There is a Japanese heavy metal song about mandarin oranges. It is fast, it is played completely straight, and it is one of the band’s best-known songs. The man who sings it has led the same band since 1989.
Ehime to Kagoshima
ANCHANG was born Koji Ando on 28 April 1970 in Niihama, in Ehime Prefecture. Ehime is the part of Japan best known for its mikan, the small sweet oranges, which explains a good deal.
He formed SEX MACHINEGUNS in 1989 while at university in Kagoshima, at the other end of the country. The name is a joke with a point. The Sex Pistols had pistols. Machine guns, the band reasoned, are more radical.
The Breakthrough
It took nine years to reach a major label. The debut single, “HANABI-la大回転,” came out on 22 April 1998 on Toshiba EMI, and the first album followed that September. By the end of the year the band had played 62 sold-out shows.
The formula was already complete. The music is speed metal and power metal, with fast guitar and bass solos played with real skill. The lyrics are about everyday things, and the titles tell you the subject: “みかんのうた” is the orange song, and “ファミレス・ボンバー” takes on the family restaurant.
The joke only works because the playing is not a joke. That is the whole trick, and very few bands anywhere have managed it.
Stops and Starts
On 13 August 2003 the band played the Nippon Budokan, and that lineup’s story ended there. It was back in April 2004. Further pauses and returns followed, with members arriving and leaving around the one person who has been in every version.
The band has kept recording. HEAVY METAL COMMANDER came out on 17 December 2025, its first full album in two and a half years.
Why It Matters
SEX MACHINEGUNS got heavy metal in front of people who did not think they liked it. It got through the door by being funny, and then it turned out to be very good.
ANCHANG is singer, guitarist and the only permanent member. He kept the name going through every one of those breaks.
Start with “みかんのうた.” You will not need a translation to enjoy it, though it helps.
