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The rippling, but volcanic, stream of notes that emanates from the compositions of LOVEBITES guitarist miyako is part of a musical tradition that runs from the Overture to Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro through Hiromi’s jazz burner “In A Trance” all the way to miyako’s own “When Destinies Align.”

Before you say that that is a crazy statement to make, think about the structure of those three pieces of music. Each of the three began in a compelling manner. But the exciting opening themes are merely a prelude for the glorious pandemonium that will soon erupt.

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The composers – Mozart, Hiromi, and miyako – tease the listener with intriguing thematic material. Then, the real fireworks begin. The audience in all three cases derives enormous pleasure from the sensation of being surprised by the ever-evolving changes of mood. The three composers display profound craftsmanship and an awareness of how to truly arouse their listeners.

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miyako is a master of heavy metal compositional design. She varies the structures of her songs so that they never seem formulaic. It may appear that the songs follow the same model of introductory riff, verse, chorus, verse chorus, solo, bridge, conclusion. Nothing could be further from the truth.

miyako uses a number of strategies to create a multi-colored sonic palette. “Rising,” “Shadowmaker” and other songs begin with a dual guitar introduction. These martial openings function as a military call to arms before the songs explode into the main theme.

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Then there are songs like “Mastermind 01,” which jumps right into a crunchy guitar riff. But the riff changes shape, increasing in complexity before asami begins to sing. Even a fairly simple opening guitar part such as that of “Empty Daydream” adds a descending quad prior to resolution. These little things add complexity to the playing, but, more importantly, they make the riffs, and the songs, more interesting.

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miyako’s compositions are, above all, true songs, with a firm foundation of melody. miyako writes crunchy riffs that are clearly rooted in the rhythmic world of heavy metal. But she also has a deep romantic streak. Her stunningly beautiful solo in “Break The Wall” could be put in a time machine, then sent back to Pyotr Tchaikovsky to be incorporated into his “Nocturne in D Minor” without changing a single note.

miyako’s inclination to lush romanticism goes beyond LOVEBITES ballads or slow sections. It can be found in hard-charging songs such as “Rising.” miyako and midori conclude their guitar battle with a dual guitar section that is so passionate that it is reminiscent of the piano sonatas of Alexander Glazunov, which are the apotheosis of Russian Romanticism.

miyako begins “Above The Black Sea” with a guitar solo that functions in much the same way as the recitative “In Quali Eccessi” sung by Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. It is a lament, filled with foreboding, Yet the foreboding is never realized, at least lyrically, in either the “Mi tradi, quell’ alma ingrata” aria that follows the recitative or in the main section of “Above The Black Sea.”

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In addition to complex compositional structure that follow in the classical music tradition, LOVEBITES’ arrangements are extremely intricate. The most remarkable aspect of the playing of miyako, midori, miho and haruna is that the four women are in constant action. They never slow down. They never take breaks. And they never settle for easy options. It is a never-ending source of wonder to watch the deftness of haruna’s accents on the bell of a ride cymbal or miho’s ridiculously fast bass playing.

The guitarists of heavy metal bands often play drawn out power chords during verses of songs in order to take a break. That is an acceptable strategy. But LOVEBITES use this very sparingly. miyako and midori use these “slow” power chords to create drama, to emphasize changes in mood or particular sections of a song, as in the first verse of “Rising.”

Instead, miyako and midori use other tricks, all requiring great effort and even greater concentration. They often play hard-charging thematic riffs over the vocal sections. These riffs almost always have the forward momentum of stampeding horses or out-of-control steam locomotives.  At other times, their background playing during vocal sections consists of complex solo parts that often seem on the edge of spiraling out of control.

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As a guitarist, miyako can be distinguished from midori by certain elements of her playing. These include pinch harmonics and staccato scale runs. When a song calls for a wah pedal to be used, it is almost always miyako who is playing that part. More importantly, miyako’s solos tend to be more structured – theme, development, resolution – than those of midori, who is almost always wild and unpredictable. The structure of miyako’s solos might be expected of someone as trained in the classical tradition as she is. More importantly, the different styles of miyako and midori are one of the many factors that make LOVEBITES great. They truly have a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship.

But generalizations such as that are always dangerous, because there are always exceptions. The wah-driven solo that miyako plays at the end of “Thunder Vengeance” on Five Of A Kind is ferocious and kaleidoscopic. The listener has no idea what miyako will do next. The band has the good sense to end the song on miyako’s final screaming note because there is no way to top the excitement that she has just delivered.

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As a performer, miyako is relatively restrained on stage. That is partly due to the intense concentration needed to play such complex parts at high speed. During her solo during “Raise Some Hell,” she shows all the emotion of someone reading a book while waiting for a bus. Yet, at the conclusion of that solo, she moves toward asami with a genuine smile because she knows she has just knocked the proverbial ball out of the park. As always, there are exceptions to the rule. miyako does not refrain from head-banging in unison with miho and midori, as during “Shadowmaker” from Crusaders Standing At Wacken.

