For those asking, my headphones are the HyperX Cloud Alpha (wired version) headphones. It's my first pair of "expensive" headphones (about 100 USD), so I can't compare to other mid-range or high-end headsets. Be warned, the sound is "flat" (there's no bass boost or anything like that), but the dynamic range and accuracy is noticeably better than all the low-end sets I've owned. Also be warned, the detachable microphone doesn't work, or at least I couldn't get it to work.
@@Greg-om2hb : Exactly! (It's why I put "expensive" in quotes.) I was stunned when I learned how much audiophiles are willing to spend on headphones... This is the first time in my 50 years I've spent more than 20 bucks on a set. :-)
It definitely feels special to be alive during Band-Maid's active years. I have a feeling the wider music world will continue to ignore them, but I, personally, recognize their greatness.
I totally agree. Commercially they are never going to be the new Beatles but artistically, at least for me, they are already the new Beatles. And I was there for the Beatles.
I enjoyed your thoughts on each song. This is my personal favorite Band-Maid album. I do find this has the most musical variety when compared to any of their other records. That being said starting with Just Bring It I would rate every release a perfect 10. A band like this does not come along often. I feel blessed that I stumbled onto them. Take care 🎀
As a non-artist, I can't imagine the struggle between (1) what the artist feels like making versus (2) what the fans demand. I suspect that it only gets more difficult as popularity grows. It seems to me that Band-Maid is doing amazingly at walking the line between those too. :-)
One of the interviews they described putting this album together so they had some slower paced songs to play live. They were playing hot venues where audience members were having heat exhaustion issues and they realized they had no mellow or slow songs. This was literally to provide some options to protect their audience. Kanami is a brilliant composer, she writes songs for the entire band. She's like a petit, Japanese Oscar Petersen who writes out everything, as though it were jazz scores for a jazz band.
The care she takes in these compositions shines through in every song. There are no wasted notes. As for the slower-paced songs, I think they provide wonderful changes of pace between the more brutal, driving tracks. The contrast is lovely.
@@Chan_Fry Many of these songs were the core for their acoustic Christmas concert as Miku said, they couldn't have done the acoustic concert without Conqueror. I just realized it wasn't an interview but their commentary track on the Christmas concert DVD (which was completely bonkers commentary).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I discovered BAND-MAID on RUclips during the COVID lockdowns of 2020. Since then I have acquired all of their available catalogue and they have become my one healthy addiction. I'm never bored by the music they produce and you should definitely get into Unseen World after you digest Conqueror for a completely different experience. I don't think they realise the enjoyment they give to music fans around the world although maybe Miku does with her World Domination Dogma 😃. Cheers from Australia!
They definitely pulled me out of my music-listening slump, and give me something to look forward to each day, musically. I've known about them less than a year, and still have a ways to go! Thank you for watching.
Page has to be one of the most beautiful songs . Very well composed . Have been a fan of Band Maid since 2017 . Saw them live in Dallas 2022 . Missed the 2023 tour sadly .Seeing them live just lets you know how good they are .
Oh, you're lucky to have known about them so long! I only became aware of them in Dec. 2022 ("Tank the Tech" reaction channel and "Dice" was my first experience -- except the movie Kate, which I'd already seen, but didn't know about Band-Maid then.) I had a chance to see them this May in Austin, but once they added the opening act I decided not to go. (I can barely stand crowded spaces for so long -- personal failing of mine, I suppose.)
I think Page especially the version from Line Cube Shibuya, is my most favored song by the Ladies. It is on ALL of my playlists and all of them have Page in the top 10 songs. Glory has that driving beat and Saiki starts "rapping" with her rapid fire vocals. And Akane gets so much sound from a limited kit, that many times I'm surprised to hear the sounds. I know she has a few triggers on her kit, but she still makes effective use of all of the sonic capabilities of her kit. MISA is a virtuoso on her bass. And Kanami from my understanding does the final mix before they send the files to the label. And the riff in Liberal leading into that funk beat that then transitions to a prog beat with the final riff leading out, "CHEF'S KISS" And two moments of Endless Story stand out to me. Saiki asking the audience to lend their voices for the final song of LCS and Akane at their final 2022 show in Chicago crying while playing this song. Mirage from LCS, oh my CREATOR what an excellent song with visuals which make it more impactful. And all of their songs ARE unique yet all of them are easily to identify as Band-Maid. And Kanami asked on Twitter/X if people enjoyed hearing guitar solos or if she should quit adding them and the response was, overwhelming, KEEP THEM IN!!! At the drop of the Hat, another hidden soulful song by the Ladies. The soundscape makes you feel like you are in a concert hall surrounded by nature. I think it would be the perfect song for a nature documentary. Wonderland perfectly shows off Saiki's vocal control as a showcase for her and the entire band, it shows their talent and dedication. Akane's double pedal action in particular is amazing. The technique she uses is called "Heel/Toe". Azure