SiM

In Japan, the metal quartet SiM, short for Silence iz Mine and self-described as "reggae punx from Japan," fuses metalcore and nu-metal into an intense combination of raw aggression and defiant spirit. The group surfaced from Kanagawa Prefecture in the early 2000s and quickly drew notice within the regional hardcore community through its opening pair of albums, Silence iz Mine and Seeds of Hope. A 2013 major-label contract elevated them further as Pandora advanced on the charts. By the late 2010s they had reached listeners worldwide through anime and video-game associations, momentum that intensified with the 2022 single "The Rumbling" from Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Pt. 2 and "Under the Tree" from Pt. 3.

Vocalist MAH (Manabu Taniguti) formed the band in Shonan, Kanagawa in November 2004; the first roster included bassist KAH and drummer WAY, after which SHOW-HATE (Masahira Iida) joined on guitar while SIN (Shinya Shinohara) assumed bass and GODRI (Yuya Taniguchi) took the drum chair. Their self-titled debut surfaced in 2008 and introduced an early reggae-tinged funk-metal approach, while 2011’s Seeds of Hope heightened the hardcore-punk drive and metallic riffing. Universal Music Japan signed them in 2013, issuing the major-label debut Pandora that October; the band subsequently sold out Budokan and Yokohama Arenas. By 2016 they had become a consistent live force on the Japanese rock circuit, releasing the Top Ten album The Beautiful People. That set contained "No Future," featured in a Mobile Suit Gundam video game, "Existence," which appeared in the anime Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis, and "Crows," tied to the game of the same name. They also crossed to the United States for a performance at Knotfest Meets Ozzfest in 2016.

Further anime and video-game ties filled the next release, Thank God, There Are Hundreds of Ways to Kill Enemies, which housed the pounding, System of a Down–styled track "Let It End" from the Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul anime and "Lion's Den," selected as the opening theme for New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 13. Thank God became their highest-charting effort, reaching number two on the Oricon charts. In 2022, "The Rumbling" from Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 carried them deeper into international view, topping the U.S. Hard Rock chart and coinciding with a sold-out U.S. anime-expo concert. The follow-up Attack on Titan song "Under the Tree" arrived in 2023. Both tracks appeared on the subsequent album Playdead, which also featured the Korn-esque "RED," the theme for Kengan Ashura.