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heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...
from
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.


1970s: Early acts

Originally formed in 1967 as a cover band of British and American
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
titled " Yuya Uchida & the Flowers," Japan's Flower Travellin' Band have been credited as one of the progenitors of heavy metal music. After changing their name, having almost a complete personnel change and moving to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, they produced their first album of original material in 1971. '' Satori'', which was released a little over a year after
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
's debut album, has been called "proto-metal" and noted as having "traces of early heavy metal." Their previous album, '' Anywhere'' (1970), included what is believed to be the first recorded cover of a Black Sabbath song, the self-titled "
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
". Additionally, ''Satori'' and Flower Travellin' Band vocalist Joe Yamanaka and guitarist
Hideki Ishima is a Japanese musician, known primarily for his work with Flower Travellin' Band and for creating the sitarla instrument. A guitarist and sitar player for nearly forty years, he now exclusively plays the sitarla, an instrument he invented in 20 ...
's work on Kuni Kawachi's first solo album ''
Kirikyogen is a 1970 album by Japanese musician Kuni Kawachi and the Flower Travellin' Band. It was originally credited to when initially released. The album showcases Kuni Kawachi's progressive rock influences, as well as the growing heavy metal sound tha ...
'' (1970) have been credited as "honing the formidable and ominous sound that would become the essence of
doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
." Japanese heavy metal bands started emerging in the late 1970s, pioneered by Bow Wow (1975), 44 Magnum (1977) and Earthshaker (1978). In 1977, Bow Wow supported
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...
and
Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
on their Japanese tours. They performed at both the
Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...
in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and the Reading Festival in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 1982. After some member changes resulted in a more commercial sound, they changed their name to Vow Wow and relocated to England. Their 1989 album ''Helter Skelter'' reached number 75 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. Although formed by schoolmates in 1977, Lazy saw a rift between their managers/producers, who wanted to create a
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
idol band, and the musicians themselves who slowly took control and moved the band to the
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
and heavy metal they always desired to play by their final album ''Earth Ark'' in 1980.


1980s

In the 1980s, a plethora of Japanese heavy metal bands formed.
Loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...
was formed in 1981 by former Lazy members
Akira Takasaki is a Japanese musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and sole constant member of the heavy metal band Loudness. He is also the guitarist of the band Lazy, with which he first rose to prominence in the 1970s. Career He started his ...
and Munetaka Higuchi. In 1983, they toured the United States and Europe and soon started focusing more on an international career. In a 1985 deal with Atco Records, Loudness became the first Japanese metal act signed to a major label in the United States. Their albums '' Thunder in the East'' (1985), '' Lightning Strikes'' (1986) and ''
Hurricane Eyes ''Hurricane Eyes'' is the seventh studio album by Japanese Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Loudness (band), Loudness. It was released in 1987 worldwide with standard English lyrics. A "Japanese Version" was subsequently released only in Japan ...
'' (1987) reached numbers 74, 64 and 190 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' chart. Loudness replaced singer Minoru Niihara with American vocalist
Michael Vescera Michael Vescera is an American heavy metal singer for various bands and projects like Loudness (''Soldier of Fortune'', ''On the Prowl'', ''Live at the Budokan''), Obsession (''Marshall Law'', ''Scarred for Life'', ''Methods of Madness'', '' ...
in 1988, in an unsuccessful attempt to further their international popularity. Seikima-II, with their
kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...
-inspired makeup, and X Japan, who pioneered the movement known as visual kei, both formed in 1982. In 1985, Seikima-II's debut album ''Seikima-II - Akuma ga Kitarite Heavy Metal'' was released, reached number 48 on the
Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...
and made them the first Japanese metal band to sell 100,000 copies. Its follow-up, ''The End of the Century'' (1986), reached number 5 and sold twice that amount. Seikima-II's 1989 compilation album ''Worst'' made them the first Japanese metal band to reach number one on the chart. In April 1989, X Japan's second album '' Blue Blood'' reached number 6 and has sold 712,000 copies. Their third and best-selling album '' Jealousy'' was released in July 1991, topped the charts and sold over 1 million copies. They released two more number one studio albums, ''
Art of Life ''Art of Life'' is the fourth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on August 25, 1993, by Atlantic Records. The album consists solely of the 29-minute-long orchestrated title track, which was written and composed by Yos ...
'' (1993) and '' Dahlia'' (1996), before disbanding in 1997. X Japan actually signed an American record deal with
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
in 1992, but an international release never happened. In the eighties few heavy metal bands had female members, like all-female band Show-Ya and Terra Rosa with Kazue Akao on vocals, both formed in 1982. Heavy metal solo artist Mari Hamada, who released material produced by Loudness drummer Munetaka Higuchi, also saw popularity. In September 1987, Show-Ya organized, produced and presented the first Naon no Yaon rock festival, featuring strictly all-female Japanese musicians and bands.
Ezo (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...
's two studio albums, the self-titled ''
EZO (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...
'' (1987) and ''
Fire Fire ''Fire Fire'' is the second studio album released by Japanese metal band Ezo. It was released in 1989 on Geffen Records. Track listing All songs by EZO and Jody Gray except where indicated. #"Love Junkie" – 4:44 #"Night Crawler" ''(EZO, Chris ...
'' (1989) were released in America by Geffen Records, with the first produced by
Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...
.
Dead End Dead End or dead end may refer to: * Dead end (street), a street connected only at one end with other streets, called by many other official names, including ''cul-de-sac''. Film and television * ''The Dead End'' (1914 film), directed by David ...
had their albums ''Ghost of Romance'' (1987) and ''Shambara'' (1988) released in the United States by
Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...
.


