By 2012, Loyal to the Grave had gone six years without an album and had changed singers. Japan was a year on from the earthquake of March 2011. The record the band made was called Against the Odds.

The Title

The guitarist Hiroyuki Kohama explained the title in an interview at the time. It means holding out against difficulty. Kohama described the album as being about winning back something that had come close to breaking, and said the earthquake was part of that.

The Lineup

It was the first album with Koba as the vocalist. He had been the band’s bassist from 1998, and moved to the microphone when the previous singer left in 2010.

The band had tested the new arrangement first. Demos by this lineup were pressed onto a seven-inch in 2010, and one of the album’s songs, “Threw Away,” had already appeared on a three-way split.

The Record

Against the Odds was released on 30 April 2012. It has eleven tracks, among them “Overflowed,” “Self Raised, Self Made,” “Never Take Us Down” and “No More Imitations.”

The label was Eulogy Recordings, in the United States. Eulogy was set up by John Wylie, of the 1990s metallic hardcore bands Culture and Morning Again. For a band whose roots are in that exact era and style, it was a fitting home.

The mix was done by Jamie King, an American engineer known for his work with Between the Buried and Me.

The Guests

Two American singers appear on the album. Vincent Bennett of The Acacia Strain is on “Coming Through.” Carl Schwartz of First Blood is on “Never Take Us Down.”

The Acacia Strain link was not new. The two bands had shared a split single back in 2003.

How It Was Described

The Japanese music press presented the record as straight, mosh-friendly hardcore that kept the feel of 1990s new school in its riffs and arrangements, while adding newer touches such as lower tunings. Kohama’s own stated aim was a sound that was heavy and clear at once.

Why It Matters

A lot of albums claim to be about survival. This one had real things to survive: a lost singer, a six-year gap, and a disaster at home. It came out anyway, on an American label, with a bassist singing lead.

Play “Never Take Us Down” first. The title says what the whole album is for.