Metallica　

American quartet Metallica were one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the ’80s and ’90s, inspiring generations of rockers with their early thrash and later hard rock sounds before settli ..more

Helloween　

Alongside Switzerland’s Celtic Frost and Sweden’s Bathory, Germany’s Helloween were possibly the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the 1980s. By taking the hard-r ..more

Koji Tamaki　

Police　

Nominally, the Police were punk rock, but that’s only in the loosest sense of the term. The trio’s nervous, reggae-injected pop/rock was punky, but it wasn’t necessarily punk. All three ..more

Masayoshi Takanaka　

The Cure　

Out of all the bands that emerged in the immediate aftermath of punk rock in the late ’70s, few were as enduring and popular as the Cure. Led through numerous incarnations by guitarist/vocalist R ..more

Depeche Mode　

Originally a product of Britain’s new romantic movement, Depeche Mode went on to become the quintessential electro pop band of the 1980s. One of the first acts to establish a musical identity based ..more

Noriyuki Makihara　

Miho Nakayama　

Isao Suzuki　

Rush　

Over the course of their decades-spanning career, Canadian power trio Rush emerged as one of hard rock’s most highly regarded bands; although typically brushed aside by critics and rarely the recip ..more

Steely Dan　

Most rock ＆ roll bands are a tightly wound unit that developed their music through years of playing in garages and clubs around their hometown. Steely Dan never subscribed to that aesthetic. As the ..more

THE BLACK CROWES　

At the time of their 1990 debut, the kind of rock ＆ roll the Black Crowes specialized in was sorely out of style. Only Guns N’ Roses came close to approximating a vintage Stones-style raunch, ..more

Joni Mitchell　

When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century. Uncompromising and iconoclastic, Mitchell confounded expect ..more

Taeko Onuki　

Fishmans　

KISS　

Rooted in the campy theatrics of Alice Cooper and the sleazy hard rock of glam rockers the New York Dolls, Kiss became a favorite of American teenagers in the ’70s. Most kids were infatuated ..more

Peter Gabriel　

As the leader of Genesis in the early ’70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. He was no less ambitious as a solo artist, but he was more subtle in his me ..more

Elton John　

Elton John was the biggest pop star of the ’70s, grabbing headlines and generating hits throughout the world. As it turned out, this was merely the first act in a remarkable career that kept him at ..more

Motoharu Sano