Japanese classical literature and heavy metal aren’t the most obvious bedfellows, but Ningen Isu weave the two together with ease. Inspired by authors like Osamu Dazai and Ryunosuke Akutagawa, as well as thunderous riff-masters like Black Sabbath, the band—Shinji Wajima, Ken-ichi Suzuki and Nobu Nakajima—have been crafting anthems full of chugging distorted guitars and throaty vocals cloaked in charcoal-black atmosphere for over two decades. Since meeting at school in the late ’70s and releasing their debut LP in 1989, their concrete-heavy J-rock thrills grow more intense with every record.