At this point I think that most of you know who DEVILOOF are, right? By now the group’s music and visuals through their music videos speak for itself, but just in case I do want to do a short recap:
The group first started their activities under the name DEVILOOF in late 2015 with the single “Ruin”, which took the 12th spot in the Oricon Indies Chart – an achievement that is quite something to boast about, considering they were the second ever in their genre to achieve this feat. Merely a year later the group won a spot as one of the 6 Asian artists to play at Wacken Open Air (which is one of the biggest outdoor metal festivals in Germany) through Metal Battle Japan, and as we now know in 2025, the group is still popular with a wide range of listeners.
Regardless of their ‘metal’ achievements, DEVILOOF still connects to the ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) scene, probably worthy of the title of being one of the ‘heaviest’ in the ラウド系 (Loud Kei) subgenre. And while initially they didn’t lean too much into the horror and gore elements we see today with for example their latest release “因習” (Inshuu), the familiar aesthetic of the main genre was still there, sometimes more noticeable than other times. In the meantime the group has had some changes in their lineup as well, but this is not something I want to go into today. The only reason I’m mentioning it now is because you might see some different names popping up later who are no longer members of the group.
A new logo was revealed in 2017 (which is still being used to this very day), courtesy of 江川敏弘 (Toshihiro Egawa) – who has made illustrations for BABYMETAL, SiM and ARCH ENEMY as well. Today we’re going to take a deep dive in the first full album “Devil’s Proof”, which also features artwork from Egawa as its album cover.
“Devil’s Proof” was released on November 15 2017, and comes with 11 tracks, two of which also have a music video.
In addition Яyo Trackmaker (who you might recognize as the drummer of girugämesh) was also added to the team as a mix engineer, so you could say this release is filled to the brim. I’m aware this release is a little ‘outdated’ compared to their current work, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing that can be said about it, right? So as usual we’re going to talk about all 11 tracks, but also cover the music video’s for “ESCAPE” and “M.F.JAP”.
Normally I would ask you if you’re ready for “Devil’s Proof”, but today I can actually go a bit out of character. This album makes heavy use of some … explicit lyrics. So to remain on brand, I’m going to turn my attention to the band instead and say: “Come on motherfucking Japanese” instead.
(And before you take this out of context: this sentence is actually part of their “M.F.JAP” song which we’ll discuss near the end of this review.)
Victory and glory are in our hands
The album starts off with its namesake, namely “Devil’s Proof”, which is an instrumental piece spanning a little over a minute in length. Despite being an instrumental, the song already gives the listener a good idea of the type of sound they can expect for the rest of the album. Since a big part of DEVILOOF, even in 2017 already, was about the combination of the guitars with a heavier bass and drum sound. While there is a little more digital influence mixed into the track, the main tone for the album has been set, and that is without vocalist 桂佑 (Keisuke) joining in – or well, not as the vocalist. Because this track was created by 桂佑 (Keisuke) and Яyo Trackmaker. A stark contrast to the compositions of the rest of the album, since with exception of “M.F.JAP” all songs have been composed by guitarist 晟也 (Seiya).
The second track on the album is also the first music video for this release, namely “ESCAPE”. And this is also where we start to see the way how DEVILOOF connects both the ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) (I’m going to shorten this to ‘VK’ from this point onwards for convenience) genre with the J-Metal genre. In VK the lyrics are more often than not sung in Japanese, sometimes with some English sprinkled in here and there, while the J-Metal genre is highly influenced by non-Japanese Metal musicians, meaning that the primary choice for lyrics is often English. And while “ESCAPE” leans more towards the VK style of lyrics, this is definitely not the case for several other songs on the album.
That being said, for DEVILOOF standards “ESCAPE” is a fairly tame song, both in its instrumentals and its lyrics – and it’s definitely not the most aggressive song you’ll find on this album. In fact, it might just be the most melodic one, considering 桂佑 (Keisuke) performs the majority of the song in his normal voice, with some of his squeals mixed in here and there. Despite there not being a real story in the lyrics, vocalist 桂佑 (Keisuke) mixes Japanese and English to tell us about a scene where everyone is stained with madness and fear, one he wants to run away from, ‘fuckin’ far away’ even, but he still has his finger on the trigger, begs for forgiveness and shoots through regardless.
