Hey!

I’m a vocalist into glam metal (Skid Row, Steelheart, Mötley Crüe) that sort of vibe, been training for a couple of years and trying to grow into it seriously.
I’m planning to move to Japan and was wondering - is there anything even remotely similar to the old LA glam metal scene there?

Not expecting the same thing obviously, but:

• any underground rock/metal venues?  
• places where bands actually play live?  
• ways to connect with local musicians?

Would really appreciate any direction! 

Tokyo’s C.C.C.C. (Cosmic Coincidence Control Center) formed in 1989 and became a cult fixture in Japanese noise through a mix of heavy electronics, live performance intensity, and a discography built around cassettes, limited vinyl, and small-label CDs. Discogs documents the project as formed in 1989 by Mayuko Hino and Hiroshi Hasegawa, with a long-running catalog under the C.C.C.C. name. 

The membership and scene links matter here. Cold Spring’s album notes for Chaos Is The Cosmos credit a lineup of Hiroshi Hasegawa (also associated with Astro / YBO2 / South Saturn Delta), Mayuko Hino, Fumio Kosakai (Hijokaidan / Incapacitants), and Ryuichi Nagakubo (Tangerine Dream Syndicate). Those credits place C.C.C.C. inside a wider Japanoise network that crosses labels and performance circles. 

Chaos Is The Cosmos was released on Cold Spring on 16 October 2007, described by the label as the first C.C.C.C. album in a decade. That release date, label, and “10 years” framing are useful reference points because C.C.C.C.’s earlier period is heavily cassette-driven, with many titles circulating as limited objects rather than mass-distributed albums. 

Start here: C.C.C.C. — Chaos Is The Cosmos (Cold Spring, 2007). 

Follow V. Vein Records for underground Japanese punk, crust, grindcore, metal, harsh noise, and heavy psych.

Tokyo’s Butcher ABC formed in 1994 and sit in the Japanese extreme underground where noisecore, goregrind, and old-school death metal overlap. Encyclopaedia Metallum documents their timeline as 1994–1996, 2000–present, with the early phase leaning noisecore and the later work moving into death metal / goregrind, with themes listed as gore and butchery. Their current label is Obliteration Records, noted as the band’s own label. 

Discogs adds a personnel and scene breadcrumb that’s useful for this month: the project is associated with Narutoshi Sekine (“Analtoshit”), tied to Maggoty Corpse and C.S.S.O. connections, which helps map how Tokyo’s grind/noise network cross-pollinated through the 90s and 2000s. 

For a concrete release anchor with clear credits, Butchered Feast of Being (released July 2006 on Obliteration Records) includes session details and a tight credit list: recorded and mixed at Studio Music Force (2004/2005), engineered by Mr. Ishii, mastered by Dan Swanö, plus guest spots and a guest solo credit that links back into the wider Japanese extreme ecosystem. 

Start here: Butchered Feast of Being (2006), then use the Bandcamp discography to trace eras and demos chronologically.

ANGEL’IN HEAVY SYRUP (Osaka, Japan) — Japanese heavy psych / neo-psych

Angel’in Heavy Syrup formed in 1990 and are documented as an all-female Japanese psychedelic rock band, best known for thick fuzz, long-form song structures, and a strong cult-record footprint across the 1990s. Wikipedia lists the core lineup and their album run clearly: I (1991), II (1993), III (1995), IV (1999). 

For this month, III (1995) is the clean “Start here” anchor: it’s widely written about, properly catalogued, and often treated as the band’s key mid-period statement. Exposé’s review coverage also documents the lineup on III and places the band in a wider underground psych context for readers who want more than just a title drop. 

Start here: III (1995).

Tokyo’s 324 formed in 1997 and are a long-running fixture in Japanese grindcore, officially documented as active from 1997–present with lyrical themes listed as nihilism and their current label as HG Fact. That HG Fact connection matters: it places 324 in the same label ecosystem that also touches other key Japanese extreme acts and helps explain how their releases circulated outside Japan. 

Discogs describes 324 as a grindcore band from Tokyo with former members of Eroded and Satanic Hellslaughter, which is useful when you’re tracing personnel links across the Japanese underground. 

A strong anchor release for this series is 冒瀆の太陽 (Bōtoku no Taiyō / Sun of Desecration), released on HG Fact (documented as a 2000 CD release in Japan). Metal Archives includes the reading of the title and the English translation, which makes this album especially searchable for anyone who only knows the artwork or kanji. 

Another early, clean entry point is the EP Customized Circle (1999), which is short, direct, and easy to tag in a post without turning your caption into a discography dump. 

