REVIEW: HANABIE. -「HOT TOPIC」

If you haven’t heard the name HANABIE. by now, you need your ears checked. The Japanese metal four-piece have been making quite the name for themselves - so much so that they’ve pioneered their way into an entirely new genre, something they call “harajuku-core”. They’re a cute-but-deadly storm of high-speed metal, bubbly idol pop and frenzied hardcore, and their new EP 「HOT TOPIC」is the perfect showcase for the unique energy they bring.

ICONIC brings us in with the ring of a phone call, and on the other end are some groovy trap beats that fade in and out of the background, a clear build-up to the chorus: a catchy chant of “I am me, iconic, you know?” - a repeated mantra reaffirming the best descriptor we can think of for the band. The next few minutes show us exactly why HANABIE. have earned that status, with YUKINA’s guttural growls, and MATSURI’s clean, harmonious melodies covering both sides of the metalcore vocal spectrum with ease. It’s a really strong start to the EP, and tells us exactly what to expect with 「HOT TOPIC」.

Spicy Queen soon leaves ICONIC in the dust, the band pressing pedal-to-the-metal and setting off on a high-octane track we can barely keep up with. The vocals are intense, a relentless rap bringing us into tune packed with energy that never once stops to let us catch our breath. The hypnotic bassline, courtesy of HETTSU, is a huge standout in this track, especially memorable as it competes against the fiery guitar rhythms. Soon,トキメキAbout you arrives on the scene to follow, asking us “Are you ready?” before leading us into a track that puts HANABIE.’s usual formula into a blender and pours out a chaotic mix of elements - we get J-pop rap segments, colourful pop choruses, deathcore-style roars, and that’s just in the vocals. Also in this explosive cocktail are some electric axe riffs, and heart-pounding drums that keep our hearts racing the whole time.

GIRL’S TALK is another nitro-fuelled beast of a track, with MATSURI dragging us behind her in the wake of her lightning-fast guitar. The lyrics are extremely fitting of the song’s atmosphere - the dual-vocalists sing about a long-time-coming reunion for some girl’s talk, a night filled with shots of whiskey, hot gossip, and dancing the night away; we can picture ourselves having the same type of evening with this track blasting in the background. The fifth and final track, はなびえんちゃん。のテーマ - loosely translated as 'Hanabie-chan.’s Theme' - is something entirely different to what we’ve heard before, which makes it perfect to close off this EP. It’s a fun, catchy theme that leans fully into the facade that HANABIE. hide behind; a bubbly Japanese idol girl-group. We can picture this as an anime-style intro for the band, each member with their own cutesy, colourful design, only for them to segue into their incendiary metalcore riffs and their sugar-filled hyperpop beats and burn that image into ash to reveal the true, raw power of HANABIE.

「HOT TOPIC」carries some of the band’s best work, with clear standouts in Spicy Queen and GIRL’S TALK. This EP perfectly encapsulates what’s iconic about HANABIE.; they’re a molotov cocktail mixed with sugary-sweet idol pop choruses, contrasted with spicy drops of metalcore riffage, blended into a base of fizzy, frenzied rap segments, waiting to explode. This release may be short, but it’s packed with enough flavour to leave us wanting more.

Score: 9/10

「HOT TOPIC」will be released on 28th January 2026 via Sony Music.

Words: Naomi Colliar Duff

Photos: HANAIBIE.