15 Underrated Japanese Hardcore Punk Records (1988-2008)
Here's my humble attempt to list some Japanese punk records that didn’t seem to get the appropriate recognition then or now.
Japan has been responsible for giving birth to some of the most extreme, innovative and energetic hardcore bands in the world, all the way back to the early 1980s… if not even before. Power, brutality and ever explosive mixture of fury and rage have been the life’s blood of Japanese hardcore punk since forever.
Today, it is hard not to be a sucker for Japanese hardcore once you get hooked on it. Japanese hardcore punk has been covered in hundreds of fanzines in the last fourty years, and now it’s gaining attention of mainstream internet publications and big metal labels like Relapse, reissuing bands like like G.I.S.M. and Zouo on vinyl. There are a lot of big names in the Japanese scene indeed, from the aforementioned G.I.S.M. and Zouo to The Stalin, The Comes, The Clay and The Execute. From the legendary noisecore records of Aburadako and Confuse to Gauze, Crow, Asbestos, Macrofarge, Lip Cream, Systematic Death, Outo, Gai, and Gudon. And from the ‘90s Burning Spirits scene, typified by bands like Death Side, Bastard, Tetsu Arrey, Crude, Warhead, Forward, and my favorite Paintbox to the rise of crust in Japan with Gloom, Battle of Disarm, Abraham Cross, LIFE, Framtid, Contrast Attitude, Reality Crisis, or the legendary d-beat raw punk of Disclose.
In this article, however, I don’t intend to state the obvious but take a look at some Japanese records I’ve listened to in the past that didn’t seem to get the appropriate recognition then or now. I don’t pretend to be an expert on Japanese hardcore but I’m glad to share some of my favorite (underrated, in my humble opinion) records with you. The list is made in a chronological order from 1988 to 2008. Enjoy the noise!