en.core rocks

26/11/2025

[ARCHIVE—BAND INTRODUCTION] D’ESPAIRSRAY have been a household name in the Visual-kei scene, both inside and outside of Japan, and managed like very few other Japanese artist to gain wide-spread recognition from outside their niche. But they disbanded in 2011 and many new peeps have entered our community since then. Thus, to kickstart our with D’ESPAIRSRAY this week, we’ve fetched the band introduction from our archive.

Read the full band introduction on our website! 👉 https://en-core.rocks/2025/11/26/archive-despairsray-band-introduction/

✏️: Vincent Meißner & Wanda Proft

D’ESPAIRSRAY, formed in 1999, were a class on its own and left a deep hole when disbanding in 2011. This archive piece takes you back in time.

25/11/2025

We are back with our Listening Club, listening to D’ESPAIRSRAY for the upcoming weeks.

Come to our Instagram account and join us! 🤩

https://www.instagram.com/encorerocksyou/p/DRfRLyAkuxv/

04/11/2025

Come, come to the temple. Come and join the spectacle. Can you feel the heat? Do you smell the charred flesh? Let’s listen bellowof the bull!

Dir en grey Official’s last album, PHALARIS, is an intensive banger and the EN.CORE ROCKS team loves it, as you can read in our Listening Club post from yesterday. It’s so good, we had to take a deep dive into the album.

Check out our website for the full album portrait of PHALARIS: https://en-core.rocks/2025/11/04/dir-en-grey-phalaris-album-portrait-review/
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author: Phillip
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Come, come to the temple. Come and join the spectacle. Let’s listen to PHALARIS, DIR EN GREY’s eleventh studio album and most recent today.

01/11/2025

[INTERVIEW] We can’t wait to experience DAMNED on their upcoming European tour. Firing up anticipation, we had the pleasure to sit down with the band after their show at Ikebukuro BlackHole, talking about their biography and expectations for the DAMNED EUROPE TOUR 2025 – “JUKAI”.

Read the full interview on our website—link in bio! https://en-core.rocks/2025/11/01/damned-interview-tokyo-2025/
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interviewer: Fabian / translation: Killing Daze Management 💛

After DAMNED hogged the limelight early October at Ikebukuro BlackHole, Tokyo, we sat down with the band members for an easygoing interview.

26/10/2025

[LIVE REPORT] DAMNED will soon be touring Europe next month. What can fans expect? We checked the Visual-kei Metalcore band out in Tokyo!

This autumn, Visual-kei newcomers BLAZE invited six of their senior bands to a series of band battles. DAMNED took the stage of Ikebukuro’s intimate BlackHole venue on the 3rd of October, 2025, to face them. A fantastic choice for a guest artist but a tough opponent, DAMNED was bound to pose a challenge.

Check out the concert report on our website!
https://en-core.rocks/2025/10/26/damned-live-in-ikebukuro-2025/
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author and photographer: Fabian Neubauer

This autumn, Visual-kei newcomers BLAZE invited six of their senior bands to a series of 2MAN lives in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district. As part of the 2MAN LIVE BATTLE “Kyōmei” [2MAN LIVE BATTLE【共鳴】] (Kyōmei) shows, DAMNED took the stage of Ikebukuro’s intimate BlackHole venue on the 3r...

31/08/2025

Are you looking for some concert fun in September? Check out our Instagram account for ongoing and upcoming European tours! ❤️‍🔥

https://www.instagram.com/encorerocksyou/p/DOBVcrPDI0D/

28/08/2025

[ARCHIVE—CONCERT REPORT] Ten years ago, Visual-kei legends the GazettE Official released their eighth studio album, DOGMA. Celebrating this anniversary, we are fetching another article from our archive to reminisce about the band’s WORLD TOUR 16 DOGMATIC –TROIS– this .

Back in 2016, we attended their concert at E-Werk Cologne, immersing ourselves in their cinematic show. It’s good memories that fill us with nostalgia and gratitude, but also sadness to remember the late bassist Reita, who passed away way too early. May he rest in peace! ❤️‍🩹

Check out the report on our website now! 👉 https://en-core.rocks/2025/08/28/the-gazette-world-tour-2016-dogmatic-trois-concert-report/

✏️: Wanda Proft

Visual-kei legends the GazettE embarked on their three-part WORLD TOUR 16 DOGMATIC –TROIS– in 2016. We were at the cinematic show in Cologne!

22/05/2025

[LIVE REPORT] Japanese Metalcore powerhouse are about to return to Europe next month. Last year, they were hitting Europe twice. We’ve already covered their first tour in June. Now, here is our report from their tour in September, featuring the two concerts in Bochum and Berlin.