Extreme metal

The 1980s also saw Japan's first
extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
bands. The first
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
bands formed in the early 1980s. United, who formed in 1981 as a straightforward heavy metal band before adopting thrash, later incorporated
death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
elements as well. United's first international performance took place in Los Angeles at the metal festival
Foundations Forum Foundations Forum was the first exclusively heavy metal music industry convention, held annually from 1988 to 1997 in Los Angeles. The convention was set up by Concrete Marketing who had in January 1988 created the first industry trade magaz ...
in 1995 and they had a few albums released in North America. Other thrash metal bands include
Outrage Outrage may refer to: * Outrage (emotion), an emotion * Tort of outrage, in law, an alternative term for ''intentional infliction of emotional distress'' Books * ''Outrage'', a novel by Henry Denker 1982 * ''Outrage'', a play by Itamar Moses 2 ...
(1982) and Aion (1983). Formed in 1985,
Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * L ...
played a gig in the United States in 1988 at
CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
. Sabbat (1983) and
Bellzlleb Bellzlleb (stylized as BELLZLLEᗺ) was a Japanese heavy metal band, formed in 1985 by Tetsu and Yuji in Chiba. The band's sound was heavily influenced by elements from black metal, doom metal and hardcore with philosophical influences from Aleis ...
(1985), whose original lineup included female vocalist Atsuko Koizumi, both formed concurrent with the first wave of
black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...
. Another notable act is
Sigh Paralanguage, also known as vocalics, is a component of meta-communication that may modify meaning, give nuanced meaning, or convey emotion, by using techniques such as prosody, pitch, volume, intonation, etc. It is sometimes defined as relatin ...
, whose debut album '' Scorn Defeat'' (1993) was released by
Deathlike Silence Records Deathlike Silence Productions (DSP) was a Norwegian independent record label founded in Oslo in 1987 (initially as Posercorpse Music) that focused on black metal. DSP supported the Early Norwegian black metal scene, black metal revival in the ea ...
, founded by
Euronymous Øystein Aarseth (; 22 March 1968 – 10 August 1993), better known by his stage name Euronymous, was a Norwegian musician and a founder of and central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was a co-founder and guitarist of the N ...
of infamous Norwegian band
Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dra ...
.


