I THINK THEY HAVE CULTIVATED THEIR OWN ANIME SOUND?! | BAND-MAID / Protect You (REACTION)

[@AMetalheadsPerspective]

I don't know if this is any indication of the album sound; a little muddled, but I feel like Saiki is a level up in vocals, the others musicianship is getting better so I am ALL IN on that, mixing needs work... *I do think the mix is a little bass heavy low end heavy, and not mixed left to right as much, and with Band-Maid's already complex sound it does make it a little difficult to hear the mids/highs depending on your audio setup. It might have something to do with it being a commissioned song that has to fit with a theme of a video sequence in the anime... thoughts?!

[@evilducks3710]

I cannot wait for this album, everything I’ve heard in the last year has been incredible. I feel like they’re all performing at their absolute peak, and Saiki especially sounds better than ever.

[@daaaaaave]

I don't know how much of it is the production, but Saiki sounds great. I think she's just leveled up in the lead into Yokohama, and now consistently sounds as good as her earlier peaks. I didn't actually like the mix on this. It didn't really seem like they did their normal panning of the members to reflect their stage positions, and the drums are really forward, and it made it hard to make some stuff out. Normally, I can pick out exactly what run Misa's doing, but it sounds muddled in this one. Like I'm losing it among the sound that Akane and Miku are making. Kanami's low in the mix, but her tone is so high pitched, it's easier to pick out. I hope there's more of the normal panning in the other album tracks, and this is just a quirk of doing it for an anime track. I was hoping their new album mixing was going to be more like the Yokohama spin off show.

[@chrisbergsten1429]

About the Asian kawaii voice, it’s definitely a cultural affectation. I think there are three things going on with Saiki. First, she never did have a deep voice (unless you’re comparing to some of the Japanese chipmunk voices) but her voice had some weight to it, kind of a darker color underneath. That’s gotten more pronounced over the past two years or so. There’s more power and authority in her voice. Second is she seems to have more confidence. Listen to Bestie again - she’s not singing with a ton of power or attitude but she sounds super confident and comfortable. Third is that when she goes big now, she goes REALLY big, and this is what we heard at Yokoari, in this video, and especially the forbidden Show Them video, where Saiki is doing her damndest to go full diva. She sounds a little rough sometimes but it’s super energetic. Makes me wonder what she’s been doing with her vocal coach, because it almost seems like she broke through a wall or something. The new Saiki definitely has me excited for the next album and their next US tour. The mix is odd, guitars aren't panned like usual, part of what Kanami is doing is inaudible, too much compression as always.

[@kla4600]

Interesting point on the mix. I actually do wish, at times, that Kanami wasn't panned so far to the right. That said, since this song was prepared as an anime ED, often to be heard via television, I wonder if the mix was adjusted to take the likely audio equipment into account. A bit more bass, a bit less panning.

[@bandmaidfanATL]

7:40 nice pause, btw. 🥰

[@AMetalheadsPerspective]

You are right!!!

[@bandmaidfanATL]

MinchoDiddles galore, and Saiki on 🔥. Love Kobato's high hormonies, MISA at points just smacking, and 🦍 steady and punchy. And yes, there's Band-Maid, and there is Anime-Maid at this point. New Maidiac offshoot, we are the Animaidiacs!

[@froopax1468]

They said in their last concert from the Hall Tour that this song is over a year old! So I'm not sure if this song is even on the album...

[@K.H.D710]

You are right. This MV was filmed sometime between the end of last year (new outfits) and the beginning of this year (before Sai-chan's new hairdo)😏

[@BMCanuck]

Hi AMP . Have enjoyed following your Band-Maid journey over the years and your comments about their music and the affect they have had on many of us. I love it when bands grow and cultivate their sound and Band-Maid have been masterful doing that. Their new Epic Narratives album shows this evolution and the track titled The One epically demonstrates that. IMO it is their best mid tempo song since Daydreaming and screams Kanami's genius. I just shook my head and smiled through my first full listen and hope you have a chance to listen to it soon 😃. Thanks for your support of Band-Maid and entertaining reactions 👏🙏🥰.

[@AMetalheadsPerspective]

Thank you for your kind words! I am working on the full album reaction and review.

[@bandmaidfanATL]

Saiki was kinda rusty when I saw her in DC in 2022 (dusting off Covid), but she was absolutely dominating when I saw them in Atlanta in May 2023.

[@polskabob359]

You're not wrong.This video was shot before bestie.It's gotta be at least seven months old if not longer

[@BlahBlah_13]

Nice reaction. I really enjoy the song. It's one of the 30 or so Band Maid songs I like. While I understand what happened in the BMxTW thing (and think they did the only thing they could do at that time), generally speaking, I wonder why rights owners would block videos vs just taking the ad revenue. Unless they get more ad revenue per stream from their official channel than a reactor channel. If not, with the significant decline of the revenue in the music industry, any money is better than no money. Especially since it appears many people like watching other people watch things. You are correct; whoever the rights holder is, or those rights could change hands to someone with a different view, could go scorched earth on reaction channels with their content.

[@zer0tzer0]

They do Anime Theme songs like 'Shambles' for the Netflix anime, Kengan Ashura, and 'Glory' for Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS. And they appear in anime form in 'Unleash'.

[@bandmaidfanATL]

🤘🕊️🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🤖🔌

[@britwill72jp]

Same here. I simply cannot stand the high-pitched and thin vocals of most of Asian bands or groups or whatever.