The thing is, you have not listened to any of the music BAND-MAID before THRILL. And it was a Facebook post that sent people to the THRILL video (the band’s first video) AFTER their management had decided they would shut down the whole project. Before that, they had been trying different things in search of the right sound. So, THRILL is the inflection point, because it showed them that hard-and-heavy was the sound that resonated with international audiences.
The Non-Fiction Days use to be their go-to closer. When the song ended, the Maids would give Miku her few seconds to say goodbye, bow, and then all quickly walk off stage. The crowd felt like they'd been run over by a speeding freight train of awesomeness. It all felt so good and the fans wanted more! But they were leaving... until next time! Thx, Alexa!
Five years ago, "Thrill" was my Band-Maid WTF?? moment. When I explored Band-Maid further, the very next song I found was "The Non-Fiction Days." I couldn't believe how great this song was ... progressive hard rock at its very finest. I immediately began a Band-Maid deep dive, ordered as many Band-Maids albums as I could from my online music store, and a Maidiac was born! 🤘🤘💕💕
Thrill was actually before this. Thrill was their first single, and this song was about a year later. If you really want to hear them pre-Thrill (which is a trip), their first album right before Thrill is called "Maid in Japan." No videos though, only audio. My favorites from MIJ are Be OK, Yoake Mae and Forward.
'Thrill' was a breakthrough in that, if it hadn't gone viral the label was going to fire the musicians and turn the singers into DANCE-MAID. Miku & Saiki both cried, "We did not come to Tokyo for this!". But it did go viral, and that was their very first Music Video. However there isn't that much of a change from when the early stuff and when they started writing their own songs. It's different, but both are good. There's a little change between pre-throat operation Saiki and post- throat operation Saiki in that her voice is stronger. You can hear her push it harder than she ever would have before the operation. She was so pleased with the results Miku had it done too. It's too bad so much was take off of TH-cam ahead of the DVD release. But, if you're feeling adventurous, go to the first song of the Zepp tokyo LIVE concert on the Chinese site Bilibili and compare that 'Domination' LIVE to the Line Cube Shibuya version. That is a huge difference!
It was a cold and windy day on a beach with wind turbines in the background. They had heavy coats to wear between takes and,allegedly,Akane's and Kanami's coats caught fire when they were trying to warm up too close to the fire pits. No two songs sound the same. Early on,Kanami taught herself to compose music using a computer. She would then forward it to the others,so they could compose their parts. Misa has said she starts with a keyboard version to aid in writing her bass part. She has higher education in music production; I don't remember the proper description for that training. I think Kanami then brings everything together for the complete song. There are no individual music credits as they all contribute. Of course,Miku and Saiki write most of the lyrics. Kanami once said in an interview I watched that her goal was to write 50 new songs per year and keep them in a folder she was holding. She said she just reached in to it when they were commissioned to write an anime song; she then mentioned the song Different. They have created many songs for various anime productions. Commenters,please correct and expound on anything I have written.
Alexa, this video was shot in the middle of winter in a wind-swept beach in Japan. Japan has the same latitude as New England. Notice the thin maid outfit they wore while shooting. They had to put on full-length insulated coats between shots to keep from freezing. These Maids are hard-core rock troopers. Their motto seems to be "whatever it takes" to get the video done and looking great. From strapping themselves to the top of moving cars "Warning" to standing on cliffs "Influencer" to standing next to fire in so many videos these Maids have more guts than a lot of young male rock and rollers. Band-Maid is the best!!!!!!
"the non-fiction days", "Daydreaming" and "Domination" are all post-"Thrill". "Thrill" was the first MV, you'll have to go back to the audio tracks of "Maid in Japan" to be pre-"Thrill".
Evil Alexa, did you make a new years resolution to be slightly less evil? Your doppelganger said you did & that could be true cos you're still giving us awesome BAND-MAID reactions.🤗
The thing to remember is that while Japanese record companies do not as general rule let bands have much say, they don't usually lock them out completely. So songs written by professional song writers didn't totally suck, they just were not what the members really wanted to do. The song writers and the producers had first and say the ladies had some input and the producer had final say. So in my opinion none of the old stuff sucks, it's just that the Record company wasn't letting the ladies write their own music and lyrics.
"Thrill" is the song that broke them out, but the Maids weren't allowed to put a song they wrote themselves until the next album. They got one song, "Alone," and it was the last song on the album. And it's pop-punk greatness. After that it's mostly their own creations, but the evolution of the sound that got them noticed was slow. 2018's "World Domination" album is in the same vein as the earlier stuff, but elevated. Then 2019's "Conqueror" is the album where Kanami decided to go full "I DO WHAT I WANT!" You just never know what they're going to do now, what disparate genres they'll manage to fuse into their songs.
