The Most BRUTAL Band in Japan? (Deviloof Explained)

Are you ready for the heaviest band to come out of Japan? 

In this episode, we dive into the pages of Metal Hammer to discover Deviloof, a band that is redefining brutality. Blending the extreme sounds of Deathcore with the theatrical aesthetics of Visual Kei, they are creating a sound (and a look) that you have to see to believe.

We break down their history, their "World's Most Brutal" reputation, and their surprising connection to Hollywood royalty.

We discuss:

Who is Deviloof? The origins of Japan's heaviest export.

What is Visual Kei? How X Japan influenced the genre.

The Hollywood Connection: Why Tadanobu Asano (Raiden from Mortal Kombat) starred in their music video.

The Sound: Shredding, gutturals, and "larynx-rupturing shrieks."

If you love Slipknot, Dir En Grey, or just want to find the heaviest music possible, you need to check this out.

Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro: Discovering Deviloof in Metal Hammer 0:45 - The Sound: "Machine Gun" Deathcore from Japan 3:30 - Visual Kei Explained (It’s not just glam metal!) 7:40 - The Tadanobu Asano (Mortal Kombat) Connection 8:20 - The "Ishu" Music Video Breakdown 10:00 - Final Verdict: Is it too brutal?

Transcript

Hope you're having a rocking holiday season, everyone. I hope you're having a good time with your family, friends, and loved ones. And also cranking up. Rock and roll. One louder. Thanks for joining the podcast. I was flipping through the latest metal Hammer magazine with the iconic rock legend Lemi on the cover, and I just saw this picture and I just had to discover what this band was about.

I mean, look at this. This is unbelievable. Check this out. Wow. Very marking for sure. Obviously they're a, a heavy band being featured in Metal Hammer Magazine of course, but man, they just look so brutal and uh, sure enough, their name is Devil Loof and of course they're from Japan. Alright,

and true to the picture. They are the most brutal band I've heard this year. Just [00:01:00] brutal in your face, kind of like, uh, machine gun right in your face, distorted guitar vocals, growling, and of course. They come from Japan, who is known for, uh, extreme type music, extreme type experimentation with their music.

And to no surprise, they hail from Japan. They're called Devil Loof, D-E-V-I-L-O-O-F, and they sing in English. But they also throw in some Japanese in there as well just to confuse you for the hell of it. And man, they are brutal. I actually don't mind their mu, so this is not my first choice of music.

I do. Tend to like the really heavy stuff like this death core kind of stuff, once in a while when I'm in a mood. But even then I, I won't be able to listen to more than, half an hour of it. And, uh, this is definitely one of those [00:02:00] bands, but I do really appreciate their music and their genre and the musicianship.

'cause if you listen to this stuff, I mean, you're wondering like, how is this drummer. Able to do this type of beat. It really just sounds like an electronic drum beat. There's no way, you know, you listen to this type of music and it's like, man either they sped up the drum tracks or what, but, um, I'm pretty sure I haven't checked out the YouTubes and stuff like that.

But obviously all these drummers are super talented and, um, you know, topnotch, they know what they're doing and they actually play the way it sounds. For sure And uh, man, let's get into this article. The reason why I wanna read this, 'cause I want to introduce you to this band. They have two albums out. I listen to about maybe 10, 15 songs so far, and a lot of it I dig, you know, the music is, is great.

I love the music. I just am not fully on board with the whole growling when I can't understand what they're [00:03:00] saying. I mean, half the time I'm speaking Japanese, so I guess it doesn't really matter. But in terms of the musician ships, the beats, the guitars, I mean, it's right up there. And I definitely headbang and vibe with it for sure.

I mean, that's one of the reasons why I love listening to this kind of stuff is just for the music not really for the lyrics. You don't understand like most of the lyrics half the time anyways. But, uh, really cool. So let's get into this article. Hopefully this entices you to go check 'em out, and hopefully you can discover yet another Japanese Death Corps band.

All right.

Okay, let's get into this.

All right, you with me on this one? Let's do it.

Okay. Article is called Delo Death Core Brutality and Visual K Flare. This Japanese ban are making a mark. Like I said, they have two albums out, one's released in 2017. The latest one, quote unquote latest is 2021, so only two out there, but fairly new, you know, fairly new band.

Okay, so the article starts [00:04:00] looking for a new form of cruel and unusual punishment. Then look no further than devil loof, whose highly individual take on death Corps emerges harsh, devastating sonics with Japan's distinctive visual. K. Culture or visual Kai culture, which I'm not too familiar with. While eye popping visuals have gone hand in hand with heavy metal since the genre's earliest days, visual kai goes beyond shock value and showmanship in order to help its practitioners.

Better expand upon their specific worldview. Visual Kai started in the 1980s when Japanese bands took inspiration from American and European metal and evolved it into something new. Explains bassist. Dike. At its core visual kai really comes from metal. The early songs, ofan familiar with them, actually watched a documentary, which is pretty cool, who are considered the founders of Visual Kai.

