While J-pop and J-rock currently dominate Japan’s mainstream charts, a louder, heavier countercurrent has been surging beneath the surface. Metal — along with subgenres like metalcore and nu-metal — has been rattling venues and eardrums in recent years.
Among acts like the angelic Babymetal and the guitar-shredding rockers Band-Maid, girl group Hanabie (stylized as HANABIE.) has carved out a space that feels gleefully chaotic and unmistakably its own. The band combines guttural screams with cutesiness and pastel color palettes — a maximalist mashup the band has dubbed “Harajuku-core,” referring to the fashionable Tokyo neighborhood of the same name.
Hanabie first came together in 2015, with Yukina (vocals), Matsuri (guitar and vocals) and Hettsu (bass and background vocals) forming a Maximum the Hormone cover band while in high school. Drummer Chika joined in May 2023, and the Tokyo-based quartet soon hit a career high by opening for nu-metal pioneers Limp Bizkit at a show in November of the same year. [The members go by first names to ensure their privacy.]