The music video starts with some mild static and the title, before immediately diving in to an overhead shot of drummer ひろと (Hiroto) before quickly cutting to 桂佑 (Keisuke) as he performs the most aggressive verses of the song straight out of the gate. Throughout the video we’ll see the members in an open road-like area between some taller buildings, decked out with pyrotechnics and lights to add to the ambiance of the area, since the music video seems to be filmed after sunset. Every now and then the screen shows us some information and warning messages, like ‘AVOID IT’, ‘I don’t even know what is wrong’ and ‘proceed with caution’, among others. These messages are not part of the lyrics, but they do add to them.
In recent reviews I’ve continuously discussed the ‘band performs song’-type of style, which can be said about “ESCAPE” as well, but at the same time there is so much movement and quick shots of these little tidbits on the screen that you’d almost forget the ‘bands performs song’-style is being used here. Making this, in my opinion, one of the better music videos for this style of filming. (Plus, with these lyrics it would be difficult to push out a coherent story regardless, don’t you think?)
With the melodic vocals of “ESCAPE” behind us, we’re blasting full charge into “Natural Born Killer”, which is more of the DEVILOOF-style that we’re very familiar with in the meantime. With fast guitar riffs, heavy use of the bass drum and 桂佑 (Keisuke) taking on his ‘beast form’ with his high pitched scream vocals on full blast, “Natural Born Killer” tells us the story of a … natural born killer. “I will pass judgment, pretending to be a god. Decapitation, execution, a stopped needle, sin and blood will flow. I’m a natural born killer.”
Compared to “ESCAPE”, the lyrics are a lot shorter, and are almost entirely performed in Japanese. The only exceptions being ‘death penalty’, ‘I can’t change’ and ‘I’m a natural born killer’. So if you were looking for these explicit lyrics I warned you about in the introduction, it’s going to be a ride from here.
“Return of the Curse” puts some of the melodic influence we heard earlier on “ESCAPE” back in its introduction, but also introduces guitarist Ray as the second vocalist, a theme we’ve seen multiple times in later releases. (And for good reason, Ray’s vocal sound is more on the melodic side overall, and quite different from 桂佑 (Keisuke), which is why their voices mix extremely well whenever they make use of this style.) We’ll also see it return on this album, so the members were definitely aware that they had something here with this combination.
At this point we’re also far enough into the release to conclude that the overall theme definitely has been established, at least in the lyrics. Where “Natural Born Killer” spoke about passing judgment, “Return of the Curse” continues this theme flawlessly, although this time it’s not described as through the eyes of a single person, but more as thought process. “Judgment in the name of God. Burn the wicked. Turn them to ashes and return them to the sky for purification.”
This song is also the first one on the release that is sung entirely in Japanese. Which is probably the best choice given the detail of the lyrics. Being the native language of the vocalist(s, Ray included) means that they can add an emotion to it that doesn’t come through as well as it probably would have in English.
Where the previous song was the first on the release in full Japanese, “DESTINATION” actually has two firsts to its name. Not only is this the first song sung entirely in English, its lyrics have also been written by bassist 太輝 (Daiki). (The songs before it were all written by vocalist 桂佑 (Keisuke), which was why I didn’t point it out until now.)
As mentioned, English is not the native language of the members, so there are some grammar mistakes within these English lyrics, but that doesn’t mean that they are difficult to understand. Much like its predecessor, “DESTINATION” also makes use of the secondary vocals being provided by Ray, but there is no story being told through the lyrics this time. Instead it has more of an ‘anthem’ type of feel, without actually being one. The instrumentals also fit in the same style as what we’ve heard before, where the guitars are the main attraction, but overall “DESTINATION” feels more like a filler song than a proper contribution to the rest of “Devil’s Proof”.
Something similar can be said about “LOVER”. While the instrumentals and vocals fit the style DEVILOOF has been trying to show us through this album, the lyrics are nowhere close to the theme we saw before. The lyrics are once again performed in full English, which also means that the sentences are more simplified compared to the Japanese lyrics we saw earlier. They do however match the title of the song, since they actually are about a lover. A strange, obsessive lover at that. “Why don’t you stay by my side? Everything about you is mine. Why won’t you understand?”