is the most unusual song on this album for me at least, I enjoy it, but it doesn't really stand out that much to me. Dilemma is a rollicking good banger, Miku's interjection background vocals are what really hit the most for me. Then Akane's fills stand out like you said. And I personally would love if the Ladies would put together a full "Quadraphonic" album. The first time I saw the MV for Bubble, I was like WTF! I didn't understand the context at first and thought that maybe Miku was leaving the band and this was a "Swan Song" It wasn't until I read about how it was written as an homage to Bohemian Rhapsody and Freddie Mercury that it hit. Again another I prefer the LCS version. Mostly because I feel the album version is over compressed and the sound is being squeezed so the mid-range is hidden/suppressed, while in LCS the sound is full and I can hear everything they way it's intended to be. Flying High is another in my top 10 songs for my playlists. Miku's backing vocals make it that much more. And "B" is the lowest unless she goes to a 6 string or tunes down. If I am remembering right MISA's bass has 2 full octaves like Kanami's and Miku's guitars. If you have not seen the LCS version of Catharsis you REALLY need to. Trust me. And Miku has been playing some more lead elements, however for some of their songs, Kanami will layer an additional guitar which when played live will be on the backing track if they even use it. And Blooming has made many reactors jaws hit the floor. I'm not a reactor, but my jaw hit the floor as well. Especially how MISA basically solos at the same time as Kanami. And the Ladies decided to hit us hard at the end. MISA's bass tone is soooo filthy in this song. I think she is downtuned and then she used her drop pedal as well. Not pick scrapes, fingerslides then a chug. And I hope you don't mind my long winded responses split up to make them easier to understand. And the Ladies push themselves to excel. They refuse to take the easy way, because they don't want to disappoint their "Masters and Princesses"
Thanks! I also came in at World Domination and couldn't believe there was still hard rock out there that was so well crafted, arranged, and executed. And they do it consistently. I love Conqueror, except that IMO it got a mediocre studio production (relative to others). Thank God they play and record songs from it all the time now, it's really made a difference. (FYI, Unseen World is going to blow your mind. And the Unleash!!!!! EP will continue that explosion.)
Really good video, it was a nice watch. I hope you'll do this again for whatever album you happen to get next. "Conqueror" was controversial on release; some people thought it was too soft and that they were going to move away from their usual sound. "Dilemma" has an interesting story. Kanami was feeling relaxed when, during one of their meetings, the band decided they needed another hard-hitting song on the album. It was two weeks before the album had to be finished. No pressure.
Well, I can't tell from "Dilemma" that it was a rush job. :-) Since I never did any videos like this before, I'm flattered by the amazing response (more than 1k views in the first 12 hours), and I'm certainly leaning toward doing it again. Maybe even with the albums I already have (Maid in Japan, New Beginning, and World Domination) before I get Just Bring It, etc. :-) Thank you for watching and commenting.
Oh, I didn't realize there were different versions... Wait, maybe I saw a clip once where Miku was holding up multiple covers... But are the track lists different too?
@@Chan_Fry The tracks are the same. The only difference is that the covers feature different Band Maid members. The limited edition w/blu-ray has Miku Kobato sticking her tongue out. P.S. : If you hadn't seen 'Band Maid Music Gold Rush' I would highly recommend it. There are two parts which have English subtitles. One of the funniest interviews I have ever seen.
Band maid is so good and they were the band that introduced me to the wider world of Japanese and Asian rock music - there are so many talented and amazing bands and musicians that it is hard to believe.
Yes, in the last 11 months, I've found a ton of enjoyable non-American rock acts that are inexplicably ignored by the U.S. mainstream. I can't wrap my head around how the Foo Fighters (for example) keep getting Grammy nods while Band-Maid is doing THIS. (Personally, I'm not much for metal, though I do like the antics of Hanabie, for example.)
This IS different from your normal videos, LOL! Ever since you turned me on to Band-Maid, I've been wondering when you would eventually do a Band-Maid video. :-) THANK YOU, by the way, for alerting me to this group. I don't even like hard rock, generally speaking (I'm more of a soft-rock, blues-rock type person), so I'm not quite as floored by the *heavy* tracks you enjoy, but the talent on display is so mind-boggling, from composition to lyric writing, from rhythm section to lead features, and of course the vocals, this might be the perfect band. The Most perfect band, just maybe. "Page" is perfect for me, as is "Daydreaming". (Glory and Rinne are a bit on the fast/heavy side for me, but still impressive.) Good job!
I remember you told me "hard rock's not my thing", but I'm glad you found some joy in this wonderful band. I will continue spreading the gospel of Band-Maid whenever the opportunity arises. :-)
@@DAVID-io9njI agree and also say that following their progress from the easy-access sounds of their first albums, and hearing them quickly dripping in complexity as they grow, will naturally guide the ears of a hard rock newcomer to then easily cope with the likes of even Black Hole 👊😁
@@Chan_Fryooh..for me also. I’m 62 yrs old and have seen many bands in my lifetime. Band Maid has completely taken over my musical life. I love their music, personalities and well, everything about them.
