December 19th marked the first oneman in DRUGS' journey together as a band.

The four-member unit came out to a sold out show with a diverse mix of fans at Ikebukuro EDGE. I saw a lot of Japanese men who literally could not stand still, older men that didn't move a muscle, visibly foreign women with stiletto nails and tattoos, and presumably Japanese women that looked like they'd just left the office. Judging by the amount of English in their social media presence, I think it's safe to say this was exactly what DRUGS intended from the start.

The performance itself was amazing--I think if you like heavy music, DRUGS should definitely be on your list to at least check out. There are a lot of opportunities to positively lose your mind in the pit, so if you're one of those fans there's even more reason to give them a try. All members come from other popular bands so they're starting with a bit of a leg up, but it's a very well deserved leg up. Each of these people are very good at their craft and clearly well seasoned in coming out and putting on a show. This was a completely different vibe from when other bands put on their first show--these guys made you feel like DRUGS have been doing this for a while.

We got to hear some tracks that I haven't seen released digitally, hopefully these are sneak peaks of an upcoming album. My current favorite track, Shi, seisatsu makes me hope they add more ballads to the repertoire moving forward. If I could've held a lighter up as they played it I probably would have, I can't emphasize enough how good a show it was from start to finish.

Congrats to DRUGS on a banger of a first oneman, we look forward to watching you grow!