Musicians react to hearing NINGEN ISU for the first time!

[@PaleHorseShabuShabu]

The guitarist, Shinji, once took on Kanami from BAND-MAID in a guitar battle. The battle was each of them decorated a styrofoam cup and placed it on an upturned speaker. They took turns playing in an attempt to make their cup knock over the other person’s cup. I forget who won, but it was cute and both showed off just how damn good they are.

[@puffdadico6063]

Living legend...still rocking hard as hell!! Never underestimate the old dudes from Japan!!

[@tonygriffin_]

They're dressed as a yakuza member (drums), a monk (possibly a mute one, as the black mouth is used to signify that sometimes) and a 19th century/early 20th century schoolteacher. Not sure why. Been going 30+ years and clearly still absolutely killing it. The English subtitles will show you what great depth their lyrics usually have.

[@Jordan-Ramses]

Why not? It's good to have flavor. The worst thing you can be as a band is boring.

[@ynvch]

Idk, the bass player does sing sometimes 😂

[@danbuter]

You should have turned on the captions. The song has some pretty great lyrics about looking back on your life, wishing it was better, and when will the good times come. Great reaction, though!

[@OlettaLiano]

That's a cool band. Proof that you're only too old when you're dead. I started playing bass in 1978 and although I don't play in bands anymore, I still like to play with backing tracks or my favorite albums. Everyone, keep on rocking as long as you can!

[@MasterofTheUniverse1337]

Right you are never to Old for Rock or Metal🤘🏻🤘🏻.

[@brucesurfside5792]

The Caterpillar by them is REALLY different, even for them. Bass and guitar solos are amazing.

[@UberNoodle]

The Caterpillar as well as the name of the band are both references to short stories by Edogawa Rampo. I recommend getting a book of translated short stories. Or read some of the manga adaptations by Junji Ito.

[@spaceknave]

These guys are great. You should find a version with English subtitles and watch on your own, the lyrics are fascinating and fitting for guys that look like monks. I’m still digging into their catalog, Al pretty great stuff.

[@zabriabubakar5982]

Guys, next Band ASTERISM songs Church, Gunfire, Dawn, Rising Moon, Blaze

[@810RockJapan]

Yeah! ASTERISM is fire!! Reacting Grandchildren's Metal after grandpa Metal sounds nice!!🤘

[@keshanizm]

definately. they are gems.

[@risingmoon3387]

Guess where my KZbin ID comes from

[@matthiasnolte3817]

Love your reaction!! As far as I know they are into Black Sabath too. So the influence is clear. I saw them live in Bochum Germany in 2020. And they were great great great!!!! Keep on!!

[@NewAeonWarlord]

just an awesome band :) Their latest album is really cool, too!

[@DerSkalde]

Legends!

[@tarinindell8217]

Absolutely outstanding band. Tons of great songs. A lot of their stuff from the last decade especially.

[@oriontackett7643]

Ningen Isu is awesome. They remind me allot of Black Sabbath except Japanese

[@oriontackett7643]

In my defense I did comment this before finishing the video. It's awesome that you guys heard Sabbath. You guys should check out love suicide in shinigawa, color of space, and great king of terror by them

[@risingmoon3387]

If using CC for subtitles you realize the lyrics are a kind of philosophical. Philosophical metal? Ahem....yes.

[@AldoGuerraALDO-METAL]

Ningen isu pronunciation: Neen ghen is/iz. Ni (Nee) n (n) gen (hard g like in "gun") Isu (in Japanese there are some sounds that are devoiced such as the "I" and "u". Thus "Desu"is pronounced "des", "Isu" is pronounced "is or iz". Named after an Edogawa Rampo novel, the hard rock band NINGEN ISU (which translates to “The Human Chair”) was formed by members who love Rampo

[@LostAgain1970]

As seems to be true of all Japanese rock and metal bands, Ningen Isu are even better live, so opt for live versions whenever possible. I don't know if someone already mentioned it? All three in the band sing, write lyrics and compose songs. The bass player, Ken-ichi Suzuki is a fan of Gene Simmons so he holds the bass in a similar upright manner as Gene does when he plays. Gene on the other hand is a fan of Kabuki theater and that is one of the main reasons why KISS used face painting. The next song you should listen to is Namahage which is darn good! Or you can choose my personal favorite of them The Caterpillar.