It's been a while since I listened to all the songs on Conqueror. I've gained a new appreciation for Azure! My favorite off the album is Dilemma. I love all of Band-Maid's fast paced, frenetic songs. And Dilemma hits that spot for me. Btw, a pick scrape is the sound you hear/see at the start of Influencer that Miku is doing. In Rinne, that high pitched sound is a slide down the neck, also by Miku (music video at 1:20).
If I had to pick a favorite here, I think it's Glory. Or maybe Bubble. Or Blooming, possibly. (And I might give three different answers tomorrow!) :-) Dilemma and Flying High are surprisingly awesome too. Thanks for the explanation of the pick scrape / neck slide difference. Not being a musician (I played alto sax in high school, five hundred years ago in the 1980s), I just know it sounds COOL. :-)
Conqueror is a great album but also important in a transitional way imo. Yolo might have been the first song where the more progressive sound of band maid first showed up, but screaming and then about half of Conqueror really foreshadowed what I call “post-Conqueror” BM. I made a long post on Reddit about that transition at one point. Conqueror was clearly a sea change. Dragon cries has one of my favorite solo sections, and Flying High is my #1 BM song. The vocal interplay in that song is fantastic, it’s playful but hard driving and pretty much perfectly encapsulates everything I love about BM in one song. The World Domination album was solidly rooted in BMs “90s/2000’s hard rock” sound, Conqueror bridged into a more progressive sound, and Unseen World is a masterpiece of progressive hard rock where the “BandMaid sound” really became their own.
Also you observed another important thing about BM music ( which led to another long post of mine on Reddit lol) which is that their songs are composed for each instrument, each instrument if isolated would sound like it’s own song solo for that instrument, yet they mesh together as a single composition. It starts with Kanami’s genius compositional skills and demos, but Akane and MISA are extremely musical in their own right and shape their parts in their own colors. Kanami also does initial vocal melodies, she works more like a film or classical composer than typical rock compositions. It’s one reason why I call BM “sneaky progressive”. Yet they never sound over composed or stiff.
@@SteveBalderrama : Your observation clearly comes from listening to the albums in chronological order, something I haven't had a chance to do yet. :-) Due to learning of them via RUclips, my first few songs were Dice, then something like Play, Freedom, and Domination. Then the other relatively new videos... It was a while before I dove backward in time... So I don't have the "Band-Maid sound" in chronological order in my brain quite right yet. I hope that makes sense. ("Sense" pun intended.)
Thank you for your nice review of the Conqueror album. This is my #2 fav Band-Maid album tied with World Domination. PAGE is my #1 fav Band-Maid mid-tempo song, btw. If you haven't listened to the acoustic version of this song, I strongly suggest you do.😉
@@Chan_Fry The last song of their 2021 Xmas acoustic online concert was PAGE, and it was so beautiful! Unfortunately, there is no YT video of this performance (I mean not on YT, but...). Anyway, if you are a member of their official fan club (Omeishu sama no kai), you can purchase the CD of this concert.😉
Ha! I actually got into Japanese woodworking through Band-Maid 😊 Aside from not needing scary power tools and being able to quickly make my living room into a temporary workshop, the same kind of artistry, thoughtfulness, and precision that Band- Maid's music exemplifies made it a no-brainer as a new and useful hobby. Great reaction, you have a great musical ear while avoiding the missing- the- forest-for -the -trees issue that some musicians run into.
Interesting story! I'm no expert at woodworking (much like my musical "prowess", LOL), so I don't know a ton about Japanese woodworking -- but I think I understand what you mean about artistry and precision. Maybe I need to look into it. 🙂 Thanks for watching!
Nice insights, and commentary, for a terrific album. I love this album because of the variety it has, and all of it done to perfection. Mirage is one of my favorite Band Maid songs… what a terrific deep cut it is! As for Kanami, she is such an interesting guitarist… I cannot think of a guitarist who is as busy during verses and, especially, choruses. I do like the live versions of the songs more, though, because this album doesn’t sound as good as the fantastic compositions deserve to sound. I dream of a day when someone remasters the Band Maid catalog.
I did cut out an entire monologue from this video in which I noted how many Band-Maid fans prefer versions that aren't the studio version, and explained that I'm the odd duck who (usually) likes the studio versions better, with a handful of exceptions. (Manners, for example, I enjoy the live version a bit more, even though the crowd is absent.) And you're right about Kanami being nearly unique in how she busies herself during the Saiki/Miku parts of the song.
