Tools for Discovery: Sex Machineguns Albums Ranked

Sex Machineguns was once one of the most popular rock bands in Japan, selling out massive venues with eight top 20 singles and five more reaching the top 40 of the Oricon charts. Five of their albums made the top 10. Quite impressive for a band this aggressive. While there is always a catchy melody, the riffs and rhythms are pure speed metal and power metal. Sex Machineguns’ popularity dropped off a bit after their first brief split in the early 2000s, and the venues they play aren’t quite as big these days, but they are still gigging extensively.

Obviously, the show element has influenced their popularity. It would be easy to mistake Sex Machineguns for a visual kei band, especially during their first decade and a half. However, many things about how the band chooses to present itself makes me wonder whether they aren’t just ridiculing the visual kei scene. Because one thing is for sure: Sex Machineguns has its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. Serious lyrics are fairly rare to come by among their body of work, and I suspect their penchant for silliness is just as responsible for their success as their music.

After their most successful line-up fell apart early this century, singer/guitarist Anchang has been the only mainstay in Sex Machineguns’ line-up, though bassist Shingo☆ (yes, that star apparently is supposed to be there) has been in the band for nearly two decades now, and former lead guitarist Sussy still gigs with them. Musically, you can expect a cocktail of speed metal, power metal, hard rock and punk, with the occasional pastiche of another genre, and some plagiarism that is so obvious that it has to be intentional. Always with spectacular guitar work.

15. Ignition (2002)

Behind that jazz-rock album cover from the late seventies lies the first time Sex Machineguns appears to have totally run out of inspiration. ‘Ignition’ was their fourth studio album in just under four years, and they were a very successful live act in the meantime, so my guess is that they simply didn’t have enough time to properly write an album. Don’t get me wrong: ‘Ignition’ isn’t unlistenable. It’s just that even the better songs on the album aren’t anything the band hasn’t done much better before. Also, the more modern-ish hard rock direction they take here just feels a bit tepid coming out on the heels of one of their most energetic sets of songs to date. Even the plagiarism sounds lazy. Since the band split up for a while not much later, the end probably started here.

Recommended tracks: ‘Natsu Demo Samui’, ‘Gyakufū’, ‘Yonaoshi Good Vibration’

14. To the Future Tracks (2003)

Generally, I’m not a big fan of odds-and-ends compilations, but what a relief ‘To the Future Tracks’ is after the burnt-out, uninspired drivel that was ‘Ignition’. Truth be told, it’s not entirely clear to me where these odds and ends come from, because they’re not B-sides or songs from the band’s demo era, and the overall songwriting and productional direction on the album implies that a lot of the material was quite fresh by the time it was released, which makes it easier to approach it as a studio album. My guess would be that these are all outtakes that may not have been deemed good enough for the albums they were written for, but some of the music here is really good. Things become a little more messy later on, but the first half of the album contains a number of great songs.

Recommended tracks: ‘Electric Anmā – Part 1’, ‘Rome’, ‘Namu’

13. Love Games (2014)

Stylistically, ‘Love Games’ is an album I should enjoy much more than I actually do. Unlike many mid-period Sex Machineguns albums, it’s unequivocally heavy metal from start to finish, not even having any of the weird detours that they were known for until that point. The riffs are generally great, but the songs just aren’t all that memorable. One reason why might actually be the focus on the riffs, in the sense that those have audibly been worked on much more than Anchang’s vocals. Sure, Anchang is an idiosyncratic singer, but one that occasionally comes up with great hooks that can be hummed along instantly. ‘Love Games’ doesn’t have a single one of those, making the songs feel more like collections of riffs than actual songs. Collections of great riffs, admittedly, but without the melodies to pull you in.

Recommended tracks: ‘Miren Fire’, ‘Plasma S’, ‘GS Boy’

12. Heavy Metal Thunder (2005)

After a solo album in anything but name, Anchang got the band back together again and recorded ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’, easily the most consistent Sex Machineguns album in a long time, both stylistically and in terms of songwriting quality. As its title may imply, ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’ focuses on the band’s heavy metal roots first and foremost, putting the guitar riffs and leads front and center rather than the pastiching and the genre-hopping. Most of it is really good too. The album’s consistency does come at a cost, however, as its best songs don’t hit quite the same heights as those on their first three albums. There are a few cases of the riffs being better than the songs they are in as well. Calling ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’ a return to form is more than appropriate, though.

