INORAN (LUNA SEA)'s first tour against the band, "SONIC DIVE 2025," begins!　Explosive heat on the first day of the tour created by the chemistry with ASH DA HERO

On April 5 (Sat), INORAN (LUNA SEA) launched "SONIC DIVE 2025," his first tour as a solo artist. The tour will feature six bands of various genres and generations, competing one after another at live houses across the country, challenging INORAN with the rock and roll sound that is the core of his solo career. A special session was held at SUPERNOVA KAWASAKI on the first day with the mixed rock band ASH DA HERO. The audience was filled with the enormous energy generated by the chemistry that can only be achieved when performing opposite each other.

ASH DA HERO was the first to attack, with WANI (Dr.), Sato (Ba), and Dhalsim (DJ) wearing Noh masks, and ASH (Vo) appearing at the end with "Super Sonic" as the soundtrack!　Behind you!　In the middle! and suddenly they broke into "YELLOW FEVER DANCE". Between songs, "Dance! I can't hear you at all! and "I can't hear you at all!" ASH repeatedly shouted "Dance!

Now, can you all in Kawasaki shout "Fuck you, too! Can you yell "Fuck you! followed by "Wrangler Beat," which began with Sato's bass guitar standing vertically and then plucked a phrase, both of which are uplifting songs with both intensity and mellowness. Although ASH DA HERO became a guitar-less mixture band after Narukaze left in September 2024, they have rebuilt their own style and released their first concept album "New Chapter" on CD on February 1, and are currently in the midst of a world tour. Not only ASH, but also the other members of the band take turns leading the claps, creating an entertaining atmosphere that is fun to watch.

Do you have a towel?　Dhalsim led the audience to clap and Sato smiled. The sense of unity created by the towel spinning was further strengthened by ASH's call for everyone to spin the towel together (back, middle, front, everyone!). (ASH), the happy mood filled the venue.

INORAN, thank you for choosing us for the first day of the show.　Above all, thank you for choosing us for this show among various other countless options on April 5, 2025," said ASH, who thanked the audience.　If you like it, please come back and visit us again. ...... You thought I was going to be that well behaved?　I'll fan you and send you home!" he shouted wildly at the end and went on to "VANDALISM". In addition to the fun, the band delivered a more dopey mixed rock groove that drew the audience deeply into their world.

Break Free" caused a wall of death on both sides of the floor, while "Botanical Dance Club" and "Blappa! ASH himself dived to the floor and stage, and the excitement remained at its peak as the show progressed. ASH explained how the special talk session on this tour in March had led to the invitation of INORAN to join the guitarless band, and he said, "Sure, sure, INORAN appeared on stage. Hey, hey, are you excited? ASH was a little nervous, but also very excited, and INORAN gave ASH a hug. INORAN hugged ASH and they had a special session in which INORAN participated as a guitarist in the song "Octave" in "Blue Rock the Movie -EPISODE Nagi".

INORAN faced ASH at the beginning of the song, eventually approached Sato, and returned to the center of the stage to play alongside ASH during the chorus. ASH put his arm around INORAN's shoulder, showing the competition between rock musicians that transcended the boundaries between senior and junior. Let's give a round of applause to our rock star, INORAN! ASH praised, and INORAN hugged each member, pointed his finger, and left the stage amidst loud applause.

No - what was that?　That was amazing. Everyone who came to the event was a big winner." ASH seemed to be filled with emotion as he continued to perform "Beast Mode" (a song from "Blue Rock the Movie: Episode Nagi") and "Judgement" (the opening theme song for the second cool episode of the TV anime "Blue Rock"), and furiously went on to the last part of the show. The last song was "Meteora". The last song, "Meteora", encouraged the audience to "Jump up and down with everyone! ASH's eyes were straight and pure as they looked at the floor jumping with excitement. We are ASH DA HERO, the strongest rock band in 2021! ASH DA HERO left a fun yet strong impact with their passionate performance overflowing with guts.

After a 30-minute transition, it was the INORAN band's turn. The setlist was announced in advance, so I will not refrain from details, but please note the following if you are concerned about spoilers.

The floor was filled with spontaneous claps as the sound effects were accompanied by Yukio Murata (G / my way my love), u:zo (Ba), Ryo Yamagata (Dr), and then INORAN appeared clapping his hands, and the floor was buzzing with joy. The floor was buzzing with joy as INORAN appeared on stage, clapping his hands, and the floor erupted in joy. The guitar strummed loudly, signaling the start of the next song, "smoke," and the thrill grew until INORAN shouted "smoke" to start the song. The tremendous sound pressure of the explosion almost lifted my whole body off the ground, but it was definitely a pleasant experience. Not only the sound of singing and guitar playing through the microphone, but also INORAN's soulful screams could be heard from time to time, which made the audience realize the charm of a live house.

