Guitar Teacher REACTS: Ningen Isu "Heartless Scat"

[@fastskipper777]

This band was formed in 1987. The lead singer is dressed as a literary master from Meiji era. The bass is dressed as a Buddhist monk with white face (white color in Asia is correlated to death or after life) and drummer is dressed as a Yakuza gangster. The lyrics are often very poetic and literary with often using old and ancient words.

[@Guitargate]

Amazing

[@LANPOCALYPSE]

With something like 30 albums over that time period as well.

[@JGM0JGM]

@@Guitargate Exactly, "Nin-Gen Issu" (with the "ge" like in "get") means "Human Chair" and is from a short story title by a Japanese writer whose pen name was "Edogawa Rampo" who was a fan of Edgar Allan Poe... Hence the pen name... Ningen Issu grew up listening to Black Sabbath as their main influence. They have a great catalogue, all on Spotify. Over 300 songs spanning over 30 years... My nickname for them are John Lennon, Uncle Fester and Elvis! Love those guys. Amazingly, they are about to start their first ever tour outside of Japan! (Edit: Thanks to @Freyja Kim, made a correction regarding the pronunciation bit at the beginning.)

[@morricane5087]

@@JGM0JGM Unfortunately the tickets hurt a bit for a virtually unknown band overseas...

[@jayspears7245]

that's a cooler gimmick than Kiss

[@ianwilkinson4602]

What it all amounts to, is that these guys are one of a kind. After over 35 years in the business they are finally getting the love and recognition they deserve thanks to the internet.

[@gaplauche]

A Meiji-era literary scholar, a monk, and a gangster walk into a bar…

[@PrinsPrygel]

...and shit happens... (sorry for necroing your comment, I got sentimental...)

[@TitanRL1]

"what do you search for to find that?" ohhhh buddy. you don't. you hear something like wolf totem or yuve yuve yu by the hu on the radio, search that, let youtube do it's thing and a day or two later it just shows up like magic in your recommended page.

[@willwassell9230]

Anti Titan .....and that’s almost exactly how it went for me.

[@liamsinestra2902]

Similar for me, I listened to Wolf Totem then this song popped up. Amazing music.

[@JGM0JGM]

@@willwassell9230 Lol, the other way around for me!

[@KineticalKreations]

I didn't do anything like that but am glad that KZbin finally recommended me something that is bangin :)

[@fanglespangle110]

Yea, exactly this :D

[@MikeStoddart]

I love that the guitarist looks like someone's grandpa, yet he riffs like a demon.

[@sumbsoy8521]

all their faces are CGI to look like old men.

[@MoonmanRedux]

@@sumbsoy8521 They're all in their fifties.

[@yamaddie]

he probably is someones grandpa lol

[@edwardstables5153]

@@sumbsoy8521 the band has been around since the 80s.

[@Ashaliel]

and he makes it look so damn effortless too. it's amazing.

[@Roof5tone]

Shinji Wajima was like "I paid for the whole guitar I am gonna use the whole guitar".

[@muscless89]

The lead singer looks like he's gonna teach me Kendo, the bass player looks like he's gonna go home and eat babies, and the drummer looks like he'll sell me some ecstasy

[@TexasVeteranPatriot]

These guys been throwing it down for 30 years or better. Glad to see them finally touring outside Japan.

[@AldoGuerraALDO-METAL]

A little explanation about the "sliding". They use elements of Japanese music and instruments like the Japanese Shamisen, a 3 string banjo style stringed instrument, in which the sweeping slide is used quite frequently. They are usually compared to Black Sabbath and classic style hard rock but most westerners will totally miss the Japanese traditional styles and writing in their music. The translation of the lyrics is a little...off. Some Japanese terms, sayings and words just don't have an English translation that would make sense to us as westerners. Btw, they are amazing live. Japan has a lot of great guitarists/artists that the west has no idea exists. I found this through first discovering Babymetal. Thru Babymetal I've discovered so much. Here is a great example of Japanese shamisen. Traditional 3 stringed instrument. It will show the sliding technique used by Ningen Isu (pronounced nin-gen-is, the G is a hard G and the U is very diminished to the point of silence) kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5ixkKt_fdZ_i6M

[@Guitargate]

I LOVE IT!

