The 13 essential Japanese rock and metal albums you need to know
From X Japan to Dir en Grey to BABYMETAL and beyond, these are the Japanese rock and metal albums that everyone needs in their record collection…
Words: Jamie Cansdale
A history oozing with blood, phantasmic goth darkness, irresistible flamboyance, anime wizardry and French baroque lavishness, Japanese rock has been dominated by an aesthetic as quintessential to its existence as corpsepaint is to black metal. Unlike stereotypical heavy metal sensibilities, the subculture of visual kei flirts with colour, gender, and genre in a way entirely unique to Japan, with its cohorts opting to change their look and style not just across albums, but often within the same record.