Ahead of their first headline UK tour Japanese five-piece Crossfaith has already endured a fair amount of carnage on the road.

When The Guide initially tried to get hold of frontman Koie Kenta the interview had to be put back as the band’s tour manager was dealing with an unexpected hospital visit after bassist Ikegawa Hiroki bashed his leg on a monitor.

And Kenta himself fell off stage during a show in Italy earlier this year.

“I hit my head and had to go to hospital,” he says ahead of a show at Munster’s Skaters Palace in Germany.

“It was fine, but recently the hospital sent me an airmail bill to pay them 300 euros!”

Seeing the energy the band puts into its live performance it’s only surprising something like this hasn’t happened before.

Crossfaith’s sound is heavily influenced by US nu-metal combined with hard electronic dance as purveyed by the likes of The Prodigy.

Having supported Skindred and Bring Me The Horizon on tour, Kenta is looking forward to heading out to the UK under the band’s own name for the first time in their eight-year history.

“Since our first UK tour two years ago, we've spent a lot of time in your country,” he says. “The United Kingdom is very special to us, and literally feels like home.”

The tour is in support of the band’s third album proper – but first to be released in the UK – Apocalyze, which follows in the footsteps of their first international release, the EP Zion. It’s an honour for us to release this record outside Japan,” says Kenta.

“We recorded it a year ago in New Jersey. The producer [metal legend Machine] was very open, it was a great experience for us.”

Closing the album is the band’s most political offering, Only The Wise Can Control Our Eyes, which sees Kenta take the Fukishima nuclear disaster as his central theme.

“It was the biggest disaster in Japan,” he says. “I felt angry.

“A lot of people were evacuated, but there was very little information, and no truth from the mass media.

“That’s the reason I wrote the song – it is very political.

“We are not Rage Against The Machine – I’m always thinking about what I should write about. Sometimes I write about partying, sometimes I write about political things, sometimes about f***ing.”

He finds it natural to write his lyrics in English – having taken a lot of inspiration from the West.

“Our music style is harder than Japanese music and Japanese rock,” he says. “Our music is not major in Japan, although we are getting great reactions from a lot of audiences – we played a couple of music festivals this year to 10,000 people.

“When we started as a band we loved Slipknot and Killswitch Engage, but we were also listening to dance music by The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy. It’s a very natural thing to mix the two.”

And there is more to come, with the band already working on material for a follow-up album next year once this UK tour is over.

When it comes to their live show for Crossfaith it is all about the big experience.

“We wanted to be a big band and show our music to as many people as possible,” he says. “We’re always thinking about how to make the show great. Even if we are in a small venue, or an arena stadium everything is the same – we’re always thinking about getting the audience crazy.”

Support from Silent Screams and Coldrain.

CROSSFAITH
Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton, Tuesday, November 18

Doors 7pm, tickets £11
Call 01273 673311