[@Bobbias]

As a side note, Ningen Isu means Human Chair.

[@w4lr6s]

Another note: Ningen Isu uses a lot of words that are not gonna be used commonly in modern Japanese. A lot of the words they use in this song are, like, antique words. Which makes translation even harder. You essentially need to make the translation Shakespeare-ish.

[@JGM0JGM]

Ah, a little disappointed, thought you were going to give him a bit of Beni playing the Shamisen, but, even if they are less pleasing to the eye, you can't go wrong with the Yoshida brothers!

[@jacksonguitargreen2618]

Exactly, we can hear the same "sliding" part in "Namahage" s guitar sole after 4 :10 , that's Tsugaru Shamisen's phrase.

[@smward87]

Japanese bands almost exclusively sing in metaphors, which can sometimes get quite literally lost in translation.

[@Guitargate]

Mmmmmmm

[@kukulroukul4698]

judge them from the LIVE show perspective only ! they are REALLY into the LIVE shows. They dont want you to think they are masters and/or legends...they are SHY in that regard. They just want to see HANDS UP in their concerts , thats all

[@maverickdoe6984]

This is one of the more interesting reaction videos I’ve seen for this video. Love how you quickly picked up the key, melody, and soloing. Great analysis!

[@wendyg1059]

They're one of my favorite Japanese bands. Love that you did this one!

[@mascarademermelada8746]

I'm not a musician or anything like that but godd@mn dude, seeing you hear the song and pretty much playing it right there, amazes the sh!t out of me.

[@Auxend]

Dude! Thank you! 🙏 - your gut level ability to quickly assess and NAIL a concise summary is un-canny! It was totally a "Buddhist power trio!" but I didn't even know there was "such a thing" you crushed it! I was really impressed watching how you deconstruct this, very informative learning! - how you can transpose alternate tunings to standard without changing tunings! -- I like that the main thing was C# minor penta (progression wise) it's cool to know you can build a song around one main scale / chord -- Your instinct on the melodies through the transitions was awesome to watch....you have a great ear man - fun to watch you work with it -- I love that you talk about what it would take to cover something like this...very cool! I honestly don't know how I came across this...I think it was a KZbin Music algorithm....I'm going to Japan this year (first time) so I was doing a bunch of research on KZbin - this just "showed up" in my music stream and I was gobsmacked! I always love a good trio! This is their wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ningen_Isu Most of the stuff I found at first was live and strong.

[@shawnadams1460]

Doesn't surprise me that he is just a bit extra, this band has been rocking out for over 30 years!! Absolutely LOVE the KZbin algorithm that brought me to this band a few years ago!!! I swear I hear notes of Sabbath, Tool, and Godsmack all throughout this song. I hope you react to some of their others!!!

[@joshi_new_wave]

There’s a ton of great stuff from japan. From all the genres over the years. If it exists in America, it’s in Japan too. Jazz was huge in Japan post WW2 but as the decades went on all the other influences from the western world of music influenced their cultural as well. Heck even Buck Owens has a live from Japan album from 1967. And it’s really good. Anyhooot.... I’d like to see you break down Band-Maid’s song “Blooming”.

[@alco-nyaan4311]

This bassist Grandpa is EPIC

[@tzctlpc]

His name is Suzuki Kenichi

[@restojon1]

Us old geezers can still rock... we just take longer to bend down to plug in lol

[@dancingwiththedead6764]

He's literally a retired Voldemort with a nose

[@dave317]

Your community is so great! All the information about this band in the comments. I like that, make me smile. Best wish from Germany.

[@garycarter6773]

I accidentally discovered these guys going down the rabbit hole a few weeks ago and now I can't get enough!! ♡♡♡

[@YourGodStalin]

The bassist is just so good...

[@Brunnen_Gee]

I stumbled across Ningen Isu about a year ago and fell in love with them. Looked up some info on the band and was surprised to see they've been around for a really long time, since the 80's. I'm disappointed I didn't know about them back then.

[@LANPOCALYPSE]

Discovered them a few weeks ago due to a seriously fat fingered youtube search. Turns out when I pasted the url to this video of them in Facebook, my cousins wife replied back stating that they went to the high school she went to in Japan. This is my 7-year-olds favorite song right now too.

