キング・ブラザーズ
BROS
KING
King Brothers
members
Keizo Matsuo
Vocals, Guitar
Masafumi Koyama
Guitar
Zony
Drums
Japan’s Wildest Rock Trio of Punk, Blues & Noise
The King Brothers, a trio from Nishinomiya, Japan, are known as one of the most explosive and dangerous rock bands in the country. Since their formation in 1997, they have combined the essence of every vital era of rock into one reverb-drenched sound that blows away fans and critics alike. Their music is a wild mix of toxic punk rock, barbed-wire blues, and a massive dose of fuzzed-out noise that grabs the audience from the very first second.
The trio — Keizo Matsuo (guitar, harp, vocals), Masafumi “Marya” Koyama (guitar), and Zony (drums) —quickly established themselves as one of Japan’s most enduring rock outfits. With their self-titled debut album in 1998, followed by a major debut on Toshiba EMI in 2001 and signing with In The Red Records that same year, they made their unmistakable sound known worldwide. They are famous not only for their music but also for their legendary live shows, where the band performs in their signature black-and-white suits with such energy and raw power that chaos and destruction often erupt on stage and among the crowd. In fact, they’re so wild that
they have been banned from nearly every club in Osaka.
Their connection to the New York rock scene runs deep: Jon Spencer produced some of their earlier albums, while Matt Verta-Ray handled the recordings. Alongside international icons like Jon Spencer, The White Stripes, and The Strokes, The King Brothers have rocked stages across Japan on tour, cementing their reputation as an uncompromising and innovative band. Their songs, including the powerful “Bang Blues,” reflect their intense, untamed spirit — a musical explosion that is both brutal and precise.
Metropolis Magazine perfectly captures their essence:
“If Jon Spencer took roots rock ’n’ roll and deconstructed it, then Nishinomiya’s King Brothers threw it against a wall and left it there bleeding.”
For those seeking authentic, unfiltered rock ’n’ roll, The King Brothers deliver — a band that proves with every riff, drumbeat, and scream that they are Japan’s wildest, most relentless rock experience.
Discography
King Brothers
Bulb Records
TRACKLIST
1. Go To Hell!!!
2. Sell Your Soul
3. Kill Everyone Blues
4. Get On The Bus
5. I Want To Burn Out
6. King Beat
7. Rot Now!!!
8. Count To 8!!!
9. Shut Up
10. King Of Boogie
11. Tear It Up Blues
12. Spy Boys
★★★★★★★
LD&K
TRACKLIST
1. ★★★
2. ビッグボス
3. みな殺しのブルース
4. タイクツ地獄
5. デッドソウル
6. もえつきやい
7. キングビート
8. 99
King Brothers & Okker T
Deckrec
TRACKLIST
1. ルル
2. Introduction
3. スパイボーイズ
4. くそったれの唄
5. ムシャクシャ
6. オルガリズム
7. 凹凸凹
8. ノリノリ天国
King Brothers
Toshiba
TRACKLIST
1. 消えうせろ!
2. あッ!!ああ
3. ムシャクシャ
4. 明日をこえろ
5. →→＠←
6. 燃え尽きるまで
7. ''''
8. リズム
9. よくきけ!!世界
10. 闇の中ブルース
11. マッハ倶楽部
12. 虹と雲
13. ジタバタロック
6x3
Toshiba
TRACKLIST
1. Doo Doo Scratch
2. Paint It Black!!
3. 1979
4. There Is Nothing
5. Sonics
6. Birth Of The Cool
13
Toshiba
TRACKLIST
1. 100%
2. グランドファンク
3. 猫がいない
4. ドカドカ
5. 夕日の街
6. ドロップス
7. メッセージ
8. ポケットの中
9. 空っぽ
10. ひとつぶの涙
11. 何処へも行けない
12. はじまりの朝
13. 素晴らしい世界
Blues
UK Project
TRACKLIST
1. S.S.S.S.
2. Big Beat
3. Monster
4. 69
5. Instrumental (Pt 1)
6. Zepplelin
7. Party
8. Let It
9. D.D.D.
10. Oh Yeah Baby
11. ☆☆☆☆
The First rays Of The New Rising Sun
Deckrec
TRACKLIST
1. ACTION!!!!
2. GET AWAY
3. ロマンチスト
4. D♭のパレード
5. 楽園
6. TFROTNRS
7. XXXXX
8. 気が狂いそう
9. DOOR
10. 死神のビート
11. やりきれない
12. L.O.V.E.
13. SLOW LIGHT
Kill Your Idol
Victor Records
TRACKLIST
1. Kill Your idol
2. Spaceship
3. mutekino ketsumatsu
4. AC/DC
5. sunano shiro
6. PERFECT R&R
Wasteland
Hound Gawd! Records
There is always a bit of a disconnect when you hear familiar-sounding music done brilliantly by a band from far, far away. Not that the frantically deranged blues rock of the King Brothers is culturally jarring – Japanese bands have been doing magnificent things for a very long time – it’s just that it’s all so unexpected. Wasteland is a scrapbook of an album. If there’s a unifying theme running through its pages, it’s lost in translation. I don’t know if King Brothers are angry or ecstatically happy. Or both. What I do know is that they make an almighty racket and that most of the time, it’s pretty damned good.
King Brothers are musical magpies, collecting shiny bits of incongruous musical stuff and mixing it up in their big, mad rock blender. Title track Wasteland is a massive, dirty blues-grind where everything is louder than everything else. Classic instrumentation: relentless guitar, wailing harmonica, furious Hammond organ and is that an angry reverbed vocal? I don’t know, it’s sung in Japanese. Onwards to the more garage territory of No Want and Bang Blues, where the tempo takes off. You can hear the Jon Spencer connection in these tracks. There’s introspection too here. The Farthest End, with its insistent drums and odd time signature is almost Radiohead-esque. No Thanks will feel familiar to those who enjoy the heavier end of J-Pop. It is likely that Kick Ass Rock is a mighty anthem and destined to soundtrack a montage in some film Tarantino is yet to create. The remaining tracks celebrate previously undiscovered levels of distortion and I guess it’s no coincidence that the closer Sympathy For The XXXXX evokes a visceral memory of a similarly-titled Rolling Stones track. Pleased to meet you too, King Brothers.
King Brothers‘ live shows are, apparently, epically chaotic and destructive. I’m sure this record captures some of that intensity. Even if you don’t understand what they’re on about, this is a terrific album. If King Brothers have a house, I promise you this: the carpet is sticky and most of the lights don’t work. If you like the dirtier end of blues and heavy rock, enter at your own risk. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
- ThePunkSite
TRACKLIST
1. Wasteland
2. No Want
3. Bang! Blues
4. odorushikabane
5. The Farthest End
6. No Thanks
7. Kick Ass Rock
8. Break On Through
9. No! No! No!
10. The Machine
11. Sympathy For The XXXXX
