Japanese Metal Bands

Japanese metal bands are among some of the most exciting in the world, from BABYMETAL to X-Japan and everything in-between. Japan is also leading the way with female representation in rock and metal, with bands proud to call themselves girl bands and prove that women can rock just as hard, if not harder, than men.

Here at JPU Records we are home to some of the best names in Japanese heavy metal and rock, making their music easily available outside of Japan on CD, vinyl and digital formats, and nearly always including English lyric translations, romaji transliterations, and where possible, even exclusive bonus tracks. Here are some of our great metal and rock bands from Japan you need to check out:

LOVEBITES are one of the fastest growing Japanese heavy metal exports. Within two years of their debut album AWAKENING FROM ABYSS this all girl band has won a Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards (Best New Band), flying to London to collect the award alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Lacuna Coil and Arch Enemy. They've toured the UK with DragonForce, performed at Download Festival UK, the main stage at Bloodstock Open Air and wowed crowds at Wacken, Graspop Metal Meeting and Download Festival in Spain. Guitarist Miyako was included in Alt Press' Best Women in Metal feature.

Regarded by many as the veterans of visual kei, the GazettE continually evolve their sound to incorporate metal, rock, punk and electronic genres into something that oozes style. This band can switch from brutal aggression (as found in recent tracks UGLY, DOGMA) to beautiful ballads (PLEDGE) on a whim. All of their albums released from JPU Records have reached number one in iTunes and Amazon charts across Europe upon release.

BAND-MAID might just be one of the most powerful all female forces to come out of Japan in recent years. Their albums have topped iTunes and Amazon rock charts around the world and their last two albums CONQUEROR and WORLD DOMINATION entered the Official UK Rock Charts. This band of impossibly hard rocking maids have had a song produced by the legendary Tony Visconti on their track The Dragon Cries. They might look kawaii, but these ladies know how to rock.

Aldious are one of the original breakout Japanese female metal bands, shooting up the official charts in Japan with their debut release and sparking a whole new generation of metal bands. Ten years later and the band has a new vocalist R!N, a singer from the hugely successful anime Attack on Titan. Guitarist Yoshi was also included in Alt Press' Best Women in Metal, which states "BABYMETAL owes its initial success in part to the pioneering talents of Aldious".

PassCode is a hybrid outfit from Japan that mixes heavy rock, electronic music with their country’s unique idol culture. In 2020 they released a cover of Bring Me The Horizon's MANTRA, a perfect opportunity to show off their mixing of genres. JPU Records have released an exclusive international compilation album with all of the hits up to its release and a new recorded of an indie track of theirs. Check out the album; Ex Libris PassCode.

SIN ISOMER is a power heavy metal vocalist from Japan. Her debut album BURST Into ISOMER is a fast-paced journey through melodic metal, featuring lyrics sung entirely in English and packed with guest spots from Japan’s top metal musicians, including Anzi (former guitarist of visual kei / power metal outfit Matenrou Opera), triple necked guitar player YOSHIHIRO (Guild) and production and arrangement handled by tatsuo, the producer and arranger of international hits from BABYMETAL, Golden Bomber and Momoiro Clover Z.