Latest
All articles →
DESSERT: The Tokyo Hardcore Punk Band of Sendai Veterans, Back After Two Decades
Formed in 1998, stopped in 2004, revived in 2025 with the original four and a complete-recordings CD on PIZZA OF DEATH.
T.C.L: THE CHUNK LEGEND, Yokohama's Twin-Vocal Band With a MAD CAPSULE MARKETS Pedigree
KYONO and YAMADA on vocals, two albums on MUFFIN RECORDS, and a 2026 split 12-inch with MINOR LEAGUE.
SOBUT: Shimokitazawa Hardcore Since 1995, Named After a Wrestling Kick
From Aaronfield to major labels, tours of the US, Russia, China and Korea, and a bassist who became the singer.
redmammoth: Kadoma's Live Band, From Red Rock City Since 1992
An Osaka rock band with three decades of touring, a split with MINOR LEAGUE in 1999, and a twelve-track album in 2024.
Deeper the Wound: The Japanese Band on Deathwish Inc.'s First Release
In 2001 the label co-founded by Converge's Jacob Bannon started with a split. The other half was HELLCHILD, a Tokyo death metal band formed in 1987.
IN FOR THE KILL: Tokyo Metal/Hardcore From the Ashes of METAL SAFARI
Two ex-METAL SAFARI members, a debut on SPIRITUAL BEAST that reached Europe, and Branded To Kill in 2024.
CHRONOMETER: The Tokyo 'Post Mixture' Band That Switched to Japanese Lyrics
Rooted in the 1990s punk band BENTROOT, three albums in, and a first Japanese-language record in 2025.
AWAKED: The Heavy Band That Took Eleven Years to Make Its Third Album
BLOOD in 2012, ELEGY in 2015, and THE RIVER in March 2026, all on B.T.H. RECORDS.
GOOFY STYLE: 'Asian Soul Heavy Groove' From Tokyo, With a Second Home in Taiwan
Formed in 1997, named after an extreme-sports stance, and a returning act at Taiwan's Ho-hai-yan Rock Festival.
BRIDEAR: From Fukuoka to Fredrik Nordström's Studio
A Fukuoka metal band named by reversing 'Dear Bride', with six European tours by 2023 and an album recorded in Sweden.
GIVEN BY THE FLAMES: Japan's 2026 Metal Battle Winners, Third at Wacken
Self-described gothic metalcore from Tokyo, a crowdfunded trip to Germany, and a 20-minute set on the W.E.T. stage.
GUNGIRE: The Self-Proclaimed Angriest Band in Japan
A Tokyo power trio with thrash at its core, two mini-albums three weeks apart, and a first one-man show at ANTIKNOCK.
AWAKE: How UNDYING WORDS Re-Recorded Its First EP With a New Singer
A new vocalist, Misaco, joined on 1 December 2025. Seven months later the band remade its debut EP around that voice.
Art'emïus: Tokyo Deathcore With a Diaeresis
A self-released EP in 2024, a new-lineup single in 2026, and a steady run of shows at Shibuya CYCLONE.
VISCERA INFEST: Brutal Death Metal With a Steady Surgeon's Hand
Blast-first Japanese brutal death metal built on clinical precision, gurgled vocals and riffs that cut rather than bounce.
Birthplace: The Band the Shops Called the Leader of Tokyo New School Hardcore
Two albums, in 2000 and 2005, a bassist who later fronted Loyal to the Grave, and a debut that was remastered in 2023.
bless the birthplace which humanized us: A Tokyo Hardcore Debut, Remastered After Twenty-Three Years
Birthplace's first album came out in 2000, went out of print, and returned to streaming in 2023.
From Birthplace to Indication: One Tokyo Hardcore Family Tree
State Craft, Loyal to the Grave, Birthplace, Indication — four bands, a handful of the same people, and twenty-eight years.
SOLITUDE A SLEEPLESS NIGHTS: Tokyo Metalcore That Left, Changed Its Name, and Came Back
Three EPs between 2016 and 2019, a spell under another name, and a return to metalcore in 2024.
The Eversolitude Years: When SOLITUDE A SLEEPLESS NIGHTS Became a Different Band
A new singer, a new name and a move towards math rock in 2021 — and then, in 2024, the old name again.
Where to Start With SOLITUDE A SLEEPLESS NIGHTS: A Release-by-Release Guide
Every release from the 2016 free single to 2026, in order, with the Eversolitude records marked.
State Craft: The 1990s Tokyo Band at the Root of a Whole Family of Hardcore
Formed in 1995, gone by 2001, one album on a Belgian label — and the starting point for Loyal to the Grave.
To Celebrate the Forlorn Seasons: The One Album State Craft Made
Nine songs, released in 2000 by Belgium's Good Life Recordings, and still described as the record that changed Japanese metallic hardcore.
After State Craft: Where the Members Went, and Who Still Plays the Songs
Two guitarists to Loyal to the Grave, a Slayer tribute series that both bands appear in, and a 2024 night when the singer came back to guest.