Hey, Kawasaki, let's go! INORAN sang "Get Laid" with his left hand on the microphone while holding the guitar, and sang long tones towards the end of the song. The band went on to "Hide and Seek," which was a very fast and easy ride from the beginning. The members shook their heads and made sounds while INORAN sang and played aggressively. The band then unleashed "No Name," with its heavy, lazy, grungy guitar riffs driving the groove, and a psychedelic trip-like feeling began to emerge, as if the sounds were intertwining, losing boundaries, and everything was melting into each other. INORAN, who had dropped his guitar halfway through the song and was singing into a hand mic on a platform, got off the platform after the song ended and wandered around as if intoxicated by the roaring sound and heat.

SONIC DIVE 2025 has begun!　ASH is too great than I imagined, and we came out in such warmth.　Let's go further and further! INORAN encouraged the audience, and powerful Ryo's drums led into "Awaking in myself". INORAN immediately shouted "Kawasaki, Let's go! The band's endlessly energetic ensemble, combined with the dazzling blinking lights, ended the song in a euphoric mood and launched into "2Lime s." The approach to this song, which incorporated scratch music, was to play the song as if it were a song about the band's love for the audience. The scratchy approach of this song should be highly relatable to ASH DA HERO fans, and it seemed like an exquisite song choice. The groovy performance brought a sense of elation, and INORAN himself seemed to be immersed in the sound with his whole body, shouting even off-mic and showing light turns.

Amidst loud applause, the last note extended by scratching immediately led to "Rightaway," which was followed by rhythmic claps and INORAN's singing of the extended melody line on Murata's arpeggio. During this song, too, INORAN put down his guitar and put his feet on the platform with a hand mic, leaning forward in a brave posture. INORAN seemed to be expressing his real emotions of the moment as he sang, not only to the fans but also to himself, jumping up and down, holding the microphone tightly and shaking his body, and moving around the floor to the right and left to incite the audience.

A moment of silence ensued, and then the words were spoken, "It feels so good, live shows are the best!　Let's do whatever it takes, guys! After the punkish "One Big Blue," which was full of punkish fun that needed no words, they led into the heart-wrenching medium song "Beautiful Now," which sang of the beauty of the live space where the stage and the floor become one. As if to show that each and every fan was the star of the show, the lighting during the chorus was so impressive that it illuminated the floor with a strong light. INORAN sang and played with a smile on his face as if he was admiring the scene.

Let's forget about the things that piss us off, let's share the good things together and be happy.　I'm not very good with words, but I love you all," he told the audience straight out, and then delivered "I'm Here for you" for the last time. The fans sang the chorus so loudly and enthusiastically that it was hard to tell which was the stage and which was the floor, the entire venue melding into one warm, welcoming space.

Finally, the members of ASH DA HERO were called in again, and after INORAN exchanged hugs with each of them, all the members of both bands lined up in a row. ASH asked him to come out next time, and INORAN smiled and praised ASH, pointing to him as the "MVP of the day. In his closing remarks, INORAN said, "Let's meet again at the live house!　LUNA SEA had just finished their grand finale at Tokyo Dome on February 23 after 41 shows, the largest national tour in the band's history. The stage and floor were filled with cheerful laughter. The stage and the floor were filled with cheerful laughter. and closed the show by saying again, "Thank you!" Then everyone took a picture with the fans on the floor behind them. After the band members were sent off in order in a peaceful atmosphere, INORAN, the last remaining member, waved his hands with a bright smile and left the stage.

ASH DA HERO, the top batter, released explosive energy, and the INORAN band received that energy and stirred the air even more, and the audience on the floor enjoyed the sounds of both bands without any separation. It was a night that reminded us of the origin of our love for music: the coolness of a rock band, the fun of a live show, and the fun of a battle. The next show of "SONIC DIVE 2025" will be held on April 12 at CLUB QUATTRO in Nagoya with The BONEZ, followed by The Ravens in Osaka on April 26, THE BACK HORN in Mito on May 4, and the last show in Shibuya on May 17 and 18, a 2-DAYS event, The last show in Shibuya will be held on May 17 and 18, competing with DEZERT and OBLIVION DUST. The five shows, which will have a different chemistry from the first day, will be different in terms of colors, but they will make you reaffirm the origin of enjoying music. Please come to the venue and see for yourself.

Interview and text: Tae Omae
Photo by Yoshifumi Shimizu