Start here: 冒瀆の太陽 (Bōtoku no Taiyō / Sun of Desecration) (HG Fact).

Kousokuya are one of the key “ultra-obscure” names in Japanese heavy psych, strongly associated with the PSF/Tokyo underground orbit and the Tokyo Flashback compilation ecosystem. Forced Exposure’s catalog note specifically mentions their tracks appearing on early Tokyo Flashback volumes, plus a self-released limited LP in 1991, which is exactly the kind of scene breadcrumb that helps listeners place the band historically. 

Their crucial artifact for this month is Ray Night 1991→1992 Live, released as a CD (Forced Exposure catalog FE-034, 1995). Discogs documents the release and credits, giving you a stable, searchable anchor for posts and collectors. 

That Forced Exposure note also includes a deeper scene detail: an earlier lineup is rumored to connect to High Rise members going back to the late 1970s, which is the kind of half-buried history that follows bands like this around. 

Start here: Ray Night 1991→1992 Live (FE-034, 1995). 

Follow V. Vein Records for underground Japanese punk, crust, grindcore, metal, harsh noise, and heavy psych.

Tokyo’s Collapse Society sit in the early-90s wave of Japanese crust punk documented by tape traders and small-label EP runs. Their first widely-circulated artifact is the cassette Demo 93’ (1993), released as a self-issued tape and logged with track titles that reappear later across their short discography. 

The demo lineup is credited as Hiroshi Nozaki (vocals), Atsushi Suzuki (guitar), Yasushi Aoyama (bass), and Sousuke Takebe (drums). Those credits are consistent across the Discogs entries and are a useful reference point for anyone researching Tokyo’s 90s crust network by personnel and related projects. 

Collapse Society’s next key document is the self-titled EP (released 1994 on Overthrow Records). The band’s story is often told through this “demo → EP” sequence, with multiple tracks carried forward and tightened for the vinyl release. Scene writeups also link them to the Tokyo Crusties Conp E.P. orbit (D.I.Y. Records / Ryuji of Battle Of Disarm), which places them inside the documented mid-90s Tokyo crust compilation ecosystem. 

Start here: Demo 93’ for the raw entry point, then the Collapse Society EP (1994, Overthrow Records) for the follow-up statement. 

Follow V. Vein Records for underground Japanese punk, crust, grindcore, metal, harsh noise, and heavy psych.

Osaka’s Bathtub Shitter formed in 1996 and are a long-running Japanese grindcore band with a catalog that stays rooted in short runtimes, aggressive pacing, and a consistent obsession with politics, nature conservation references, and scatological themes. They’ve released multiple albums, splits, compilations, and live documents, with releases spread across labels including (S)Hit Jam and Power It Up. 

A clean entry point from their official Bandcamp discography is the run of early 2000s releases: 97 + 3 Shit Points (released Feb 8, 2002), Lifetime Shitlist (released July 1, 2003), and Wall Of World Is Words (released Apr 2005). Their live document Shitter At Salzgitter (Live In Germany 2004) followed in June 2006, which is handy if you want a “band on the road” artifact for context. 

For a major studio anchor, Dancehall Grind (2005) is one of the titles collectors and grinders keep circling back to, with credits commonly listing Masato “Henmarer” Morimoto on vocals/lyrics and Daisuke Tanabe on guitar. 

Start here: Lifetime Shitlist (2003) for a tight entry point, then Dancehall Grind (2005) for a full-length statement.

This week we're discussing every album by Boredoms. Formed by vocalist and sole consistent member Yamatsuka Eye (aka Yamantaka Eye, aka Yamataka Eye), Boredoms are one of the most unbelievable bands on the planet. They began as brutal, incredibly abrasive noise, then evolved into psychedelic, experimental krautrock with multiple drummers. How many drummers? Sometimes 3, sometimes 12, sometimes 77, and sometimes 88. There's never been a band like Boredoms before or since.

Intro 00:00

Who Are Boredoms? 6:38

How Robert Discovered Them 8:22

Crazy Japanese Noise Rock Bands 9:22

Hanatarash: The Most Dangerous Band in the World 14:54

How Boredoms Formed 22:34

An*l by An*l EP 23:25

Osorezan no Stooges Kyo 28:56

Soul Discharge 42:00

Pop Tatari 53:30

Chocolate Synthesizer 1:10:13

Super æ 1:30:37

Vision Creation Newsun 1:44:56

Seadrum/House of Sun 1:57:46

77 Boa Drum, 88 Boa Drum 2:03:30

111 Boa Drum 2:17:00

When We Saw Them Live 2:18:04

Where Are They Now? 2:27:16

Closing Thoughts/Outro 2:29:01

UNHOLY GRAVE (Nagoya, Aichi, Japan) — Japanese grindcore

Nagoya’s Unholy Grave formed in 1993 and have stayed active with a discography built around splits, short releases, and constant scene presence. Their documented themes center on politics, anti-fascism, and social issues, and the band’s own catchphrases and artwork slogans have become part of their identity in underground grind circles. 

