Band Maid Rocks the Quarry! Influencer Reaction!!

[@Phattydumpz]

A few words I use to describe Band Maid, and maybe you've said this before I can't recall, is "controlled chaos". 5 different things happening at once, and somehow sonically it makes sense to our ears and brains. Genius writing it really takes a lot of skill and knowledge to ride that line between chaos and order.

[@crabuki1273]

IMO Miku is the key to BAND-MAID. She hangs with the base drum a lot, her parts are harmonically and *rhythmically* foundational. Her limited (but growing!) expertise means her parts CAN'T be too technical. So she's creating the skeleton, and that frees up MISA's bass to wander wherever she wants. MISA doesn't play traditional rock bass, she's plays LEAD bass. Her parts are just as decorative and "plussing" as Kanami's lead guitar. It really let's them be insanely creative in areas we're used to hearing just basic work.

[@GaryHolloway-810]

I see how your commenting style works, GG. When you have a reactor who is either a proper musician or has musical knowledge your 2nd ganglion brain kicks in that makes you write awesome comments like this.😁👍

[@crabuki1273]

@@GaryHolloway-810 Sometimes, when the reactor really sucks and you haven't commented yet, I just thumb it and leave. For the average reaction I just try and pop a laugh out of you. ;)

[@Jonas_S_]

Well put, Crabuki 👍

[@nathandavis5099]

This point is absolutely the genius of this band. Many times Miku's guitar sets both the rhythm and key, freeing the 3 virtuosos around her to freestyle. MISA doesn't HAVE to set the chord, Akane doesn't HAVE to set the rhythm or even beat. They can be completely creative in how they approach the music, and the music is so much better for it.

[@toshimatyu6654]

Miku has said in interviews that she fills in the gaps between sounds with rhythm so that she doesn't get in the way of other instruments.

[@Running-withscissors]

Sometimes I think Kaname writes concertos for a full orchestra and hands it to the rest of the band and says "Play this" lol

[@Space_Ranger]

I think Kanami is a classical composer at heart. The reincarnation of Mozart! It's like she just knows how the musical puzzle goes together.

[@TomClark-Futoura]

Now we are hearing Influencer LIVE during 2022 USA Tour and surrendering our love to the Maids. That's a real Hunky Dory Day! Thx, Pry!

[@GaryHolloway-810]

I'm already under their Influencer, Tom.🙂

[@surfingasongwave]

5:00 Yeah, sometimes I think of Kanami's lead like wallpaper. It's not supposed to be the focus, but it affects the mood of the song. You'll hear people complain that she's not forward enough in the mix, but things like that make me think she's exactly where she wants to be. Maybe she can boost herself a bit more for the solos, but in the verses she doesn't want to draw focus from the vocals. The bass solo with the little vocal break in the middle catches everybody off guard; "Yeah, bass! Aww, too short. Yeah! More!" It sounds to me like Kanami is using a harmonizer set at an octave but I don't know pedals. I love your "team" analogy, a dream team where everyone is top of their game but they all cooperate to work as a unit. Pretty rare in music were everybody's got an ego.

[@greylocke100]

She was using an Eventide H9 Harmonizer.

[@interstellardave]

It’s never too much because, in addition to being such a cohesive band, Kanami is a genius composer (and everyone else contributes to that more and more these days too). Lots of bands have great players, and some also mesh very well together, but very few, it seems, complete the trifecta with fantastic compositional skill.

[@stephenkalisz6495]

so simple yet complex at the same time. loved the background in this, it a quarry

[@falconsooner]

You picked up a lot of great details especially all the quiet lead notes Kanami is playing at the beginning

[@roumiaou]

Couldn't agree more.

[@PrymalChaos]

In my personal songwriting I always seem to feel like everyone knows more than me, (it's a character trait I have carried around since childhood). So I have trained myself to study stuff like that. I don't hear songs anymore. Just parts of songs. Hahaha. It's also why I love doing this channel because I keep discovering amazing ideas in other people's work.

[@philcalvino884]

Thanks, man, always love your breakdowns! I like the term "musical choreography" as it applies to a song writing and performance. I've always felt the same, i.e. that Band-Maid really know how to emphasize the strengths of each member, such that everyone gets an interesting and unique part, but they never clash, and they always serve the music.

