The annual festival for power metal and symphonic metal music Evoken Fest kicked off today. The venue is Kanda Myojin Hall in Tokyo, Japan, and the festival days are August 29th and August 30th. August 31st is the additional festival day which will take place at Holiday Shinjuku. The purpose of the festival is to promote power metal and symphonic metal bands from all over the world. You can buy VIP tickets to support the artists financially.
This year the headliner will be Fabio Lione’s Dawn of Victory. The band is on their Fabio Lione Epic Tales Tour Pt. 2 in Brazil, which will continue after the concerts in Japan. The ex-Rhapsody and ex-Phapsody of Fire vocalist Fabio Lione has founded Fabio Lione’s Dawn of Victory in 2025 as a touring band to perform classical hits from Phapsody and Rhapsody of Fire’s “golden age” with an old-school sound.
The Swedish power metal band Bloodbound is known for their vampire and fantasy tales and stories from Norse mythology in their albums. Their last album, “Field of Swords” (2025), is a conceptual piece from the Middle Ages and the Crusades.
DarkTribe is a power metal band from France, founded in 2004 in Nice.
Edenbridge from Austria is a symphonic power metal band known for their rich orchestral arrangements.
The project of the Italian composer and keyboardist Marco Garau – Marco Garau’s Magic Opera, is a wonderful conceptual power metal fantasy work in three full-length albums: “The Golden Pentacle” (2021), “Battle Of Ice” (2023), and “The Final Flight” (2026).
Headless is a progressive and hard rock band founded in Italy in 1996. In 2013 the Swedish vocalist Göran Edman started working with them. He was a vocalist for Yngwie Malmsteen and John Norum. Their guitarist and composer Walter Cianciusi is touring with David Ellefson (ex-Megadeth bassist).
Illusion Force is an international power metal band, based in Japan, founded in 2018. They implement power metal influences from titans such as Helloween and Dragonforce with a Japanese style and elegance.
ShadowStrike is a symphonic power metal band founded in 2010 in Long Island, New York. They play power metal music with fast riffs and epic fantasy themes.
Alterium is an Italian power metal band, strongly impacted by the video games and the “nerd” culture. Their title song from their album “Stormrage” (2025) is dedicated to Illidan Stormrage from World of Warcraft.
Allegiance Reign is a samurai metal band from Japan, blending powerful metal with Japanese melodies and drawing inspiration from the spirit, pride, loyalty, and tragic beauty of the samurai of the Sengoku era.
The Danish symphonic metal band Seven Thorns was founded in 1998 by the drummer Lars Borup. Their music is influenced by Helloween, Iced Earth, and Sonata Arctica. Now they have two opera vocalists – Marco Biagioli and Alicke Kostopoulou. Their participation to

• 2026-08-29 (Sat)Tokyo – Kanda Myojin Hall
  Opening performance
  Start time 14:30 
  Performance 15:00-21:30
  Performing Artists:
  Fabio Lione’s Dawn of Victory, Bloodbound, Marco Garau’s Magic Opera, Headless, ShadowStrike, Alterium, Allegiance Reign
  
• 2026-08-30 (Sun)Tokyo – Kanda Myojin Hall
  Opening performance
  Start time 14:00 
  Performance 14:30 – 21:30
  Performing Artists:
  Fabio Lione’s Dawn of Victory, Edenbridge, Headless, Illusion Force, Dark Tribe, Alterium, Seven Thorns
  
• 2026-08-31 (Month)Tokyo – Holiday Shinjuku
  Opening performance
  Start time 15:30 
  Performance 16:00-21:30
  Performing Artists:
  Bloodbound, Edenbridge, Marco Garau’s Magic Opera, Dark Tribe, Seven Thorns, ShadowStrike