One of Band-Maids slower songs is "About Us" MV . It's dedicated to the fans saying how much they love and miss us =) Another song you should check out is "Sayonakidori" Acoustic live from Christmas Day concert ! Thanks Po ✌🤘
Speaking of Acoustic… the band performed an Acoustic Online concert back on 25-12-2021 although only two of them are freely available in the official channel. When you get a chance check out “Catharsis” and “Sayonakidori” Acoustic versions. Thanks!
Their songwriting is so good because of Kanami. She is a star and can be attributed to the quality of their songs. She is a musical genius and geek, and can learn and adapt a ton of different styles and influences. The songs are fleshed out by all the members now, but early on, she wrote almost all their songs by herself (music). Lyrics are usually handled by Miku (rhythm guitar, second vocal). Next song? try one of their instrumental tracks. "Onset" is an early one, or just straight up awesome, their newest one, "From Now On". Their instrumentals play like songs, with a normal song structure, not like other long winded journeying instrumentals.
Along with "About US", Band-Maid has a few interesting mid-tempo songs. "Smile" and "Page" come readily to mind. Both were originally recorded with Band-Maid's usual amplified instrumentation, but then they did acoustic versions for their Christmas Okyu-ji. Band-Maid wrote new acoustic arrangements for 14 of their songs, all of which are genuinely as good as the original amplified versions. "Anemone" is another Band-Maid change up: mostly acoustic until Kanami launches into a very Carlos Santana-ish solo. "Memorable" is another one that breaks Band-Maid's usual mold, it's more Jazz-Contemporary than hard rock. Then there's "Puzzle" which Band-Maid usually performs as a "Turn the Amps past eleven!" all out rocker, but has a few recorded performances (hard to find) where they dial it back very much. The one everyone remarks about starts with a slow music-box-like backing track intro and segues into a duet of Saiki singing with Kanami doing backing vocals and acoustic guitar. The tone of the song is completely changed, yet just as powerful as the original album version. And if you want something completely different: try "Gion-Cho" or "Giovanni" - Two more different songs you will never hear.
For a lot of us it's definitely a ballad. But it's a generational thing - in the 80's everyone would refer to a song with this tempo/emotion as a ballad, or a power ballad. Times be changing. Great reaction to a great song nonetheless. Thanks!
@@markabusireactions I'm seconding this. There's emotion in the writing of melody here, but it's also Saiki's delivery. The different versions of Puzzle really illustrate this, because they have completely different emotional feelings. There's some crossover fandom, and some fandom rivalry between Band-Maid and Lovebites, but I can't get into them. Lovebites has a talented technical singer, probably stronger technically than Saiki (it's hard to really compare because Band-Maid's writing is so crazy, so what Saiki has to sing is very difficult), but I'm not buying it. They have minor key, sad writing in A Frozen Serenade, but the delivery is too clean and technical, the singer doesn't actually sound like they're sad, so I'm not moved at all.
I can recommend the older song "The Dragon Cries". Incredibly haunting song (about mankind destroying the world) Or “Influencer” if you want something a little more cheerful and musically varied. (about ... yes ... influencers) So much still to discover...
Today my new headphones arrived and I can listen to all the music with much more joy 🎧 That's also the case for your reactions: they have a really good audio quality which is not the case with many other youtubers. Today I listened to Alice in chains - Acoustic, IAMX and Sneaker Pimps, Aesthetic Perfection and Band-Maid of course. I'll affirm my recommendation for the mentioned two songs ... but: if you want something joyful, live and happiness: Try Freedom LIVE. You won't find a music video where all band members have so much fun! P.S. I am suffering at home (in Northern Germany) with a broken arm ... Much time to listen to music and write comments 😂
@@skrrytch glad you’re enjoying the headphones! I’m definitely adding Sneaker Pimps to my list, for reasons I’ll go into during the video lol. I hope your arm isn’t too sore!!
Consistently my favorite Band-Maid reactions, I think it's because you understand how the music is made well enough to have insight but haven't been poisoned by the community memes yet. If you actually wanna try a ballad from them, Memorable is probably the song that most cleanly fits that category.
