GENRE HISTORY

This is perhaps the shortest section, given that anything I can say about the band’s history accumulated through a brief collection of interviews and well-distributed online articles. As it stands, Ningen isu is a three-person musical project fronted by artists Kenichi Suzuki, Shinji Wajima, and most recently, Nobu Nakajima. (Ningen Isu). The band began in 1987 through Suzuki and Wajima’s friendship, and appeared on a talent show known as “Heisei Meibutsu TV Ikasu Band Tengoku" (Cool Band Heaven) in 1989. Their first album “No Longer Human”, would launch in 1990, with their title being a direct reference to the famous Japanese novel of the same name by the famous author Osamu Dazai, another resident of Aomori.

Suzuki and Wajima both operate as the main lyricists for the band, and the “lead” singer role alternates between the two. Whoever wrote the song will lead, according to Wajima (Kevy Metal). The band draws heavily from literary and historical iconography. With both lyricists having backgrounds in literary and religious histories (Russian literature and Buddhism, respectively) the band frequently focuses on themes of heaven and hell, ethical and spiritual conflict, and literary allegories. While the band is named after Edogawa Rampo’s famous story, Wajima cites Lovecraft and Nietzsche amongst the band’s influences. They have also been readily influenced by the works of Black Sabbath, King Crimson, and Kiss.

The band operates as a doom metal band, a sub-genre of metal heavily defined by roaring, slow tones with ample amounts of apocalyptic dread and melancholia. However, some songs have variations, such as Dunwichi no Kai being particularly similar to the acid or stoner-rock genres frequently found in the Western metal scene in the 1980s. The band has been active for over thirty years, resulting in a slew of albums. While they’ve been popular in Japan, in 2019 they saw a meteoric rise in global popularity with their song “Heartless Scat” gaining over 15 million views on YouTube– an unprecedented number for the band, up until that point.

• BLACK SABBATH Ningen Isu has admitted that Black Sabath is a major influence for them, and they even performed at Ozzfest in 2013! You can really trace the doom-y psychadelics of Paranoid in Ningen Isu's album Degenerate Art Exhibition. Give Hand of Doom a listen, and you'll see what I mean.
• KING CRIMSON: Another self-proclaimed influence, but King Crimson's roots in progressive rock and metal give the famous syrupy texture to their music. Give it a try!
• IRON MAIDEN: While not a direct influence, they make a strong case for literary influences in metal. Just listen to Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a one-to-one rendition of the famous poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
• KISS: While KISS were instructors and teachers, the iconic makeup and costumed glam-rock are a major influence on the fashion and performative personas the members of Ningen Isu take on through costuming and makeup.