Some bands are assembled by producers. PARADOXX was assembled the old-fashioned way. In February 2021, guitarist KAOЯI decided to form a girls’ metal band, went looking on a musician-recruitment site, and found drummer SHONO. The rest of the lineup followed: AMANE on vocals, Maiko alongside KAOЯI on guitar, and Haruna on bass.
The Classic Formula, Played Straight
What PARADOXX plays is unapologetically classic: hard rock and heavy metal built around a twin-guitar attack, a powerful lead voice and dramatic melodies. No genre-mixing gimmick, no irony. In a Japanese scene where girls’ metal bands often lean into power metal velocity or modern metalcore, PARADOXX sits squarely in the traditional HR/HM lane — the harmonised leads and big choruses the genre was built on.
The detail that caught BURRN!‘s attention when the band debuted is one guitar fans will appreciate: the band includes a player of a 35-fret guitar. That’s an instrument whose extended range exists for one reason — to go higher and faster than a standard neck allows — and it tells you how seriously this band takes the lead-guitar tradition it inherits.
Five Years In
PARADOXX has reached its fifth anniversary, marked by its fourth single, “NOSTALGIA,” and a 2026 tour under the same name. Five years is a meaningful mark for a band formed through a recruitment site rather than an agency: it means the chemistry was real.
The Japanese girls’ metal field is crowded — LOVEBITES and NEMOPHILA set a very high bar — and the natural comparison has followed PARADOXX from the start. The fair way to hear them is on their own terms: as a band committed to the twin-guitar heavy metal tradition, played with conviction by musicians who found each other because they wanted exactly this.
Where to Start
Begin with “NOSTALGIA” and work backwards through the singles. Listen for the guitar interplay — that’s where this band lives.