[@duschgel8960]

This is band is awesome. First time listening to them because of your video. Definitely gonna stan them now even if they are a group for 30 years now. We are so late.

[@ClawCarver]

Great stuff. Ningen Isu is a hard rock band from northeastern Japan, formed in 1987. Their musical influences include Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Black Sabbath, Budgie and Motörhead. Their lyrics are often based on literary themes and sources, mostly Japanese but also, for example, H.P. Lovecraft. I discovered them from a reaction video two years ago (thanks, Hedgy!) and I'm going to see them play in London in three weeks' time. I'll let you know how this song sounds live! :)

[@Guitargate]

Thanks!

[@shashankiyer5751]

How were they live?

[@TY-44]

@@shashankiyer5751 They probably couldn't play live.

[@ClawCarver]

@@shashankiyer5751 They were splendid. It was the last gig I attended and I'm very thankful that Ningen Isu managed to do their European tour before the pandemic shut down live music. The show was a treat, and it's hard to know who enjoyed it more: the audience or the band, who were clearly thrilled to be there. As it happens, they uploaded footage of Heartless Scat so you can get a taste of the show: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g37JhYiXqN2or6M

[@CordovanSplotchVT]

Formed in 1985 actually, renamed in 1987.

[@puffdadico6063]

Great insight!! Thank you reviewing Ningen Isu!!

[@tuberbum]

Ok wow. This is actually the first and one and only REACT Vid I really liked. Nice analysing here. You may proceed! :D

[@micknordstrom2591]

This guy is one of the best in the world and his sound is just perfect!

[@restojon1]

In my mind (I know I'm wrong btw) you have; Samurai Warrior on vocals and guitar Warrior Monk on bass And 1973 Toyota salesman of the year Tokyo Prefecture on drums. And together, they're metal AF. I absolutely adore these guys.

[@eupi9098]

I fucken love ningen isu, I so happy that others will now know about their great music

[@ringo299com]

Nice reaction! Great commentary and guitar play! Thank you!

[@danielhughes3758]

I love this concept of sitting there with a guitar and analyzing the music 🎶

[@dankabbott9321]

i hear partial nuances of a few japanese scales with the penatonic scale the slides are a common technique in japanese music, this band is fucking awesome my 1st hearing them def gonna research their music more.

[@musicisajourney]

Thanks for doing this video! I’ve seen a lot of reaction videos to this song, but you’re the first to watch it with a guitar in hand and explain what Shinji Wajima is actually playing. Very cool!

[@dudecool7915]

Surprisingly, a lot of the japanese love classic rock and metal, ranging from heavy metal to prog rock.

[@martinfennell3924]

why are you surprised?

[@charles2679]

Glen it's okay to find this.... it popped up in my feed a few years ago and I love it!

[@Ohne_Silikone]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, Minor pentatonic is the basis of many traditional Japanese music pieces. The traditional flute called the shakuhachi is often tuned in D minor pentatonic for example. I think it is quite natural for them to fall back on it so much.

[@xii_bones_iix5051]

best discription i can give its a heavy metal band with an elder wheres waldo, a japanese uncle fester & a japanese elvis drummer its insane and i love the gimmick they worked this out for long time

[@jockjammer3443]

ningin Isu has been around since the 80s and just realesed a 32nd album. great video man

[@justicar5]

BAND MAID : Onset (live). The lead guitarist is an absolute goddess, this is an instrumental track, they use to break up live shows.

[@pilotamurorei]

Band AIDS

[@RevStickleback]

@Aaron P.B. He said "Band Maid : Onset" The guitarist in Band Maid, Kanami, is definitely female. And quite possibly a goddess too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZfIhmttfq2kkJo (the Onset part is 32 seconds in)

[@justicar5]

@Aaron P.B. the guitarist of BAND MAID is who I was referring to. clearly.

[@Guitargate]

HERE YE GO! : kzbin.info/www/bejne/emjKaHWAqN6hr7s

[@lovfro]

There is a guitar battle video from Japanese TV somewhere on KZbin with the lead guitarist from Band Maid vs the guitarist from Ningen Isu. The shredding is epic. BAND-MAID KANAMI vs 人間椅子 和嶋慎治 There are two parts.

