After 15 years of making music, Japanese rock outfit Survive Said The Prophet have built an international following that stretches well beyond their home country. Blending alternative rock, post-hardcore and pop-punk influences, the band have carved out their own space in the global music scene, with appearances across anime and gaming soundtracks helping introduce their music to audiences around the world. Now preparing to bring their music to Australia, vocalist Yosh is looking forward to finally meeting the fans who have been making the journey to Japan to see the band perform.
“We’ve had offers before to come play Australia, and I think just timing never worked out,” he explains. “We hear great things about Australia and the culture there is very vibrant when it comes to music and art.” Yosh says Australian fans have even been travelling to Japan to catch the band live, something that helped reinforce the importance of making the trip happen. The band’s international journey hasn’t always been straightforward, particularly given their decision to perform predominantly in English.
For Yosh, navigating the Japanese music industry while singing in a language that wasn’t dominant in his home country presented its own challenges. “It is a hard market to breach into,” he explains, reflecting on the difficulties of building an audience when communication and language can create barriers. His own upbringing gave him a particularly personal connection to that experience. Having grown up speaking English more than Japanese, with parents working for the American Air Force in Japan, Yosh recalls being picked on for being different before eventually attending international school and studying in the United States.
“I’ve definitely been a minority inside of the community,” he says. “I think that translated very well to my music, of feeling like an outcast. It just added a little bit more emotion into wanting to be understood.” That desire to connect with people has since taken the band around the world, with their music finding audiences through some particularly significant collaborations.
One of their best-known international connections is through the anime series Vinland Saga, for which Survive Said The Prophet contributed opening and ending themes across its first two seasons. Yosh also has a particularly special connection to the gaming world, having been personally selected by legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu to perform Hollow, the original vocal theme associated with Final Fantasy VII Remake.
The band have recently released their own heavier rendition of the track, officially collaborating with Square Enix and featuring a guest appearance from the vocalist of MAN WITH A MISSION. “It’s an honour,” Yosh says of being selected for the original recording. They have also contributed music to Fire Force, with their track ‘Speak of the Devil’ featuring as an ending theme for the series’ third season.
Away from anime and gaming, Yosh remains an unapologetic emo kid at heart, citing The Used, My Chemical Romance and Story Of The Year among his musical influences. He also has a love of manga, video games and collecting Pokémon cards, admitting that the childhood regret of having his original collection thrown away has resulted in him now owning more than 10 unopened boxes. Beyond his own band, Yosh is also involved in the Japanese music scene as a producer and recording engineer, working alongside other artists, including fellow Japanese outfit NOISES.
With another album already in the works, Survive Said The Prophet are continuing to look ahead while preparing for their Australian visit. After years of international touring and connecting with fans through music, Yosh says it’s ultimately the people and shared experiences that keep him inspired. “Meeting people that share similar vision and beliefs, and just sharing cultures that I never knew existed until travelling abroad” is what continues to drive him.
For Australian fans who have been waiting for their chance to see Survive Said The Prophet live, that connection is about to become a reality.
