どんな条件の読者に、とか
何人に、とか
全く情報ないけども
名前が出るっていうのは嬉しい。
しかも、写真が昔のでもなく
アー写でもない
これ使ってくれるの
どうなってこうなったのか分からないけど
おっかなくていい。
いつもは可愛いしんやさんまで
おっかないし(笑)
Gray in concept but rainbow-explosive in practice
７色じゃ納まらないけどな！(鼻息)
(ё)
FAN POLL: TOP 5 JAPANESE HEAVY BANDS OF ALL TIME
FAN POLL: TOP 5 JAPANESE HEAVY BANDS OF ALL TIME
The best brutalists from the Land of the Rising Sun
text GREGORY ADAMS
June 4, 2025
Japan’s heavy-music scene has pretty much been thriving since the dawn of metal itself.
You could trace the roots of all the way back to the turn of the Seventies, vis-à-vis the fuzz-blaring, proto-metal sounds of the Flower Travellin’ Band, and it’s only gotten heavier since. Indeed, the island nation has gifted us anything from crusty leather-jacketed D-beat icons, to noise-fractured experimentalists, to arena-made power-balladeers, to a current wave of internationally seat-filling extreme fusionists.
But who is the greatest heavy band to ever come out of the country? We asked our readers to weigh in on this question, and these were the five biggest vote-getters.
5. X Japan
Japan’s premiere rock force have left an indelible stamp on music culture that stands the test of time.
From early, mega-blistering speed-metal shredders, to progressive potency and tear-stained power ballads, the band built themselves an epic run of LPs. The Visual Kei innovators likewise inspired their local scene with sky-high hairdos and dramatic post-glam fashions.
While their on-again-off-again 40-year history has delivered plenty of high-flying anthems, it’s members have also faced great tragedy and pain. Nevertheless, the music of X Japan endures for their many fans.
4. Crystal Lake
A lot has changed for Tokyo-based metalcore veterans Crystal Lake since they first formed in 2002 — indeed, a steady stream of personnel changes over the ensuing decades means that guitarist Yudai Miyamoto is their only original member at the moment.
Regardless, Crystal Lake have tunneled into a melodically ebon-crested, progressive-punctured heaviness that has included several high points — current Knosis leader Ryo Kinoshita, in particular, harnessed blunt, brute-force appeal while manning the mic over a decade-long run with the group.
3. Maximum the Hormone
Without a doubt, there’s an expect-the-unexpected vibe coursing through Maximum the Hormone’s prolifically oddball catalog. Across nearly 30 years of music-making, the Death Note and Chainsaw Man soundtrackers’ manic, wide-reaching approach has rocket-launched them through thrash, ska, pop, death metal, Grease-leaning theater-kid weirdness and so much more.
That unpredictable drive has made fans of anyone from Megadeth alum Marty Friedmann, to onetime tourmates Bring Me the Horizon, to the Revolver readers who showed up big time this week to inject our fan poll with a ton of votes for Maximum the Hormone.
2. Boris
Since 1992, Tokyo’s Boris have been overloading speakers through a dynamic crush of slowgaze, doom, classic psych, heavy dream-pop, hardcore and more.
While named after their favorite Melvins song, the core trio of Atsuo, Takeshi and Wata developed a legacy of their own through a nonstop experimental spirit that has yielded beyond-the-red classics like 2005’s Pink, led to collaborations with Sunn O))) and noise-smith Merzbow, and left tone-nerds drooling over the band’s seismically signal-surging signature guitar pedals.
1. Dir En Grey
As Dir En Grey’s name suggests, the band’s near-30-year career has thrived in the in-between. They’ve generally never stuck to one particular sound for too long, ram-jamming their 11 full-length releases with prog, death and nu-metal sounds. Vocalist Kyo can soar through tunes with dramatic, melodic flair, but likewise thunder through a run of growls like a beast unleashed.
Gray in concept but rainbow-explosive in practice, that powerful push-and-pull has led Dir En Grey towards racking up a string of Top 10 albums in their homeland, holding down a memorable stint on Korn’s 2006 Family Values tour, and earning generations worth of adoring fans.