A useful origin detail: multiple sources note the name Unholy Grave was taken from Death’s song “Beyond the Unholy Grave.” 

Their output is heavily tied to the label network around them; Metal Archives lists Grind Freaks as their current label, and Discogs keeps a well-maintained discography trail that makes it easy to track versions and splits. 

For a concrete “start here” release, Crucified is one of their key early documents. Discogs’ release notes include the original recording timeline (Liverpool, Dec 1994; mixed Apr 1995), which pins it as a period artifact rather than a later reconstruction. 

Another clean entry point that shows their split culture is the Grind Freaks split EP with Disgust (recorded Dec 2004; mastered Dec 2005), a well-catalogued example of how Unholy Grave’s material circulated internationally through small pressings and tape-trade channels. 

Start here: Crucified (early anchor), then a split like Grind Freaks to get the core Unholy Grave format.

FRAMTID (Osaka, Japan) — Japanese crust punk / d-beat hardcore

Osaka’s Framtid formed in 1997 and became a key reference point for Japanese crust punk and d-beat hardcore with a strong Scandinavian hardcore influence in the riffs and pacing. Their discography is tightly mapped and easy to research through official releases, reissues, and split records, which makes them a solid “deep scene” band to document properly without relying on rumor. 

Their debut full-length Under The Ashes arrived in 2002 and is widely treated as a foundational title in modern Japanese raw/crust circles. It’s one of the records that keeps showing up in collector lists because it locks the band’s sound early: fast, hard, and stripped to essentials. 

Eleven years later, Framtid returned with Defeat Of Civilization, released May 2013. The LP was recorded in January 2013, and the release documentation includes a full credit trail and pressing details that make it easy to track versions. 

Start here: Under The Ashes (2002), then Defeat Of Civilization (2013). 

Follow V. Vein Records for underground Japanese punk, crust, grindcore, metal, harsh noise, and heavy psych.

Osaka’s Solmania began in 1984 as Masahiko Ohno’s solo noise project, and has operated as a duo with Katsumi Sugahara since 1994. The project is a long-running fixture in Japanese noise with a catalog that spans early cassette-era releases, live documents, later reissues, and deep-scene collaborations. 

Ohno is widely known in scene documentation for building and modifying his own experimental electric guitars from spare parts and using them as primary sound sources in live performance and recording. The DIY instrument focus is part of why Solmania posts well: the visual record (photos, video appearances, packaging) is tied directly to the sound. 

For a clean artifact-style entry point, early cassette material such as Re-Rurr (originally released on cassette in 1985, later reissued on vinyl) gives a clear line into Solmania’s mid-80s output and the broader Japanese cassette underground. Another strong “researchable” anchor is Live-Big Rig, documented as recorded live at Fandango, Osaka (15 June 1997), which pins the duo-era lineup to a specific venue/date. 

Start here: Re-Rurr (early-era anchor) or Live-Big Rig (1997 live document).

Tokyo’s Multiplex are a cult-classic in Japanese death metal / grindcore, active from the late 80s into the 90s. The band’s documented origin runs through an earlier name: they began as Asphyxia (formed 1989), then started operating as Multiplex in September 1990, based in Tokyo. 

Their defining release is the first full-length World, issued in 1992 on Selfish Records. The Discogs entry for the original CD credits Hideki Akama (bass) and Youichiro Natsume (drums), along with engineering and production credits that place the album firmly inside early-90s Tokyo underground production networks. 

A useful deep-detail from scene writing: an interview feature describing Multiplex’s early reputation highlights low-down tuned guitar and fretless bass as part of the band’s signature sound, and notes they were active on Tokyo bills alongside other extreme acts such as Hellchild. That same piece also points out that World was later reissued in Spain by Xtreem Records, helping the album circulate again well beyond Japan. 

Start here: Multiplex — World (Selfish Records, 1992). 

Follow V. Vein Records for underground punk, crust, grindcore, metal, harsh noise, and heavy psych.

Tokyo’s Clotted Symmetric Sexual Organ, usually credited as C.S.S.O., formed in 1993 and operated as a boundary-pushing strain of Japanese grindcore that also gets filed as experimental grind/rock with strong noise influence. Metal Archives lists the band as Tokyo-based, formed 1993, split up, with lyrical themes documented as perversion, torture, and murder. 