Recommended tracks: ‘Demaedō Itchokusen’, ‘Suspense Gekijō’, ‘Yakiniku Party’

11. Made in USA (2006)

More than just an album title, ‘Made in USA’ is the first Sex Machineguns album that was recorded outside of Japan. In Nashville to be exact. While that has come with a slightly more polished production, the album is very much a logical follow-up to ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’. The focus of the album is once again on heavy metal and hard rock riffs, offered in slightly more streamlined packages this time around. Although the songwriting is just a little catchier than on its predecessor, ‘Made in USA’ does still lack the instant earworm quality that the best songs on the first three albums did have. There are a few American-style hard rock songs I don’t really care for and I’m not a huge fan of Anchang’s rougher-edged vocal delivery. But apart from that, ‘Made in USA’ is a very enjoyable album.

Recommended tracks: ‘Aijin 28’, ‘Saboten Kyōdai’, ‘Samurai No. 7’

10. Cameron (2008)

After trying to either streamline or modernize their sound, ‘Cameron’ is the first Sex Machineguns album since that actually sounds somewhat similar to the sound the band had on their first three albums. It’s not quite as broad stylistically, as this is pretty much a full-on heavy metal album – even the hard rock elements of its two predecessors were sacrificed in favor of a more NWOBHM-inspired sound – but ‘Cameron’ has both the great riffs and the idiosyncrasies that characterized those early Sex Machineguns albums. It isn’t quite as good, especially since the sillier tracks towards the end of the album just aren’t as fun or catchy as that type of Sex Machineguns songs used to be. Also, Anchang’s vocals frequently distort in a way that seems unintentional. But if you are after a bunch of typical Sex Machineguns songs with a handful of great riffs, ‘Cameron’ has those in spades.

Recommended tracks: ‘Diamond Gundan’, ‘Hitozuma Killer’, ‘Yomesa Gashi’

9. Metal Monster (2015)

On the surface, ‘Metal Monster’ is cut from the same cloth as its immediate predecessor ‘Love Games’. It is a heavy metal album start to finish – as if the title didn’t give that away already – and it’s got great riffs for days. The main difference is that there are more catchy moments on ‘Metal Monster’. Nearly every song has a chorus or at least a melodic hook you will recognize it by immediately. Also, while Sex Machineguns sounds more restrained overall in 2015 than they did around the turn of the century, there are definitely some more aggressive songs on ‘Metal Monster’ that show someone has lit a fire under the band’s ass. Two or three dull, overly laid-back plodders keep ‘Metal Monster’ from being a true top-tier Sex Machineguns album, but the increased memorability does make it one of their better latter-day releases.

Recommended tracks: ‘Black Meguro’, ‘Hakkin Madame’, ‘Midnight Radio’

8. Iron Soul (2018)

Why would anyone choose to open an original album with a remake of a classic song that is vastly inferior to the original? Honestly, the remakes of ‘Mikan no Uta’ and ‘German Power’ that bookend ‘Iron Soul’ just appear to be there to pad out the runtime of what is otherwise a fairly good latter-day Sex Machineguns album. In fact, ‘Iron Soul’ surpasses many albums the band released in the same decade simply because it is a lot more dynamic. Where some 2010s Sex Machineguns albums felt like the band was not just going through the motions, but the same motions over and over again, ‘Iron Soul’ actually has quite a bit of variety both in tempos and moods, while the most aggressive songs have just a little more bite to them, at the very least in the riff work.

Recommended tracks: ‘Baikin no Gyakushū’, ‘Nature Power’, ‘Metal Venture Man’

7. Jigoku no Bōsō Ressha (2023)

For a while, ‘Jigoku no Bōsō Ressha’ is the most consistently amazing album Sex Machineguns released after their first three. And in the band’s defense: it takes much longer for it to run out of steam than usual. The first seven songs are the best run of speedy power metal and metallic hard rock Sex Machineguns has done in a long time – not even the blatant ‘I Want Out’ plagiarism in the solo of ‘Sakana no Kimochi’ can ruin that. ‘Po’ has enough intense thrash riffing to excuse the occasional cartoony vocal work, but while the riffs in ‘Metal Tax Man’ are of equal quality, the lounge-esque rap breaks are too big a contrast, and the reggae bits in ‘The Grave’ are absolutely dreadful. What is most frustrating is that ‘Jigoku no Bōsō Ressha’ is so close to the perfect latter-day Sex Machineguns album that you can almost smell it.

Recommended tracks: ‘Moero!! Japameta’, ‘Furue’, ‘Haioku’

6. Heavy Metal Commander (2025)

In a discography not characterized by consistency, ‘Heavy Metal Commander’ is probably the most consistent thing Sex Machineguns released. This time around, the silliness is fortunately limited to the lyrics, and the music is just really solid heavy metal and hard rock throughout. Part of why this album is so consistent is the fact that it’s not quite as broad in stylistic scope. There are no attempts at sounding contemporary and no weird stylistic detours – unless you count the relatively thrashy ‘Jigoku no Bōsō Ressha’, and yes, that is the title of the previous album. Instead, what you get is Sex Machineguns doing what they do best. The one drawback to that is that the album is short on actual highlights, though ‘Judgement Day’ and the aforementioned ‘Jigoku no Bōsō Ressha’ are absolutely amazing headbangers.