7:23 - I've been listening to Band-Maid for several weeks now and am also impressed by Misa's playing abilities, generally I do comparisons in my head with other Bassists I have liked over the years, noticing a "Musicianship" quality to be compared with Geddy Lee from Rush, but in these moments, you have just pointed out, I'm just now noticing a similarity to another of my favorite "Old School" bass players Chris Squire, from Yes. He used to go into melodious High notes as well. MISA must be the most talented living Bassist on the Planet still recording in a Band. Band-Maid is becoming my FAVORITE rock band, *(of all time?) - We'll see.
I suppose I'm not qualified to judge bass players on a talent scale, but I've never, not once before, been as impressed with a bass guitarist as I have with MISA. If I was building a "super band", I think I'd invite her first.
Conqurer was unusual, experimental, balanced...album at the same time. I only loved half the songs on this album when it came out. Now I listen to this album more than World Domination. Endless Story is an absolute banger live.
The “electronic” sound at the beginning and end of LIBERAL is KANAMI’s electric guitar. She uses that sound extensively on their subsequent records. I consider UNLEASH to be their latest album, and their best yet, even though they call it an EP. SMILE is the B side of the BUBBLE single, and it’s a great Pop song. AKANE very definitely uses a double pedal on the bass drum. The lowest note on a standard bass is E, but on MISA’s five-string bass, it’s probably B.
The only member of Band Maid who keeps the rhythm of the song is Miku. Misa and Akane are polyrhythmic artists and add their own flavor to the song which helps to make Band Maid's song so unique and interesting.
I like good headphones to give clarity and detail to bass guitar and drum work (and electronic) rather than a big lump of mush. Someone put a pair of Beats on my noggin once and I responded "you paid HOW MUCH for these???!!!" 🙈 I love Conqueror and the studio work...MISA particularly shines and, as a Queen/Rush fan I appreciate and don't want normal rock...I want progressive Maid Rock ❤💪👊🤘🤘🤘
I do appreciate the progressive elements in their rock, though it was the hard driving power that brought me here. :-) (I've never tried the "Beats" headphones, or any other high-end set, so I can't compare. These HyperX Cloud Alpha headphones are "flat", in the sense that all the frequencies push through more or less equally, but the separation between frequencies is noticeable.)
MISA MISA MISA!!!!! that was awesome thank you for doing this album a lot of fans overlook it as an experiment BUT THAT IS WHAT BANDS SHOULD DO experiment otherwise everybody would be complaining about it being samey (looking at you AC/DC) This album is eclectic in many ways for me it ha my least favourite Band-Maid song "Glory" and 2 of my top 10 songs "Flying High" (2) and "Rinne" (6) as well as a top 15 in "Liberal" (12)
Ha, I'm glad you mentioned AC/DC -- before I discovered Band-Maid, I would have listed Angus and crew as one of my top five (with 80s/90s GnR at the number one spot). But AFTER discovering Band-Maid, I suddenly noticed I don't enjoy most AC/DC songs like I used to. (To be clear, Band-Maid is now my number one, and also 2-5.)
They are the HyperX Cloud Alpha headphones (wired version). I think HyperX also has an "Alpha" set that's wireless, but I didn't want to worry about recharging/connecting/etc. Be warned, the sound is "flat" (there's no bass boost, for example), but the dynamic range is incredible and the sound is very accurate compared to all the low-end headphones I've had before. (This is my first pair of "expensive" headphones.)
I think Conqueror struck me as too soft rock when it dropped, and had me worried Band-Maid was pulling an REM or Smashing Pumpkins, where you go soft then disappear. But I like it more now. It's prog rock. Mirage really stands out to me. Still, a hard rock band should only have 1-2 ballads per album. Not 5. Now Unseen World and Unleash have zero ballads. They should stick to the 1 ballad, 9 bangers formula
I tend to agree - I'd prefer a ratio more tilted in favor of heavier tracks - but on the other hand, it's Band-Maid's world and I just get to live here. :-)
For those asking, my headphones are the HyperX Cloud Alpha (wired version) headphones. It's my first pair of "expensive" headphones (about 100 USD), so I can't compare to other mid-range or high-end headsets. Be warned, the sound is "flat" (there's no bass boost or anything like that), but the dynamic range and accuracy is noticeably better than all the low-end sets I've owned. Also be warned, the detachable microphone doesn't work, or at least I couldn't get it to work.
$100 is still in the “economical” range of headphones.
@@Greg-om2hb : Exactly! (It's why I put "expensive" in quotes.) I was stunned when I learned how much audiophiles are willing to spend on headphones... This is the first time in my 50 years I've spent more than 20 bucks on a set. :-)
It definitely feels special to be alive during Band-Maid's active years. I have a feeling the wider music world will continue to ignore them, but I, personally, recognize their greatness.
It's a shame but I think you are right. But as long as they get enough support to keep making great music I'll be buying it.
I totally agree. Commercially they are never going to be the new Beatles but artistically, at least for me, they are already the new Beatles. And I was there for the Beatles.
