[WORLD GROOVE] Currently listening to the Underneath - MOON FLOWER
- 18 / March / 2008 by KNDY in WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS
- 1 comment | Add my comment
BAND: the Underneath
ALBUM: MOON FLOWER
LABEL: JSHOCK
CATALOG #: ADM-101024
DURATION: 46:06
RELEASED ON: March 18, 2008
- Gekkoh
- Chain
- Marie
- Deep
- Fall
- Fatty Fatty Fuckin’ Pigs
- Bite the Bullet
- Alone Together
- Womb is Planet
- Prayer
I have to admit that I’ve never heard of the band “the Underneath” before but for JSHOCK distributing their album to the US along with D’espairsRay for the company and the two band’s making their official US debut, there must be something special about this band to be released first.
The Underneath is a five member band which consists of TAKA (Vocals), MASATO (Guitar, Piano, Programming), TAL (Guitar and Programming), RYO (Bass and Programming) and MASAKI (Drums). According to the press release, members were drawn from the veteran hard rock band TRANSTIC NERVE.
Through an interview done on the JSHOCK site, the band said they would like the following to be heard by American fans.
“We mentioned that we would like to have mainstream rock fans listen to our uniquely Japanese melody and be aware of it. We believe the combination of heavy riff and sorrowful melody is what’s attractive about us.”
“We’ve created this album with delicate rhythm and sorrowful chords, and believe this is something that is authentically Japanese. For anyone interested in the Japanese culture, we hope that you will be able to understand the charm of this album.”
the Underneath is a heavy rock band and I’m sure there can be multiple comparisons to other Japanese rock bands, especially those into Gothic or Visual Kei. But there were a few things that caught my attention while listening to their album “MOON FLOWER”.
First of all, their music is high energy, heavy hitting and guitar heavy. One of my favorite rock bands of all time is X-Japan and I love it when my mind drifts off to and in unison, listen to the serene guitar lines and memorable hooks of both guitarists and it’s the same feeling that I have with the Underneath.
I was really impressed by the thrashcore riffs, abrasive and frantic guitar playing, frenetic rhythms. From tracks such as “Marie”, “Fatty Fatty Fuckin’ Pigs”, “Bite the Bullet” and “Prayer”. There are very awesome guitar-heavy tracks on this album and I really enjoyed that.
As the music is very guitar heavy, you also get a good dose of bass and percussions, songs such as the opening track “Gekkoh” really showcase that.
And the vocals of TAKA are charismatic and the vocal melodies in this album are very well done. The lyrics are dark, melancholic and sorrowful and for what TAKA wanted International audiences to get from it, I think he does a great job with communicating that with the listener through his lyrics. Awesome vocals and dark, detailed songwriting.
As for the CD insert, the booklet contains the English lyrics to the album (not the Japanese lyrics) and as mentioned before, just looking at the lyrics, they are not fairly rote, they are detailed and very well imagined and translations really do show the sorrow of each song.
I was very pleased with “MOON FLOWER”. I’ve never hard of the Underneath until this album and I could imagine how awesome this band would be during their live performances (Americans will get a chance to check the out with D’espairsRay for the North American Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour).
You always want to find bands that exhibit the perfect package - vocals and the music and as mentioned in my review, the heavy use of guitars for their music is awesome and the overall band in unison with the melancholic vocals is very well done.
Similar to the D’espairRay album “Mirror”, I enjoyed every track on “MOON FLOWER”. Which is rare for me.
Definitely keep the Underneath on your radar because the band is full of potential and if they are this spectacular live as they sound on this album, you’re in for one hell of a ride because their music is awesome!
Tags: MOON FLOWER, the Underneath