ALL THAT REMAINS Frontman On Living Through Japanese Earthquake

Vocalist Phil Labonte of Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS was on CNN earlier today to discuss the experience of living through the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that shook Japan early Friday morning and left more than a thousand killed and many more missing. Check out the news report below.

Writing on Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog, Labonte said, "We had played the day before in Osaka and we took the bullet train from there to Tokyo only a few hours before the quake struck.

"Due to travel, we didn't have time to go to the hotel before we had to soundcheck in Tokyo, so we were at the venue when it happened.

"My first thought was, honestly, one of nervous excitement.

"ALL THAT REMAINS is from the East Coast and I had never felt an earthquake. The building was shaking, light fixtures swaying with significant force, doors rattling.

"I didn't realize how serious the situation was at first until our contact at Creativeman (the booking agent in Japan) started shuffling us to the stairs. You could see the concern on his face.

"Once in the street, I began to understand just how significant the quake was. The street was full of people, some laughing nervously, some even crying. By the time we got down to the street, the first shock was done but within a few minutes there was a very large aftershock. From the street level, you could see skyscrapers swaying back and forth.

"We remained outside for at least an hour while the structural integrity of the building was checked by local authorities.

"When they told us it was safe to go back inside, we walked up the stairs and almost as soon as we got to the venue, we felt another very significant aftershock.

"In the area that we are in, there was no real damage to structures and the people seemed to return to normal quite quickly.

"The following morning seemed to be a fairly run-of-the-mill day. But when you turned on the news and saw the damage in Sendai, it was clear this was anything but typical.

"It's now 36 or so hours since the major quake and as I type this I am feeling aftershocks. A nuclear reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant was damaged and there was an explosion. The Japanese government is distributing iodine to local residents and has evacuated thousands of residents who live within 12 miles of the area.

"I know that I, as well as millions of other people affected by this disaster, will never forget how it felt during and for days after."