Gareth heads to Japan for the new album by Satsuriki Robot, here’s what he thinks….

We all know the passion that Japan has for all types of metal, and the Japanese fans seem to have an insatiable thirst for all things heavy. However, the output from such a ferociously fanatic nation is disproportionately small, the phenomenon that is Babymetal(!) being the obvious exception to the rule, and they are definitely a niche outfit.

Well, here to even the import/export balance is SATSURIKU ROBOT, a brutal Thrash Metal band formed in Tokyo, Japan, in December 2020 by guitarist Hide (Hideaki Kaiho), and drummer Yuuki (Fujimoto), and later joined by ‘Ken the Metal’ (Kenichi Hayashi) on vocals and bassist Kazuya (Okano). The band didn’t make its live debut until 2022 but did so to rave reviews and soon established a reputation for its thrilling performances and an almost unrivalled passion for Thrash Metal. The band released their own self-financed 4 track EP ‘First Contact’ last year and impressed enough that they earned the right to sign to the Wormholedeath Label, and with the imminent release of their debut album ‘No Thrash Metal, No Life’, SATSURIKU ROBOT is primed to conquer the metal world.

Opening with the ferocious ‘Thrash Never Die’ with riffs and leads firing in all directions, and the rhythm section tighter than Neil Bolton’s wallet, the band quickly showcases that they are very talented musicians and Ken establishes himself as one of the more unique thrash vocalists on the scene, take second track ‘Robot in the Pandemic’ where he utilises some unique cleans before sounding like a pig going to the slaughter in ‘Mad Thrasher’, the band matching his viciousness pound for pound. On the eponymous ‘Satsuriku Robot’ track (full title ‘殺戮ロボット – Satsuriku Robot – Version 2’) he does a pretty good job of pulling off some Bruce like wails, so the man has an impresive range to his vocals. Not to be outdone, Hide pulls out some truly excellent riffs from his repertoire, and has a solo for every occasion, be it plenty of melody as in ‘Carry On’ or something a bit more frantic as on the title track.

Tribal drums, and building guitars introduce ‘Episode Zero’ before an incessant pounding groove, pulverises your bones to mush. The title track (or full title ‘No Thrash Metal, No Life! (Version 2)’) might just be my preferred song here, 

I’m not sure if the band produced and engineered the album themselves, or if they had a producer, but whoever was behind the controls, has done a pretty impressive job, the guitars are thick and suitably cutting, the drums and bass solid and, yet with space for the bass subtleties, while Ken is impressively placed in the mix.

The 7 tracks on offer all have a different flavour to each other, and although the band aren’t reinventing the wheel, the fact they take all their favourite parts from the thrash buffet, they use those to create their own unique brand. I really enjoyed this debut album, the sheer fun and enthusiasm is utterly infectious, and while ‘No Thrash Metal, No Life’ might not be making many top ten lists come the end of the year, this is well worth 23 minutes of any thrashers time, and I wouldn’t mind betting you won’t be listening to it just once. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Out today – September 8th, 2023 on Wormhole Death Records