SEX MACHINEGUNS

Sex Machineguns took their name as a declaration of greater toughness than the Sex Pistols and emerged in the late 1990s and 2000s as Japan’s foremost custodians of heavy metal, fusing Florida thrash with early German speed and power metal while adding violent lyrics and the flamboyant visual presentation drawn from the visual kei movement. The group’s origins reach back to 1989, when university students Anchang on vocals and guitar and Mad Power on drums first formed the project. After graduation Anchang entered office work, yet Mad Power persuaded him to revive the band in 1995, bringing bassist Noisy and guitarist Sussy into the lineup. Their debut EP Live Fire appeared in 1997 and quickly secured a contract with EMI. Mad Power departed shortly after the signing and was succeeded by Speed Star Sypan Joe, who himself left in 2000 for health reasons before launching Dasein the following year. Clutch J. Himawari, previously of CleiR, assumed the drum stool. The band’s major-label single Hanabi-la Daikaiten arrived in 1998, followed later that year by the studio album Sex Machinegun, which reached number 29. Made in Japan appeared in 1999 and initiated a run of five consecutive Top Ten releases that included the live album Burning Hammer in 2001 and the compilation Machineguns Get-Together in 2003. Embodying metal tradition, Sex Machineguns maintained an exhaustive touring schedule that culminated in a sold-out Budokan concert in 2000. The demanding pace prompted Sussy’s departure after the third album Barbe-Q Michael in 2001; newly married, he was replaced by C.V. Panther, also from CleiR. Ignition, the fourth album, entered the chart at number eight in 2002, yet the band unexpectedly declared its dissolution in 2003 and marked the end with another Budokan performance. Noisy and Clutch moved toward punk while Anchang pursued solo work, but in 2004 Anchang, Circuit V.Panther, and Speed Star Sypan Joe reformed Sex Machineguns. Bass duties fell to Samurai W. Kenjilaw, formerly Kanjirou of Cali Gari. The subsequent releases Heavy Metal Thunder in 2005 and Made in USA in 2006 peaked at numbers 22 and 29, respectively; the latter was recorded in the United States, where the band also made its American live debut. In 2006 the group disbanded for a third time, the other members forming Cycle while Anchang explored another side project before reassembling Sex Machineguns once more. Now operating as a trio with guitarist Ryotatsu Kuwae and drummer Ken’ichi Imai, the band issued three digital singles in 2007 and its seventh studio album Kyameron in 2008, which reached number 39.