SAKI

SAKI is a Japanese heavy metal guitarist, composer, and songwriter best known for her work with Mary’s Blood and NEMOPHILA. Inspired to play electric guitar after seeing Seikima-II on television, she began her professional career with Destrose before making her recording debut with mixx in 2010. Following the group’s dissolution, she joined Mary’s Blood in 2012, becoming the band’s lead guitarist and a principal contributor to its songwriting. Their major-label debut album, ‘Countdown to Evolution’, arrived in 2014, followed by releases including ‘Bloody Palace’ (2015), ‘FATE’ (2016), and ‘Revenant’ (2018). Her playing combines the speed and precision associated with traditional heavy metal with melodic solos, twin-guitar harmonies, and extended-range guitar techniques.

SAKI remained with Mary’s Blood throughout their rise in Japan’s metal scene, performing internationally and contributing to six studio albums before the band entered an indefinite hiatus in April 2022. During that period, she also became a founding member of NEMOPHILA in 2019, alongside vocalist mayu, guitarist Hazuki, bassist Haraguchi-san, and drummer Murata-tamu. The band attracted an international audience through YouTube performances, releases including ‘REVIVE’ (2021) and ‘Seize the Fate’ (2022), and overseas touring. SAKI also formed the international metal project AMAHIRU with bassist Frédéric Leclercq and other musicians in 2020, releasing a self-titled album that year. After NEMOPHILA’s first Nippon Budokan concert in February 2024, she departed the following month, citing differences in the band’s future direction.

Her solo career began while she was still performing with both bands. In February 2021, SAKI released the instrumental single ‘BRIGHTNESS’, originally developed with input from fans during the COVID-19 pandemic. She followed it with ‘GERMINANS’ in February 2024 and a three-track EP of the same name that June, featuring contributions from musicians including Frédéric Leclercq and drummer Senri Kawaguchi. The recordings placed her guitar at the centre of the compositions without relying on a vocalist, giving greater attention to melody, phrasing, and changes in tone. She embarked on her first solo headline tour, Autumn Rain, in September 2025, performing with a rotating group of support musicians drawn from Japan’s rock and metal scene.

Alongside her solo work, SAKI joined Like-an-Angel, the L’Arc-en-Ciel tribute band formed in 2023 by bassist tetsuya. Performing alongside guitarist RENO of ViViD, she took on material originally played by L’Arc-en-Ciel guitarist Ken, whose approach introduced her to techniques outside her usual heavy metal style. Like-an-Angel subsequently began releasing original music, with SAKI co-composing the band’s December 2025 single ‘Crash to Rise’ alongside tetsuya. She has also continued accepting guest and support performances, including an appearance with DOLL$BOXX at their September 2026 comeback concert, standing in for guitarist TOMO-ZO.

On 24th June 2026, SAKI made her major-label debut as a solo artist with ‘PLUVIA’, released through King Records’ NEXUS label in Japan and JPU Records internationally. Named after the Latin word for rain, the ten-track instrumental album draws on her personal association between rainfall and important moments in her career. Its music ranges from heavy metal and progressive rock to softer, more atmospheric arrangements, with greater emphasis on expressive playing than technical speed alone. Guest musicians include Greek guitarist Gus G. on ‘Flores a Flores’, Frédéric Leclercq, Senri Kawaguchi, and drummer Kagemaru of Zigzag. SAKI supported the release with a five-date Japanese major-debut tour in July and August, concluding at Shinjuku ReNY in Tokyo with guest guitarist RENO.

SAKI also published her autobiography, Saki no Oto., in February 2026, discussing the experiences and personal difficulties behind her career. Her collaboration with Gus G. continued in October, when she contributed a guitar solo to his recording of Iron Maiden’s ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’, released on the Japanese EP ‘Steel Burning Live’. That same month, she launched her own radio programme, SAKI no Stella Pluvia, on InterFM.