Deathroll
One-man black metal project from Fukushima filtering Norwegian darkness through a distinctly Japanese sensibility, with a massive back catalog stretching to 2012.
About
DEATHROLL is the solo project of Kazu, a multi-instrumentalist from Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, who has been recording and releasing black metal since 2012. His path to extreme music started through video game soundtracks, moved through Judas Priest and Morbid Angel, and landed permanently on Burzum â the solo black metal model that inspired him to build everything himself. He records at home using Pro Tools, constructing songs from rhythm patterns up through layered guitars, bass, and vocals, working entirely by feel rather than music theory. The discography is extensive. Early demos and EPs â è涼 (2012), 3.11 (2013), Brainwashing (2014), ç ´å£ (2015), Z.K.K. (2017) â established the project's raw, bedroom-black-metal foundation. Full-length albums followed with A Sick Life (2019) and Immorality (2022). In 2023, Kazu signed with WormHoleDeath Records and released Japanese Extreme Metal Art, which brought in session players (ONITAKE on bass, TSUKAMOTO on drums, MIZUTANI on keyboards) and an operatic opening, stretching the sound beyond pure black metal. A Corrupted Angle followed in 2024, and A Woman Collapsing on the Glacier in 2026. Live, DEATHROLL performs with a full band, though Kazu's unconventional songwriting reportedly challenges his collaborators. Lyrically, the project draws from Slayer's conceptual approach â themes of isolation, suffering, depravity, and existential darkness rendered in both English and Japanese. After over a decade of relentless output from a small city in Fukushima, DEATHROLL stands as proof that geography is no barrier to building a body of work in extreme metal.
Recent Shows
- Sun, Mar 22, 2026El PuenteDawn Of The Black Hearts ⅣDetails