Hiroyuki Sawano's high quality performance and friendly personality captivated the audience. The powerful live performance by Hiroyuki Sawano, featuring a lineup of gorgeous guest vocalists, was a must-see!

Hiroyuki Sawano LIVE [nZk] 003" was held at Zepp Tokyo over two days on September 12 (Sat.) and 13 (Sun.), 2015.

The live started with the first song "[nZk]o1" from SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]'s first album "o1" released on September 9.

The members including Hiroyuki Sawano on piano stood by and the first song played was "X.U.," the opening theme of the TV anime "Seraph of the End. Female vocalist Gemie's deep vocals echoed as the audience applauded to the up-tempo intro. The song has an uplifting chorus, and the audience was quickly drawn into the dramatic musical world of Hiroyuki Sawano.

After the performance of "X.U.," it was time for the first MC.

When he learned that a certain number of audience members had come to the concert two nights in a row, he laughed and said, "I guess that means I don't talk the same way (as I did yesterday). He was smiling and confident, saying, "My MC is of low quality, but my live performance is of high quality.

The next guest vocalist was Miiku Kobayashi. She sang "βios" from "Guilty Crown" and "Before my bodys dry" from "Kill la Kill. She continued with "Song of...", the theme song for the NHK TV series "Mare". and "Song of...", the theme song for the NHK TV series "Mare".

The third performer was Amy Blackschlager. She sang the danceable pop song "Light your heart up" (Kill la Kill) and the emotional slow number "Release My Soul" (Guilty Crown) with the tenacious vocals of a foreigner.

A total of seven guest vocalists appeared on stage that day: five women and two men. Each of them brought their own unique flavor to the show, and their exquisite banter with Sawano during the MC portion of the show kept the audience at ease.

Aimer (Emme), who sang "StarRingChild" and other songs from the "Mobile Suit Gundam UC" soundtrack as well as "s-AVE," a new song from the album "o1," told a story about when they recorded the music video for "s-AVE. Sawano laughed at Sawano's self-deprecating comment, "I looked at the camera for the first time, too, and where is the demand for a 35-year-old man looking at the camera? Aimer quickly followed up by asking the audience, "You all looked cool, didn't you?

Of course, the guest vocalists were all very talented. The vocals, performed after a friendly MC, shook the air of the venue, sometimes violently, sometimes sadly.

mpi, who performed "The Reluctant Heroes" (Shinkage no Kyojin) and "friends" (Guilty Crown), was a male vocalist who until then had been shrouded in mystery. His austere vocals and cool demeanor with few words made him a mature rocker.

The band members' performance was full of power, and Bucky (Tadashi Tsubakimoto) played a fast guitar solo in the introduction of the 16th song, "Tide Over.

In the MC at the end of the show, the meaning of [nZk] (nuzik) was revealed following Saturday's live performance.

Sawano said that he used to name the drinking parties with fellow musicians "Sawano Kai," but "when we don't talk about music or joke around, we can call it 'Ura-Sawano Kai.　So, how about "Nozawa-kai" with Sawano reversed?　And then, how about "Nozawa-kai" with Sawano reversed? Nozawakai=nZk......"

The audience burst into laughter and applause. I named it after my desire to have a good time with musicians and customers through music, so you are all Nozawakai, too," he told the audience.

The last song was "Your Voice" (ED of the game "Xenoblade Cross"), performed only on this day with Miiku Kobayashi on vocals. The live ended with a comfortable song with a relaxed groove.

During the encore, to the surprise of the audience, the entire venue called out "Nozawa" (laughter).

The members appeared on stage again and went from "scaPEGoat" (Seraph of the End) with a hot performance by male vocalist Yosh to "Perfect time" (Seven Deadly Sins) with twin vocals by mpi and Miiku Kobayashi.

The real finale was "RE:I AM" (theme song of "Mobile Suit Gundam UC" episode 6) with Aimer's vocals, starting with a piano solo by Hiroyuki Sawano that took plenty of time and was well worth listening to. The two-and-a-half-hour live performance ended with a ballad full of emotion.

Hiroyuki Sawano LIVE [nZk] 003 (September 13, 2015) Set List

01.[nZk]o1

02. x.u. (vo. Gemie)

03. βios & Before my bodes dry (Vo. Miku Kobayashi)

04. song of. (Vo. Miku Kobayashi) 05.

05. light your heart up (Vo. Aimee Blackschleger)

06. release my soul (Vo. Aimee Blackschleger)

07. &Z (Vo. mizuki)

08. Keep on Keeping on (Vo. mizuki)

09. the Reluctant Heroes (Vo. mpi)

10. friends (Vo. mpi)

11. starRingChild (Vo. Aimer)