In a world where rock music is primarily fueled by testosterone, female fronted bands are usually cherished and adored by fans like precious stones. But this illusion of novelty tends to incite unwarranted praise, and as any good music fan knows, having a vocalist with two X chromosomes doesn’t always guarantee quality material.

In fact, finding a female fronted Japanese band that actually is a gem can prove to be a strenuous task. Often times you’ll come across vocalists that sound like vapid Jpop idols, vocalists that have an unsavory obsession with Engrish, or genuinly good vocalists with a sub-par band. Fortunately, me-al art provides a happy medium for those looking to sidestep the aforementioned traps.

The quartet’s music is a feast of intense pop-rock served with a heap of raw emotion. Somewhat similar to another female fronted band, REDЯUM, me-al art’s sound is almost entirely dramatic and morose, with only a handful of their songs conveying a sense of joy or levity.

While they’re essentially a pop-rock band, guitarist Hirokatsu Ebisawa (海老沢宏克) employs a noticeably indie-tinged style of playing, meshing the two styles flawlessly. Drummer Naoki Honda (本多直樹) and bassist and Masonori Watanabe (渡辺雅典) provide a solid rhythm section, but me-al art’s most outstanding instrument is undoubtedly vocalist, Satoko Kawasaki (川崎里子). Somewhere between a young Cocco and the likes of Chihiro Onitsuka, Satoko’s voice has an incredible power and heft to it, fraught with passion. Since her vocals and lyrics serve as the focal point, the guys are aren’t given an ample amount of time to rock out, but they do offer a suitable pallet for Satoko’s emotional crooning.

Originally formed in 1999, Satoko joined and completed the line-up in 2003. Since then they’ve released two singles and two full albums, showing a fair amount of progression with each step. Their first two singles “Elegy” (エレジー) and “Yume Ni Saku Hana” (夢に咲く花), released in 2004 and 2006 respectively, established the band’s somber sound, but were comparable to demos given their poor production quality. 2007 saw the band release their first full album “ヘメロカリス” (Hemerocallis) with a much more fleshed out and sonically agreeable sound.

In October of 2008, their second and latest album, exist expanded on their previous efforts while also adding a bit of variety into the mix. Upbeat and semi-heavy tracks like “Exist” and “Term” showcase the band’s willingness to amp things up, whereas “スターライト”(starlight) is probably their most lighthearted song to date

With an impressive discography behind them, me-al art is set to do great things. They’re currently on tour in promotion of exist, with their final show approaching in less than a month. Let’s hope they’ll be able to return to the studio in the near future!

Watch the PV for “共鳴” (Kyoumei):

Watch the PV for “忘れな草” (Wasure na kusa) off of me-al art’s first album:

Visit me-al art’s official site and MySpace page