EZO (イーズィーオー, Iiziiō) was a Japanese heavy metal band originally formed as Flatbacker in the spring of 1982 in Sapporo, Japan^[3] out of the remnants of two high school bands, Power-Station and Scrap. EZO has been named a "seminal influence by such artists as Steve McDonald of Redd Kross and Michael Steele of The Bangles."^[2]

EZO consisted of Masaki Yamada (vocals), Taro Takahashi (bass), Shoyo Iida (guitar) and Hiro Homma (drums).^[1] They released one demo cassette (Minagoroshi) in 1984 and two albums (1985's Senzo and 1986's Esa) in Japan as Flatbacker in the mid-1980s before coming to the U.S.^[3] Rumor has it that Gene Simmons of Kiss, who produced their self-titled U.S. debut album,^[2] was behind the band's name change to EZO,^{[citation needed]} inspired by Ezo, an ancient name for Hokkaidō.^[3] They released two albums for Geffen Records, 1987's EZO and 1989's Fire Fire, before being dropped from the label and internal differences led to the band's demise.^[3]

Vocalist Masaki Yamada joined fellow Japanese heavy metal band Loudness in 1992 and drummer Hiro Homma joined Loudness in 1994.^[3] In 2000, the original Loudness lineup reunited and Masaki and Hiro left the band.^[3] Hiro Homma was the drummer for the Japanese metal band Anthem from 2001 to 2013 and vocalist Masaki Yamada is now the bass player for the New York-based band FiRESiGN.

A single guitar riff from EZO song "House of 1,000 Pleasures" served as the signature sound of syndicated radio network Z Rock.^{[citation needed]}

• List of glam metal bands and artists