[@davidornberg]

New sub here! Another amazing Japanese band. Band-Maid and their instrumental track Onset. Live or DVD close up to Kanami the guitarist.

[@CM-iw1mg]

日本の音楽は欧米の音楽に比べて楽曲の構成が複雑なんだってマーティ・フリードマンとリヴァース・クオモが言ってた。ロックもポップスも転調が多いって。

[@ジョニー-s2b]

世界の皆さん…ギターのワジーはおじいちゃんじゃないんです…3人とも同い年なんです… ワジーは日本でいうところのワビサビ、枯れた佇まいというんです… あと、ドラムのノブさんはどういうわけだか歳を取らないんです…！

[@cristianandreszitterkopf3063]

Yes very good

[@pismato6659]

OMG.....RIIIGHT

[@RockwebEu]

I saw them back in 1991 when i was 6 years old. Love them

[@lc7581]

The Black Sabbath mention is spot-on; that's who the remind me most of.

[@KevinHallSurfing]

Geezer 'Buttera' (as he pronounces it) and his 'nihon' vibrato is one of Ken-ichi Suzuki's favorite Bass players but was 30 years ago so I get it.

[@sparkeyjones6261]

Had my mind completely blown at Fuji Rock last year. There's so much going on in Japan music-wise that barely reaches western audiences.

[@Mellowcanuck33]

The holy algorithm finally came through. Just found them yesterday and I've been scouring youtube ever since.

[@piyopiyo472]

もっと流行らんかな人間椅子

[@yonathanasefaw9001]

I love Ningen Isu, they are a sweet band.

[@NeinFeline]

Devin Townsend plays in Open C because it made it easier for him to play... It really does make shredding quite a bit more convenient & also awesome at the same time with the low C just chugging behind those cleans.

[@markhopkinsmusic]

This track is insane!

[@WallBrotherOpossum]

In an interview they cited black sabbath and iron maiden as their influence.

[@meji0404]

ありがとう！！！

[@dragonrojodemetal]

If you liked this reacts to X Japan, Galneryus, Hizaki, Takayoshi Ohmura, Wagakki band, Onmyo-za, The Alfee, L'arc en ciel (or VAMPS), LUNA SEA, a lot of great bands and musician out there in Japan.

[@biggirlbigfella9646]

Dude I totally love your attitude..... 2020 heavy metal Buddha's make sense.....

[@2thethcman191]

とにかくありがとう❤

[@takehikotakamiyagi3738]

スーパーグルービングって誉めてるのだけわかった。確かに凄いグルーヴだぜ。

[@kentmains7763]

A finely honed rock and roll machine.

[@Cheezzepuff]

Shinji is a god among men! This band is amazing and being together for 30 years they have developed a lot in that time.

[@sgtsuperhate9796]

I just heard this yesterday . its definitely a banger.

[@WilliamCWayne]

It was super fun watching you pick the tune out during the video And, they're definitely not from L.A.!

[@Random-zp8um]

That was fun. I play (somewhat), and don't often like the breakdowns like you did here. But I liked that. Good job and Thanks!

[@vicw9223]

So cool seeing a music fan first discovering Ningen Isu. :)

[@junm3375]

なまはげの三味線ギターやって欲しいｗ

[@erichurst7897]

I never expected shredding like that out of a tweedy older guy in a kimono.

[@iamadamsusername]

Man, you have some serious talent! Blew my mind how you picked up the song so fast

[@jayspears7245]

great metal band

[@acidman9509]

Thanks from JAPAN Please react to Life for sale(Ningen isu)

[@niclastname]

Glad you're still doing this series! It's super interesting and informative to see you go through these and work out the theory and such as you analyze it. (I'm not at all impatient or upset in asking this) I suggested a couple songs for this last month on the Los Lonely Boys episode, and you said you'd give it a look. Any chance you're still planning on getting to them? If you just haven't got around to it yet, no rush I'm just curious. Also, if you checked them out and just weren't into it that's cool too, no worries. Regardless, keep up the great videos and this series. I'm loving it! :)

[@buisyman]

You are absolutely going to love this song.

