Saber Tiger has been around for over forty years, but have been experiencing a second youth for the last decade and a half or so. Their new album ‘Eliminated’ is further evidence of this. It sees the band putting a slightly more straightforward and aggressive spin on their tried-and-true mix of traditional heavy metal and contemporary progressive touches. Founding guitarist Akihito Kinoshita, as well as long-time members Yasuharu Tanaka (guitars) and Takenori Shimoyama (vocals) shed their light on the creation of ‘Eliminated’.

“Six years had passed since releasing ‘Obscure Diversity’, our previous album”, says Tanaka. “The first half of this period, we spent re-recording some of our best songs for the album ‘Paragraph V’ (2021) and doing some video productions. Also, we had a live event celebrating our fortieth anniversary and a couple of spin-off live activities. So we actually started composing ‘Eliminated’ about two years ago. I started making demos seriously from the end of last year. Before that, I had also been exploring and pursuing new possibilities for the album.”

“Being over sixty years old now, it was a new challenge, but I had already recorded and accumulated some material for the new album”, Kinoshita adds. “Like Machine (Tanaka’s nickname), I also started seriously working on demos around the end of last year. In the past six years, a lot of things happened that I wanted to put into the songs. For example: the war and other absurd occurrences in places we have toured before, serious climate problems, and so on. That is why there are more songs filled with anger and sadness on the new album.”

In Their Own Words

That atmosphere is a notable difference between ‘Eliminated’ and its more melodic predecessor ‘Obscure Diversity’. Another is the fact that the band stopped working with lyricist Fubito Endo, making Shimoyama responsible for all the lyrics, all of them being in Japanese. “One thing we were conscious about is composing songs so that Japanese lyrics could be put on them”, Kinoshita nods.

“More importantly, all the lyrics are my own words on this album”, says Shimoyama. “This time, all the songs are written in Japanese, but even if they were in English, I think it is important for singers to sing in their own words. Fubito has done a great job on the last couple of albums, but our fans had been hoping for me to write more of the lyrics for a while.”

“When the demo has been completed, most of the parts except the lyrics are already finished”, Tanaka explains. “Based on the demo, Aniki (Shimoyama’s nickname) wrote all the lyrics. Also, (drummer Yasuhiro) Mizuno and hibiki (bassist) arrange the drums and bass at their own discretion. Basically, the composer of a song creates the twin guitar solos, but each of the guitarists has complete freedom to come up with one guitar solo.”

“My guitar parts in Machine’s songs are almost completed when I receive his demos”, Kinoshita says. “Through trial and error, I try to figure out how I can add color to it in my own way.”

The Right People for the Job

“There is a Japanese proverb that says ‘mochi wa mochiya’: every man to his trade.” Kinoshita continues. “After all, the drum parts, bass parts, and vocal melodies are all made by a guitarist, but when I present the demos to the rest of the band, they function mostly as a guide, and the others can add their own parts freely. I do tell everyone the subject of the song and how I felt when I made it, so that what they do doesn’t deviate from that too much.”

“The riffs come to mind organically”, says Tanaka. “But I try to compose in a way that the melody or the overall impression is not too similar to any of the songs we have made before. That’s why I try to consider variations in advance: up-tempo songs, mid-tempo songs, slower songs, ballad-style, things like that. And then compose my own way.”

There is also a great trust between the members that comprise the current line-up of the band. Apart from hibiki, who joined the band in 2017 after touring with them since 2015, the current line-up has been together since 2010, with both Tanaka and Shimoyama having had stints with Saber Tiger in the nineties. “I think the reason this line-up works so well is that all members have the same goal and are facing in the same direction”, Kinoshita states. “Also, the division of roles for each of us has been established in a good way. As we say in Japanese: ‘teki zai teki sho’, the right people for the job.”

“Maybe it’s family love”, Shimoyama smiles.

Smaller Systems

While Saber Tiger’s activities have mostly been on Japanese soil, the band has in fact been touring internationally in recent years. And they plan to in the future as well. In fact, they have been confirmed for Headbangers Open Air in 2025. “We are just so excited”, Shimoyama explains. “We want you to embrace our energy with your whole body. When I first toured France with a band called Double Dealer, the audience was so passionate, and I really enjoyed the shows every night.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any other plans right now”, Kinoshita adds. “But we want to go to a lot of different places.”

Touring abroad can be quite the challenge, especially logistically. “The sound was usually great”, Kinoshita says. “I was surprised that even old or poorly functioning equipment that would be impossible to find in Japan sounded good. My preference would be to play over a tube amplifier. When the equipment changes, so does the sound that comes out, and my picking technique unconsciously changes in order to make my favorite sounds. That often has a negative impact on my picking technique. The tablet app BIAS FX helps me to make the sounds I need.”