[@ferykeboet5576]

The guitaris and bassist fans of black sabbath

[@rikosborne1212]

People always name Tony Iommi the King of riffs, but if you ask me, he's got nothing on Shinji Wajima. These guys have been steadily pumping this stuff out for more than 30 years and something like 23 albums, and they just get better and better. It's a bit sad that it took 30 years for them to start getting recognition outside of Japan. I also love the fact that these guys are basically exactly my age. Shinji is 5 months older than me, Ken-ichi 2 months older, and Nobu is 4 months younger than me. Also, I read that Shinji builds his own effects pedals.

[@twoffo]

If you look for "Wajimachine" you can find his branded one.

[@kevenbridges9433]

In Japan they are sometimes called the Japanese Black Sabbath.

[@oriontackett7643]

​@kevenbridges9433 oh!!! Since I found them I've said the exact same thing. Color of space, love suicide in shinigawa, and great king of terror are my favorites from them.

[@gillesmurat7362]

Hello from France: In the 90s, the Ningen Isu trio played King Crimson covers: "In the court of Crimson King" and "Lark's tongue in Aspic - part II", certainly the best covers of these songs ever played... kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4eqfmSIrJhmpNE kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6GQnXydqZl4aLc [Dans les années 90, le trio Ningen Isu a joué des covers de King Crimson : "In the court of Crimson King" et "Lark's tongue in Aspic - part II", certainement les meilleurs covers de ces morceaux jamais joués...]

[@spinnymathingy3149]

Hey guys, you mentioned you like power trios,, well whilst you’re in Japan you really gotta take a look at SOKONINARU, they will blow your minds 👍🇦🇺🤘

[@offseteraofficialband]

Check out other videos we have done them and yes it blew our minds!

[@gillesmurat7362]

Sure !!! Misaki

[@spinnymathingy3149]

@@offseteraofficialband hahaha, sorry, just saw them, i just found your channel, you guys are awesome, here’s an amazing song by SOKONINARU, its a cover (well sort of) they mash up 3 songs, play it live and do it in 1 take, I had to watch it 10 times just to take it all in , hope you like it 👍🇦🇺🤘kzbin.info/www/bejne/omrLi3uLisiGY8U

[@TehPhysics]

A killer band that's been there and done that longer than 1/2 your viewers have been alive. 'Toshiyun' is a good follow up song. You've got over 30 years of music to choose from. Since you have an appreciation for 3 piece bands, you must react to *Trident* and their 'Ambivalent' or 'Spoopy'. *Asterism* is another 3 piece instrumental band who will inspire you to play better or quite entirely. Check out 'Church' or 'Gunfire' for a taste.

[@martinh8481]

I second those choices. Great bands and song choices.

[@Mark5mith]

This popped up in my feed, and I've listened to quite a few of their other tunes, love them.

[@keshanizm]

yes i want to call the as japanese sabath. they are doing this over a 3 decades. i love them back in the days. i aloso love Yura Yura Teikoku. another great band fron japan

[@barrycounts490]

Another power trio that will blow you away is Asterism " Rising Moon " MV ( The Sessions Vol. 2 ) This group is very young and Ha Ca wrote Rising Moon when she was twelve ! Great Reaction To Ningen Isu they rock for sure =)

[@PaleHorseShabuShabu]

Speaking of power trios, you guys haven’t seen the great Asterism yet. Check out either “Stars” or “Church” live in studio or their new track, “Fiction,” where they’ve added vocals.

[@spinnymathingy3149]

Don’t forget the super impressive 3 piece SOKONINARU

[@bonhzeppelin55]

Listenin' to this is what makes life SOOOOOOOOOO!!! GOOOOOOOOOD!!! 🤘👹

[@user-zr4xc3yt6q]

Hi guys, love this grandpa metal band, sounds great 👍

[@gman-Gordon]

Thanks for reacting to this song and band. This was the first song I heard from them last summer and it has been quite a ride going through their catelog. You said you wanted to see them live so I would suggest At The Mountains of Madness kzbin.info/www/bejne/epi3dn6ljs10jsk. It is a bit long at 11 minutes but you get the see the quitarist do his thing with a Theramin which is awesome and extremely rare.

[@stevefromlondon4949]

Back when I first saw Ningen Isu I thought Rush had rediscovered their kimonos. Please check out SAISEIGA! Their "Jumble" MV is a good place to start.

[@alxvdark]

It's worth turning on the translation for this one-the lyrics are really great

[@MasterofTheUniverse1337]

You are never to Old for Rock or Metal Keep on Rocking Guys 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻.