[@joeseconi250]

Great breakdown of a song that really deserves to be appreciated for all the nuance that went into creating it. Thank you for doing such a in depth reaction, probably one of the best I've seen for this song. Hopefully you get to see them on this current tour, I'm gonna see then 2 times and I cant wait. 🤘

[@RelUnrelated]

I've been looking forward to this one. I agree that their teamwork is phenomenal. It's like they're focused on providing an outlet for each member's skills in every song. I've been driving with the "Unleash" EP playing in the car recently, and I do have to keep an eye on my speed more closely. 😅

[@PrymalChaos]

Hahah

[@himbo754]

And it has a catchy chorus that is an instant ear-worm: "Hunk Dory Day-y-y-y-y-y".

[@jkkansasband7056]

Excellent analysis PC. This song grew on me with every listen. I love it now. Can it just be because it's Band-Maid? 🤷🏻‍♂They're just too Awesomely and deliciously good. Peace. 14.3

[@GaryHolloway-810]

I was the same, jk. The more times i hear it the more i love it :)

[@jkkansasband7056]

@@GaryHolloway-810 👍🏻It's a phenomenon I haven't seen in decades. Band-Maid has both. More instant hits than any other of my favorite bands. Then on top of that many songs that tug on me until I succumb. Surrender Love. 🥰 btw, no notification.

[@GaryHolloway-810]

@@jkkansasband7056 Yep totally agree. Don't worry jk my comment about my herb bread mix called "Dill Dough" has gone.😆 I'll try again somewhere else :)

[@jkkansasband7056]

@@GaryHolloway-810 LMAO. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 You know me.

[@phaeron]

Well, that was once again a really interesting and above all informative reaction. Hats off and thank you! 🙏🏻🤘🏻 _____________________ 「 _'Our rock never dies ever. Forever!'_ 」 --- *BAND-MAID* 'Manners' 🕊

[@armynurseboy]

The sound on Kanami's guitar is from a Evantide Harmonizer. Personally, I'm not a fan of that over squeally sound. It's OK in small doses, but it seems like Kanami found a new toy in that Harmonizer and is now using it all the time. I'm more of a fan of her older sound which was darker and fuller, coming from that Mesa Boogie header.

[@PrymalChaos]

Yeah. I feel ya. I recently discovered octavers and I kinda wanna use it in everything.

[@thisismadness6962]

I tend to agree with you but like it when it works like in this song. The hip hop bridge, then bass solo, then synth-like guitar solo, then long held vocal notes in the final chorus all juxtapose each other to make a series of surprising, contrasting steps that make you keep thinking WTF? Then back to hunk dory to finish out. I think it's Kanami exploring sound like she is with the backing tracks and it'll result in more truly new music.

[@joeking6763]

It's never too late to be a MAIDIAC!!! KANAMI - the lead guitarist is the song writer (MISA and AKANE add their parts as well) and is classically trained from a young age. MIKU - is the writes the lyrics (now the SAIKI's input as well) and leader of the band. Her idea for the band and initiative to get them all together. So in the end they all work together on writing the songs!

[@davidmejia7908]

The genius of Band Maid having all the parts combining to make a cohesive whole.

[@madsstavang]

Great reaction! Kanami is using an Eventide H9 harmonizer to get that effect.

[@PrymalChaos]

Yes! That would definitely be it!

[@roumiaou]

Thanks. So much. Best reaction for this song I've seen/heard so far. Don't mean to flatter you. But you got THAT ear.

[@PrymalChaos]

Thanks mate! I appreciate that!

[@roumiaou]

@@PrymalChaos So did I ! I already loved the song but you showed the human being, technical for sure, but one can hear your heart as well. That's what I like with reactors who don't fake it.

[@roumiaou]

yeah typical HPE/HPI reaction. But it makes me happy. Keep up the great work.

[@enol8603]

Band Maid upping their game in prog rock! .... Also check out Nemophila's latest song too. They've also upped their game in metal!

[@MaartenT]

You can say this is progressive (I agree), but it certainly isn't "prog rock" for most people. The thing with "prog rock" that people will think of the great progressive rock bands of the 70's and such and this is so far from that sound. I actually have a tough time to categorize this one (and most of their new EP) as "rock" in general because of the lack of a "real" guitar sound for a good portion of the EP. I still enjoy it quite a bit, but I'm not really sure what to make of the genre, I guess that's why most people call it Band-Maid (I always found that silly, but I really don't know what to call it otherwise). It still has some rock riffs here and there with progressive elements but it has been mastered and produced by a pop producer or something (courtesy of Pony Canyon) which changed the sound to something that's not really rock any more in most parts (to my ears), but still sounds like Band-Maid. The solo's are still rocking solo's, but Kanami's guitar isn't a rock guitar. The only instrument that they more or less left alone is Misa's bass, which still sounds amazing. But they certainly aren't hard rock any more, that's for sure. That said, while I personally love using genres, you can argue that the meaning of most genres is pretty pointless nowadays to begin with. And in the end it doesn't matter as long as the music is good. I do agree about the Nemophila recommendation though, I am personally not the biggest fan of the chorus on that one, but the song in general is one my favourites by them and actually reminds me of their earlier stuff (which makes sense since it's written by the same guy). Not the biggest fan of how it's produced on that one either, but it's a fantastic track and that's just me being critical.