1990s and 2000s

Notable doom metal acts including Boris and
Church of Misery is a Japanese doom metal band from Tokyo, formed in 1995. Church of Misery's musical style melds early Black Sabbath-style doom with psychedelic rock; most of the band's songs are about serial killers and mass murderers. Bassist Tatsu Mikami ...
, both of whom have gained exposure outside Japan, formed in the 1990s. Bands with influence from
nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
also began to form such as
Rize Rize (Greek language, Greek: ρίζα, Laz language, Laz: რიზინი, Georgian language, Georgian: რიზე, , Ottoman Turkish: ريزه) is the capital city of Rize Province in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Rize ...
(1997),
Maximum the Hormone is a Japanese heavy metal band from Hachiōji, Tokyo. Their lineup has consisted of vocalist Daisuke-han, drummer Nao, guitarist Maximum the Ryo-kun, and bassist Ue-chan since 1999. Each member alternates singing lead vocals, often within ...
(1998) and Head Phones President (1999). The late 1990s and early to mid-2000s saw many veteran acts reunite with classic line-ups; 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 prospered and pursued activities overseas, such as
D'espairs Ray D'espairsRay (formerly stylized as DéspairsRay or +DéspairsRay+) was a Japanese visual kei rock band active from 1999 to 2011. The lineup of Hizumi on vocals, Karyu on guitar, Zero on bass and Tsukasa on drums remained the same, with the group ...
, Mucc, Dir en Grey, Moi dix Mois and
Nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...
. D'espairs Ray and Mucc both entered the European market in 2005 and the United States in 2006. Likewise, Dir en Grey also entered the European market in 2005 with concerts in
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and
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and a release of ''
Withering to Death. ''Withering to Death'' (stylized ''Withering to death.'') is the fifth studio album by Japanese Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Dir En Grey. Initially published in Japan on March 9, 2005, it was the band's first album to be officially releas ...
''. The band and album visited the US the following year, which saw them join
Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...
's
Family Values Tour 2006 The 2006 Family Values Tour was a summer concert tour headlined by Korn. The tour originally started in 1998. Overview Although originally conceived as an annual tour, the Family Values Tour returned in 2006 after a five-year hiatus. The 2006 to ...
. All of Dir en grey's subsequent albums have placed on several ''Billboard'' charts, the highest being '' Uroboros'' topping the
Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart in 2008. In 2007, X Japan drummer
Yoshiki Yoshiki is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yoshiki can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義樹, "justice, tree" *義基, "justice, foundation" *義機, "justice, opportu ...
organized the J-Rock Revolution event with
Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
founder Kevin Lyman, which saw metal acts D'espairsRay and
Girugamesh is a Japanese rock band, formed in 2003. Their name is sometimes stylized with a metal umlaut as girugämesh and is derived from the ''Final Fantasy'' character. They disbanded on July 10, 2016, although announced a new song, to celebrate labe ...
perform in Los Angeles among others. That same year, Yoshiki and Mirai Kawashima of Sigh participated in the Canadian documentary ''
Global Metal ''Global Metal'' is a 2007 documentary film directed by Scot McFadyen and Canadian anthropologist Sam Dunn. It is a follow-up to their successful 2005 documentary, '' Metal: A Headbanger's Journey''. The film's international premiere took place ...
'', discussing the metal scene in Japan. The 2008
Taste of Chaos Taste of Chaos (or "TOC") was a live music tour that was started in the winter of 2005 by Kevin Lyman, the creator of the successful Warped Tour along with his friend and business partner, John Reese. The Taste Of Chaos tour catered to fans of ...
tour took Mucc, D'espairs Ray and the Underneath to more than forty cities across the United States and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Coldrain is a
metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...
and
post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...
band that has experimented with heavy metal occasionally, who write all of their music in English.
Symphonic power metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...
band
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
gained a significant worldwide following soon after forming as their debut EP ''
Lyrical Sympathy ''Lyrical Sympathy'' is the debut EP by Versailles, released on October 31, 2007. It was released simultaneously in Japan and Europe, which is unusual for a newly formed band. Two of their songs, "The Red Carpet Day" and "Sympathia", were rere ...
'' (2007) received a simultaneous European release and they performed in Europe and the United States the following year. Their first full-length album, ''
Noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...
'' released in 2008, was also released in North America in 2009. 2011 saw Versailles starring in their own television show.
Loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...
has re-entered overseas since 2010, and
Galneryus is a Japanese power metal band, formed in Osaka in 2001 by guitarist Syu and vocalist Yama-B.Artist.cdjour ...
, a power metal band that has been major active since 2003, toured Europe for the first time in July 2014.