Great react, and good ear picking up that Saiki's voice was a bit different. So this was 2016, and she was pushing her voice a lot - which unfortunately ended up with her needing surgery in 2017, which then she got more vocal training to help take care of her voice and use more of her range with a more mature sound. This was also when the band started doing instrumentals, and Miku-lead songs, to give her a break during shows. And I totally get that 'disconnect' about the older songs being just as good, if a bit different, than the newer songs. But in general, 'Thrill' was a heavy song, and it was the first heavy song they did a MV for, and pushed. The lore about Thrill is that, it was actually the 'B' side of that single release, the other song being a much more poppy sounding song. But they were struggling to make any headway in Japan, so they said - lets do this heavy song for the MV instead. In the meantime, they didn't know that their agency had decided to drop the band idea, and that was going to be the last release they'd get. Then Thrill came out, and got posted on a 'Tokyo Metal' facebook group run by people in the West. (they had no idea they could be popular outside Japan/Asia. They thought the emails they were getting from English speakers requesting info were spam, and ignored them at first. LOL) And then the video got over a million views within a *week*. And PP decided - maybe this band idea can work out after all. So they kept them going and renewed their contract. And the rest is history! (even more so, since the agency that almost dropped them went out of business this year- now Band-Maid is on their own, after declaring themselves independent going forward after the last album release!)
I consider New Beginnings and Brand New Maid the first "true" albums playing their style ( an early on version of course ). What sometimes get overlooked since they didn't write any of those songs but one, Alone, is how good their taste was because they picked out excellent songs to record, and then make them their own. You would think these albums and songs wouldn't hold up vis a vis their own stuff which is far more complex, but hey there is nothing wrong with a good old banger with verse and chorus, not when played by these superb musicians. I'll put up Freezer, Yuragu, and Shake It up against any other bands bangers and see whats what!
Of course Saiki's voice has changed between the time this was recorded and now. She was still a baby back then. (LOL) Of course I'm exaggerating but she was around 19 or 20 and it was before she had the vocal polyp surgery. This is still a strong showing for a song that they did not write themselves. I particularly like the way the tempo and intensity changes and leads into the guitar solo. Keep the Band-Maid reactions coming, Alexa.
I totally agree. This is my favorite Saiki-san make-up. She looks absolutely extra fabulous! This song is one of the ones near Saiki-san's surgery so you can already hear the degradation of her voice.
Happy New Year, Alexa. Their really early stuff is more pop, and even some of their stuff around Thrill makes me cringe a bit. I think their management wanted to sexy them up more, and you get stuff like Don’t Let Me Down. The MV for Real Existence where they do the sequence of like glamour shots of their faces always makes me embarrassed for them. They were very talented from the beginning and it just feels beneath them. But Thrill was a make or break moment for them, and it helped cement a direction for their sound when it took off.
@@alexatakesalook why hi Hi? You sound scary. When some say Hey, you reply HEY!😁🤭….. You do know They will release new so on 13th (next 3 days)… any plan of join us PREMIERE (live) just ask, no big deal
It seems someone told you that earlier Band-Maid was significantly bad or worse than newer Band-Maid, but screw that, that's absolutely not true. They were awesome right from the get go. Of course their style has changed over the years and with experience, but there wasn't that "big" shift in quality at all.
![BAND-MAID / Daydreaming (Official Music Video) REACTION [All the feels!!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xBGEvhkGAhE/mqdefault.jpg)
![BAND-MAID / Daydreaming (Official Music Video) REACTION [All the feels!!]](/img/tr.png)
The thing is, you have not listened to any of the music BAND-MAID before THRILL. And it was a Facebook post that sent people to the THRILL video (the band’s first video) AFTER their management had decided they would shut down the whole project. Before that, they had been trying different things in search of the right sound. So, THRILL is the inflection point, because it showed them that hard-and-heavy was the sound that resonated with international audiences.
The Non-Fiction Days use to be their go-to closer. When the song ended, the Maids would give Miku her few seconds to say goodbye, bow, and then all quickly walk off stage. The crowd felt like they'd been run over by a speeding freight train of awesomeness. It all felt so good and the fans wanted more! But they were leaving... until next time! Thx, Alexa!
Five years ago, "Thrill" was my Band-Maid WTF?? moment. When I explored Band-Maid further, the very next song I found was "The Non-Fiction Days." I couldn't believe how great this song was ... progressive hard rock at its very finest. I immediately began a Band-Maid deep dive, ordered as many Band-Maids albums as I could from my online music store, and a Maidiac was born! 🤘🤘💕💕
Rock on, Alexa!