Are basically melodic speed metal. There are many ways [00:05:00] to interpret it, but it's more about the visual aspect than a strict musical genre. Nowadays you'll see bands playing anything from metal to pop while still being considered visual kai so Visual Kai is exactly what attracted me to check out this band.

I mean, this picture is unbelievable. The color. Look at this, look at the, I'm not sure. So listening to the, the band, it's very clear. There's a, there's a woman singer and a guy singer. So it looks like, uh, the one on the right there is a woman, so this probably is the guy singer, and he just looks stunning for sure.

Okay. Back to the article. Since the days of Xan visual kai has exploded with flamboyant artists pilfering from anime fetish gear and retro futuristic. Elizabethan formal wear to Conco styles that make the Western glam and hair metal bands of the seventies and eighties look drab di aloof, however, explored decidedly [00:06:00] darker depths and their aesthetic perfectly matches their music's themes of pains, sadness, and anger.

We use visual quiet elements in our makeup and look to really push and build the world of each song explains dike. You can look cool in just jeans and a t-shirt, but with costumes and makeup, you can create this almost other worldly space that everyday clothes just can't give you. That sense of the extraordinary is what attracted me to visual Kai.

The band's ghoulish aesthetic, think Hellraiser and the crow by way of cradle of filth perfectly matches their brutal sound. Serrated, riffing, stop on a dime. Rhythms and skull crushing breakdowns are delivered with deadly precision. And front man Kisuki provides a bewildering range of tormented, croons and larynx.

Rupturing shrieks. Absolutely right. You got the full range here from. Really low growling [00:07:00] voicings to, to high shrieks for sure. In the beginning of our style was basically do whatever you want. As a singer, since we did have any examples to follow, we hit a lot of walls along the way, and there was even a time when we tried to be more audience friendly. This made us feel like we were losing our originality, so we stopped and looked at who we really are as a band.

We decided that if there was no example for us to follow, then we should be the ones to create it. Thanks to the mix of musicianship, brutality, and creative flair, Delo have been making big waves with their fans. Raging from death Core diehards to visual Kai devotees. Their most surprising fan is probably Ta Nobu Asano, the Golden Globe winning actor.

Best known in the West for his roles as thunder. God Radden in 2020 one's Mortal Kombat and as Shoguns Charmingly Duplicitous Kgi, the band discovered he was a fan when they were on the [00:08:00] hunt for someone to star in a video for the song issue and found him among their social media followers.

We wanted to create a music video with a cinematic story-like feel. So we were looking for an actor whose presence would fit. Devil Lu's atmosphere says Deke. That's when we reached out to Mr. Asano. He hasn't come to one of our shows yet, but we hope. He will see us live someday. The music video for issue is both striking and unsettling.

A five minute mini epic that sees a band thrashing like maniacs against a serial backdrop that suggests a classic Japanese horror flick, think Kan or Uni Baba. No idea about these movies filtered through the work of Maverick Filmmaker Nicholas Winding Refin. While Asano was undaunted by the heavy metal chaos unfolding around him, Kruge was slightly more nervous about being in the presence of a professional actor.[00:09:00]

I got to watch Mr. Asano up close and I was completely blown away by his skill as a singer. I'm sure it was loud right in his ear at times, and my hair probably hit his face here and there. But he took it all with a smile, and I'm truly grateful for that. Having hit European soil for the first time at Spain's Resurrection Fest earlier this year in parenthesis, we gave it everything we had and the audience gave that energy right back to us.

Beam Ski Suge. The band are gearing up for their first tour of the continent. I've really been looking forward to this as guitarist Ray, because of COVID and other setbacks. We weren't able to come for a few years, but people have been waiting for us. Now we finally get to bring them the evolved version of Delo, and I can't wait to see how they react despite their imposing aesthetic.

The band have some fairly cheerful ambitions for the UK leg of the tour. They're keen to make a pilgrimage to Abbey Road and take in sites from the Harry Potter franchise. Don't let [00:10:00] these chipper extracurriculars fool you. Hover. Because the band are making no bones about what mental heads can expect from the Devil Lu live experience.

It's going to be brutal, absolutely brutal. Ciz Deke. At the same time, I want people to feel their fragility and beauty hidden within that brutality. Go wild with us. Let it all out. Your frustrations, your anger, everything. That's what our shows are for, and listening to their music, that's what listening to their music is for.

It's definitely not for everybody, for sure, but I'm telling you, if you're in the right mood. You crank it up and really there's nothing like this type of music, to let whatever emotions out that dark side of you out frustrations. There's nothing beat this type of really fast, heavy guitar, riffy, shrieking, growl, you know, nothing like it.

So it says here, Issu is out now via Kuma Japan Communications. [00:11:00] Deluth played the dome in London on November 28th. All right, well, there you go. I'm sure it's a crazy brutal of a show, probably like Slipknot on steroids, but I mean. If I were able to see this, it's definitely a once in a lifetime thing for me, for sure.

It's not something I'd go see regularly, but definitely worth checking it out once. Forget about checking it out. If you're curious now about their music, especially after seeing this picture that got me, go check 'em out. Devil Loof. All right, thanks for listening and watching and I'll see you on the next one.