I enjoyed your thoughts on each song. This is my personal favorite Band-Maid album. I do find this has the most musical variety when compared to any of their other records. That being said starting with Just Bring It I would rate every release a perfect 10.
A band like this does not come along often. I feel blessed that I stumbled onto them. Take care
🎀
Just Bring It is next on my wishlist! :-)
Likewise narrowly my favourite album, also particularly love the variety.
Its kinda mad how it wasn't received well by a lot of fans, its the album that sets down the progressive pathway for unseen world. Its a killer album.
As a non-artist, I can't imagine the struggle between (1) what the artist feels like making versus (2) what the fans demand. I suspect that it only gets more difficult as popularity grows. It seems to me that Band-Maid is doing amazingly at walking the line between those too. :-)
One of the interviews they described putting this album together so they had some slower paced songs to play live. They were playing hot venues where audience members were having heat exhaustion issues and they realized they had no mellow or slow songs. This was literally to provide some options to protect their audience. Kanami is a brilliant composer, she writes songs for the entire band. She's like a petit, Japanese Oscar Petersen who writes out everything, as though it were jazz scores for a jazz band.
The care she takes in these compositions shines through in every song. There are no wasted notes. As for the slower-paced songs, I think they provide wonderful changes of pace between the more brutal, driving tracks. The contrast is lovely.
@@Chan_Fry Many of these songs were the core for their acoustic Christmas concert as Miku said, they couldn't have done the acoustic concert without Conqueror. I just realized it wasn't an interview but their commentary track on the Christmas concert DVD (which was completely bonkers commentary).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I discovered BAND-MAID on RUclips during the COVID lockdowns of 2020. Since then I have acquired all of their available catalogue and they have become my one healthy addiction. I'm never bored by the music they produce and you should definitely get into Unseen World after you digest Conqueror for a completely different experience. I don't think they realise the enjoyment they give to music fans around the world although maybe Miku does with her World Domination Dogma 😃. Cheers from Australia!
They definitely pulled me out of my music-listening slump, and give me something to look forward to each day, musically. I've known about them less than a year, and still have a ways to go! Thank you for watching.
Page has to be one of the most beautiful songs . Very well composed . Have been a fan of Band Maid since 2017 . Saw them live in Dallas 2022 . Missed the 2023 tour sadly .Seeing them live just lets you know how good they are .
Oh, you're lucky to have known about them so long! I only became aware of them in Dec. 2022 ("Tank the Tech" reaction channel and "Dice" was my first experience -- except the movie Kate, which I'd already seen, but didn't know about Band-Maid then.) I had a chance to see them this May in Austin, but once they added the opening act I decided not to go. (I can barely stand crowded spaces for so long -- personal failing of mine, I suppose.)
I neglected to say I enjoyed the album review 👍@@Chan_Fry
The best reaction to any music I have ever heard. As a Madiac, much appreciated, form the UK. Please do more BM.
Wow, thank you! I had a hard time maintaining composure during certain parts -- my eyes got damp at times, and my voice was cracking with emotion. :-)
I think Page especially the version from Line Cube Shibuya, is my most favored song by the Ladies. It is on ALL of my playlists and all of them have Page in the top 10 songs.
Glory has that driving beat and Saiki starts "rapping" with her rapid fire vocals. And Akane gets so much sound from a limited kit, that many times I'm surprised to hear the sounds. I know she has a few triggers on her kit, but she still makes effective use of all of the sonic capabilities of her kit. MISA is a virtuoso on her bass. And Kanami from my understanding does the final mix before they send the files to the label.
And the riff in Liberal leading into that funk beat that then transitions to a prog beat with the final riff leading out, "CHEF'S KISS"
And two moments of Endless Story stand out to me. Saiki asking the audience to lend their voices for the final song of LCS and Akane at their final 2022 show in Chicago crying while playing this song.
Mirage from LCS, oh my CREATOR what an excellent song with visuals which make it more impactful. And all of their songs ARE unique yet all of them are easily to identify as Band-Maid. And Kanami asked on Twitter/X if people enjoyed hearing guitar solos or if she should quit adding them and the response was, overwhelming, KEEP THEM IN!!!
At the drop of the Hat, another hidden soulful song by the Ladies. The soundscape makes you feel like you are in a concert hall surrounded by nature. I think it would be the perfect song for a nature documentary.
Wonderland perfectly shows off Saiki's vocal control as a showcase for her and the entire band, it shows their talent and dedication. Akane's double pedal action in particular is amazing. The technique she uses is called "Heel/Toe".
Azure is the most unusual song on this album for me at least, I enjoy it, but it doesn't really stand out that much to me.
Dilemma is a rollicking good banger, Miku's interjection background vocals are what really hit the most for me. Then Akane's fills stand out like you said. And I personally would love if the Ladies would put together a full "Quadraphonic" album.