[@kurtn4819]

That's "Ningen (nin (like "pin") gen (like "get"), Isu (i (like "ee") su (like "sue"). "Ningen (human/person)""Isu (chair)". Though nearly meaningless to foreigners, the band name always makes Japanese people chuckle and go "yea lol". Yeah, live they know how to get a crowd going for sure. They may be less of as full range & seamless as their studio stuff, but they're good enough that nobody seems to care.

[@keithvincent-dg5rx]

Asterism a must.

[@mikemoran4340]

HA! Just recently discovered NI & now I don't feel so stupid for grinning while I jam em.

[@keithdickens82]

Search for their farewell concert on KZbin 🔥🔥🔥. Dig up their beginning stuff from the early 90s. They sounded a bit more funk metal. They are a truly awesome, genuine , metal band. Can't get enough of them and sadly never got a chance to see them.🤘🤘🤘

[@DoctorChange106]

awesome

[@jkellytree]

Kind of pronounced: ‘Ningen Iss’, it means The Human Chair in Japanese. Based on a story by Edogawa Ranpo (real name Hirai Tarō), an HP Lovecraft-ish style of Japanese author.

[@UberNoodle]

The name of the band is a reference to a short story by Edogawa Rampo, a classic writer of horror, suspense and supernatural stories. Like Edgar Allan Poe. In fact his name is not his birth name and is a pun on Edgar Allan Poe. Famed horror manga writer and illustrator, Junji Ito also did an adaptation of this short story. But the original is a classic of Japanese literature. I would recommend at least reading a synopsis or reading Junji Ito's adaptation. It's a very creepy story.

[@MarkReed-smokindeist]

These guys have a very deep catalogue of over 20 albums to explore. So much great music in there and this is a deep rabbit hole well worth exploring. For a great doomy track, check out At the Mountains of Madness Live 2016.

[@mikeg.4211]

Well done (although maybe try not to talk so much over all of the solos). Good catch on the Sabbath connection. Blaclk Sabbath is their main influence, and also a great pickup on Shingi Wagima playing a Gibson SG ala Tony Iommi. In fact, he is such a big fan that he even has an SG that Iommi autographed. The lyrics were available in English if you hit your cc button. Also, like Black Sabbath, the band's name was taken from an old Japanese horror story from the 1920's. Ningen Isu (NIN-jen-iss) translates as "The Human Chair", which was the title of the story, much like Black Sabbath took its name from an old Boris Karloff horror movie of the same name. Even the overdubbed solos were an Iommi innovation in the early 70's. These guys are in their late 50's-early 60's now, which is very cool.

[@spinnymathingy3149]

Gotta love Japanese metal bands, they have no need to comply with regular song writing, why not have an 8 minute song with 7 guitar solos. It’s so fkn cool

[@ebm-everythingbutmainstream]

Lovebites - Scream For Me! 14 Guitar solos in 6:37!!

[@ebm-everythingbutmainstream]

@@nahadoth2087 Most of US and European Bands lack of good songwriting, and this is where many Japanese bands really shine. OK not only Japanese bands let’s include “The Warning” from Mexico, VoB from Indonesia, Jinjer from Ukraine, Rammstein from Germany or Nightwish from Finnland too.

[@ebm-everythingbutmainstream]

@@nahadoth2087 OK, got it. So it will sure be no problem for you to give me some suggestions. What do you recommend regarding excellent songwriting? (And Yes I know it is all a matter of taste!)

[@ebm-everythingbutmainstream]

@@nahadoth2087 Thx, will try them out!

[@spinnymathingy3149]

@@ebm-everythingbutmainstream gotta give some love to SOKONINARU too, they are something else

[@davidhersrud5139]

The BLACK SABATH of JAPAN 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 I seen one vid they did 15yrs ago a cover of SABATH/INTO THE VOID pretty badass....

[@monkut]

Just saw this today, Wajima-san talking about his pedal and effects board. He builds a lot of his effects apparently. (has subtitles) kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYe8gIWDrKitg9U

[@DavidMISAMISAMISACook]

Ken-ichi Ken-ichi Ken-ichi!

[@Barthollomellow]

I believe that the band's name originated from Edogawa Ranpo's (or Tarō Hirai) short story with the same title. It's a story about psychotic carpenter who hides inside a specially designed armchair, so he can stalk some woman he's obsessed with, or something. Great read.

[@nugraharez44]

bravo, you have to see this guy live bro...

