Japan's 90s Hardcore Techno scene was wild

We're on a tour to check in at places that were interesting & important for the 90s Techno & Hardcore world.
And our next stop is Japan. The connoisseurs of this type of music are aware that it was not just The Netherlands that created Gabber. They had the biggest scene and the one that caught the most attention of the mainstream. But things were also happening in Belgium, France, UK, Germany... there were pockets of scenes in as remote places like Australia - or the USA (which, at this point in history, was still very much a "rock and rap" nation, with little interest in the raving madness that swept Europe).

All this is widely, or at least semi-known. But the 90s scene Japan still occupied a pretty unique and singular territory. Because it was very shut-off and contained in itself. While Dutch Gabber DJs often played records made in New York City or Milwaukee, and Scottish DJs dropped stuff from France and Switzerland, there was little exchange between Japan and the rest of the world.

This might be the reason that the 90s hardcore and techno scene in Japan is still pretty much unknown. At least when compared with the rest of the world.

And this is completely undeservingly so!
So let us not forget how brilliant, interesting, and, most importantly, savage 1990s Japanese Hardcore is.
This music was an insane sound assault: hard-as-nails-drums, high tempos, shouting, noizes all over the tracks. But most often with a smile, too.
On par with the hardest stuff that was coming out of UK, France or Germany at the same time period.

Japan had a huge set of output in that era, in that style, in that vibe.

As an outsider, it's hard to find information and data about it. The scene seems to have been mostly centered around Tokyo (expectedly! and the other larger cities.
Out of this movement, a few artists eventually made their way across the pond(s), over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean.

The biggest impact was achieved by Nawoto Suzuki, who seemed to have used dozens of akas, and appeared on a lot of the "big" hardcore labels. Mokum, Industrial Strength, Shockwave, Agent Orange, Fischkopf...

...and from a xeroxed promo sheet that came with his "leave me alone EP", Fischkopf's poetic authors inform us about the very setting and mood of this music: "only a country that created movies like Akira or Tetsuo could give birth to a record as insane as this one" (paraphrased).

And maybe this information is valid for the rest of the Japanese hardcore scene as well.

It's noteworthy that nawoto was, and is, a multi-genre artist. If you are in for a special treat, take a bite of his "Limited Forever" CD album on Otaku Records (released in 1998). 1 of the most bittersweet, weird, and disturbing ambient and idm releases I ever heard.

Another group that got out alive were the Hammer Bros (Not to be confused with the Super Mario villains of the same name).
They even made it to the premium HC compilation CDs of the 90s - Terrordrome, Braindead, Earthquake...
Some (all?) of its members are still around and doing kick-ass releases.

Still another name that should be mentioned is Out of Key.

Japan's scene was not entirely shut off in the other direction, too, but only few outsider artists made it to the Japan circuit in those days. Noize Creator and Black Blood out of Dresden, The Speed Freak, or the BSE DJ Team (which I think were located around Hamburg or in northern Germany) are four of those.

Later, the sound evolved into what we now know as J-Core. Still very insane music, but more focused on pitched up pop-type music samples and an overdose of cute above the ferocity. We don't judge!

And this time, the music did indeed spread across the vast watery blue; J-Core has a dedicated fanbase around the globe.

But... some of the original artists are still around, and the really, really disturbing Japanese hardcore and gabber sound is still around, too!

Note: no AI was used in writing this text.

Examples for interesting 90s Hardcore Techno tracks out of Japan:

1. Burning Lazy Persons - If The Truth Be Known
2. Deadly Drive - F**k It
3. Oil Head - Paul The Power
4. Sieste - Death Rate
5. 2 Terror Crew - 108d
6. DJ Tak - Untitled
7. Oil Head - Rave In Hiroshima (Tour 1989)
8. Hammer Bros - Dead By Takahashi
9. Out Of Key - Get Up Hardcore
10. Absolute Terror Field - God Is In His Heaven, Alright With The World
11. Yam Yam - Hardcore Kingdom