Review by Kayla Hamilton (@kaylazomboid)
Photos by Yuto Fukada (@musicmagic3923)

RITES OF PASSAGE: PROMPTS w/ Jiluka
Club Asia, Shibuya, Japan
April 16th 2025

Prompts are one of those bands that have a sort of gravitational pull around them. You may not always be drawn in straight away, but they always return to the front of your mind. With eclectic song structures, hypnotic choruses- the Tokyo based band has been slowly evolving but is quickly becoming one of the most magnetic acts in the global metalcore scene.

In celebration of their latest single, ‘Stranger’ featuring The Plot In You’s Landon Towers, the Japanese/Korean metalcore act brought back their RITES OF PASSAGE show for their Tokyo fanbase. Ushering in not just new music, but a new era for the upcoming band.

Speaking of upcoming, PROMPTS were not the only act there to make waves. Opening the show was visual metal groundbreakers Jiluka were tasked with opening the show. The blend of fans, the hardcore Jiluka bangya (Japanese fans of Visual Kei bands) and the straight-up metalcore fans is still a delicate dynamic, and add in the foreign tourist fans, it was a unique blend of audience. Fortunately it did not hinder the atmosphere of the room, if anything, Jiluka’s set left those who had not seen them in awe.

Opening with ‘Venom’, their electronic gothic metal style immediately sunk it’s teeth into the Club Asia patrons. The synchronicity of movement from the die hard fans was addictive and while their Gantz-inspired look was impressive- the sheer heaviness of their set was more so. Ripping breakdown after breakdown, their epic length songs delivered a variety of styles. Guitar solos and riffs from Sena added that extra punch to their music.

Powering through the set, they treated audiences to popular tracks like ‘Blvck’, ‘BaLa-DeDa’ and their latest single ‘KVLT’. Their style of delayed breakdowns created a tangible tension in the room that lead to some very hyped headbanging and of course, quite a few wall of deaths. For me though, two things really stood out was tone of drummer Zyean’s snare along with the flawlessly executed inhaled style “breeee” vocals from frontman Ricko. Every single time he that pig squeal style growl rip, I could feel it in my bones. Finishing with ‘Overkill’, they left stage almost definitely with some new fans.

As diehard and diligent as the Jiluka fans were, the PROMPTS fans were energised and ready to go once our headliners hit the stage. The tightness and music quality has been apart of the fabric of PROMPTS for a very long time now- it’s what first blew me away when I saw back in 2023, but the level of stage performance and evolution they have undergone truly is something else. Walking onstage individually, with their new K-Pop inspired but still hardcore looking stage wear, they have gone from being a local band to an international act. 

Along with the fits, the visuals were curated and their introduction led to the absolute heater of a track, ‘Sun Eater’. The room quickly got moving and in contrast to the synchronicity of the Jiluka, the mosh pit for PROMPTS was controlled chaos. All members in fine form, you could tell through the intensity that of their performance that they were on a mission to put on the best show of their career thus far. 

The set flew by. From ‘E.V.O.L.V.E’ to ‘Black Pill’, it was a seamless flow, so much so it took everybody by surprise when Paledusk vocalist Kaito came out to sing his feature on ‘Locust’. The gravity of the show hit when frontman PK addressed the crowd in response to a foreigner yelling out because it was he took the moment to also state that he too was a foreigner (with him along with bass player/backing vocalist Piguri being Korean)- the very theme of identity that runs through the song ‘Stranger’. 

Their performance of the new single was rousing. It seeps into the very bones of your psyche when you really stop to breathe it in, especially the chorus and the ending. While this song still is so remarkably theirs, like their stage show, it is the next step from their previous work- a great theme song to ring in their next chapter. After ‘Stranger’, it was time to dive back into some PROMPTS classics such as ‘Face Me’ and ‘Mobius’– two songs that really get the fans singing back. If it was chaotic before, now it was just becoming unhinged (in the best way). Circle pits, spin kicks, stage diving- it was all starting to pick up and all PROMPTS needed to do was power it home. 

And that, they did.

Ripping into was possibly one of the most ferocious performances of ‘Asphyxiate’ I’ve seen them play, every single member put their whole heart into the performance. PK let the madman take over and threw himself into crowd, carried like a hero by the fans across the pit. Finishing with ‘Empty Sandglass’– they did not do an encore. Instead, they finished the show with a bang. (Not that it stopped the fans from asking for one).

In such a short space of time, PROMPTS have been able to truly revamp and transform into a more than just a metalcore band in the Japanese scene. After attending Rites of Passage the year before, it is so easy to see that the level up that they have undergone is undeniable.

From here on out, a line in the sand has been drawn and PROMPTS truly are one of the standouts of the new era of not just Japanese metalcore, but metalcore across the globe.