Grind Guitarist Takafumi Matsubara Battled Hand Paralysis and Came Back Stronger Than EverBut just as Longhena was released, Matsubara was struck down by a catastrophic health emergency. “It happened suddenly,” he recalls via email from Japan. “Dizziness and nausea…I went to the hospital soon. The doctor said, ‘cerebral infarction.’ Fortunately it was light. But my three fingers and throat did not work. My irregular life and fickle eating caused it.” He had suffered a serious infection and inflammation in his brain, which cost him the use of three fingers on his left hand, including total paralysis of his middle finger. At the time, no one, Matsubara included, thought he would ever play guitar again.
He has been through a lot. But the power of grindcore got him through!
Indeed, Matsubara seems overwhelmed by the love the global grindcore and underground metal scene has shown him. He recently completed a US tour, and has a new band, Retortion Terror. “To tell the truth, I have not realized what I did and what I do now,” he says. “I’m just a salary man who likes tortoiseshell cats and karate. The great musicians gave me special presents. I’m the happiest guitarist in the world.”
Aren't we all!
I'm enjoying his solo album, partly because I know it's part of a heartwarming story. But that's OK! I've been reading lately how titles influence the perceptions of paintings, which is interesting, but again, no art is separate from the world around it, so that effect is fine.