With its fast pace and growling vocal style the lyrics are a bit hard to make out regardless of the language, so when you listen to the album you probably won’t even notice these songs being different, but with me diving into each song for this review … it definitely stood out like a sore thumb to me, especially with the buildup from “ESCAPE”, “Natural Born Killer” and “Return of the Curse” coming before them.
Following is “InCipit”, an instrumental piece composed by guitarist 晟也 (Seiya) (who has actually composed the majority of this album single-handedly, the only exception being “M.F.JAP”). Spanning a little over four minutes in length, it ties the loose ends caused by “DESTINATION” and “LOVER” together without the use of vocals, since it uses elements from all songs we have heard already. The melodic style of “ESCAPE” combined with the faster styles of “DESTINATION” and “LOVER”, and the more heavy, aggressive pace of “Natural Born Killer” and “Return of the Curse” all make another appearance in this one piece without sounding like exact copies of another.
Why this piece was placed as the 7th track on this album is a mystery to me, considering the title comes from Latin, and means ‘it begins’. Often referring to the opening of a manuscript, early printed book or chanted liturgical text (which is a chanted, religious text for public worship). As we’ve seen already, DEVILOOF do make use of religion in their lyrics for this album, but why “InCipit” is used to tie up the loose ends of this album in this exact position is a bit odd to me – something I also mentioned in the review of their mini-album “DAMNED” with the song “Terpsichore”, which came out in 2023.
Regardless of its position on this release, “InCipit” makes for a wonderful instrumental piece that absolutely showcases the instrumental skills of DEVILOOF.
With a mixture of Japanese and English lyrics, “EGOIST” brings us right back to where “Return of the Curse” left us off. We were left at the idea of passing judgment, and “EGOIST” actually seems to be more of the opposite of that thought process. “We don’t want to make the same mistake. We both hurt each other. We should try to understand one another. Let’s understand one another.”
The lyrics are relatively short compared to the songs before it, but their impact is just as strong, in both languages even. While “Natural Born Killer” and “Return of the Curse” rushed through slashing everything in their path, “EGOIST” is the exact opposite in its lyrics, but instrumentally it fits perfectly with the rest of the album. It makes use of the same fast pace as what we heard throughout the album, the same heavy use of the bass guitar and drums, without being overwhelming in any instrument, and is the perfect way to pick up where we left off after “InCipit”.
“M.F.JAP” being the first on that last stretch, I can finally circle back to that “Come on motherfucking Japanese” I used in the introduction. You can probably guess what the ‘M.F’ part in “M.F.JAP” stands for by now, right? Lovely. And if not, 桂佑 (Keisuke) will repeat it once more for you at the end of the opening verse.
In all aspects, “M.F.JAP” stands out from the rest of the album: its name is a bit … out there… to say the least, the style of the lyrics are completely different from the other songs, and the instrumentals are the same heavy style as the rest of the album, but don’t focus on the skills of the guitarists primarily. These differences might be because both the music and the lyrics have been written by 桂佑 (Keisuke) alone, but the overall style of the song also takes a lot of influence from the J-Metal genre. Despite using a lot of Japanese, the verbal aggression is very noticeable, and the instrumental style is also closer to the Metal genre than it is to VK, even within the ラウド系 (Loud Kei) subgenre, making it a polar opposite to “ESCAPE” earlier.
As mentioned earlier, this album has two music videos, the first one being “ESCAPE”, and you’ve probably guessed by now that this is the second one. Where “ESCAPE” was all about the amazing décor to spruce up an otherwise simplistic stage for the members, “M.F.JAP” couldn’t be more simplistic in its approach if it tried. With a grey filter covering the entire video while the members are mostly obscured and at times barely visible or even identifiable, the video is mostly reminiscent of a Metal one already. All of the flamboyance of the VK genre has been thrown out the window, and the lyrics are visible on the screen most of the time as well. While this is very much a ‘band performs song’-type of music video as well (aside from the fact that the lyrics don’t leave room for anything else in this case), it is again executed in a style that is extremely fitting for it. And with the contrast between both music videos it’s an amazing combination of ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) and J-Metal, without the group moving too far from their core concept.
