Conflict Zones

Hideaki Sugai has released his third album, a progressive metal album that is a total departure from his previous releases, "Music for the Four Seasons" and "The Lighthearted Return of Life." His earlier albums expressed minimalistic Windham Hill-esque melodic lines which were often used as BGM on the internet, but why the sudden switch?
He spent the last two years working on the songs in this album in the belief that music is a means of expression and a medium for conveying what needs to be said. And he has a message about the rising political, economic and military conflicts around the world that have led to the death of innocent civilians. He painted his guitar in the flag colors of a conflict-ridden country, and in live performances, he conveyed his message through his incredible bending and fast playing instead of words to avoid misunderstanding.
Let's take a look at his background. He attended the kindergarten attached to Tohoku Gakuin University, one of the oldest Christian universities in Japan, and sang hymns in church. He says, "Even with songs I'd never heard before, I could predict and sing the second and third verses after hearing the first." When he was seven, his older brother was taking Yamaha Electone lessons and he also joined the class. Because his fingers were too short to play like adults, his teacher taught him composition instead. He recalls, "I learned all the four-note chords and three basic scales." But the class was shut down, so his mother bought him a folk guitar instead.
In junior high, he picked up electric guitar and electric bass as his peers were listening to hard rock and progressive rock. He considers it fortunate that he got to listen to Yes, EL&P, King Crimson, Cream, and Grand Funk during this period. He says, "Back then, everyone played with their hands, and it was great to learn that humans could do such amazing things."
In high school, he joined the brass band where he played the upright bass and learned orchestration. He quit soon after and started a heavy metal band, playing original songs with glam rock makeup. When he did a cover of Misako Honjo, everyone thought his original songs were also by Honjo. This incident shows the quality of his songwriting and playing ability, but it made him decide that he'd never do covers again.
Later, he formed a band with Sanshiro Nishizuka who went on to become a leading street musician in Sendai, but the band broke up for unavoidable reasons. So he bought some home recording equipment which were just coming out, and started recording at home. He produced three albums on cassette tapes, but shared his songs only with his friends. You can see pictures of this period in the Wikipedia entry for 'Home Recording'.
After getting a BA in Philosophy, he obtained a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He then worked at several institutions. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, he returned to music to deliver his message to more people. Since then, he has been involved in activities that listeners are familiar with.
While this album is mostly instrumental, listeners can read the message embedded in each track in the song description. The twelve-tone composition technique that he has revealed for the first time on this album is part of a series that will be developed further. He prioritizes expressive methods that align with his message, and doesn't seem to be bound by genre. I look forward to seeing what his future albums will be like.