Part Japanese hippie collective (or "soul-collective" as the members prefer to call it) part cosmic psyche-rock juggernaut, Acid Mothers Temple's most consistent presence has been guitarist and frontman Kawabata Makoto; a veteran of numerous Japanese heavy rock bands, Makoto formed the group in 1996. Exploring the outer reaches of the rock-music universe, Acid Mothers Temple are heavily influenced by 1960s psychedelia, '70s proto-metal and prog, and various avant-garde musical movements. The band has played under the name Acid Mothers Temple and the Cosmic Inferno, as well as Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.