2010s and 2020s

The decade saw a , with a large number of all-female heavy metal bands forming and gaining mainstream attention. Although considered pioneers as the first to form in 2007,
Destrose Destrose was a Japanese heavy metal band formed in 2007. The group remained an independent band their entire career and experienced frequent line-up changes until going on indefinite hiatus in 2015. Although considered pioneers of the Girls M ...
never achieved commercial success. Aldious have been cited as the initiators of the movement when their first album ''Deep Exceed'' (2010) topped the
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
Indies Albums Chart and reached number 15 on the main chart. Another notable girls metal band is Cyntia, who are believed to have been the first of the movement to join a major record label when they signed to Victor Entertainment in 2013. The year 2014 brought the international success of self-described " kawaii metal" idol act Babymetal, through the
viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
hit "
Gimme Chocolate!! is a song by the Japanese kawaii metal band Babymetal from their self-titled debut album. Though it was not released as a single in Japan, the song became an international success, with its music video gaining over 170 million views on YouTube. ...
". They were the opening act to five of
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
's concerts on her ArtRave: The Artpop Ball 2014 tour. In 2016, Babymetal began a world tour at London's
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...
, becoming the first Japanese act to headline the venue, and their album '' Metal Resistance'' reached number 15 on the UK Albums Chart, marking the highest ever entry by a Japanese act. They also made their US television debut by performing "Gimme Chocolate!!" on ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...
''.
Band-Maid Band-Maid (stylized as BAND-MAID® until 2016) is a Japanese rock band formed in 2013, consisting of singer Saiki Atsumi, guitarist/singer Miku Kobato, lead guitarist Kanami Tōno, bassist Misa, and drummer Akane Hirose. The band combines a rock ...
earned worldwide attention circa 2015 for their "submissive" maid appearance contrasting with their aggressive music. They began international activities the following year, including signing to
JPU Records JPU Records is a British record label formed in 2012, which specializes in handling international releases by Japanese artists. Notable acts on JPU's roster include The Gazette, Band-Maid, Lovebites, and Nemophila. History The label was establi ...
. In 2018, Lovebites won the
Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award The following is a list of the ''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Awards winners. Introduction The awards were conceived by Chris Ingham, John O'Sullivan & Dave Bianchi, and first held at the Kentish Town Forum in London 2003. The show was owned by Fut ...
for Best New Band and became the first Japanese all-female heavy metal band to perform at Germany's
Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...
. On October 4–5, 2019, the
O2 Academy Islington The O2 Academy Islington, formerly known as the Carling Academy Islington, is an indoor music venue situated in the N1 Shopping Centre accessible via Upper Street and Liverpool Road, in the London Borough of Islington. It is run by the Academy ...
in London hosted Metal Matsuri, the first all-Japanese heavy metal festival outside Japan. Headlined by Mary's Blood and Unlucky Morpheus, the two day event featured ten acts total including Bridear,
Fate Gear Fate Gear (stylized as FATE GEAR) is a Japanese female heavy metal band from Tokyo, formed in 2015 by guitarist Mina. History Five months after leaving Destrose Destrose was a Japanese heavy metal band formed in 2007. The group remained ...
and Blood Stain Child. In June 2020, "kawaii metal" idol act Passcode's single "Starry Sky" topped the
Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...
.


References

{{Heavy metal music
Metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
Heavy metal by location