“I bring my multi-effects and small power amplifiers overseas”, Tanaka adds. “And I try to create all my sounds with a compact and minimal system. Recently, I have been changing to smaller systems in Japan as well, as large amplifiers are no longer as common in Japan either. I use a Neural DSP Quad Cortex for the pre-amp and the effects that determine the basic sound. Studio and live are the same systems.”

“It’s the same both live and in the studio for me as well”, Kinoshita confirms. “I use BIAS FX on my iPhone and use a power amplifier to create the sound of a Marshall cabinet.”

Thrown into the World of Rock

Back when Saber Tiger started in the early eighties, there were only a handful of Japanese hard rock bands. In fact, Saber Tiger was founded in the exact same year as Japanese heavy metal giants Loudness and Anthem. Given that fact, it should not be too surprising that most of the band’s influences are European and American.

“Initially, I was thrown deep into the world of rock guitar by Michael Schenker”, Tanaka says. “Later on, I got strongly influenced by John Sykes. In recent years, I have been listening to various bands and guitarists with different playing styles than myself. And I try to be aware of all contemporary sound.”

“I was influenced by the hard rock of the seventies, with Deep Purple’s ‘Fireball’ album being a particular trigger for me”, Kinoshita explains. “And then I was baptized by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. I feel my encounter with Motörhead determined my inner direction. Those roots of mine have not changed since then. But I have had the opportunity to absorb various kinds of music through my encounters with them.”

“I first learned about hard rock through hearing Kiss”, Shimoyama says. “Then I got to know Ritchie Blackmore, and I started playing guitar. And then I got to know Ronnie James Dio, and I started singing. Rock music has undergone many changes over the years, and each of those changes inspires me. But my sensibilities have remained the same from the past to the present.”

Improved Ability to Express

It’s not just the history of rock music as a whole Saber Tiger keeps a close connection with. They have always been very cognizant of their own past as well, resulting in multiple ‘Paragraph’ releases on which the band reworks its own material with their contemporary line-ups. The fifth installment was released in 2021.

“It is never the intention to make something completely different out of it or to create something that fits the times”, Kinoshita emphasizes. “However, I do think that my ability to express music has improved since we released the original versions. So I think the motivation behind those albums is a sense of trying to improve upon the originals by playing them more deeply.”

“We don’t necessarily need to stick closely to the originals either, though”, Tanaka states. “Because the ‘Paragraph’ albums are made with a totally different image in mind than the originals. For example, the guitars might be tuned lower than the original songs, or the guitar solo parts might be arranged from a solo for one guitar to a twin guitar harmony.

It’s different from playing live, where I try to play as closely to the recorded version as possible. However, if it’s difficult to reproduce the recorded version live, I sometimes re-arrange my parts to see which should be prioritized for the live performances.”

“I basically try to play as similarly live to the recorded versions as possible too”, Kinoshita nods. “I only improvise on the parts where it will not interfere with the rest of the song if I play more freely and the audience is likely to enjoy that.”

Leading to Ambition

Although Saber Tiger was founded in 1981, their official debut album ‘Invasion’ was not released until 1992. The band may not have been helped by their location. Although Sapporo is a big city, it was pretty far removed from the cities where the music industry was happening at the time. According to the band members, the metal scene on the island of Hokkaido still is not in the greatest shape.

“There are not a lot of younger, newer bands coming out of the scene”, Kinoshita laments. “Although many of the bands that were seriously active when I started playing music seriously are still active.”

“The metal scene is in a state of decline”, Shimoyama agrees. “The number of strong bands coming out of Hokkaido has decreased dramatically.”

“There were many times when I thought things were going to be over for Saber Tiger”, Kinoshita admits. “In fact, there were several times when I was alone. Those were the worst times for me. But each time I was helped by my friends around me, and I could keep carrying on with the band activities. I really appreciate these friends. Right now is the best time I have ever experienced with the band.”

“Having another member other than myself in the band who can compose songs can be a very instructive thing and leads to ambition”, says Tanaka, who himself is also the main songwriter in the band Hard Gear. “Also, I have been working with the current band members for a long time. And during that time, I have been able to experience various good, bad, and painful things. So I feel that being able to be active in Saber Tiger for such a long time means that I have received a lot of influences, and have been able to develop myself as a musician and as a songwriter.”

“I have learned everything from Saber Tiger”, Shimoyama adds. “I am also one of Saber Tiger’s creations.”

Order ‘Eliminated’, ‘Paragraph V’ and many other Saber Tiger albums from nearly anywhere in the world at CD Japan below