[@SilverforceX]

They still sound bad ass live!

[@si6to4ro101]

ワジーさんの何が凄いって言えば、あんだけ手元忙しいのに歌えること 並のギターボーカルの比じゃない位に手元が忙しい

[@ジョニー-s2b]

八平鬱仮 このレベルだったら並のバンドはサポート入れますよね。 ホントにすごい！

[@seanmiller7889]

1:25 That was I thought and my face looked exactly like yours when first hearing Ningen Isu....

[@diesel_engaged6358]

"If you got the nuts, you got the nuts," perfect analysis

[@KLITA1]

Thank you so much fun seen you do this reaction. If you could please do GALNERYUS " Hunting for your dream" that would be awesome. Keep up with this great bands!

[@777fiddlekrazy]

5:48 their instrumentation is very traditional Chinese and Japanese patterning with A LOVELY FUSION OF METAL CHUGCHUGALOOZ! Dig every bit of it. Maybe I should run my 21 string Gusheng thru a Distortion and my Marshall!! Lol Haven't done that...YET!

[@jacksonguitargreen2618]

Please DO NOT CONFUSED with CHINESE Stuff, They are Japanese nationals and the guitar style is based on the Japanese traditional banjo style instrument called Shamisen.

[@sabin97]

i just discovered this song today.....it's awesome.

[@antoinewalker9393]

I implore to search for more japanese music since they are a lot more interesting musically. There's a reason Marty Friedman moved to Japan. Glad you've noticed some things Japan music loves (minor pentatonix, melody over structure, minor chords).

[@toddvondeylen7337]

These guys have been around forever and they rock. 1990 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gX_bl4R9q9mgeKc If you want Heartless Scat Live - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ7EhYWuds6WmsU

[@yeesenchai]

Its fucking amazing you can just hear that and play it

[@saurophaganax_0]

"what do you search to find that?" it basically starts like this: -game of thrones: random episode gets recomended: Vikings gets recomended: Heilung Gets recomended: The Hu Gets recomended: Ningen Isu Gets recomended: Baby Metal (topic seems to stop shifting from there) shortcut: Look for Heilung, Alien Weaponry or straight up The Hu

[@Iyashikei-t4u]

First time hearing this as well and I kinda like it. Anyway there's a great Japanese music scene that's horribly overlooked by most people. The ones that do look up the music more often than not love it. For the more rock oriented here are some examples of what I mean. X Japan - Rose of Pain Versailles - Silent Knight Dir en Grey - Vinushka Luna Sea - Rosier Scandal - Koisuru Universe Tk from Ling Tosite Sigure - Unravel Ling Tosite Sigure - Jpop Xfile

[@NewAeonWarlord]

Very cool. I had not seen your channel before but this is cool :) Do you do more Metal? They are absolutely NOT from LA haha, Ningen Isu is a Japanese classic, they recently had their 30th anniversary and have put out over 20 albums. They only now start to get more well known world wide and are actually playing their first shows outside of Japan which is awesome! Love the well done, classic doom metal vibe :)

[@johnpen269]

Discovered this band just few weeks ago it's like Black Sabbath but about Buda, those doom lyrics are so profound when sang by an 70yo dude.

[@oldboy9267]

nah. shinto

[@joeschoe4477]

Y'all are saying "Buddhist", but the imagery is much more Shintoist.

[@johnpen269]

@@joeschoe4477 If you, Lord Buddha, really exist in some place Please have mercy on me, too Having nothing precious in my possession Desolated

[@joeschoe4477]

Yes, in this somg. If you look at all their work, most of the folklore and imagery is Shinto. It's all tied together.

