Re:O is Japanese/British band taking the best of Japanese alternative music and combining western metal and rock. Re:O has been described by fans as “Japancore” a mix of Metalcore, industrial metal, J-Pop, Darkpop, cyberpunk inspired symphonic layers with high energy and heavy guitar.
Re:O was founded in 2020 by singer and multi-instrumentalist Rio Suyama in Tokyo, Japan. She composed, produced and released 'きのシルエット (Sorrow's Silhouette)' in 2020 and 'GUILD' in 2021. GUILD, Stains On My Soul, Ronin and The Haunted has been played internationally on radio stations including BBC radio 1 Future Alternative and and BBC Introducing Oxfordshire.
Re:O reformed in 2023 with Bassist James Wright, Guitarist Jon Roberts, Drummer James 'J' Stevens and Guitarist Alex Carli later joining Re:O in 2025, to bring mesmerizing live performances and co-write a new era for Re:O. The release of 'Stains On My Soul', 'Ronin', 'The Haunted' and their latest Release 'Crimson Desire' in 2024 solidified Re:O in the Metal and alternative genre which was seen critical acclaim from Re:O fans, Bloggers and online magazines being described by fans as 'Japancore' a mix of industrial metal, Dark Pop, J-Pop and Metalcore.
Photographer: Agnieszka Rzesniowiecka (@agaphoto_london)
Ethnicity: Japanese - British - Italian
Location: Maidenhead, UK
GET TO KNOW - completed August 2025 (words by Rio)
Introduce the band:
Rio Suyama - Vocals, Synth (Japanese)
Alex Carli - Guitar (Italian)
Jon Roberts - Guitar (British)
James Wright - Bass (British)
James Stevens - Drums (British)
3 words to describe you:
Passionate, shy, introverted
Describe your sound:
Our sound has lots of different elements because each member are influenced by different music genres. It’s hard to describe but I'd say it's a mix of J-Pop, Dark Pop, Industrial Metal and Metalcore
Describe the moment you knew that you wanted to pursue music:
When I was a kid, I wanted to be an illustrator because I really liked drawing/painting and used to do it a lot for my free time. But also I was into music. And I think it was the moment that I saw Muse live for the first time. I still can’t forget that I was moved to their performance and the vibes they have created with their audience. It was horrendously incredible. It made me wanna play the guitar and That was the moment I knew I wanted to pursue music seriously.
How does your heritage impact your art?
My heritage is in Japan but I believe I was influenced by western culture by western music, films and arts when I grew up in Japan. J-Pop has lots of difficult chords and an influence on Jazz. Their music is complicated styled. I don’t think our music isn’t that complicated so it’s more likely western. But when I make music, i try to keep the balance of each instruments- harmony which is regarded as importance in Japanese cultures. For example, If a guitar takes over the song, the beauty of a song would collapse so you need to pay attention closely to what instruments are doing in each section. I think my heritage shows up in subtle ways like that.
What moment are you most proud of in your music journey so far?
I have countless moments that making us feel like our music journey has been amazing and I’m proud of myself. When we play live, I see audience enjoying our music. They dance, head bang, smile and so on. That makes me feel they really appreciate our music. And it makes me make more efforts to push forward with this band. Sometimes I feel like we’re lost in the void because we’re not sure if what we’re doing is right or wrong. But we are where we are now because of our fans.
Your next music goal:
I have so many music goals. I would love to go on a tour around the UK at first as we’re playing gigs in south and London now. So hopefully we can get more opportunities to go to places we’ve never played. And of course it would be great if we can go to other countries so we can bring our energy and noise to people over there. One day, hopefully we can play live at big festivals like Download festival!
If you could collaborate with anyone, who and why?
I would love to collaborate with Bad Omens or Mick Gordon. I like the direction Bad Omens is going for now. From their latest songs, I could feel dark cyberpunk vibes which is what we are trying to do. I think we can create more darker songs with them. I like the works Mick Gordon creates. His industrial and catchy guitar riffs are fantastic. I wish I could create much cooler riffs like him. And I think it would be fun to collaborate with him.
Your favourite song/lyrics:
Santon Shosetsu by King Gnu
The way they express their feelings are beautiful. It’s like a reading a novel.
3 songs you're listening to right now:
Pump It by Electric Callboy
Specter by Bad Omens
Remember Us by Kevin Sherwood
Your community shout out:
Taka Hirose (@taka_funkybottom) from Feeder. He’s a Japanese bass player for the Welsh band. Like me, he moved to the and started music. When I read interview about him moving to the UK and the band life, it made me think “Maybe one day I can move to the UK to start a band”. Now I’m here! Obviously I like their music. It’s really cool.
Anything else you'd like to share:
We released a new single “Crimson Desire” on 13th August. It’s available on all music streaming platforms so check it out! Our next live show is at The Fiddler’s Elbow, Camden in London on 13th September. We will have an Italian artist Red Sky who we collaborated with flying out to play too! It’s gonna be a special night so grab your ticket and let’s party!