[@lurkmerchant]

Band-Maid never play one genre straight, right?

[@MaartenT]

@@lurkmerchant They don't any more no, but they used to on their earlier albums. I don't mind them mixing in different genres, it makes it more interesting, I just personally would prefer for it to still sound like rock music to some extend and some of their newer songs don't really do that any more as far as overal tone goes. That said while Kanami's new toy certainly has something to do with that, I also have the feeling that Pony Canyon's producer team might not have that much experience with hard rock and metal and just use what they have learned from pop (overcompression on almost everything, a lot of effects and pitch correction on the vocals, ...) and put it on their music. I personally feel like it all feels a bit too clinical and it lost a lot of soul that they still had on the World Domination album and on Conqueror as well. Unseen World is my favourite album of theirs, but even that one already has this type of (for me) overproduction, just to a lesser extent. I didn't notice it as much on that album because not all the tracks on that album have Kanami's harmonizer pedal. There are some tracks on the new EP that don't have those effects as much, HATE? being one of them, but the general feel of most tracks is very similar (probably because of the production) even though the music itself is not the same style. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the new EP a lot, but I had this feeling already with the Sense single and I just hope they don't keep going more and more in that direction. I'm all for the experimentation and the fast paced songs, there are plenty of them on Unseen World and I love almost everything on that album. I just hope they can find a way to mix in some of the older, more soulfoul, tracks as well in the future (and that they lose some of the compression and vocal production).

[@lurkmerchant]

@@MaartenT Really? At least all the music written by Kanami since 2015 or 2016, I hear different genres in every song. Actually it was the main reason I fell in love with them. I personally feel that they keep their soul in their music as Band-Maid, many people said Band-Maid is a hard rock band but I never saw them as a straight hard rock band to start with, but one thing I agree with you is while their new songs don't sound the same, they all share the crazy, busy instrumentation. I think it's due to Kanami's depression and frustration showing in the chaotic sound.

[@MaartenT]

@@lurkmerchant Most music in 2015/2016 wasn't written by Kanami or you mean everything since alone? That said, I agree that not all their songs are the same genre mix, they don't sound alike either. But to my ears they generally mixed pop punk with hard rock with different mixes depending on the song. I never heard that many other influences on their earlier albums. You can say J-pop for the choruses, but I include that in the pop punk. There are obviously exceptions and they have mixed in some metal en jazz influences here and there and became more and more progressive over time. But in general I would say that most of their songs until Conqueror (and certainly until World Domination) have been a mix of pop punk and hard rock with some slight influences of other genres thrown in here and there. But it might be semantics. I think most of those influences are rather light, but that doesn't mean other people don't see it like them playing a different genre. Akane's drumming has become more and more metal based a lot of times for example, but they hardly play any metal riffs. So to me, that's not them playing metal, but I can totally see how other people can see this differently. In the end the genres are not that important as long as we like their music.

[@2abug]

15:00 -Konami- Kanami arcade video games 🎸🕹

[@PrymalChaos]

Hahaha. I see what you did there.

[@dragonmac1234]

MISA plays a bass solo Mincho "hold my beer"

[@rodcarter3767]

Excellent reaction..!! Thank You..!!

[@zolitoth2458]

Kanami's solo is like a J.S.Bach harpsichord sonata.

[@thisismadness6962]

Cool. Nice discussion. You should get your hands on the bonus DVD for the Unleash EP and react to the MV for From Now On. Maybe it will show up online somewhere. It's killer. Misa, Akane, and Kanami all crush it.