Recommended tracks: ‘Jigoku no Bōsō Ressha’, ‘Judgement Day’, ‘Bōsō Rōjin’

5. SMG (2011)

There is something about ‘SMG’ and its predecessor ’45°↗’ that marked a real turning point in Sex Machineguns’ fortunes. What I personally like so much about these albums is that the band doesn’t seem to go out of its way to fit a certain style or trend. Instead, they have just written a bunch of aggressive, often quite punky speed metal tunes with excellent guitar work. And let’s be real here: does Sex Machineguns need to be anything more than that? Ultimately, its predecessor appeals to me slightly more because it’s more melodic; ‘SMG’ gets its character mainly from its blunt riffing. But frankly, they are two sides of the same awesome coin. Another big plus is that the silliness is mostly limited to the lyrical content. Musically, ‘SMG’ is consistently something to bang your head to until it gives out.

Recommended tracks: ‘Merry Go Round’, ‘Jukujo Beam’, ‘Konyakku Punch’

4. 45°↗ (2009)

Out of all the albums Sex Machineguns released afterward, ’45°↗’ is the one that feels closest to their first three. It’s not a perfect comparison, because it is very much as pure as a heavy metal album as it gets, with maybe a few hints of hard rock. ’45°↗’ consists of a bunch of great songs full of energetic riffs and strong hooks. Exactly what a Sex Machineguns album needs to be. In fact, the album contains some of the best riffs the band has written so far, especially in the twenty-first century, while the guitar melodies and harmonies have a bit more of a dramatic feel to them than usual. The overall style and the humorous lyrics keep the album instantly recognizable as a Sex Machineguns album, though, and easily one of the best ones from after what are generally considered to be their classics.

Recommended tracks: ‘Address Henkō’, ‘Charlie Mama’, ‘Heya to T-Shirt to Oyaji’

3. Barbe-Q★ Michael (2001)

With its odd cover and its relatively weak opening tracks, ‘Barbe-Q★ Michael’ doesn’t exactly make the best first impression. Not that the two openers are bad, but ‘S.H.R. ~Sexy Hero Revolution~’ deviates from the album’s overall atmosphere too much, and ‘Midori no Oba-Chan’ sounds so similar to Stryper’s ‘In God We Trust’ that I’m surprised nobody blocked its release. After that, though, ‘Barbe-Q★ Michael’ moves from strength to strength. Overall, the album sounds a lot darker and more aggressive than its two predecessors, resulting in some of the most vicious riff work on any Sex Machineguns album, right down to a death metal pastiche simply titled ‘Death’. If someone who is into thrash metal would ask me what Sex Machineguns album to listen to, ‘Barbe-Q★ Michael’ is the one I would recommend. Maybe with the caveat that the first two tracks are worth skipping.

Recommended tracks: ‘Aikoso Subete’, ‘Fire’, ‘Ōkami to Kirigirisu’

2. Sex Machinegun (1998)

It took Sex Machineguns nearly a decade to release a debut album, but it became fairly successful almost immediately on the back of the dynamic melodic hardrocker ‘Hanabi-la Daikaiten’, and that is well-deserved. There are so many great riffs in various interesting configurations on their nearly self-titled album that it’s difficult not to enjoy it if you’re into speed metal, heavy metal and hard rock. There is a punky vibe to the album here and there, but mostly in attitude rather than stylistically. Inconsistency is sort of baked into the Sex Machineguns sound, and that has been the case from the very beginning, but save for a few odd productional choices, ‘Sex Machinegun’ largely consists of fantastic songs and ditto musicianship. It does not surprise me at all that most of these songs would turn into live staples.

Recommended tracks: ‘Famiresu Bomber’, ‘Burn ~Ai no Honō wo Moyase~’, ‘Devil Wing’

1. Made in Japan (1999)

Without a doubt, Sex Machineguns is at its best on ‘Made in Japan’. And yet, I was conflicted about whether its predecessor should rank higher, since the debut is considerably more consistent. The two chaotic, quasi-industrial tracks ‘Secret Killer’ and ‘Progressive Ojī-Chan’ truly stand out in the worst possible way, and the latter even opens the album. Everything else ranges from great to excellent, though. Sex Machineguns really comes into its own here, with a plethora of speedy, occasionally borderline thrash metal songs, but they sound just as convincing when they take their foot off the gas just a little. There is a lot of the big dumb fun that the band is known for on ‘Made in Japan’, but songs like the vaguely Middle-Eastern ‘Esthetician’ and the absolutely gorgeous ‘Illusion City’ prove that the band has more to offer. Highly recommended.

Recommended tracks: ‘Illusion City’, ‘Tekken II’, ‘Esthetician’