Fukuoka, on the southern island of Kyushu, keeps producing heavy bands with ideas of their own. Paledusk is the best-known example. Evilgloom is one of the bands coming up behind it.
The Band
Evilgloom formed in Fukuoka in 2019. It plays metalcore with a strong nu-metal element.
The member list is worth a second look. Demi sings and writes the lyrics. YuU plays guitar, composes and produces. Justy plays bass and tsy plays drums. And there is a fifth name, Sanaemon, whose role is graphic design.
Plenty of bands have a friend who does the artwork. Not many list that person as a member. It tells you the band thinks of how it looks as part of the work, on the same level as how it sounds.
The Records
The first full album, Addictions, came out in 2023. It got a quick response, and the band began sharing stages with touring acts from overseas in several cities.
The second mini-album, Wave’n’Rave, was released on 11 June 2025, and the band took it on a three-city release tour: Tokyo, Osaka and home to Fukuoka.
Singles have followed. “Shell on the Ocean Floor” arrived in 2025. “HYMN” came out in September 2026, and was described on release as a song that moves between speed, heaviness and groove.
The Outsider Tag
One Tokyo writer introduced Evilgloom as the mavericks of Kyushu. It is a fair label for a band from this city. Fukuoka is about two hours from Tokyo by air, far enough for a scene to develop on its own terms.
Why It Matters
For a long time the map of Japanese heavy music had two pins in it, Tokyo and Osaka. Fukuoka has been the third for some years now. Evilgloom is part of the reason the pin has stayed there.
Start with Wave’n’Rave, then “HYMN.”
