"Vengeance" is a song by Japanese

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Coldrain Coldrain (stylized in all lowercase) are a Japanese rock band from Nagoya, Japan, who were formed in 2007. The band combines melodic singing with screams typical of the post-hardcore genre. Although the band is Japanese, all of their songs are w ...

. Written by frontman Masato Hayakawa and lead guitarist Ryo Yokochi; it was produced by Michael Baskette at Studio Barbarosa in

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, US, the song was released on 11 February 2024 as the main theme for

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

's anime ''

Ninja Kamui ''Ninja Kamui'' (stylized in all caps) is an original anime television series produced by E&H Production and Sola Entertainment with executive production by Williams Street. The series aired from February to May 2024 in the United States on ...

''. It was also released in tandem with the re-recording for the band's debut studio album ''

Final Destination ''Final Destination'' is an American horror franchise that includes six films, ten novels, and two comic books. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for the television series ''The X-Files''. All of ...

'' (2009) for its fifteenth anniversary as the lead single for '' Final Destination (XV Re:Recorded)''. On 29 January 2025, the band released an official live video of "Vengeance" from their performance at the

Makuhari Messe is a convention center in Chiba (city), Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, located just outside of Tokyo. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Transportation in Greater Tokyo#Railway and subway, Tokyo's commuter rail system. ''Makuha ...

in Chiba, Japan.

Background

In January 2024, it was widely reported that the band were contributing an unspecified song to the anime ''

'' that was releasing the following month. On 10 February, the band performed at the

Nippon Gaishi Hall , formerly Nagoya Rainbow Hall, is an indoor sports arena located in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. From April 1, 2007, its name was changed to Nippon Gaishi Hall, to reflect the sponsorship of the NGK Insulators. The capacity of the arena is 10,000 peop ...

in their home town of

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan. During the performance, the band revealed "Vengeance" and debuted the song live for the first time. Simultaneously, it was announced that it was released as the lead single for '' Final Destination (XV Re:Recorded)'', to help promote the fifteenth anniversary re-recording of their debut studio album ''

'' (2009) on a venue-only CD release limited to 3,000 copies. The following day, "Vengeance" was released digitally worldwide with an accompanying music video in tandem with ''Ninja Kamuis unveiling as its opening theme. To promote the single, the band starred on the cover for

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

's "Loud Rock Japan" playlist which featured "Vengeance". Throughout late February and early March, the band embarked on a European tour where the song was played at all dates.

Composition and lyrics

"Vengeance" has been described by critics as a

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

, and an

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

song. The song was written by the band's vocalist Masato Hayakawa and lead guitarist Ryo Yokochi, while it was produced by Michael Baskette during recording sessions at Studio Barabarosa in

in March 2023. The song was written specifically for ''Ninja Kamui'' with the songs theme of revenge tied to the premise of the anime. Speaking to

for a promo clip, Hayakawa explained the meaning of "Vengeance":

Track listing

Music video

The official music video for "Vengeance" was released on 11 February 2024, and directed by Takasuke Kato. The video features a non-linear storyline about a grieving woman who is desired by vengeance to get revenge on a man that killed her loved-one. It shows her drawing up various plans of attack in her bedroom, while failing to execute her revenge in a club by getting shot and killed in the process. The woman fails and dies several times over, respawning back in her bedroom to revise her tactics, creating a

time loop The time loop or temporal loop is a plot device in fiction whereby Character (arts), characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. Time loops are co ...

. Eventually, she experiences a breakthrough in her plan and causes chaos throughout the club of drinking bystanders, shooting and killing many guards, before confronting and killing the man who shot her loved-one. The storyline is intertwined with a performance of the band playing the song on the stage inside the club, and on an elevated platform in another dimly lit room. The music video's storyline has been compared to blockbusters ''

John Wick ''John Wick'' is an American media franchise created by Derek Kolstad. It centers on a neo-noir action thriller film series featuring titular character portrayed by Keanu Reeves. Wick is a legendary hitman who is reluctantly drawn back int ...

'' and ''

Edge of Tomorrow ''Edge of Tomorrow'' is a 2014 American science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Christopher McQuarrie and the writing team of Jez Butterworth, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, loosely based on th ...

'' (both 2014). Kayla Hamilton of ''Wall of Sound'' described the music video as "a cinematic feel against the action-packed storyline." The video amassed over 56k views in its first 24 hours upon release, and over 228,000 views in its first full week on the platform. In its first full calendar year, the music video surpassed 4 million views. As of May 2025, the music video for "Vengeance" has over 4.5 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. Coldrain * Masato Hayakawa – lead vocals, lyrics, composition * Ryo Yokochi – lead guitar, programming, composition * Kazuya Sugiyama – rhythm guitar * Ryo Shimizu – bass guitar * Katsuma Minatani – drums Additional personnel * Michael Baskette – producer * Sam Guaiana – mixing * Mike Kalajian – mastering (Rogue Planet Mastering,

Gardiner Gardiner may refer to: Places Settlements ;Canada * Gardiner, Ontario ;United States * Gardiner, Maine * Gardiner, Montana * Gardiner (town), New York ** Gardiner (CDP), New York * Gardiner, Oregon * Gardiner, Washington * West Gardiner, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, US)

Charts

References

External links

* {{Coldrain Coldrain songs 2024 singles 2024 songs Japanese hard rock songs Songs written by Masato Hayakawa Song recordings produced by Michael Baskette Songs about revenge Anime songs