for a fully self-produced, self-managed idol unit, for many of us (and the world at large), the end is coming far too soon.

Like many of you, we eagerly jumped on the BURST GIRL bandwagon from the moment of their creation having known Boss Rei, Miyako, Rinchama and Yurapico from the legendary indie-punk unit and Heaviest Idol in The World, Guso Drop.  When manager and producer Daichi-san announced Gudro’s disbandment because he couldn’t figure out how to make money with the group, the four idols must have decided they could do a better job than that, and took things into their own hands.  Continue reading →

Burst Girl to Make U.S. Debut at Saboten Con 2020

/ DAEMON

Burst Girl will be making their U.S. debut this coming Labor Day weekend as part of Saboten Con 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona.

In addition to to performing their fist live on American soil, Yura, Rin, Miyak and Roa will be participating in autograph and Q & A sessions and, if history is any judge, perhaps the fashion show and some VIP shenanigans dreamed up by our friends at Chaotic Harmony (like the time a lucky few got to have breakfast and watch Sailor Moon with Candye Syrup and SENANAN ).  Bringing chika idol all-stars to the U.S. has become a Labor Day tradition at Saboten Con and it always makes for an unforgettable weekend. 

Saboten Con badges are available now. Protip: at past cons you got early VIP access to events (like the concert) if you booked your stay at the con hotel.

We Interview Idols: Broken By the Scream

/ DAEMON

Broken By the Scream is one of the most unique, talented and loud acts in alternative idol and, over this past Labor Day weekend, Saboten Con played host to their U.S. debut in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Although harsh vocals in chika idol have been normalized over the past few years, most groups still only use death voice elements to provide an occasional emotional emphasis or shock.  Broken By the Scream, however, has flipped this norm, embracing harsh vocals for the lead part in the majority of their songs. Having a dedicated screamer (Io) and growler (Kagura) also lends a signature contrast to the vocal delivery, oftentimes in a call-and-response style reminiscent of a collaborative rap.  In this harsh environment, it is the entry of the clean vocals of Yae and Ayame that oftentimes serve as a purifying and cathartic shock.

Towards the end of Saboten Con weekend, Team Homicidols was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to sit down and speak with the four talented idols whose singular voices combine to make Broken By the Scream the vocal powerhouse that it is. 

Broken By The Scream Homicidols Interview

Yae: This is a genre that you’ve probably never heard anywhere else in the world.

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Broken By the Scream Breaks the States

/ DAEMON

Broken By the Scream made their debut performance on U.S. shores this past Friday night at Saboten Con in Phoenix and it was spectacular. Ayame, Yae, Io and Kagura brought a ton of energy to the Arizona desert and left it all onstage. The vocals were appropriately brutal and angelic in turn, the choreography crisp and emotional. Fans had flown in from across the U.S. and up from Mexico to give BBTS a proper welcome to the West. Altogether, it was a fabulously brutal evening.

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Broken By the Scream Drop New MV and Album Release Date in Lead Up to U.S. Debut

/ DAEMON

Broken By the Scream will set foot on American soil for the first time in just under three weeks unleashing their kawaii-meets-deathcore stylings on a live crowd at Saboten Con in Phoenix, Arizona.  Because the one thing hype needs is more hype, BBTS also dropped a couple of  bombshells over the weekend:

  • The release date for their second full album, Noisy Night Fever;
  • And the MV for “Aihakimino”, the theme song for the upcoming PS4 game “Onechanbara Origin”.

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Now It’s Broken By The Scream’s Turn to Come Stateside

/ Homicidol Maniac

Prepare your ears, your families, your adult diapers, your pets and your very ability to exist on this plane of existence, friends. Yes, let’s not bury the lede — idol scream queens Broken By The Scream are coming to the USA, they’re not coming alone, and it’s gonna be awesome.

The venue? Saboten Con, who hosted Candye Syrup and Senanan last year, and this year will be bringing BBTS and visual kei band THE SOUND BEE HD to Phoenix, Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 2019, at the Grand Sheraton. Doing the honors will be Chaotic Harmony, friendly importers extraordinaire.

Are you hype? You should be hype. I want to have the flesh blasted from my bones by Io, then mocked relentlessly by Kagura’s demon routine, and then have a little dance-off with Ayame and Yae, which sounds impossible as I would be dead should the above come to pass, but come on, if you don’t get hyperbole I can’t help you. Continue reading →

TFW Idols Have Their Last Lives Abroad: Candye Syrup at SabotenCon

/ Homicidol Maniac

U.S. idol fans on the West Coast are the luckiest of us all, because they’re the ones who get to sweep up the handful of idol lives that trickle across the Pacific. Our man Daemon, hot off the East Meets West Music Fest, hit up SabotenCon over the weekend to connect with Candye Syrup for their last gasp, a remarkable touch of luck.

Candye Syrup, who saw their debut on August 19, 2017 at Shibuya Milkyway in Tokyo, has now held their final performance on August 31 2018, just 377 short days later. The only good thing in this whole wretched mess is that Candye Syrup’s last live was held at Saboten Con in Phoenix, Arizona, so we in the Southwestern U.S. were given the blessed opportunity to send them off.

The crowd that gathered to see Candye Syrup’s last live contained a handful of American chika idol diehards, but was primarily made up of Saboten attendees whose familiarity to the group was watching a few videos on YouTube after hearing they would be performing at the Con. Some had been turned into instant fans on first exposure and were a bit shell-shocked to learn that they would be witnessing both Candye Syrup’s U.S. debut and final show. Continue reading →