Aww thank you!! I haven’t seen any community memes tbh, I kinda want to avoid all of that. Not just for this band, but all of them, as much as possible. It should always be about the music.
Daydreaming is a fan favorite. Nice choice. Interesting that you said it was the best yet the other day. Looking forward to actually watching your video. Will update my recommendations after listening to what you like about it, but I suspect it’s the emotion, going by your comments in other videos, and if that’s the case, 100% acoustic Puzzle. Puzzle is also the rare Band Maid song you can do a reasonable lyrics analysis on because the English isn’t blended with the Japanese. I remember watching a reactor compilation video where it was just people reacting to Kanami’s Daydreaming solo, and I got tired of reactors, but never got tired of the solo.
I don’t even think I mentioned the guitar solo hahahaha! I really need to watch more tractors cause I miss everything that everyone else talks about lol
The emotional heart of the song is the Miku backing vocal. I have listened to the song a thousand times but each time it gets to me. But they do these sort of ballads brilliantly. From heavy to light they tend to have it covered.
I think we call it a ballad because we (by we I mean "I") kind of lack the terminology to describe it? It's slower, that's a ballad right? Fsck, I don't listen to slow music, this is the closest to a love song that I enjoy, so I go with it.
I’m old so have no idea about the bands and music you are referencing but this reminds very much of the 80s power ballads from the hair metal bands including the guitar solo. If you want something different you cant go wrong with Puzzle and Anemone acoustic live to really showcase Saiki’s vocals with some beautiful harmonies from Kanami. I’m on my way to see Band Maid live tonight in Okayama Japan🤘
lol it's a rainy day modern rock ballad.😜 It brings different emotion from their usual stuff. They also have a happy summer rock ballad as well as a couple softer ballads. If you want a softer ballad About Us has a live performance on their channel. A much more traditional ballad. I think it also has closed captioned lyrics.
@@markabusireactionsThe lyrics, almost 100% by Miku, is supposed to be another level up. Japanese fans have noted that even they have trouble with some of her language. Add to that a translation and we are probably getting just a shadow of what she is writing. Any way, thanks for the sharp comments.
@@markabusireactions I wouldn't get your hopes up too high. They do a lot of blending of English and Japanese in the middle of sentences and stuff. This is normal in Japanese, to an extent, but their lyrics are kind of poetic, and full of references and allusion and puns, so they can be really inscrutable, and not just for English speakers. You can struggle if you know Japanese, too. They're just really hard to translate, and the captions aren't going to do much besides give you some broad strokes. An example of this is around the end of Shambles, there's a line captioned "Sai and Kyo! The world lies before you." ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lf0mQOiu8J8.html What the fuck does that mean? It turns out it's a reference to something that happened at one of their concerts. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1Q69GP4YjtU.html Where Miku asks what Saiki thinks of the tour so far, and Saiki responds, "Saikou," which literally means like the pinnacle, or the best, and Miku fucks up saying it back and says "Sai and kou", and then Saiki spends a bunch of time making fun of her for it, lying to the crowd that it's cool kid slang to say it with "and" in the middle. And then you have to know that "Saikyou" means the strongest. It's a cool gift to themselves and the superfans to put that kind of thing in the lyrics, but it makes them kind of inaccessible. A couple lines before that, Miku wrote a line captioned "Inscrutable are the ways of the heavens", which is like a proverb referencing an ancient Chinese essay, and that's mostly in there to rhyme with the name of the protagonist of the anime they produced the song for. Like, the whole band is insane. That said, I noted in another comment that Puzzle keeps the Japanese sentences separated from the English sentences, so you can do a much more straightforward translation, and the captions are okay in that case.
I'd be interested in what you think of their acoustic sound. Maybe a double reaction to Sayonakadori the original and then acoustic. Beautiful love song where Miku actually sings and in the acoustic they pare down to a trio.
