When you need a bunch of classic anime themes covered by a power metal band, who do you call? ANIMETAL USA, dammit. Comprised of some of heavy metal’s most dedicated veterans, AUSA do some pretty dead-on and polished versions of everything from the theme to Dragonball Z to Makafushigi Adventure to Neon Genesis Evangelion.
If this means anything, Chris Impellitteri, Mike Vescara, Jon Dette and Rudy Sarzo are from some of the most respected metal bands on the planet — Slayer, the unpronounceable Yngwie Malmsteen, and Ozzy Osbourne among them. Personally, it’s a very welcome (and loud) respite from the overdose of sub-average nerdcore acts all over the planet.
Oddly enough, the band was originally conceived purely as a tribute band to Japanese metal guitarist Eizo Sakamoto and his the original anime theme-covering metal band, Animetal. AUSA have released a couple albums, but their most recent release couldn’t get stocked in stores until this summer. You don’t have to be into metal to appreciate this kind of music, much in the same way you don’t have to be into hip-hop to really enjoy a lot of nerdcore acts like Richie Branson and Mega Ran.
Metal/Anime nerds will probably appreciate that many of the compositions were arranged by Marty Friedman, formerly of Megadeth and now an enthusiastic J-Pop player living in Tokyo. Special bonus: they even boast cool stage names like Metal-Rider, Tank, Storm Bringer, and Speed King, and now live in Japan. They’re actively seeking requests from fans in Japan and America as to what they’ll cover next. In the meantime, they’ve already begun recording with the opening theme to the Naruto anime spin-off series Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals — with the help of Hironobu Kageyama of yet another anime metal band, JAM Project. That’s all pretty confusing, so here’s some music:
Dragonball Z Medley
Jeff Nau – who has written 1264 posts on The Jace Hall Show.
Jeff Nau is a main contributor to the Jace Hall Show covering pop culture and music trends in the nerd community. He has contributed to San Diego City Beat, 944, and Ill Literature, amongst others, and spends his spare time working as an artist and photographer.

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