If you're talking about cute, girly Japanese metal, Aikawa Nanase still leads the pack. Rumoured to have been the leader of a girl-gang in her teens (although, as she's a little over five-feet tall and weighs six stone, one wonders how much terror they could have struck into the heart of Osaka) she debuted ten years ago with an album that sold two million copies in its first month. She has the honour of being the only recent J-pop star i can think of to have had a cover of one of her songs in the British top twenty, albeit a cover done by Jennifer Ellison. Quite bizarrely, her long-term live guitarist and current writing partner is Marty Friedman of Megadeth. Her best-of compilation is packed with fantastic glammy rock like Troublemaker.


Buy Aikawa Nanase Stuff

Aikawa Nanase - Troublemaker