Reviewed: December, 2026
Released: 2025, Cherry Red
Rating: 5/5
Reviewer: JP
Sometimes all a band needs is the right backer or support in their corner. Tokyo Blade is fortunate to have such a strong supporter in the Cherry Red group because they have had quite a career resurgence as of late. Since 2020 the band have had three studio albums, various reissues and compilations and now this awesome, four CD boxset. The blade is sharp!
BEWARE THE BLADE is a fine, career retrospective housed in a clamshell box. Inside there are four sleeves which match up to form an image of the Tokyo Blade warrior himself. There is also a full-colour,16-page booklet with tons of photos, liner notes and a nice career-overview, essay by Metal-Rules.com’s, very own John Tucker. It’s hard to cover 40 years or more of history but Tucker does his best!
Disc One is a 16-track Greatest Hits called ‘Classics’ 1983-2025 but really it is only songs from the first three albums, 1983-1985. Maybe, ‘2025’ is a typo. You know these songs, you love these songs and if you don’t, all the more reason to buy this set.
Disc Two is a 14-track set called ‘Classics 1983-2025’. This CD is also very slightly misnamed for two reasons. The songs are drawn from 1987 and later, so maybe another typo. Secondly, Lord help me, I love this band but I have never, EVER, heard anyone in print or in real life call any of the post-85 Tokyo Blade songs ‘classics’. Here is the breakdown. One cut from AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ (’87), one track from NO REMORSE (’89), three tracks from BURNING DOWN PARADISE (’95), two tracks from MR. ICE (’98), two tracks from DARK REVOLUTION (’00) three tracks from FURY (’22) and a pair from this year’s album, TIME IS THE FIRE. They should be classics, and would be if I were in charge but the reality is, these are deep cuts from their more obscure eras. Regardless, they are still great tunes in my opinion and it might inspire fans to go buy those lesser-known albums.
Disc Three is a scrappy, live festival gig in Holland. The band was headlining that night giving us a glimpse at their stature back in the day. I believe this concert has never been released before. The sound quality is poor but passable. In this modern age we are spoiled with digital, direct from the sound board, quality live albums. This concert sounds way worse than any modern live album BUT (!) it also sounds way more ‘live’ than any modern live album. The sound is acceptable for a gig that happened 40+years ago and the band rips thought 12 true classics from the first couple of albums.
Disc Four. Wow! 14 unreleased songs. This is worth the price of admission alone. Let’s pretend you are a die-hard Tokyo Blade fan. You have already heard all of Disc 1 and 2 and probably Disc 3 at some point as a bootleg or something but Disc 4 is a treasure trove! Unfortunately, the source of these unreleased songs is not revealed in the booklet. How old are these songs? When were they recorded? Who performed on them? This info should have included. That aside, the unreleased songs are as good as anything the band has done. They span a few styles, much as the band has over the years, some are more rock oriented, some a bit more Metal but all of acceptable production and song-writing quality.
BEWARE THE BLADE has it all, for old fans and new. Rare tracks, live tracks, unreleased material and healthy dose of iconic songs that put the band on the map to begin with, so what more could one ask for in a box-set? Feel the blade and get yours today!
DISC ONE
1. Midnight Rendezvous
2. Mean Streak
3. Powergame
4. Death On Main Street
5. If Heaven Is Hell
6. Highway Passion
7. Sunrise in Tokyo
8. Night of the Blade
9. Love Struck
10. Warrior of the Rising Sun
11. Lightning Strikes (Straight Through the Heart)
12. Madam Guillotine
13. Make It Through the Night
14. Blackhearts & Jaded Spades
15. Monkey’s Blood
16. Stealing the Thief
DISC TWO
1. Too Much Too Soon
2. Chains Of Love
3. Friend In Need
4. Hot Breath
5. Flashpoint Serenade
6. More Than A Pretty Face
7. Woman And Love
8. Dark Revolution
9. Story of a Nobody
10. Life Leaves A Scar
11. Kill Me Till I’m Dead
12. Blood Red Night
13. Don’t Bleed Over Me
14. Moth To The Fire
DISC THREE
1. Intro (live)
2. Powergame (live)
3. Mean Streak (live)
4. Break The Chains (live)
5. Death On Main Street (live)
6. Liar (live)
7. Midnight Rendezvous (live)
8. Madam Guillotine (live)
9. If Heaven Is Hell (live)
10. Unleash The Beast (live)
11. Sunrise in Tokyo (live)
12. Killer City (live)
13. Night of the Blade (live)
DISC FOUR
1. Last of the Renegades
2. Line in the Sand
3. Serenade in Black
4. Shout At the Dark
5. This Dying Light
6. Midnight Sun
7. Who’s Laughing Now
8. Hard Getting Over You
9. Save A Bullet
10. Hold Your Ground
11. Shadows In The Rain
12. Walk
13. Dead Forever After
14. The Weeping Wind
www.cherryred.co.uk/tokyo-blade-beware-the-blade-classic-rare-unreleased-1983-2025-4cd-box-set
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