[@NEEDbacon]

15:19 So fun fact, the bass you see in the video ISN'T what's recorded. The one you see is broken (much to the monk player Chagrin as he loves it which is why it goes in videos). But like dude knows his stuff clearly.

[@blueearth5000]

There is a version with English subtitle too that you guys should check. The lyrics of this song has very deep meaning. I've watched this band since they first appeared in public on TV program ' Ika - Ten ( いか天) ' back in 80's. They didn't get enough recognition, only core fans followed them and always struggled in the underground scene for so many years. Then finally all their hard work has rewarded and bloomed this past 5 years. This tells us Never Give Up what we believe. I love modern metal also other genre of music too but always go back to the classic metal of 1970's in the end.

[@mikenorman2563]

Love these guys.

[@marcoskazu_]

The lyrics of Ningen Isu's songs are quite critical and devastating. Live performances are very shadowy. They are excellent! 👺👺👺

[@bigearjimlynch]

I knew you'd like them! Someone recommended The Caterpillar below which is an amazing song, but I'd also recommend March of the Gods (Live). Great reaction!

[@lito6242]

OK guys… from the oldest to the youngest Japanese trio metal band… you guy needs to react to Asterism… I recommend a song called “Gunfire” Live in Studio

[@deadinside4620]

if you are liking ningen isu you should check out another japanese group Yousei Teikoku they are kinda like goth metal, heavy metal, and speed metal

[@spinnymathingy3149]

I’ll second the suggestion

[@pondeath4100]

リアクション 感謝します❤ ありがとうございます😢

[@rollingjunkie]

Their live is great.

[@johncollins5082]

The Kami band in. 20-30 years

[@pattymeals2395]

You should turn on the english cc in your next ningen isu reaction they had great lyrics

[@Wonderful-cr9lv]

They are great band. I suggest you another band. Try Dead end Tokyo from Man with a mission. Good day.

Yes. TRiDENT and ASTERISM for starters

[@olaflangness2907]

Perhaps someone mentioned this already but I didn’t see it, the G is a hard G as in “get” or “got”. Isu is pronounced “E sue” with a hard E sound like saying “Eeek”.

[@Jordan-Ramses]

Another very technical 3 piece is Trident. I recommend 'Voltage' or 'Continue'. An obscure 3 piece I really love is Greed Five Eggs. I recommend 'How to Get'.

[@offseteraofficialband]

He have done Trident 'Continue' check it out!

[@Zabiru-]

The bass-player almost rivals Lars Ulrich in terms of how you can see him get into it via body-language and facial expressions.

[@anonitachi6966]

Good to see Japanese metal 'trending'/getting recognition. Check out HANABIE

[@Mellowcanuck33]

Dude..everyone misses the captions. When you understand the lyrics the music hits so much harder.

[@ulfheroldjensen]

You are never too old to metal. It is a state of mind, not of body. If you want "old", you have to check out Show-Ya too. The grand mothers of J-rock. Rock of the great 80-ties tradition. Silver Vixens, if you will. Scream: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2aufZ5qrNGppJo Eye to Eye: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6Wmhqyul8eabq8 Watashi Wa Arashi: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZiXgaSGjcyambs Keiko even did some shows with Gacharic Spin that I can't find right now.

[@ulfheroldjensen]

Oh, I found it. It is even more epic as it is Nemophila+Gacharic Spin + Keiko. Not the best of sounds, but great voices and a kille solo from Tomo-Zo: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eaHXgHeXr6-Dd9U

[@jtaka7210]

Why don't you guys give English subtitles?

[@offseteraofficialband]

We simply didn't think of that. Sometimes they are already on. We'll keep that in mind in the future however we do not analyze lyrics. I feel they are best interpreted by the listener. Thanks for checking out the reaction!

[@miguelangelnunoperez9163]

react to TOSHISHUN ITS AWESOME

[@pinoypower69]

🤘🏽LOVEBITES RULES🤘🏽

[@ymt_ymt_ymt3130]

3:55

[@Tech9Admin]

First congrats on on your channel. Second, you did a dis-service to you and the viewer with no cc. There writing is simple but so so deep. Please do NINGEN ISU / "The Colour out of Space" its a H.P. Lovecraft story turned into Japanese Meatal; F-ing genius. And please CC so you and the audience can understand.

[@the.variable.japanese]

Yes. They are big fans of Black Sabbath.　😉 P.S. ≈ [niŋ-ɡɛn̩ ɪsu]