With a seemingly unpronounceable name (an amalgamation of “Zilch” and “Queen”), yet an accessible (but heavy) sound, Zilqy are a new band hailing from Japan. Formed in 2025, the quartet gained an exorbitant amount of praise for their debut EP, Vacant Throne, whilst their first long player looks set to place them front and centre on the global metal stage. Featuring ten tracks that draw from metal’s deep history and presenting them with a nu-metal spin, Birth Of Riot is a rowdy, aptly-titled affair that’s sure to cause chaos when, and wherever, it’s unleashed.
That Zilqy sound so accomplished and arrive fully formed should come as no surprise as they include bassist Miho (ex-LOVEBITES) and guitarist Toki (ex-Aldious) amongst their number (the band is completed by Anna on vocals and Kano on drums). Of course, musicians are a funny breed and putting several well known names together is no sure sign of success; things could fall apart as easy as fizz and sparkle. Thankfully Zilqy fall very much in the second category and they bring all their experience to bear on Birth Of Riot. As such, they don’t feel the need to appear in a blaze of fire, rather ‘From Zero To One’ is an introduction that eases us into the album, creating an otherworldly affair that swirls around the listener like snowflakes on a winter’s evening. It means that when the following ‘World’s End’ kicks in, it kicks in hard. This is undoubtedly metal (of the heavier variety), yet it also comes liberally soaked in melody, there’s a groove and swing underpinning proceedings that renders it (and, indeed, the whole album) extremely catchy and comes laden with a sticky, earworm quality.
When forming this band, part of Zilqy’s remit was to fuse traditional Japanese melodies to a Western modern metal sound, and that’s something they’ve achieved on Birth Of Riot. It finds East and West meeting head on in a most cataclysmic fashion, the result being songs such as ‘Psycho’ that explode like particles in a nuclear collider. Much of their success is due to bilingual vocalist Anna who sings in English, delivering lyrics that cover everything from fear and loneliness to predestination via post-apocalyptic themes. It’s a lyricism that fits the music very well; heavy words (penned by Anna), acting as an anchor to make the heavy sound all the more weightier. However, Zilqy are a finely nuanced beast and insert dreamlike passages into ‘Caught In The Web’ whilst ‘Other Side Of The Moon’ shines like stars in a crystalline sky. It makes Zilqy and intriguing tension of opposites between East and West, the loud and quiet, and the heavy and the lithe. It means songs like ‘Misfit Toys’ are in constant motion, it’s an album built upon shifting sands and as such it never becomes staid.
It is with ‘Crimson’ that the album comes to a raucous conclusion, it finds Zilqy unleashing all sorts of musical fireworks and planting their flag firmly in the metal map, suggesting Birth Of Riot will initiate a sustained period of pandemonium.
- Birth Of Riot is released via Maverick on 7th October 2026.
Track List:
1. From Zero To One
2. World’s End
3. RUN
4. Psycho
5. CAVEAT
6. Caught In The Web
7. Other Side Of The Moon
8. Misfit Toys
9. Grotesque Noblesse
10. Crimson