The first time I saw the MV for Bubble, I was like WTF! I didn't understand the context at first and thought that maybe Miku was leaving the band and this was a "Swan Song" It wasn't until I read about how it was written as an homage to Bohemian Rhapsody and Freddie Mercury that it hit.
Again another I prefer the LCS version. Mostly because I feel the album version is over compressed and the sound is being squeezed so the mid-range is hidden/suppressed, while in LCS the sound is full and I can hear everything they way it's intended to be.
Flying High is another in my top 10 songs for my playlists. Miku's backing vocals make it that much more. And "B" is the lowest unless she goes to a 6 string or tunes down. If I am remembering right MISA's bass has 2 full octaves like Kanami's and Miku's guitars.
If you have not seen the LCS version of Catharsis you REALLY need to. Trust me. And Miku has been playing some more lead elements, however for some of their songs, Kanami will layer an additional guitar which when played live will be on the backing track if they even use it.
And Blooming has made many reactors jaws hit the floor. I'm not a reactor, but my jaw hit the floor as well. Especially how MISA basically solos at the same time as Kanami.
And the Ladies decided to hit us hard at the end. MISA's bass tone is soooo filthy in this song. I think she is downtuned and then she used her drop pedal as well. Not pick scrapes, fingerslides then a chug.
And I hope you don't mind my long winded responses split up to make them easier to understand. And the Ladies push themselves to excel. They refuse to take the easy way, because they don't want to disappoint their "Masters and Princesses"
Well said!
Thanks! I also came in at World Domination and couldn't believe there was still hard rock out there that was so well crafted, arranged, and executed. And they do it consistently. I love Conqueror, except that IMO it got a mediocre studio production (relative to others). Thank God they play and record songs from it all the time now, it's really made a difference. (FYI, Unseen World is going to blow your mind. And the Unleash!!!!! EP will continue that explosion.)
Can't wait!
Really good video, it was a nice watch. I hope you'll do this again for whatever album you happen to get next.
"Conqueror" was controversial on release; some people thought it was too soft and that they were going to move away from their usual sound. "Dilemma" has an interesting story. Kanami was feeling relaxed when, during one of their meetings, the band decided they needed another hard-hitting song on the album. It was two weeks before the album had to be finished. No pressure.
Well, I can't tell from "Dilemma" that it was a rush job. :-) Since I never did any videos like this before, I'm flattered by the amazing response (more than 1k views in the first 12 hours), and I'm certainly leaning toward doing it again. Maybe even with the albums I already have (Maid in Japan, New Beginning, and World Domination) before I get Just Bring It, etc. :-) Thank you for watching and commenting.
I have two versions of Conquerer. Yet that's not enough PO. Thank you for sharing your view. Band Maid "the Best rock group on the planet"
Oh, I didn't realize there were different versions... Wait, maybe I saw a clip once where Miku was holding up multiple covers... But are the track lists different too?
@@Chan_Fry The tracks are the same. The only difference is that the covers feature different Band Maid members. The limited edition w/blu-ray has Miku Kobato sticking her tongue out. P.S. : If you hadn't seen 'Band Maid Music Gold Rush' I would highly recommend it. There are two parts which have English subtitles. One of the funniest interviews I have ever seen.
Band maid is so good and they were the band that introduced me to the wider world of Japanese and Asian rock music - there are so many talented and amazing bands and musicians that it is hard to believe.
Yes, in the last 11 months, I've found a ton of enjoyable non-American rock acts that are inexplicably ignored by the U.S. mainstream. I can't wrap my head around how the Foo Fighters (for example) keep getting Grammy nods while Band-Maid is doing THIS. (Personally, I'm not much for metal, though I do like the antics of Hanabie, for example.)
This IS different from your normal videos, LOL! Ever since you turned me on to Band-Maid, I've been wondering when you would eventually do a Band-Maid video. :-) THANK YOU, by the way, for alerting me to this group. I don't even like hard rock, generally speaking (I'm more of a soft-rock, blues-rock type person), so I'm not quite as floored by the *heavy* tracks you enjoy, but the talent on display is so mind-boggling, from composition to lyric writing, from rhythm section to lead features, and of course the vocals, this might be the perfect band. The Most perfect band, just maybe. "Page" is perfect for me, as is "Daydreaming". (Glory and Rinne are a bit on the fast/heavy side for me, but still impressive.)
Good job!
I remember you told me "hard rock's not my thing", but I'm glad you found some joy in this wonderful band. I will continue spreading the gospel of Band-Maid whenever the opportunity arises. :-)
I recommend the album Just Bring It. Mid-tempo but strongly melodic through out. I enjoy their recent harder songs, but I LOVE this album.
@@DAVID-io9njI agree and also say that following their progress from the easy-access sounds of their first albums, and hearing them quickly dripping in complexity as they grow, will naturally guide the ears of a hard rock newcomer to then easily cope with the likes of even Black Hole 👊😁
I Love Band Maid! I love this album! But then again…..I love all their albums. This was great. Thank you.