[@kurtn4819]

'No Dorothy (sorry), they're not from Kansas'. They've been humping the sound universe for around 34 years in japan. All of them sing & have way different vibes. The more one searches for obscure bands from around the world you come to realize how constricted our musical palette is here in america, and yet foreigners who play western style music mostly draw all of their inspiration from american & british bands or solo artists. It's pretty imbalanced for a variety of F'ed-up reasons, mostly financial & professional competition. And yes, the translation sounds like it came out of a dictionary. All the subtlety of the japanese language & the deep meaning and significance it has for the japanese people is lost. But the music is not. I've heard them perform this live and I've got to say with the volume turned up and a litany of effect pedals, they did a great job matching a majority of the studio version's energy and fatness. Once they get into the grind, you can't help but headbang. Some of the harmonies are blatantly not there but the bass stands out just as much. The fact that each instrument is prominantly displayed & respected adds a great deal to making this a significant piece of modern music. Thanks for the clear & present breakdown Michael. As always great job

[@shirasu_kun]

ningen isu guitarist（和嶋 慎治 wajima-shinji 1965） kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmGxlZ-Dl76MrNU 1989 kzbin.info/www/bejne/gX_bl4R9q9mgeKc

[@lovfro]

5:23 Ningen Isu has cited Black Sabbath as one of the bands that inspired them. So you are not wrong.

[@underratedrocksongs3430]

Gonin-Ish is another phenomenal band. They where like Japanese Prog metal and the singer sang in a language many do not speak in Japan because is it spiritual and tribal in nature. Amazing music.

[@quentingivens4]

If you want to hear more of Ningen Isu than their KZbin channel, look for 人間椅子 on Spotify.

[@TheOriginalFILIBUSTA]

Live version is on their site. Good power trio live handling.

[@darkgrapeful]

Great vid thanks!

[@reapercometh]

I highly suggest band-maid if you haven't heard of them. 5 women from Japan who are amazing and their lead guitarist kanami is unbelievable. They have countless great stuff. Onset for an instrumental. Blooming, dice, moratorium, puzzle, secret my lips, domination and many more all worth checking out. They are great especially live

[@Guitargate]

OK!

[@TacoKicker]

​@@Guitargate Since we're talking about Japanese girl groups, give Tricot a go as well. I find them to be quite amazing and their lead guitarist is consistently interesting.

[@keithvincent4]

100% agree.

[@rustygear447]

i second this!

[@bolleaoibhe2840]

I also recommend Band-Maid. Dice, Moratorium (Live at Zepp) and/or Puzzle and Anemone (acoustic live)

[@tuph4088]

This band really is the Black Sabbath of Japan, and I love them to death

[@joeschoe4477]

Imagine if Black Sabbath had stayed sober and focused, then stayed together for three decades. NI far exceeds their inspirations!

[@TheShrededward]

This reminds me of how I learned how to play songs back in the day before youtube tutorials and online tabs. Just put the needle on the record, and try to figure out what the hell is going on. It wasn't always perfect, but I could usually get things a bit closer than the gawdawful tablature that was around.

[@aryanbianca3189]

If you listen to Alien Weaponry =band from New Zealand, they sing in their native tongue & are amazing. Look into one of their songs called 'Kai Tangata.' They have Sepultra/Pantera vibes but are young & because they sing in Maori it puts a totally new edge on metal. After I watched them, this song was recommended. I haven't a musical bone in my body & wish I knew what you were talking about when you were using all your music terms/ notes/ cords etc. but I enjoyed watching the band anyways. Its cool to watch someone have a love for something, I personally wouldn't have a clue what that must feel like.

[@timothyjohnson8451]

Love your videos!! Would love to see you make a video on Trey Anastasio

[@Atreyor]

10:00 it's not an open or drop tunning. Just standard 1 and half step down.

[@brandonhorwath6351]

One does not "find" this song. The algorithm chose it for me...

[@astridfairwinds231]

That's a 64 year old man. He's been playing guitar since before a lot of us were both. I say as a 31 year old.

[@__-xq9gp]

Ningen Isu (which translates to "The Human Chair") is a Japanese three-piece hard rock/doom metal band from Aomori, Japan. In 1987, the band was formed by Shinji Wajima (Guitar & Vocals) and Kenichi Suzuki (Bass & Vocals), who were classmates in the same high school in Aomori Prefecture in the northern area of Japan.

[@The_Fat_Turtle]

KZbin just recommended me this song sometime early last year, figured it had to be there for a reason, whether awesome or weird and it was both.

[@Guitargate]

Agreed

[@NinjaSushi2]

I feel like they're all musical teachers who play in a band after school.