Daydreaming is one of my favourites. They DO do acoustic ballads -- e.g. their Christmas concert from 2021. Try Catharsis or with a subset of the band (drums, bass, and acoustic guitar (Miku)) Sayonakidori. The latter shows off Miku, band founder who couldn't play any instrument when Band-Maid started. Miku worked hard to learn the rhythm guitar and acoustic as well. She complained in this concert that the drummer was looking at her the whole time like a proud parent, because our Miku was playing solo guitar and singing a whole song by herself, and everyone was so proud of Miku and how far she has come. Also, try "Gion-Cho" -- classiest April First joke ever: they "announced" one April First that they were leaving behind their maid identity and becoming apprentice geisha, called "maiko" in Japanese, so they were changing their name to "Band-Maiko". They actually released a whole mini album under that name. "Gion-Cho" was specially written for Band-Maiko and the music video is beautifully filmed in traditional geisha scenery (Gion-Cho is the temple and geisha precinct of Kyoto, the national centre for geisha).
Also, consider it might be an age thing as far as musical "interpretation". I'm an older dude, so I've never listened to a "Goth Emo" song in my life, lol, so yup, this is a Ballad...🤣
Sincerely good comments on their musical diversity. Your words described exactly what Band Maid does so well. Totally unique compositions; blending genres; yet always sounding like Band Maid. Each Maid has wildly different musical tastes. Examples: MISA: Smashing Pumpkins Miku: Sheena Ringo Akane: Maximum the Hormone Saiki: Muse Kanami: Santana Band Maid have done some brilliant slower tempo songs, and ones with an intimate sound. “Puzzle,” both full live for majestic sounds, and acoustic for an intimate Saiki + Kanami performance. “About Us,” official live for their song written for and dedicated to their fans during the lockdowns “Memorable,” written during their post-virus American tour; tribute to fans they thought may have forgotten them Welcome to the Maidiacs 🎊
@@markabusireactions Please be advised that there are three different versions of Puzzle - the studio version, the live version and the acoustic version. The acoustic version is a bit hard to find on RU-vid, but can indeed be found on other video sites if you look hard enough. It is the acoustic version that would finally demonstrate that it is a true sentimental song, a heartbreaker if you will. The other two versions are cool and powerful. I kind of wish you would cover all three versions, but that would be greedy of me, wouldn't it?
@@markabusireactions Fantastic choice! If you want to make it interesting, do the full band live version, followed by the acoustic duet. Hearts will melt, views will soar
"true ballad" ... are you sure? ;-) But thats also a great song (what else?) and even slower than "Daydreaming". "About us" is about the band missing their fans during covid, right? "Memorable" is another slow song about/for their american fans.
During the MC in their Tokyo Garden Theater (TGT) Okyuji, Saiki and Miku talked about their ballad songs. They said that they had written several ballad songs such as Awkward, Anemone, etc., but ADULTs around them said that Band-Maid had not done any ballad songs.😥 So Maids created a true ballad song (according to Saiki and Miku) titled "Memorable" which they debuted at the TGT Okyuji.😉
A roughly simplified version of their writing process (to my understanding) goes like this. Kanami: we're doing this!!! *writes something amazing and passes it to the others as "homework"* Rest of the band add things they want, Miku gets to work on the lyrics. It gets passed around and around for awhile until Saiki says "Stop! Good enough!" As she is the final say in when they are done writing, since they'd continue refining forever if she let them. And thus new song. More or less. With some exceptions.
This is indeed a ballad. It's what used to be known as a "power ballad" - the tempo is much slower, but the heavy instrumentation appears now and then. And that thing about this being your favorite yet? You'll be sayin' tha again lad!
@@markabusireactions Okay, no worries. We'll get you a ballad. Do "About Us" but gotta know what it's about. It's a love song to all of the masters and princesses (fans) to cheer us up for being depressed that the band had to cancel all their shows. Saiki said before the song that they felt like we were even more torn up about it than we were. And this was a major blow to their career and they're cheering US up. I still get messed up watching it.
