Lyric

The long-awaited new album from Project NAYUTA, Uniomisty, is finally being released after a four-year hiatus. True to Madoka Tsukada's declaration following their previous release-that "every rock band must eventually strive for a double concept album"-this masterpiece stands as a formidable two-disc set, spanning 11 tracks and nearly 90 minutes.

Concept albums have historically produced many masterpieces, serving as high-art expressions that blend structural beauty with narrative depth, often doubling as provocative works carrying social messages. Uniomisty firmly joins this lineage. It is more than a mere homage or a formal succession; it is an ambitious work that adds a new chapter to music history.

The contemporary Japanese progressive rock scene is in a globally unique position, where veterans active since the 1970s and 80s coexist with a new generation that emerged in the 21st century. It is precisely because the scene has been continuously updated without interruption that a work capable of summarizing an era and bridging it to the next can be born.

For the recording of this album, Project NAYUTA assembled a lineup that fuses youth and experience. Joining the core members from the first album-Madoka Tsukada and vocalists Mika Tsukimoto and Junko Sera-are the young talents of Ryotaro Shigemoto (Olympos Nodes) on drums and Hideki Kuratani (ex-Kinzoku-Yebis) on guitar. Furthermore, Takumi Kokubu, leader of Cicra Temensis with a career spanning 20 years, joins on bass. The album also features stellar guest appearances: Kunio Suma of Bi Kyo Ran, whose 2025 release garnered critical acclaim, and Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater / Sons of Apollo). This collaboration, transcending generations and borders, is not merely for publicity; it was an inevitable choice to intersect the past, present, and future of Japanese progressive rock within a single work.

While the 11 tracks include songs previously performed live, hearing them through the polished arrangements of a studio production and in their intended sequence offers a completely different impression. The breathtaking performances, backed by the high technical proficiency of the ensemble and guests, leave the listener no room to breathe for the full 90 minutes. The two vocalists expertly utilize a wide range of timbres and styles, successfully further distinguishing the band's signature twin-vocal approach.

It was in 1985 that Madoka Tsukada formed Providence, one of Japan's leading progressive rock bands, releasing their first cassette And I'll Recite an Old Myth from... the following year in 1986. Now, 40 years later in 2026-a new legend is born!

---Nobumitsu Iwaisaki