Japanese metal is a type of heavy metal music from Japan. The first metal bands in Japan formed in the mid-to-late 1970s. More bands started to form in the next decade, but only a few had their music released outside of Japan, such as in Europe and North America, where metal music was already popular. Japanese metal became most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with top bands selling millions of records. In the 2000s, many metal bands from the visual kei scene toured in the West and gained recognition there. In the 2010s, many all-female metal bands formed and became widely known.
1970s: Early acts
In 1967, a group called "Yuya Uchida & the Flowers" was formed as a cover band playing British and American psychedelic rock. This group later became known as Japan's Flower Travellin' Band and is recognized as one of the early creators of heavy metal music. After changing their name, losing most of their members, and moving to Canada, they released their first album of original songs in 1971. This album, called Satori, came out about a year after Black Sabbath's first album. Satori is described as "proto-metal" and noted for showing early signs of heavy metal music. Their earlier album, Anywhere (1970), included what is believed to be the first recorded version of Black Sabbath's song "Black Sabbath." The work of Flower Travellin' Band's singer Joe Yamanaka and guitarist Hideki Ishima on Kuni Kawachi's first solo album Kirikyogen (1970) is credited with helping shape the powerful and dark sound that later became the foundation of doom metal. Another 1971 Japanese album described as proto-metal is Demon & Eleven Children by Blues Creation.
Japanese heavy metal bands began to appear in the late 1970s, led by groups such as Bow Wow (1975), 44 Magnum (1977), and Earthshaker (1978).
In 1977, Bow Wow performed with Aerosmith and Kiss during their tours in Japan. They later played at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Reading Festival in England in 1982. After some members left and the band's sound became more commercial, they changed their name to Vow Wow and moved to England. Their 1989 album Helter Skelter reached number 75 on the UK Albums Chart.
Lazy was formed in 1977 by school friends. A disagreement arose between the band's managers, who wanted to create a pop rock idol group, and the musicians, who eventually took control and shifted the band's style to hard rock and heavy metal. This change was most clearly seen in their final album, Earth Ark, released in 1980.
1980s
In the 1980s, many Japanese heavy metal bands formed. Loudness was created in 1981 by Akira Takasaki and Munetaka Higuchi, who were previously members of a band called Lazy. In 1983, Loudness toured the United States and Europe and began focusing on building a career outside Japan. In 1985, they signed a deal with Atco Records, becoming the first Japanese metal band to join a major U.S. record label. Their albums Thunder in the East (1985), Lightning Strikes (1986), and Hurricane Eyes (1987) reached positions 74, 64, and 190 on the Billboard chart. In 1988, Loudness replaced their singer, Minoru Niihara, with an American vocalist named Michael Vescera, in an effort to grow their international audience.
Seikima-II and X Japan both formed in 1982. Seikima-II used makeup inspired by traditional Japanese theater called kabuki. X Japan helped start a music style known as visual kei. In 1985, Seikima-II released their debut album, Seikima-II – Akuma ga Kitarite Heavy Metal, which reached number 48 on the Oricon Albums Chart and sold 100,000 copies, making them the first Japanese metal band to achieve this milestone. Their next album, The End of the Century (1986), reached number 5 and sold 200,000 copies. In 1989, their compilation album Worst reached number one on the Oricon chart. X Japan’s second album, Blue Blood (1989), reached number 6 and sold 712,000 copies. Their most successful album, Jealousy (1991), topped the charts and sold over 1 million copies. They released two more number one albums, Art of Life (1993) and Dahlia (1996), before ending their group in 1997. X Japan signed a deal with Atlantic Records in 1992, but no international release of their music happened.
In the 1980s, few heavy metal bands included female members. Show-Ya, an all-female band, and Terra Rosa, which included singer Kazue Akao, both formed in 1982. Mari Hamada, a solo heavy metal artist, gained popularity with music produced by Munetaka Higuchi of Loudness. In September 1987, Show-Ya organized, produced, and hosted the first Naon no Yaon rock festival, which featured only female Japanese musicians and bands.
Ezo released two studio albums, EZO (1987) and Fire Fire (1989), in the United States through Geffen Records. The first album was produced by Gene Simmons. Dead End’s albums Ghost of Romance (1987) and Shambara (1988) were released in the U.S. by Metal Blade Records.
The 1980s also marked the start of Japan’s first extreme metal bands. Thrash metal bands formed in the early 1980s. United began as a heavy metal band in 1981 and later added elements of thrash and death metal. United performed internationally in 1995 at the Foundations Forum metal festival in Los Angeles and released several albums in North America. Other thrash metal bands included Outrage (1982) and Aion (1983). Doom, formed in 1985, played a concert in the United States in 1988 at CBGB.