Read the full concert report on our website: 🎶👉 https://en-core.rocks/2025/05/22/jiluka-live-in-bochum-and-berlin/�
authors: PInku and Wanda
�photos: Wanda Proft

After their first ever european Tour was sold out really fast, JILUKA came back already three months later with their K4RMA WORLD TOUR – THE RETURN, adding six more shows to the original tour.. Since we already attended their first appearance in Cologne, there was no way we could not go to their f...

22/05/2025

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[NEW TOUR - DEVILOOF]
EUROPE TOUR 2025 - THE UNHOLY -

We are thrilled to announce the upcoming tour of in Europe 🧨💥

Formed in 2015, DEVILOOF has rapidly risen as one of the most extreme and innovative bands in the Japanese metal scene. Known for their brutality and theatrical visuals, the band fuses elements of deathcore, slamming brutal death metal, and traditional Japanese aesthetics.

Their debut mini-album PURGE (2016) marked a breakthrough, reaching No.12 on Japan’s indie charts—an unprecedented achievement for a band in such a niche genre. Their latest single, INSHU(因習), is hailed as the most technically challenging piece in DEVILOOF’s discography.

Fearless, ferocious, and unapologetically original, DEVILOOF push boundaries while honoring its roots and offering a thrilling dive into the darker side of Japanese music.

🇪🇸 26 Jun ・ RESURRECTION FEST
🇫🇮 25 Nov ・ HELSINKI at On The Rocks
🇵🇱 26 Nov ・ WARSAW at Hybrydy
🇬🇧 28 Nov ・ LONDON at Downstairs at The Dome
🇫🇷 29 Nov ・ PARIS at FGO Barbara
🇳🇱 30 Nov ・ AMSTERDAM P60
🇩🇪 02 Dec ・ COLOGNE MTC
🇩🇪 03 Dec ・ HAMBURG at Headcrash
🇩🇪 04 Dec ・ MUNICH at Kranhalle

🎟️ Sales start on the 29th of May at 12:00 pm CEST on envolprod.com

22/05/2025

It’s spring and we are officially back! 🌸🌸🌸

Here are a few words about our return:
https://en-core.rocks/2025/05/22/spring-return/

And to our dear social media followers, we are ramping up our activities on Instagram. So, don’t miss to follow us there! 😘

We are thrilled to share that EN.CORE ROCKS is back! Spring has recharged our spirits, and we are returning with more content and new ideas.

21/11/2024

[Give-away] You can win NUL.’ new album, AVA, on CD! Celebrating our collaboration with the Japanese Industrial Rock band NUL., we are having a raffle. Here is what you need to do:

1. Follow us +
2. comment on this post why you would like to win +
3. share this post!

Deadline for the raffle is the 2nd of December 2024, at 1:00pm European Standard Time. Team members of EN.CORE ROCKS are not allowed to participate.

»Five years have passed since our formation,« HIZUMI states, »and I believe that the creation of the record ›AVA‹ has further expanded our potential. Please look forward to the continued evolution of NUL.,« says HIZUMI, vocalist of NUL. Enjoy listening to the new album available for streaming and on CD! And find the full press release on our website:
https://en-core.rocks/pr/pr-nul-releasing-3rd-full-length-album-ava/

If you work in music media and we haven’t contacted you yet, feel free to reach out via [email protected]. As EN.CORE ROCKS we are not only an online magazine, but aim to strengthen the music scene and build a network. We are stronger together and are looking forward to hearing from you!

20/11/2024

[PR] We are excited to share that we’ve partnered up with the Japanese Industrial Rock band NUL. for the album promotion of their 3rd album, AVA! »I believe this album will allow you to enjoy a new NUL. sound while destroying the NUL. of the past,« says vocalist HIZUMI about the album he created together with his bandmates, guitarist MASATO and programmer/producer Toshiyuki Kishi. The hard-hitting release that reflects the theme of aggression and destruction. AVA, derived from ›avalanche‹, crushes down on the listener with relentless force while also revealing moments of unexpected, soothing tunes. Enjoy listening to the new album available for streaming and on CD! And find the full press release on our website:

https://en-core.rocks/pr/pr-nul-releasing-3rd-full-length-album-ava/

If you work in music media and we haven’t contacted you yet, feel free to reach out via [email protected]. As EN.CORE ROCKS we are not only an online magazine, but aim to strengthen the music scene and build a network. We are stronger together and are lookin forward to hearing from you!

Industrial Rock band NUL. released their highly-anticipated third full-length album, ›AVA. »I believe this album will allow you to enjoy a new NUL. sound while destroying the NUL. of the past,« says band vocalist HIZUMI.