To say it has been a busy time for Esprit D’Air bandleader Kai would be an understatement. A multi-instrumentalist, singer,...

Drawing influence and inspiration from such metal greats as Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman and Stratovarius, MAJUSTICE are a Japanese/multinational band...

There’s been a surge of interest in the 1990’s recently with the alternative side of that decade coming into vogue....

It’s been barely a year since Japan’s BRIDEAR last visited these shores, and that they have such a strong affinity...

Two bands from two different parts of the world pay homage to the krautrock music genre at Birmingham’s Hare &...

If you ever needed proof that the current rock scene was in ruddy health, then you need look no further...

Hailing from Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, Survive have been terrorising listeners for almost 25 years with their full-on thrash assault. Since...

In a bustling metropolis such as London any moment of peace and tranquillity is a welcome relief and there’s no...

To say Esprit D’Air’s sophomore album had a difficult birth would be something of an understatement. Originally beginning life in...

The duo BlackLab scheduled a couple of performances in the United Kingdom, one of which was at Desertfest. only a...

I once read an interview with Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain in Rolling Stone where he explained his first Shonen Knife gig:...

Punk rock (and its various offshoots) is best when used by the marginalised, whether it be Stiff Little Fingers or...

Formed in Tokyo in 2013 Heterogeneous Andead lost little time in releasing an EP (2015’s Undead) which was soon followed...

Originally released digitally as a two-track single Scarlet Holliday was MONO’s Christmas gift to the world in the midst of...

As an old school metalhead raised and weaned on bands like Darkthrone and Venom it took me a while to...

It seems that we are currently living in a golden age of female Japanese metal bands with BAND-MAID, LOVEBITES and...

Japan is perhaps not your first thought when contemplating black metal, but DEATHROLL have arrived to challenge any preconceived ideas....

Having recently released their first official international album Bloody Bride (via UK label SETSUZOKU RECORDS) all-female metal band BRIDEAR seem...

Since forming in Tokyo in 2019 things have moved pretty fast for NEMOPHILA. Three raucous singles caught the attention of...

Often credited as being the ‘Godmother of Anti-Idol’ Seiko Oomori (大森靖子, Oomori Seiko) has been forging a unique musical path...

In the time it takes most bands to record one album LOVEBITES, formed in Tokyo in 2017, have released three...

Fifteen years is a long time in any business, never mind the topsy turvy world of rock music. To celebrate...