Thrill was actually before this. Thrill was their first single, and this song was about a year later. If you really want to hear them pre-Thrill (which is a trip), their first album right before Thrill is called "Maid in Japan." No videos though, only audio. My favorites from MIJ are Be OK, Yoake Mae and Forward.
'Thrill' was a breakthrough in that, if it hadn't gone viral the label was going to fire the musicians and turn the singers into DANCE-MAID. Miku & Saiki both cried, "We did not come to Tokyo for this!". But it did go viral, and that was their very first Music Video. However there isn't that much of a change from when the early stuff and when they started writing their own songs. It's different, but both are good. There's a little change between pre-throat operation Saiki and post- throat operation Saiki in that her voice is stronger. You can hear her push it harder than she ever would have before the operation. She was so pleased with the results Miku had it done too. It's too bad so much was take off of TH-cam ahead of the DVD release. But, if you're feeling adventurous, go to the first song of the Zepp tokyo LIVE concert on the Chinese site Bilibili and compare that 'Domination' LIVE to the Line Cube Shibuya version. That is a huge difference!
It was a cold and windy day on a beach with wind turbines in the background. They had heavy coats to wear between takes and,allegedly,Akane's and Kanami's coats caught fire when they were trying to warm up too close to the fire pits.
No two songs sound the same. Early on,Kanami taught herself to compose music using a computer. She would then forward it to the others,so they could compose their parts. Misa has said she starts with a keyboard version to aid in writing her bass part. She has higher education in music production; I don't remember the proper description for that training. I think Kanami then brings everything together for the complete song. There are no individual music credits as they all contribute. Of course,Miku and Saiki write most of the lyrics.
Kanami once said in an interview I watched that her goal was to write 50 new songs per year and keep them in a folder she was holding. She said she just reached in to it when they were commissioned to write an anime song; she then mentioned the song Different. They have created many songs for various anime productions.
Commenters,please correct and expound on anything I have written.
I think you're spot on, mate!
Their older stuff is killer. Different and Freezer rock.
Alexa, this video was shot in the middle of winter in a wind-swept beach in Japan. Japan has the same latitude as New England. Notice the thin maid outfit they wore while shooting. They had to put on full-length insulated coats between shots to keep from freezing. These Maids are hard-core rock troopers. Their motto seems to be "whatever it takes" to get the video done and looking great. From strapping themselves to the top of moving cars "Warning" to standing on cliffs "Influencer" to standing next to fire in so many videos these Maids have more guts than a lot of young male rock and rollers.
Band-Maid is the best!!!!!!
Band-Maid are the best progressive hard rock band ever.
"the non-fiction days", "Daydreaming" and "Domination" are all post-"Thrill". "Thrill" was the first MV, you'll have to go back to the audio tracks of "Maid in Japan" to be pre-"Thrill".
“Okay, I like this”. Alexa, have you ever had any doubts about any of their songs so far? 😆
>.> shhhhh
One of my all time favorites. Thanks for the reaction! (new glasses?)
Have a happy, prosperous and healthy New Year, everyone!!!!! 🥳 That's not too much to wish for, is it? 🙄🎈
Thanks for the reaction enjoyed it U gained another subscriber ❤
Thanks for subbing!
Princess ALEXA!!!!! Happy New Year! 🙂❤🤘
Gosh thank y...Ohhh, you meant Alexa. I got mixed up cos Gary & Alexa both have A's in them.🤭
@@GaryHolloway-810 Kanami looks like a princess in the Bestie M/V. 🙂
@@80mtn yeah she does. And i like her tied back hair in a plait with coloured ribbons.🤗
Happy New Year!!
Evil Alexa, did you make a new years resolution to be slightly less evil? Your doppelganger said you did & that could be true cos you're still giving us awesome BAND-MAID reactions.🤗
So what you’re saying is you would prefer an Evil Alexa Lite? 🍺🥴🕊️
@@RogerChance5309 Mildly Naughty Alexa?
@@RogerChance5309 well i am more kind of for candy rather than the whip :)
@@GaryHolloway-810 Gonna have to roll the DICE. I prefer candy AND the whip, but that's just me.
@@80mtn 🍺🙄
The thing to remember is that while Japanese record companies do not as general rule let bands have much say, they don't usually lock them out completely. So songs written by professional song writers didn't totally suck, they just were not what the members really wanted to do. The song writers and the producers had first and say the ladies had some input and the producer had final say. So in my opinion none of the old stuff sucks, it's just that the Record company wasn't letting the ladies write their own music and lyrics.