The only track with a Japanese title on the album is “怠惰の罪” (Taida no Tsumi), or “The Sin of Sloth” in English. With the lyrics being primarily in Japanese and a tempo that fits the majority of the album, the vocals are actually delivered in a slower, more melodically stretched out manner, almost as if they’re mimicking the sound one would imagine an angel would sound like mixed with the satisfied voice of a demon, both performed by 桂佑 (Keisuke) while the center stage for the instruments is for the guitars most of the time. That doesn’t mean that 太輝 (Daiki)’s bass and ひろと (Hiroto)’s drums fade into the background – oh no. While they don’t get a solo moment to shine by themselves, they form a very solid base that the guitars actually use to show off their sounds more. “The sweet nectar of the fruit of temptation – once you taste it, you become addicted and cannot escape.”
The final track of the album is reserved for “HERO=MURDERER”, which might just have the shortest lyrics of the entire collection as well. Written primarily in English with a little Japanese mixed in, it closes off the album with a fast, but heavy pace, allowing not just the vocalist, but all instruments to showcase their skills one more time as a closing performance. While not a direct continuation of the ‘story’ (if one can call it that) the first few songs started, it is closely related to them lyrically. “One murder makes a villain, millions a hero, numbers sanctify.”
Where “Natural Born Killer” and “Return of the Curse” spoke about murdering others, “HERO=MURDERER” seems like a direct continuation of that concept, don’t you think? Where one murder makes you a villain, but many murders for the greater good with the mindset of “DESTINATION” as a driving force, make you a hero?
Conclusion
Let me be honest for a moment. I’ve been a fan of DEVILOOF’s work since the release of this album, yet it has never been ‘one of my favorites’, even in their discography. In fact, I have made a review on this album shortly after it came out. But for the last few years this album has been a release I wanted to revisit. Much like DEVILOOF themselves, I too have grown over the years and my look on the world has changed. Same for my look on music. One of the biggest changes for me is that I have become extremely interested in lyrics, and the stories all of these releases tell through them. After the release of their EP “DAMNED” in 2023, where there was a story in the lyrics that I feel nobody else saw at that time I wondered if that type of story was also present in “Devil’s Proof”. And while I’ve seen a lot of similarities, I’ve also seen a lot of differences.
In their early years in particular DEVILOOF have had a lot of achievements in the Metal genre, while still presenting themselves as a ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) band – a combination that you really see in “Devil’s Proof”, which uses elements of both genres, sometimes in the same song even. As someone who is interested in both genres it really feels like DEVILOOF are one of the groups that connect both genres, even in 2025 still. Combining a heavy foundation with the flamboyance of ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) without taking away the core aspects of both genres. If by any chance you have not heard this album yet, it’s one I would absolutely recommend. And if you have listened to it, I can’t encourage you enough to listen to it once more with the information I’ve given you in this review in the back of your mind. It made me see the group in a different light, so what about you?
Also… Is it just me who misreads the title of the album as “Devil’s PLOOF” because of the font? I’m sorry for putting that in your head now.
“Devil’s Proof” is available on streaming services and as a physical CD, and we’re more than happy to share the Spotify version as well as the information about the CD itself with you below:
 DAKDVLF-4 // ¥2,900 |
02. ESCAPE 03. Natural Born Killer 04. Return of the Curse 05. DESTINATION 06. LOVER 07. InCipit -Instrumental- 08. EGOIST 09. M.F.JAP 10. 怠惰の罪 (Taida no Tsumi) 11. HERO=MURDERER |
2017.11.15 Shop: CDJapan |
More about DEVILOOF
         |  (Keisuke) |  |  (Seiya) |
 (Daiki) |  (Hiroto) |
雪 (Yuki) is the owner and driving force behind Arlequin.
She originally started the project in 2009 as a photographer under the name of Arlequin Photography, but developed an interest in journalism and translation ever since. Because of these interests interviews and reviews were added to the project, until it eventually hit the limits as a "photographer" in 2021, and Arlequin Magazine was added to the mix.
雪 (Yuki) is a native Dutch speaker with a graphic design degree, which means she is also the main person behind Arlequin Creations.
After all these years, she's still the one responsible for the interviews and most of the live photography you see here at Arlequin, but the majority of reviews and behind-the-scenes work is also done by her.
The reviews she writes are from the viewing point of an overseas fan, and thus written in English before being translated to Dutch, Spanish and Japanese. In the English versions she also tries to explain the meaning behind certain kanji or song titles to the readers, but what you don't see here is that these explanations are omitted in the Japanese versions in order to appeal to these readers more.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.