Thanks for watching! For me they have entirely and totally replaced the bands I formerly listened to... :-)
@@Chan_Fryooh..for me also. I’m 62 yrs old and have seen many bands in my lifetime. Band Maid has completely taken over my musical life. I love their music, personalities and well, everything about them.
10:44 *BAND-MAID / endless story* was design as an Anthem and the dream came true in Rockville 😊
It's been a while since I listened to all the songs on Conqueror. I've gained a new appreciation for Azure! My favorite off the album is Dilemma. I love all of Band-Maid's fast paced, frenetic songs. And Dilemma hits that spot for me. Btw, a pick scrape is the sound you hear/see at the start of Influencer that Miku is doing. In Rinne, that high pitched sound is a slide down the neck, also by Miku (music video at 1:20).
If I had to pick a favorite here, I think it's Glory. Or maybe Bubble. Or Blooming, possibly. (And I might give three different answers tomorrow!) :-) Dilemma and Flying High are surprisingly awesome too.
Thanks for the explanation of the pick scrape / neck slide difference. Not being a musician (I played alto sax in high school, five hundred years ago in the 1980s), I just know it sounds COOL. :-)
Well said i couldn't say any better
Conqueror is a great album but also important in a transitional way imo. Yolo might have been the first song where the more progressive sound of band maid first showed up, but screaming and then about half of Conqueror really foreshadowed what I call “post-Conqueror” BM. I made a long post on Reddit about that transition at one point. Conqueror was clearly a sea change. Dragon cries has one of my favorite solo sections, and Flying High is my #1 BM song. The vocal interplay in that song is fantastic, it’s playful but hard driving and pretty much perfectly encapsulates everything I love about BM in one song. The World Domination album was solidly rooted in BMs “90s/2000’s hard rock” sound, Conqueror bridged into a more progressive sound, and Unseen World is a masterpiece of progressive hard rock where the “BandMaid sound” really became their own.
Also you observed another important thing about BM music ( which led to another long post of mine on Reddit lol) which is that their songs are composed for each instrument, each instrument if isolated would sound like it’s own song solo for that instrument, yet they mesh together as a single composition. It starts with Kanami’s genius compositional skills and demos, but Akane and MISA are extremely musical in their own right and shape their parts in their own colors. Kanami also does initial vocal melodies, she works more like a film or classical composer than typical rock compositions. It’s one reason why I call BM “sneaky progressive”. Yet they never sound over composed or stiff.
@@SteveBalderrama : Your observation clearly comes from listening to the albums in chronological order, something I haven't had a chance to do yet. :-) Due to learning of them via RUclips, my first few songs were Dice, then something like Play, Freedom, and Domination. Then the other relatively new videos... It was a while before I dove backward in time... So I don't have the "Band-Maid sound" in chronological order in my brain quite right yet. I hope that makes sense. ("Sense" pun intended.)
This is a good review of the Conqueror album. Thanks, I'm going to get it.
Thanks!
Thank you for your nice review of the Conqueror album. This is my #2 fav Band-Maid album tied with World Domination.
PAGE is my #1 fav Band-Maid mid-tempo song, btw. If you haven't listened to the acoustic version of this song, I strongly suggest you do.😉
I didn't realize there *was* an acoustic version of it... Thanks for the tip!
@@Chan_Fry The last song of their 2021 Xmas acoustic online concert was PAGE, and it was so beautiful!
Unfortunately, there is no YT video of this performance (I mean not on YT, but...).
Anyway, if you are a member of their official fan club (Omeishu sama no kai), you can purchase the CD of this concert.😉
Ha! I actually got into Japanese woodworking through Band-Maid 😊 Aside from not needing scary power tools and being able to quickly make my living room into a temporary workshop, the same kind of artistry, thoughtfulness, and precision that Band- Maid's music exemplifies made it a no-brainer as a new and useful hobby.
Great reaction, you have a great musical ear while avoiding the missing- the- forest-for -the -trees issue that some musicians run into.
Interesting story! I'm no expert at woodworking (much like my musical "prowess", LOL), so I don't know a ton about Japanese woodworking -- but I think I understand what you mean about artistry and precision. Maybe I need to look into it. 🙂
Thanks for watching!
Nice insights, and commentary, for a terrific album. I love this album because of the variety it has, and all of it done to perfection. Mirage is one of my favorite Band Maid songs… what a terrific deep cut it is! As for Kanami, she is such an interesting guitarist… I cannot think of a guitarist who is as busy during verses and, especially, choruses.
I do like the live versions of the songs more, though, because this album doesn’t sound as good as the fantastic compositions deserve to sound. I dream of a day when someone remasters the Band Maid catalog.
I did cut out an entire monologue from this video in which I noted how many Band-Maid fans prefer versions that aren't the studio version, and explained that I'm the odd duck who (usually) likes the studio versions better, with a handful of exceptions. (Manners, for example, I enjoy the live version a bit more, even though the crowd is absent.)
