Review by Kayla Hamilton (@kaylazomboid)

CHAOS JP: Sable Hills w/ Within Destruction, Distant
Ongakudo, Shibuya, Japan
April 10th 2025

When a show is sold out in Tokyo, they very much mean sold out. Much like how their train occupancy seems to violate all understandings of spatial awareness, a sold out show in Tokyo means you are going to be packed in. That is exactly how the around 400 capacity venue, one of Shibuya’s newest livehouses Ongakudo was for Chaos JP. 

The lineup? Appearing in Japan for the first time, Distant from The Netherlands, the much beloved Slovenian genre bending metallers Within Destruction and the headliners, the Tokyo Riff Lords Sable Hills.

While there were some diehard Distant fans in the audience, even if you have seen before, nothing prepares you for the heaviness that crashes over you when they hit the stage. Their ferocity is overwhelming and you cannot help but feel the urge to throw yourself into the pit. Despite the venue being packed tight, room for a pit was made instantaneously and this is where the chaos began for the next few hours. 

Smashing through a setlist that featured a range of their discography, they truly made up for the time they have not visited Japan before. The locals missed the wall of death memo a little bit, but more than made up for by going side to side in the pit like it was their day job. By the time frontman Alan Grnja asked the crowd to show him “what hell looks like” by destroying the room, there was no stopping that pit. In a special treat as well, frontman of Florida deathcore aficionados Kyle Medina happened to be in town on vacation, so he stopped by to do a cheeky feature with the Dutch monsters of mayhem. Putting a cherry on top of what was an explosive set.

The hype in the room never dwindled, even between bands, so as Within Destruction hit the stage- the chaos did not resume, it elevated. Stage diving, circle pits and an absolute heroes welcome as the band entered with ‘Animetal’, the title track of their brand new album. There was no a spot that could be considered safe, as the pit went from crush to open, back to crush. 

Within Destruction certainly have found a second home in Tokyo, as the crowd sang back all the words and showed them a love that is akin to a hometown crowd. Playing for us a range of their new tracks- which have been already beloved- plus some of their older ones, everybody was having the time of their life. Frontman of Sable Hills Takuya also came out to do Ryo Kinoshita’s part in ‘Yokai’. Their entire set was absolute ecstasy from start to finish, giving the punters a great warm up for their album launch headline show the night after.

It was not going to be an easy feat to follow two absolute ripper international acts- but like Alpha Wolf did a few weeks before in Bangkok, Sable Hills stepped up to the task like they were born for this. There were numerous factors going into this show. Not only was it one of Sable Hills only shows of the thus far, but it was also drummer Keita’s last stage with the band. 

Coming out to ‘Odyssey’ the Tokyo Riff Lords demanded a circle pit straight away and those wishes were automatically granted. Takuya stood tall on the stage, lurching over the bodies below like a general in an army. The room spun without hesitation, with a speed and intensity that I’ve only ever witnessed at a Sable Hills show. Guitarists Rict and Wataru showed exactly why they are considered riff lords, as the band displayed a set list that mainly highlighted their most recent album. Despite this, they still gave us a couple of older tracks like ‘Crisis’, ‘Groundbreaker’ and they finished with ‘The Eternal’. 

Before finishing up though, the band gave Keita an emotional send off. Takuya addressing the crowd, while the guitarists and bass player Ueda, faced the back- playing a soft melody to provide a dramatic backdrop for their sentimental send off. Just as emotional as the band was, the audience, especially those long time Sable Hills fans were also moved to tears- in what was a beautiful way to say goodbye to a band member that has played such an integral role in their music over the past 7 years.

All in all, Chaos JP delivered exactly what it promised; an absolute evening of chaos, but also an emotional rollercoaster of celebration and sadness. As bands like Distant and Within Destruction really cut their teeth as world class performers, its one to thing to also note is that Sable Hills brought an energy just as worthy of celebration. 

It’s not a hard claim to make that these three acts paint a bright picture of the future of heavy music across the globe.