I agree - having a band where everyone contributes keeps the music changing. Individuals easily fall into a rut. It is a big advantage to have the "cross-pollination" of different contributors to keep that from happening. Band-Maid seems to have a lot of respect for each other and I'm pretty sure everyone in the band has their own distinct tastes. When Misa was young her mother played Jimi Hendrix and The Who in the house, when she was in high school she was big into the grunge and alt scenes. She seems to have a feel for funk and jazz as well. Saiki's grandmother took her to karaoke bars to sing enka, and she followed Namie Amuro (sort of dance/pop equivalent to Janet Jackson, maybe). Kanami played piano and all the usual classical composers, in high school she picked up guitar and learned Metallica and other rock and metal. She seems to have a very wide interest from cuban and latin to jazz and avant-garde. I won't be surprised when she writes a doo-wop song. After Akane picked up drums (fairly late, as a senior in high school) she really liked Nao from Maximum the Hormone and her playing has a lot of punk and metal tendencies. She also has swing, so when she and Misa lay down a funky or jazzy groove it has a lot of authenticity. But yeah, they play a lot of styles and they seem to do everything as well as bands that devote their careers to it.
You have mentioned Miku's back up singing on some of the videos being quite good. She was actually a Jpop singer and was originally the lead singer for Band Maid. It was only after they formed did they bring on Saki for her stronger vocal style
The lyrics are achingly beautiful. KANAMI’s solo perfectly captures the heartbreaking agony of longing to be reunited with someone you will never see again. (Sound to me like the style of Neil Shon, BTW.) I just left a comment on your DON’T YOU TELL ME video of reactors declaring the song they just heard to be their new favorite BAND-MAID song. Try I’ll, SENSE, INFLUENCER, CORALLIUM, or BLACK HOLE next. They all are examples of the Progressive sound they’ve been developing over the last two years. Songs that are more challenging to get into, but deeply rewarding with repeated listens.
Another mid tempo song of theirs is Wonderland. The live version is fantastic. Hint hint. Love the solo in this. Kanami makes that guitar cry. Not really a fan of ballads tbh and thankfully BM don't really do them as such.
WONDERLAND (live) is like a Jazzy ballad, at least compared to most BAND-MAID songs. But maybe you would like more songs from their acoustic Christmas stream. You can find SAYONAKIDORI and CATHARSIS on YT. Listen back-to-back with the originals, as you did with PUZZLE, to fully appreciate how completely they transform each song.
Great reaction. You would like Wonderland live. It is on the slower moodier sides but then again it is signature Band Maid. The song really showcases Saiiki's vocals and in my opinion it is one of their finest songs.
If I were asked to name a Band Maid 'Ballad', many would come to mind. About Us would top that list. Daydreaming will always be a favorite; the story of the lyrics makes it so for me, but About Us holds a place in my heart as their softest (non acoustic performance) and most heart touching song.
Others have mentioned it but the pair of songs Puzzle and Anemone acoustic live are incredibly emotional, no need to understand the lyrics, no closed captions required. Just hide the onions.
Sorry forget previous comment re Orange amps, I was commenting as I work through your reactions and now realise I was trying to teach you how to suck eggs re bass tone. May the bass be with you.
Maybe it's an age thing. Grew up on 60's and 70's rock. Stop listening around 90's. This is a ballad to me. The lyrics reinforces that idea. Off course, most good songs are about love, the rest is about HATE!. There is a reference for you in that caps.
If you want something truly different, check out their acoustic tracks. My favorite is Puzzle Acoustic. I think much of the variety comes from Kanami's mind. She once said that the managers asked to her to write a song every week. That's gonna develop the ability to come up with a variety of vocal melodies, instrumentations, rhythms, backing tracks, and arrangements. Then when the others rewrite their parts (Kanami programs basic drum and bass parts for the initial demo to give them her ideas) they all add their own take. Miku also adds to the vocal melody when she writes the lyrics and Saiki adjusts and adds when she works up her lead vocal. I think that has the result you mentioned - adding variety through collaboration. I believe Saiki acts as a kind of exec and has a lot of input on which of Kanami's songs they use. They all seem to trust Saiki's taste (she has a lot of input on their concert song list). Kanami also has dozens and dozens of songs that have never been worked up. Kanami has mentioned that when they get a contract with a short deadline to work up a song, like for an anime, or when they need a song for some other reason, she can find an existing one that fits.
That’s actually really similar to how my band worked haha. The songwriter would bring a song in with existing ideas for every part, and then we would take our sections and develop them to where we wanted them to be, then when it all came together and we played it, we would adjust things to suit each other until we had a full thing.