And you're right about Kanami being nearly unique in how she busies herself during the Saiki/Miku parts of the song.
7:23 - I've been listening to Band-Maid for several weeks now and am also impressed by Misa's playing abilities, generally I do comparisons in my head with other Bassists I have liked over the years, noticing a "Musicianship" quality to be compared with Geddy Lee from Rush, but in these moments, you have just pointed out, I'm just now noticing a similarity to another of my favorite "Old School" bass players Chris Squire, from Yes. He used to go into melodious High notes as well. MISA must be the most talented living Bassist on the Planet still recording in a Band. Band-Maid is becoming my FAVORITE rock band, *(of all time?) - We'll see.
I suppose I'm not qualified to judge bass players on a talent scale, but I've never, not once before, been as impressed with a bass guitarist as I have with MISA. If I was building a "super band", I think I'd invite her first.
I often do a full album listen and Flying High is a pristine enjoyment moment...beautifully set up by The Dragon Cries 👌
Yeah, "Let's flying high!" is stuck in my head at the moment. :-)
Flying high has a lot of Miku yips and yells that show up later on unseen world. I love flying high.
Conqurer was unusual, experimental, balanced...album at the same time. I only loved half the songs on this album when it came out. Now I listen to this album more than World Domination. Endless Story is an absolute banger live.
The “electronic” sound at the beginning and end of LIBERAL is KANAMI’s electric guitar. She uses that sound extensively on their subsequent records. I consider UNLEASH to be their latest album, and their best yet, even though they call it an EP.
SMILE is the B side of the BUBBLE single, and it’s a great Pop song.
AKANE very definitely uses a double pedal on the bass drum.
The lowest note on a standard bass is E, but on MISA’s five-string bass, it’s probably B.
That's on my wish list too! (But first I will pick up Just Bring It, I think, and fill in the older gaps.)
Yeah, that minx Mincho switched up the panning on Catharsis. She's on the left, and MISA and Miku are on the right.
That's called a Glissando. 27:54
The only member of Band Maid who keeps the rhythm of the song is Miku. Misa and Akane are polyrhythmic artists and add their own flavor to the song which helps to make Band Maid's song so unique and interesting.
I like good headphones to give clarity and detail to bass guitar and drum work (and electronic) rather than a big lump of mush. Someone put a pair of Beats on my noggin once and I responded "you paid HOW MUCH for these???!!!" 🙈 I love Conqueror and the studio work...MISA particularly shines and, as a Queen/Rush fan I appreciate and don't want normal rock...I want progressive Maid Rock ❤💪👊🤘🤘🤘
I do appreciate the progressive elements in their rock, though it was the hard driving power that brought me here. :-)
(I've never tried the "Beats" headphones, or any other high-end set, so I can't compare. These HyperX Cloud Alpha headphones are "flat", in the sense that all the frequencies push through more or less equally, but the separation between frequencies is noticeable.)
Wow, this is a lot more interesting than my chess videos. ;-)
Talking to yourself again? ;-)
MISA MISA MISA!!!!! that was awesome thank you for doing this album a lot of fans overlook it as an experiment BUT THAT IS WHAT BANDS SHOULD DO experiment otherwise everybody would be complaining about it being samey (looking at you AC/DC) This album is eclectic in many ways for me it ha my least favourite Band-Maid song "Glory" and 2 of my top 10 songs "Flying High" (2) and "Rinne" (6) as well as a top 15 in "Liberal" (12)
Ha, I'm glad you mentioned AC/DC -- before I discovered Band-Maid, I would have listed Angus and crew as one of my top five (with 80s/90s GnR at the number one spot). But AFTER discovering Band-Maid, I suddenly noticed I don't enjoy most AC/DC songs like I used to.
(To be clear, Band-Maid is now my number one, and also 2-5.)
I'm in the market for some new headphones... make and model of yours?
They are the HyperX Cloud Alpha headphones (wired version). I think HyperX also has an "Alpha" set that's wireless, but I didn't want to worry about recharging/connecting/etc. Be warned, the sound is "flat" (there's no bass boost, for example), but the dynamic range is incredible and the sound is very accurate compared to all the low-end headphones I've had before. (This is my first pair of "expensive" headphones.)
I think Conqueror struck me as too soft rock when it dropped, and had me worried Band-Maid was pulling an REM or Smashing Pumpkins, where you go soft then disappear. But I like it more now. It's prog rock. Mirage really stands out to me. Still, a hard rock band should only have 1-2 ballads per album. Not 5. Now Unseen World and Unleash have zero ballads. They should stick to the 1 ballad, 9 bangers formula
I tend to agree - I'd prefer a ratio more tilted in favor of heavier tracks - but on the other hand, it's Band-Maid's world and I just get to live here. :-)