With the help of the internet and how fast information can be shared by anyone in any country, American music has spread across the globe. But in the same vein, that same access has helped foreign bands get even more exposure in the United States. K-pop has exploded across the country in the last few years, but another subgenre that has benefitted is J-metal. Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, Hanabie. is an all-girl metal band that has been quickly growing over the past couple of years, from getting to play Mayhem Festival, to a co-headlining tour with Kim Dracula, and now crossing the United States on their own headlining tour, the HANABIE. North America Tour 2026. They ended the run with a two-night stay at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Night one sold out and packed in quickly before the first band could even take the stage.

Opening the night was the only band I had not seen before, Enterprise Earth. Walking in completely blind to what this deathcore quartet had to offer, I was instantly captivated by their sound and stage presence. Within minutes of the set starting, lead singer Travis Worland had ripped his shirt off and become an uncaged beast. The intensity of his screams pierced your eardrums and invaded your body, boiling your blood with rage. At one point, Worland jumped into the crowd, crowd surfing while still unleashing vocal hell. Guitarist Gabe Mangold was channeling his inner Matt Heafy from Trivium, bringing a playful demeanor to the stage, constantly sticking his tongue out at the crowd while shredding through the songs. Bassist Dakota Johnson was wrapped up in the grooves of the basslines he was creating, while drummer Aron Hetsko blasted away on his kit, keeping the tempo moving as the moshers gravitated to his beats and got the pit spinning early into the night. Enterprise Earth may have been the opening band this night, but they gave us a show with headlining energy and chaos. If this was just a snippet of what they have to offer, I want to see that headlining set soon.

Up next was the comedy melodic death metal band known as Nekrogoblikon. This band is known for their hype man and now clean singer, John Goblikon, a goblin who has become the mascot of the band. As they were touring in support of Hanabie., John Goblikon hit the stage dressed in pink leg warmers, a pink tutu, and pink arm cuffs, looking very Kawaii. Co-vocalist Dickie Allen handles the harsh vocals for the band. Allen sounds like he is sending his voice through a garbage disposal while singing, and somehow not shredding his vocal cords. Guitarists Alex Alereza and Joe Nelson whip up heavy distorted guitar lines, mixing in melodic passages to contrast heavy breakdowns with angelic singalong choruses. Keyboardist Aaron Minich looks like he’s having the best time on stage behind his keyboards, not only adding flavor to the melodic death metal sound but also grooving to the music in his spot on stage. Drummer Eric William Brown mixed blast beats and rhythmic playing to keep the mosh pit spinning. Nekrogoblikon was a wildly fun time with songs like “Show Me Your Goblin,” “The Many Faces of Dr. Hubert Malbec,” “Darkness,” “Bones,” “Fiend,” “Secret Elephant,” “Dressed as Goblins,” “This Is It,” “No One Survives,” and ending with “Powercore.” Nekrogoblikon proved you can mix heavy breakdowns, power metal choruses, and the comedy of a goblin dancing around as a Sailor Moon scout, and fans will lose their minds.

Then it was time for our headliner, Hanabie., to take the stage. One by one, each member ran to center stage to greet the fans before getting in position to play the music. Hanabie. mix the world of Japanese Idols with Harajuku fashion and heavy breakdowns to create a unique stage show that a growing fanbase has continued to herald. Vocalist Yukina looks like she comes out of a slice-of-life, high-school-centered anime where the characters deal with everyday problems in a cute and fun way. But when she screams, the inner red panda beast of Aggretsuko takes over, as the ferocity in her voice is on par with any male singer in the metalcore genre.

Guitarist Matsuri performs with a cool demeanor: she knows just how hard she is going, but with the look of someone casually walking down the street. This energy adds to her presence, as you don’t truly know the kind of metal monster that hides underneath her smile. Bassist Hettsu feels like she may be doing the most on stage, headbanging, whipping her hair around, working the entire stage, and playing it up to the crowd, all while fingerpicking away on her bass. Drummer Chika unleashes a flurry of blast beats, rhythmic patterns, and heavy breakdowns while never breaking a sweat herself, her ponytail swaying back and forth like she’s on a simple jog, while the beats she creates have heads banging nonstop.

Throughout Hanabie.’s set, you could see different flavors of fans all going as hard as they could, from fans dressing in their own Harajuku styles, to a few people in maid outfits, to your standard metalhead. We were all one community under the flag of Hanabie. These girls roared through the Belasco Theatre with songs like “NEET GAME,” “SUNRISE Miso-SOUP,” “Reiwa Matching-sedai,” “TOUSOU,” “Kotoshi koso Gal~Shoka ver.~,” “ICONIC,” “Spicy Queen,” “Ware Amatou,” “Watashitachi no 7kakan Sensou,” “O•TA•KU Lovely Densetsu,” “Tokimeki About you,” “Choujigen Galaxy,” “Osaki ni Shitsurei Shimasu.,” “L.C.G.,” and ending with “Today’s Good Day & So Epic.” Hanabie. are leading the charge for Kawaii metal, and Los Angeles fans can’t get enough.

Night one sold out so fast that the girls announced a night-two performance in LA to close out this tour, and I know the fans the next night would give these girls just as much love as we gave them. Enterprise Earth was a mammoth of an opener to get the night started, and created a bunch of new fans, including myself. Nekrogoblikon brought comedy metal to the tour and showed how heavy goblin metal truly is. Meanwhile, Hanabie. continue to elevate their place in modern metal. These girls have grown so much in the last couple of years; I can’t wait to see where they go from here, and I look forward to their next headlining tour.