@@markabusireactions - I agree with thisismadness6962. If you feel like hearing an acoustic version of a song, might I suggest you listen to PUZZLE live at Tokyo Garden 2023 (the non-acoustical version) and then listen to PUZZLE live (the 2018 acoustic version with just Kanami, the guitarist and Saiki, the singer). I don't think you will be disappointed, sir. Also, as always, thank you for your straightforward reactions.
It's the feel and sentiment of the song that makes Daydreaming a ballad to me, not a conventional one I admit and some call it a power ballad. Kanami called it a Wedding Song when she composed it but Miku had different ideas when it came to the lyrics. Anemone and Awkward are in the same category, both called ballads by Saiki although they have a very different sentiment, whatever you call them they are both top songs. Perhaps the term ballad should be ditched and just call them slow tempo songs - Memorable, About Us, Page, At The Drop Of A Hat, Wonderland for example. Then there is Endless Story , comparable to Daydreaming in a way, a song Kanami wrote as a big arena song, with rousing sing a long parts which can be emotional as Akane discovered on their final tour date last year.
@@markabusireactions definitely worth checking out at some point. The whole set is a treat, especially with the audio commentary by the band. They totally mess with the arrangements, reinventing the songs.
About your comments- don't worry, it's all good. Firstly let me recommend the song Wonderland- Official Live Video, also ballad like. I think that it is still available somewhere. Your comment about Saiki's voice was correct. The recent preference (post 2019) for more faster, harder songs, Memorable etc the odd ones out, comes at the cost of hearing Saki's and Miku's beautiful vocals/harmonies as well as Kanami's more melodic guitar solo's. The main structure of their compositions is done by Kanami. She starts by composing the parts for every instrument, including drums, then adds contributions from the other band members individual parts. Great reaction again- well done.
Misa, the bassist, is using an Orange amp. Kanami (lead) usually uses a 5150 and I THINK Miku (the rhythm guitarist) uses a Blackstar if I'm remembering correctly. They write whatever they feel like it and don't give a shit. They're genreless.
The way I initially remembered Kanami's (the guitarist) name is I thought "This girl is so damn good it's like she's cheeting... she put in a cheat code... she put in the Konami Code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start)" and so now I never forget her name, she's a cheater. I realize this probably doesn't help anyone under 40, but I'm old and it works for me.
@@evilducks3710 well up until about 2 months ago I had a RU-vid channel where I streamed Nintendo games, but… it broke me and I decided to switch up my passions a little 😂
I too, have always been perplexed as to why people refer to this song as a 'Ballad'. It's not. Especially when Kanami drops into that guitar solo. It always grabs me.
It's a "power ballad." Thus song would have fit in well with power ballads from the 80s and 90s hard rock and metal bands (ie Van Halen, Aerosmith, Poison, Warrant, Extreme, etc). Bands back then would usually throw a power ballad on their album as a song that would be radio friendly.
@@armynurseboy I think we’re gonna have to agree to disagree. It doesn’t sound like any power ballads I know. But it does sound exactly like all the stuff I used to listen to about 20 years ago when the emo/screamo scene was coming up
@markabusireactions like I said, go back to 80s rock: Van Halen - Love Walks In Van Halen - When it's Love Aerosmith - Angel Aerosmith - I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing Warrant - Heaven Whitesnake - Here I Go Again Skid Row- I Remember You These were all great Power Ballads from the late 80s, early 90s and Daydreaming fits right in with those. Probably from before your time as you strike me as a young dude in your late 20s, early 30s.
They have so many songs that just define their music genre as Band-Maid. You will have your mind blown when you hear their April Fool's project tunes from the Band-Maiko EP. Secret Maiko Lips and Gion Cho MV's were on the April 2019 EP. They have a radio friendly pop song called "Start Over". They have quite a few "mellower" rock tunes like "You", "Ooparts", "Awkward", "Before Yesterday", "Endless Story" and "Alone". The entire album Conqueror included some slower tunes because they were worried about their audience having heat stroke in hot clubs because their energy can be quite relentless.
