The Stalin were a Japanese punk rock band formed in June 1980, by leader and vocalist Michiro Endo. After numerous member changes, he disbanded the group in February 1985. In May 1987 Michiro formed a group called Video Stalin, which mostly made videos instead of albums; they disbanded in 1988. In 1989 Michiro created a new band named Stalin and continued to make music with them until 1993.
Def Tech is a Japanese pop band signed to 2VOX Ltd, an independent label.
Mari Hamada is a Japanese rock singer and songwriter. Having performed in bands since high school, Hamada made her professional debut as a solo act in 1983. She quickly became known as the "Queen of Heavy Metal". In 2019, Hamada become the first Japanese musician to top the vocalist category of heavy metal magazine Burrn!'s readers poll in its 36 year history. Throughout her career, she has released 25 singles and 23 studio albums.
Kiyonobu Inoue, better known exclusively by his stage name Inoran, is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Luna Sea since 1986. He started his solo career in 1997. Luna Sea disbanded in 2000, and he formed Fake? with Oblivion Dust vocalist Ken Lloyd a year later. In 2005 he left Fake? and founded Tourbillon with Luna Sea vocalist Ryuichi Kawamura and Hiroaki Hayama. He rejoined Luna Sea when they reunited in 2010, and in 2012 formed Muddy Apes with bassist Taka Hirose and guitarist Dean Tidey, both from Feeder, and 8otto's vocalist Maeson. In 2011, Inoran became the first Japanese musician to have a signature model guitar with Fender.
Uverworld is a Japanese rock band consisting of six members and originating from Kusatsu, Shiga. They have released eleven studio albums and over thirty singles and have sold over three million records worldwide.
Ken is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter, best known as guitarist of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel. After he joined them in 1992, they went on to sell over 40 million records, making them one of the best-selling music artists in Japan. He has written a breadth of L'Arc-en-Ciel's material, including "Vivid Colors", "The Fourth Avenue Cafe", "Niji", "Kasou", "My Heart Draws a Dream", "Daybreak's Bell" and "Chase". Ken was also the vocalist and guitarist of the rock trio Sons of All Pussys, and has released a solo album entitled In Physical.
Michiya Haruhata is a Japanese musical composer, guitarist and music producer under Sony Music Entertainment Japan. He is a member of the pop-rock band Tube.
Koki Tanaka is a Japanese singer–songwriter and actor. He was a member of Jpop idol boy band KAT-TUN from their debut until September 30, 2013, when his contract with Johnny & Associates was terminated. When he was a member of KAT-TUN, he was recognized as the rapper in the group and has a hip-hop-influenced style. Out of the other members, Tanaka was most often paired up with Yuichi Nakamaru and they even formed a comedy duo 'TaNaka'. After leaving Johnny & Associates, Tanaka formed his own indie rock band called INKT.
D'erlanger is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto Prefecture, formed in 1983 by guitarist Cipher and bassist Seela. While they originally played speed and power metal, after recruiting drummer Tetsu and vocalist Kyo they switched to a punk rock sound for their debut album La Vie En Rose in 1989. Although it was on an indie label, it sold out and was reissued three times that year, earning them a major label record deal with BMG Japan the following year. They released Basilisk in March 1990 and it reached the top five on the charts. However, in December the group suddenly announced their disbandment.
Radwimps is a Japanese rock band who debuted independently in 2003 and signed with Toshiba EMI in 2005. The band's name, Radwimps, was formed from two English slang terms, "rad" and "wimp". According to the band, the coined word had several meanings, including "excellent weakling" and "superlative coward".
Outrage is a Japanese thrash metal band, formed in Nagoya in 1982. They made their debut in 1987 with a lineup of Yosuke Abe on guitar, Yoshihiro Yasui on bass, Shinya Tange on drums and Naoki Hashimoto on vocals. Hashimoto left the band in 1999, but the group continued as a three piece and he returned in 2007. With a career spanning over four decades, Outrage are one of few Japanese metal bands to have never disbanded or paused activities.
Tourbillon are a Japanese rock trio formed in 2005 by Luna Sea members Ryuichi Kawamura (vocals) and Inoran (guitar), and D-Loop member Hiroaki "H. Hayama" Hayama (keyboards). They reached number three on the Oricon Singles Chart with "Break the Chain", the opening theme of the TV series Kamen Rider Kiva. The group ended activities in 2008 shortly after its release. Tourbillon reunited in 2015, and again in 2023.
Man with a Mission is a Japanese rock band which was formed in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, in 2010. The band currently consists of five band members, with stage names of Tokyo Tanaka, Jean-Ken Johnny, Kamikaze Boy, DJ Santa Monica and Spear Rib (drums). Their distinguishing feature is that all of the members wear differently designed wolf masks during both their concerts and their music videos. Many of their singles have been used as theme songs for a variety of anime, live-action movies, and video games.
Fight is the fifth studio album released by the Japanese boy band Kanjani Eight. Fight was announced on September 8, 2011, as a new untitled album. On October 17, 2011, its release date and title were announced. There were three versions of this release: a 2 Disc regular edition and two CD+DVD limited editions. The first press release of the regular edition contains 7 trading cards while limited editions A and B contain a 48-page photo book. It was released on November 16, 2011. This album marked one year and three weeks since the release of their previous album, 8 Uppers.
2004 Ai is the third studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on June 16, 2004, by Def Jam Japan and Universal Sigma. 2004 Ai was Ai's first top 10 album, as well as her first album to be certified by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
My First Story (マイ・ファースト・ストーリー、マイファス、MFS) is a Japanese rock band from Shibuya, Tokyo. Formed in 2011, the band currently consists of vocalist Hiroki Moriuchi, guitarist Teruki Nishizawa, bassist Nobuaki Katō, and drummer Shōhei Sasaki. Their debut album My First Story (2012) caught people's attention and put them in lineups of major music festivals. Their fourth studio album Antithese (2016) ranked 4th on Oricon chart, and directed their first Nippon Budokan live show, gathering 12,000.
Alexandros, stylized as [Alexandros] is a Japanese rock band, signed to RX-Records and managed by UK Project. On March 28, 2014, the band renamed from [Champagne] to [Alexandros] from on request from Bureau du Champagne, Japan.
Kana-Boon is a Japanese rock band formed in 2008. They made their major debut with Ki/oon Music in 2013. Ever since, they've had four albums reach the top ten on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart, with Doppel being their best-charting album, reaching the third place on the chart. They have also had five singles reach the top ten on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart, with "Full Drive" (フルドライブ) being their best-charting single, reaching the sixth place on the chart. Three of their singles have been used in the Naruto franchise, with "Silhouette" being used as the 16th Naruto: Shippuden opening theme, and "Diver" as the theme song for Boruto: Naruto the Movie and "Baton Road" as the first season opening for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. The B-side for "Diver", "Spiral", was the theme song for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 video game.
Nobuaki Kaneko is a Japanese drummer and actor. He is nicknamed Akkun (あっくん) and N.K. He is a member of the rock band Rize. He is represented with Itoh Company and his label is Illchill. He graduated from Horikoshi High School.
Hisato Takenaka, known professionally as Char, is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is considered one of Japan's greatest guitar players.
