The name is a wrestling move. The rolling sobat is a spinning kick, and the band’s founding singer, YOSHIYA, tied it to one line: 「何もかも蹴飛ばしてやる」, “I’ll kick everything away.”

Shimokitazawa, 1995

SOBUT began playing live in September 1995, mainly around Shimokitazawa in Tokyo. It started out as BOMB EDGE and took the name SOBUT in 1996.

Billboard Japan places the band at the dawn of the Japanese indie punk movement. Sony Music’s profile of YOSHIYA’s later band calls SOBUT a “charismatic hardcore band.”

The Records

The debut album, KICKIN’ YOUR HEAD, came out on 21 July 1996, and it launched a label. Aaronfield was founded together with the album.

  • JUDGEMENT CREW, October 1997
  • Sons of Bitches United & True, July 1999, Aaronfield
  • PUNK THIS TOWN -GENERATION XX-, a six-track mini-album, March 2000, with songs used in a PlayStation 2 baseball game

Then the band moved to the majors. Nippon Columbia released the single SOBUT×WE GO! in July 2001 and the album マキシマム・カルチャー (Maximum Culture) in September 2001. A 24-track best-of from the indie years, 21 of them re-recorded, followed in December 2001. Warner Music Japan released ロード・オブ・インパルス (Lord of Impulse) in 2002, サウンド・ステューピッド (Sound Stupid) in 2003 and サムライビッチーズ (Samurai Bitches) in July 2004.

From 1999 onward the band toured the United States, Russia, China and South Korea.

The Lineup Turns

YOSHIYA sang until 31 July 2005. The founding guitarist MOTOAKI had left in August 2003.

The bassist HIDE took over the microphone in autumn 2015, because of a condition affecting the hand and arm. YOTTSU has been on drums since August 1998. JUNJI came in on bass, first as a support player in 2017, then as a member. The guitarist GAMEO joined in 2003, left in 2014 and came back in November 2020.

Old Blood

In September 2016 the band revived its own event, OLD BLOOD DAYZ. The same year Aaronfield released KICKIN’YOUR HEAD OVER RIDE REMIX, made from the original 24-track analogue masters.

On 9 April 2019 came ナウセイグッバイ (Now Say Goodbye), on cassette with a download code, the first standalone release in about twelve years. The release show was a sold-out double bill with SAIGAN TERROR at Shibuya RUBYROOM.

SOBUT is on the bill for MINOR LEAGUE’s thirtieth-anniversary show at Shindaita FEVER on 29 November 2026.

Why It Matters

SOBUT went from a Shimokitazawa live band to Warner Music Japan inside seven years, then outlasted the major-label years by two decades. Moving the bassist to lead vocals is a big change for any band, and SOBUT made it after twenty years.

Start with KICKIN’ YOUR HEAD, then “OVERRIDE GENERATION.”