Sabbat (1983) and Bellzlleb (1985), which originally included female singer Atsuko Koizumi, formed around the same time as the first wave of black metal. Another notable group is Sigh, whose debut album Scorn Defeat (1993) was released by Deathlike Silence Records, a label started by Euronymous of the Norwegian band Mayhem.
1990s and 2000s
Ryutaro Hokari from OK Music gave credit to Siam Shade, a band active during the 1990s, for helping hard rock and heavy metal music become popular in Japan. Siam Shade had a natural ability to create melodies that influenced these genres.
During the 1990s, notable doom metal bands such as Boris and Church of Misery were formed. Both bands later gained attention outside Japan. Other bands influenced by nu metal also formed during this time, including Rize (1997), Maximum the Hormone (1998), and Head Phones President (1999). In the late 1990s and early to mid-2000s, many veteran bands reunited with their original members, such as Lazy (1998), Bow Wow (1998), Earthshaker (1999), Loudness (2001), 44Magnum (2002), Show-Ya (2005), and X Japan (2007).
In the 2000s, many visual kei metal bands became successful and performed outside Japan. These bands include D'espairsRay, Mucc, Dir En Grey, Moi dix Mois, and Nightmare. D'espairsRay and Mucc entered the European market in 2005 and the United States in 2006.
Dir En Grey also entered the European market in 2005 with concerts in Berlin and Paris and the release of their album Withering to Death. The band and album later performed in the United States in 2006, joining Korn’s Family Values Tour 2006. All of Dir En Grey’s albums after this time appeared on Billboard charts, with their album Uroboros reaching the top of the Top Heatseekers chart in 2008.
In 2007, X Japan’s drummer Yoshiki organized the J-Rock Revolution event with Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman. This event included performances by metal bands D’espairsRay and Girugamesh in Los Angeles. That same year, Yoshiki and Mirai Kawashima from Sigh participated in the Canadian documentary Global Metal, discussing Japan’s metal scene. In 2008, the Taste of Chaos tour brought Mucc, D’espairsRay, and the Underneath to over forty cities in the United States and Canada.
Coldrain is a metalcore and post-hardcore band that sometimes uses heavy metal influences. They write all their music in English.
Symphonic power metal band Versailles gained international popularity after forming. Their debut EP, Lyrical Sympathy (2007), was released in Europe at the same time as in Japan. The band performed in Europe and the United States the following year. Their first full-length album, Noble (2008), was released in North America in 2009. In 2011, Versailles appeared in their own television show.
Loudness has performed internationally since 2010. Galneryus, a power metal band active since 2003, toured Europe for the first time in July 2014.
2010s and 2020s
During the 2000s, a "Girls Metal Band Boom" occurred, with many all-female heavy metal bands forming and gaining attention. Destrose was the first to form in 2007 but did not achieve commercial success. Aldious started the movement when their 2010 album Deep Exceed reached number 1 on the Oricon Indies Albums Chart and number 15 on the main chart. Cyntia became the first band in the movement to sign with a major record label, Victor Entertainment, in 2013.
In 2014, Babymetal, a self-described "kawaii metal" idol group, gained international fame after their song "Gimme Chocolate!!" became popular on YouTube. They performed as the opening act for five of Lady Gaga’s concerts on her 2014 tour. In 2016, Babymetal began a world tour at London’s Wembley Arena, becoming the first Japanese group to headline the venue. Their album Metal Resistance reached number 15 on the UK Albums Chart, the highest ever entry by a Japanese act. They also performed "Gimme Chocolate!!" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the United States.
Band-Maid gained worldwide attention around 2015 for their "submissive" maid appearance, which contrasted with their aggressive music. They started international activities in 2016, including signing with JPU Records. In 2018, Lovebites won the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award for Best New Band and became the first Japanese all-female heavy metal band to perform at Germany’s Wacken Open Air. In 2019, the O2 Academy Islington in London hosted Metal Matsuri, the first all-Japanese heavy metal festival outside Japan. The event, headlined by Mary’s Blood and Unlucky Morpheus, included ten acts such as Bridear, Fate Gear, and Blood Stain Child.
In June 2020, the "kawaii metal" idol group Passcode’s single "Starry Sky" topped the Oricon Singles Chart. In 2022, SiM’s song "The Rumbling" reached number 1 on the US Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, and the album Oceans by British-based Japanese solo artist Esprit D’Air reached number 13 on the UK Albums Chart. That same year, Sable Hills became the first Japanese band to win Wacken Open Air’s Metal Battle competition. In 2023, Phantom Excaliver won the competition.
In 2024, the self-described "harajuku-core" band Hanabie. became the first Japanese band since X Japan, as well as the first all-female Japanese band, to perform on the main stage at Lollapalooza.