Sable Hills

Formed in Tokyo in 2015 around brothers Takuya (vocals) and Rict (guitar), Sable Hills develops a melodic metalcore rooted in the legacy of 2000s bands, featuring forceful guitar work, heavy rhythms and a hardcore-derived tension. Growing into a quintet with Wataru, Ueda and Keita, the band initially built its path on the Japanese scene before expanding its international visibility in the early 2020s. The group released Embers in 2019 and Duality in 2022, two records that establish a direct songwriting approach focused on the alternation between aggression, melodic choruses and brighter guitar motifs. In 2021 Sable Hills won the Japanese selection of the Wacken Metal Battle and went on to win the international final in 2022, an important marker in their development outside Japan. The band followed up with Odyssey in 2024 and joined the Arising Empire label at the end of 2023. In its current form, Sable Hills represents a precise take on metalcore, balancing stage effectiveness, a sense of melody and frontal energy.