"Thrill" is the song that broke them out, but the Maids weren't allowed to put a song they wrote themselves until the next album. They got one song, "Alone," and it was the last song on the album. And it's pop-punk greatness. After that it's mostly their own creations, but the evolution of the sound that got them noticed was slow. 2018's "World Domination" album is in the same vein as the earlier stuff, but elevated. Then 2019's "Conqueror" is the album where Kanami decided to go full "I DO WHAT I WANT!" You just never know what they're going to do now, what disparate genres they'll manage to fuse into their songs.
Evil Alexa! 🍺🥴🤘🏻🕊️
EVIL ROGER!!!!!
Eerie.🫣
mmmyessss
@@alexatakesalook 🍺😬
ROFL!!
🕊️⛱️🔥
Great react, and good ear picking up that Saiki's voice was a bit different. So this was 2016, and she was pushing her voice a lot - which unfortunately ended up with her needing surgery in 2017, which then she got more vocal training to help take care of her voice and use more of her range with a more mature sound. This was also when the band started doing instrumentals, and Miku-lead songs, to give her a break during shows.
And I totally get that 'disconnect' about the older songs being just as good, if a bit different, than the newer songs. But in general, 'Thrill' was a heavy song, and it was the first heavy song they did a MV for, and pushed. The lore about Thrill is that, it was actually the 'B' side of that single release, the other song being a much more poppy sounding song. But they were struggling to make any headway in Japan, so they said - lets do this heavy song for the MV instead. In the meantime, they didn't know that their agency had decided to drop the band idea, and that was going to be the last release they'd get.
Then Thrill came out, and got posted on a 'Tokyo Metal' facebook group run by people in the West. (they had no idea they could be popular outside Japan/Asia. They thought the emails they were getting from English speakers requesting info were spam, and ignored them at first. LOL) And then the video got over a million views within a *week*. And PP decided - maybe this band idea can work out after all. So they kept them going and renewed their contract. And the rest is history! (even more so, since the agency that almost dropped them went out of business this year- now Band-Maid is on their own, after declaring themselves independent going forward after the last album release!)
The older stuff is great!
I consider New Beginnings and Brand New Maid the first "true" albums playing their style ( an early on version of course ). What sometimes get overlooked since they didn't write any of those songs but one, Alone, is how good their taste was because they picked out excellent songs to record, and then make them their own. You would think these albums and songs wouldn't hold up vis a vis their own stuff which is far more complex, but hey there is nothing wrong with a good old banger with verse and chorus, not when played by these superb musicians.
I'll put up Freezer, Yuragu, and Shake It up against any other bands bangers and see whats what!
You are totally right!! 🤘🤘💕💕
I think you meant to say “Shake That”. “Shake It Up” was a song by The Cars.
Of course Saiki's voice has changed between the time this was recorded and now. She was still a baby back then. (LOL) Of course I'm exaggerating but she was around 19 or 20 and it was before she had the vocal polyp surgery. This is still a strong showing for a song that they did not write themselves. I particularly like the way the tempo and intensity changes and leads into the guitar solo.
Keep the Band-Maid reactions coming, Alexa.
I totally agree. This is my favorite Saiki-san make-up. She looks absolutely extra fabulous!
This song is one of the ones near Saiki-san's surgery so you can already hear the degradation of her voice.
Happy New Year, Alexa.
Their really early stuff is more pop, and even some of their stuff around Thrill makes me cringe a bit. I think their management wanted to sexy them up more, and you get stuff like Don’t Let Me Down. The MV for Real Existence where they do the sequence of like glamour shots of their faces always makes me embarrassed for them. They were very talented from the beginning and it just feels beneath them.
But Thrill was a make or break moment for them, and it helped cement a direction for their sound when it took off.
ここはgarbage landfillですね。tokyo bayにあります。
It's so pretty though 😅
Alexa, according to your playlist, you haven’t done “Real Existence” (OMV) “Warning” (OMV) or “After Life” (OMV).
real existance should be there! Nov 30! The other two I will add to my list!!
Hey 👋
Hi hi!!
@@alexatakesalook why hi Hi? You sound scary. When some say Hey, you reply HEY!😁🤭….. You do know They will release new so on 13th (next 3 days)… any plan of join us PREMIERE (live) just ask, no big deal
@MnPofBM i will try my best!! I just got two new animals 😅
@ I saw that…Do you planing of getting more 🐶 🐱 ?🤭 I can see you ❤️ animals
@@MnPofBM I can not legally own anymore dogs in the city I live in, but maybe another cat someday!!
It seems someone told you that earlier Band-Maid was significantly bad or worse than newer Band-Maid, but screw that, that's absolutely not true. They were awesome right from the get go.
Of course their style has changed over the years and with experience, but there wasn't that "big" shift in quality at all.