When drummer Jason started Point 45 in Okinawa in late 2024, he wasn’t just looking to form another hardcore band. His aim was to bring a strain of American beatdown rarely heard on the island, and to build up the local scene through both the music and his DIY label, Okinawa Snuff Tapes.
POINT 45 formed after Jason’s previous bands, Gouge and Empathy, split up. He connected with a guitarist who had been a regular at his shows, and their early sessions quickly took shape. Jason’s girlfriend, new to bass, joined soon after, and the lineup solidified when the former Gouge vocalist came on board ahead of the latest release.
"Our band consists of three Americans and one Japanese member," Jason tells No Echo. "We initially started this band to showcase American-style beatdown/hardcore that isn't really heard in Okinawa."
Early on, Point 45’s songs were steeped in violent themes. The new album, A Different Point of View, though, signals a clear shift. "So our first and second EP were all about violence, but for the album we decided to go in another direction and really showcase our potential."
Musically, Point 45 pulls from all corners of hardcore and extreme metal. Jason points to bands like Slime NW, TwoSeventy, DemsFightinWords, Crowbar, and Misery Whip as touchstones, but each member brings their own influences, from emo to metalcore. "If anything, we are mostly inspired by East and West Coast hardcore styles," he says. "It's not just one type of sound but a combination of what we all felt at the time."
As with most of Jason’s projects, the album was made entirely in-house through Okinawa Snuff Tapes, his DIY hub for recording, filming, and pushing Okinawa’s hardcore scene forward. He tracked the record himself at home after eight months of writing with guitarist Perry.
The music still hits hard, but the lyrics now cut closer to home. "Our mentality going into this album was to make something that others can relate to," Jason explains. "While the album almost feels like a story, it's more of incidents or struggles and what leads someone to eventually end their life. We all think that this kind of personal messaging through our life experiences could help someone in their struggles and negativity."
That message carries over into the band’s latest video, which ties together “Ashamed” and “For Whoever Reads This” with visuals focused on mental health and suicide prevention. Jason handled direction, filming, and editing, with support from two friends.
"I really wanted to showcase something that hasn't been done on video here or in Japan because of the taboo nature relating to suicide," he says. "We really wanted to emphasize our struggles in life and what others may be going through. To hope that it can help someone through troubling times means the world to us."
Beyond Point 45, Jason pours his energy into the aforementioned Okinawa Snuff Tapes, supporting the island’s underground. The project hosts shows, documents bands through live and studio videos, and works to get Okinawa’s scene seen across Asia. its size, Jason believes Okinawa has no shortage of talent.
He points listeners toward To the End, Get Down on It, 090, B.5.P, and A.U.H. as bands deserving more attention while stressing that the island's close-knit community is what makes it special.
With a new album on the horizon and plans to head back to mainland Japan for more shows, Point 45 is set on pushing their scene even further. "It's a super small island," Jason says. "We're trying to get some notice for us and the scene."
As for Okinawa Snuff Tapes, his mission remains unchanged:
"My goal is to help the future generation of hardcore in Okinawa and get attention to such talented bands and friends."
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A Different Point of View is available on CD: US orders | Japan orders
Point 45 on social media: Instagram
Okinawa Snuff Tapes on social media: Instagram
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