Japanese Metal

Barbatos – Straight Metal War Review

By Dr. Fisting on July 23, 2015 in 2015, Hells Headbangers Records, Japanese Metal, Reviews, 49 comments

“Japan’s Barbatos is apparently a side project of Yasuyuki, vocalist/bassist for punk-metal combo Abigail. While the two bands are similar to the point of redundancy, Barbatos has been far less prolific, releasing only four full-lengths (and a bunch of 7″ splits) during a 15-year career. Straight Metal War is their first LP in nearly a decade, and it’s on Hell’s Headbangers — a label whose resistance to modernity is rivaled only by the Amish — so you KNOW it’s gonna be some old-school shit.” Boobs!

Sigh – Graveward Review

By Kronos on April 27, 2015 in 2015, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Candlelight, Japanese Metal, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, Black Metal, Symphonic Metal, 39 comments

“Sigh are on their tenth trip around the turntable and still spin at 45, since there isn’t a faster option. Graveward is their attempt to penetrate the monolithic shadow cast by In Somniphobia, an album so fantastically strange that it was a sidestep even by the standards of a band that defines the term “avant-garde”.” Sigh is a breath of fresh air.

Legion of Andromeda – Iron Scorn Review

By Grymm on February 14, 2015 in 2.5, 2015, Drone, Industrial Metal, Japanese Metal, Reviews, Industrial Metal, 6 comments

“I must have had the phrase “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge” drilled into my head by every music teacher imaginable. Everybody practices chords and scales repeatedly, right? Riffs? Solos? You have to in order to succeed in anything. Well, how about songs? Japan’s newest export in industrialized noise metal, Legion of Andromeda, have set out to challenge your notions of what noise and repetition can create via their debut, Iron Scorn.” And who doesn’t like fudge?

Mono – The Last Dawn / Rays of Darkness Review

By Kronos on October 20, 2014 in 2014, Japanese Metal, Not Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Shoegaze, Shoegaze, 12 comments

“Intensity and drama unify my musical palette. As unalike as Count Bassie and Ulcerate are, they’re both able to serve up a shitton of excitement, albeit in quite different ways. But the differences between dramatic genres are still immense, which makes a Mono record quite the refresher in between this year’s big tech-death releases.” Here’s something a little bit different.

Vampillia – Some Nightmares Take You Aurora Rainbow Darkness Review

By Grymm on July 13, 2014 in 2014, Candlelight, Japanese Metal, Not Metal, Noise Rock, Not Metal, 10 comments

“”Beautiful” is a word that I don’t normally use to describe an album here at AMG, and especially in Casa de los Grymm. “Fun” is even less of a descriptor. What was it again that Euronymous wanted none of via his record label again? But I took a shot at an unknown (to me, at least) group of Japanese noise brigands (with a former Boredom, Toyohito Yoshikawa, in its ever-growing ranks) known as Vampillia. With quite a few releases under their belt (seventeen, according to their website), their newest, the very wordy Some Nightmares Take You Aurora Rainbow Darkness, is their first full-length, and it’s a good snapshot into their crazy world.” All your bases are belong to us! And don’t call me Aurora Rainbow!

Coffins – The Fleshland Review

By Happy Metal Guy on July 8, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Japanese Metal, Relapse, Reviews, 1 comment

“Japan is better remembered as the country of eclectic and elaborately dressed, KISS-inspired metal bands. But it is also home to extreme metal bands with a straightforward musical approach. No gimmicks; just plain clothes, unshaved faces, silly lyrics, cartoonish album artwork and bulldozing riff after bulldozing riff. Coffins is such a band, and they are a 17-year-old, vomitey death/doom metal band from the Japanese region full of Pidgeys, Rattatas, Geodudes, Tentacools and Zubats. Despite being surrounded by dozens and dozens of cutesy critters, their music is anything but for the Gameboy- or Nintendo-DS-wielding toddlers.” Death metal from the Isle of Japan loaded with big, ugly riffs and vomitus vocals. Are you sold yet? Happy Metal Guy is here to close the deal and win those steak knives!

Fastkill – Bestial Thrashing Bulldozer Review

By Dr. Fisting on July 6, 2012 in 2.5, 2012, Japanese Metal, Pulverised Records, Thrash Metal, 5 comments

F.A.G. isn’t too sure about the merits of the retro-thrash movement, so naturally, he invented a drinking game!

Interview with Mirai Kawashima from Sigh

By Happy Metal Guy on April 22, 2012 in 2012, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Candlelight, Century Media, Interviews, Japanese Metal, The End Records, Black Metal, 10 comments

Enigmatic and uncomfortably cheerful, gregarious and ambitious Happy Metal Guy managed to catch up with Mirai Kawashima from the Japanese avant-garde black metal band Sigh. He bombarded him with positivity, amusing anecdotes and uncomfortable questions about steel phalli until Mr. Kawashima relented; answering the questions and talking about… flowers? This fucking blog gets weirder and weirder every day.

Defiled – In Crisis Review

By Angry Metal Guy on January 18, 2011 in 2011, 4.0, Death Metal, Japanese Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 0 comments

I’ll admit it, I’m a biased motherfucker. When I think of Japan, I think of anime and J Pop and bands like over-the-top shit like X Japan and the crazy clown lookin’ girls, not brutal death metal bands like Defiled. I guess I should have learned this lesson already from bands like Gore Beyond Necropsy and Sigh and others who break against this stereotype in their own way, but no, my bias remains. Though I guess you can really say that Defiled is over-the-top, as they are an excellent, but also very brutal and pretty technical death metal band that is releasing their fourth full length. However, I can say that I was right surprised to get this record since I had no idea it was coming out and it has been 8 years since their Season of Mist debut Divination. But whether or not I had warning, Defiled has put out another ball breaking slab of death metal crushingness.