[@flugelhornoldman1362]

Thanks again from Japan 有難う 💛。 This MV was filmed at a famous and old stone quarry (Ishikiri-Sanmyaku) located in Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo. Kanami, the lead guitarist, was very scared when she stood near the brink of the cliff but she could defy the fear once cameras started to capture her playing scene. [source : Gekirock News]. Saiki is singing "Hunky Dory" repeatedly. It sounds to me, an aged Japanese, a kind of word play or pun. This phrase is very close to Japanese expression "Honki (本気) Dori (or Tori 撮り)" that means 「本気」= serious, earnest, sincere" and 「撮り」= filming, recording, image capturing". This is cynically suitable 😄 to what influencers do, isn't it? In the rap part Saiki is also singing "Always that one-upping contest, chit-chat chit-chat". "Chit-chat" sounds like "chicchai ちっちゃい" in Japanese. That means "tiny, trivial, frivolous, worthless etc." Miku's lyrics includes a lot of word play and Miku admitted she did it on purpose in an interview [source : Spice Oct.7] "Influencer" was played on Sep.7 at Zepp DiverCity Tokyo in Band-Maid's pre-US concert as the 13th song and that was the premiere (live debut). Just so you know, I witnessed it at the venue ヽ(^o^)丿. And it was played in 4 shows (as of Oct.15) in US and it will be all through their on-going US tour.😍

[@PrymalChaos]

Thanks for the info! I don’t know how comfortable I’d be on a cliff edge playing guitar myself!! 😀

[@avader5]

@7:48, I'm not a musician like you, however it seems to me when Kanami begins her solo it sounds just like Bach's Toccata and Fugue. Somehow and maybe my ears are betraying me she makes that guitar sound like an organ!!

[@PrymalChaos]

Yeah that synthy kind of guitar tone definitely sounds like an organ or something similar. It’s a harmoniser effect according to other comments which makes sense. It’s strips the guitar of a lot of its organic flavour and makes it sound processed like it came from circuit. I actually really like it (when used appropriately)

[@edwardallen4051]

It's a harmonizer pedal I believe, not everyone is pleased with Kanami using it as much as she has on the Unleash EP. Sounds good to me as long as it's not permanent which I'm sure it won't be as Kanami constantly changes things up. Please check out The Dawn Winery Theme that they performed for the Genshin concert, it is beautiful kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppjagZWlacqifa8 .

[@makmiskell3733]

Thanks Prymal!

[@ranger_a6953]

I've heard some say it's an Eventide effect. I've never heard anything quite like it, but she certainly has a lot of various pedals that aren't the same old same old. On reddit, they show a pic of her board. There are no less that five various Eventide devices....

[@DragonPhlyy]

Brand new Nemophila song out too called Seize The Fate!

[@technopsychobedlam]

Great review. Thanks Prymal 🙂

[@PrymalChaos]

Thank you!

[@zabriabubakar5982]

WATCH THEM LIVE AT USA AFTERSHOCK FESTIVAL, BAND-MAID & NEMOPHILA...

[@craigfenson]

13:42 mincho-zilla is exploiting her eventide harmonizer. this synth-y guitar tone of hers started in 'sense', if am not mistaken.

[@MaartenT]

I think it started way earlier (Screaming and Different also have this effect to a lesser extend as does a coupe tracks on Unseen World), she either just changed her older harmonizer out with a new one (or added a new one) or she cranked the settings compared to the older songs. I hear it especially on Screaming actually, I love that song but it has the same shrill synthy sound to my ears. The thing with that one is that it's a B-side on the Start over single from 2018 (it should have been on an album imo). I actually hear a lot of comparissons to Screaming since Different and especially on Unseen World and later. I think she is just exploring the sound she created with that one more and mixes it in with different elements. I really enjoy that sound on Screaming, but I wish she changed it up a bit with different sounds as well on their latest single and EP.

[@stevehall5128]

As Maarten said, her use of that sound does go back a ways. I think we're hearing it a lot these days because she upgraded from her Digitech Drops to the Eventide with all the bells and whistles, so for her it's a whole new toy to play with although for us it's basically the same effect.

[@RetiredInThailand]

Kanami's effect is a reincarnation of Jon Lord (Deep Purple, organ player) :-)

[@jeffersoncosgrove1910]

Kanami's solo effect reminds me of Trevor Rabin's solo in Owner of a Lonely Heart with the pitch shifting. I don't think Trevor was using an Eventide though.

[@weldernick3750]

I feel a huge muse sound in this one… but yeah I don’t think they have a bad song… I mean some songs better then others but non are a flop really IMO.

[@DavidMISAMISAMISACook]

MISA MISA MISA!!!!!

[@billardon514]

Very interesting and informative reaction. I personally strongly dislike the Honky Dory Day part, it repeats too much and isn't really pleasing to my ears. I also feel they were a bit heavy handed with the rap parts (both the intro and the rap "breakdown"), but I am grateful for your insights. It allows me to hear a lot of the little gems in this song. Still don't like it but I'm happy to at least appreciate some of it 😅

[@reesereese2524]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@Greish-esquire]

😁

[@AK-tv6bo]

この楽曲のなにが楽しいのか、私にはOMGですよね。

[@PrymalChaos]

私はギターの部分がとても好きです。