Yoshikazu Yahiro

Who is Yoshikazu Yahiro?

Yoshikazu Yahiro, better known by his stage name Panther and formerly as Circuit.V.Panther, is a Japanese metal guitarist. His stage name was comes from the place he was born, Mie Prefecture where the Suzuka racing circuit is, his favorite guitarist, Steve Vai from which he adopted the letter V, and his look, many people think he looks like a panther, especially when he had pink-dyed hair.

He joined Sex Machineguns in April 2001 as a tour supporter and became an official member in September 2001. When Sex Machineguns went on hiatus in 2004 most of the members, including Panther, formed Elleguns.

On September 26, 2003, he released a six track instrumental solo album, named Sexy Finger. On September 15, 2004, Sexy Finger II, another six track instrumental solo album, was released. Sexy Finger III, once again a six track instrumental solo album, was released on April 13, 2011.

Panther's style encompasses a wide variety of musical genres, including blues, hard rock, and different genres of metal; speed, power, neo-classical. He demonstrates the qualities of a guitar virtuoso; fluid sweep-picking, tapping, etc. He has also been featured in Young Guitar magazine.