Despite miyako’s apparent nonchalance, she is an extremely soulful guitarist. She often incorporates extreme string bends, staccato scale runs and pinch harmonics to enhance the emotional quotient of her solos. Her solo on “Break The Wall” is as full of passion as Luther Allison’s playing on “Cherry Red Wine,” one of the all-time great blues performances, from his Live In Chicago. She even plays the “Break The Wall” solo on a gold top Les Paul, similar to the one that Luther is playing on the cover of his classic album Reckless. miyako plays many of her solos with the same reckless abandon that Luther demonstrates.

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miyako is also a talented pianist. While some keyboard parts are clearly pre-recorded, miyako often moves to the piano on stage. Examples on Five include “Rising” and “Edge Of The World.” More impressively, on “Burden of Time,” from Battle In The East, miyako plays a wild, off-kilter piano part that one could easily imagine played by the jazz pianist Hiromi, referenced above. Oh, and miyako plays this jazzy riff with her right hand while continuing to pound out power chords on the guitar with her left hand.

The live album Invitation To The Theatre incudes the thrill of hearing miyako play the opening theme of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. On Five of a Kind, miyako effortlessly plays Frederic Chopin’s “Revolutionary Etude (Opus 10, No. 12), one of his most difficult pieces. Those arpeggios in the left hand are no laughing matter. Any pianist who can play them with such confidence and power is not only brave, but gifted.

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miyako has evolved as a songwriter. The last two LOVEBITES EPs each contain a miyako composition that is unlike anything she has done before. “Puppet On A String,” from GOLDEN DESTINATION, is remarkable for the sense of dramatic tension that is the undertone for the entire song. The ascending pitch in the instrumental section is, believe it or not, reminiscent of the similar strategy used by King Crimson in the classic “Starless” from the album Red. miyako obviously doesn’t keep the tension increasing as long as Robert Fripp does, but the technique has the same riveting effect.

“NO TIME TO HESITATE,” from the new GLORY, GLORY TO THE WORLD, has a scorching brutality that is unlike anything miyako has composed in the past. The guitar solos of miyori and miyako are completely unhinged. Somehow, the two guitarists are able to bring the chaos back under control with the dual guitar section. Unfortunately, there are no live performance (yet) of either of those two songs.

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As an aside, the performance of asami on “NO TIME TO HESITATE” is also unprecedented. There is a big difference between “singing” and “vocals.” “Singing” implies some adherence to method and melody. “Vocals” can encompass anything outside that realm of control. asami is truly one of the best vocalists in the world. She sings with perfect control. asami doesn’t really sing on “NO TIME TO HESITATE,” but what she does with her vocals is absolutely staggering. How did asami do it?

Note that asami is miyako’s partner in songwriting, contributing the lyrics to miyako’s music. Since this article is determined to strain the classical allusions to the breaking point, it will now ask the question posed by Richard Strauss, among others, “which comes first, the music or the words?”

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The best way to enjoy miyako is by watching the live DVDs. You will be suitably amazed by her flawless sweep picking, her pinpoint tapping, her precision bends, her lightning-fast alternate picking and her impeccable legato, often all on display in one brief solo. Of course, the same can be said of the technique of midori, who will be discussed in a future article.

In addition, on the DVDs, the unheralded, but much appreciated, sixth member of LOVEBITES is prominent – the fanatical audience. Lovingly conducted by vocalist asami, the crowd sings when asami asks them to and pumps their fists when prompted. It looks like a hell of a lot of fun.

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There are many detours, false starts and dead ends on the path from classical music to jazz to heavy metal. miyako’s compositions, arrangements and guitar playing all contain elements that are part of that continuous musical tradition. But, in the final analysis, they are LOVEBITES, and they play heavy metal. You are more likely to hear echoes of Slipknot, as in the first instrumental break to “Break The Wall,” than you are of Mozart or Hiromi.

And, of course, it is not necessary to parse the fine details of LOVEBITES songs in order to love their work. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The whole of LOVEBITES is magnificent and breathtaking.

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miyako is an indispensable part of LOVEBITES. There is no question that she has absorbed the lessons of past masters, including her predecessors in heavy metal. The care with which she approaches the elements of her craft is indicative of a finely-tuned artistic sensibility. But there is far more to miyako than mere craftsmanship.

There is an element of genius to miyako. That is not simply because she demonstrates so many artistic virtues – genuinely compelling metal riffs, memorable melodic themes, clever song structures, and insanely gifted technical guitar skills. Above all, it is because miyako continually strives to break new ground in each of those areas, in which she is already a master. Her fundamental creative drive is to always move forward.

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And, yeah, she and her bandmates in LOVEBITES are almost as prolific as the never-to-be-surpassed Wolfgang Amadeus.

Happy birthday, miyako.

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