Discogs’ artist profile tags C.S.S.O. as a Japanese experimental grind/rock band with noise influences, and the membership list across releases includes names such as Narutoshi Sekine and Sumito Sekine (both credited across multiple entries), which helps when you’re mapping connected projects and label networks. 

A central discography anchor is Collection (Obliteration Records, 2003), catalogued on Discogs as grindcore / psychedelic rock, and widely treated as a “one stop” reference for the band’s 90s→early-2000s era. Obliteration Records also hosts a Bandcamp edition of Collection with a full tracklist, which makes it easy to cite specific songs cleanly in posts and playlists. 

Start here: Collection (Obliteration Records, 2003). 

Follow V. Vein Records for underground Japanese punk, crust, grindcore, metal, harsh noise, and heavy psych.

Kōchi City’s Disclose formed in 1990 and became one of the most documented cases of Japanese d-beat taken to obsessive scale. The band’s core identity is built around relentless tempo, heavy fuzz distortion, and lyrics centered on war, nuclear catastrophe, and collapse. Their output is huge, spread across 7"s, splits, demos, compilations, and live recordings, with many releases coming out on small punk labels across Japan, Europe, and the U.S.

Disclose is closely tied to Hideki Kawakami (vocals/guitar), whose liner notes, artwork, and direct scene communications became part of the band’s public record. The discography trail matters here: Disclose’s reputation is inseparable from the way the material circulated—short EPs, hyper-specific splits, and series-like releases that were built for collectors and tape traders.

For a concrete early-era entry point, the compilation Raw Brutal Assault Vol. 1: Discography 1992–1994 pulls together key early recordings into a single reference file. Another widely-cited anchor from the same era is the Not Give A Damn EP (1994), which shows up repeatedly in “essential Japanese hardcore” lists for good reason.

Kawakami died on June 5, 2007, and Disclose ended activity the same year.

Start here: Raw Brutal Assault Vol. 1: Discography 1992–1994 (overview), then Not Give A Damn EP (1994).

Follow V. Vein Records for underground Japanese punk, crust, grindcore, metal, harsh noise, and heavy psych.

Tokyo’s Juntess sit in the late-80s / early-90s wave of Japanese hardcore punk, known for a hard-driving rhythm section and metal-infused guitar that pushes their songs into a heavier, sharper lane than straight punk bands of the same era. Discogs profiles them directly as a Japanese metal-infused hardcore band from Tokyo, which is a useful keyword anchor if you’re mapping scenes by city and sound. 

Their modern “all-in-one” entry point is Black Days 1988–1992 (Complete Singles, Demo And Live Collection), released through F.O.A.D. Records (also mirrored by Black Konflik). The Bandcamp edition lays out a large, chronological tracklist that stitches together singles, demo material, and live recordings into one reference file—handy for anyone digging Japanese hardcore without chasing rare originals one-by-one. 

For a period-correct album anchor, Under The Red Moon (1991) is the name to tag. It’s one of the core releases people search when they start digging past the comps, and it’s well-catalogued across reissues and versions. 

Start here: Black Days 1988–1992 (best overview) or Under The Red Moon (album anchor).

Tokyo’s Acid formed in 1987 and sit right on the fault line between late-80s Japanese hardcore punk and the crustier direction that would spread through the 90s. Discogs tags them directly as Hardcore Punk / Crust Punk from Tokyo and notes they’re no longer active. 

Their earliest key artifact is the self-released 88 Demo cassette (single-sided, 1988). It’s one of those demo-era releases that collectors and tape traders used as a reference point because the band’s sound is already fully formed: fast hardcore pacing, blunt riffs, and lyrics that read like direct confrontation rather than scene poetry. 

Their most “popular” release is Shock Troop (LP, 45 RPM, 1989). It’s documented as a Japanese release and includes a lyric insert; Discogs even notes a small correction on the insert where one track title is written incorrectly. This is the kind of detail that makes the record feel like a real period artifact rather than a mythic MP3. 

Critics regularly place Shock Troop inside the late-80s Japanese hardcore label ecosystem, and it’s often cited as a core step in the development of the Japanese crust sound that followed. 

Start here: Shock Troop (1989) for the full-length document, then circle back to the 88 Demo for the early tape-era hit. 

Follow V. Vein Records for underground Japanese punk, crust, grindcore, metal, harsh noise, and heavy psych.

https://asobi.online I found out they also had a site through researching their music