Band-Maid has no lead... No lead guitar, no lead vocalist, no lead bass... You can ALWAYS focus on one of the instruments or vocals and it will take you away! They are an BAND! Everyone is equal, everyone is important and everyone is just so freaking talented! In a lot of other bands they would be THE STAR of this band... Glad they all are combined in one band: BAND-MAID! Greetings from Germany, great reaction again, Ryan!

Miku is a very talented Wizard. She dreamed of being the lead singer in a hard rock band. Then she added a lead singer, stepping aside from her dream knowing intuitively her voice wouldn't carry it. She pulled together a group of extremely talented musicians and creators to form what has become world known. Then she picks up a guitar and proceeds to learn it after they form. Her fingers had to bleed with the amount of time she put into learning. Add backup vocals and writing lyrics, well, she is my Hero.

Black Hole. Once you get too close, there's no going back.

"Kanami is matching the vocals" at the end ... I never realized that, and I have already heard this song dozens of times. That's why I like to see your reactions, you point out the things that make me realize why I love Band Maid. Great reaction

Definitely Miku is becoming one of the best multifaceted musicians around. Singing perfect harmonies, writing lyrics, becoming incredibly skilled as a rhythm player . . she is truly the driving force behind this band. Without any of them, the chemistry would be remarkably different.

At the Day of Maid show, Black Hole was 21st out of 22 songs in the playlist... after playing almost the entire Unseen World earlier in the 2-hour+ set. Ordinary musicians would have collapsed from exhaustion during that track.

That combination between groove and speed and between complexity and catchiness is absolutely unbeatable. Band Maid doing Band Maid things in their own league.

Every member of Band Maid puts their mark on every song especially Manners. There truly are five pillars to this band and it wouldn't be the same band without any of them.

Yeah. Kanami's guitar rarely takes that prominence. I consider it due to her generosity.

I have been a professional bass player for 46 years, and I have to say, every time I hear Misa play it totally blows me away. She has the chops!!!!

The rhythm guitar on Black Hole is not trivial. The backing vocals are not trivial. Miku is doing both. Her growth as a musician is so much fun to see and so inspiring. God knows how many guitarists I've played with that would have difficulty with Kanami's syncopations and funky timings, much less singing vocal parts with the same issues lol.

The discord was popping off all night about all kinds of Band-Maid stuff. Then around 3ish my time, it died down and you came in with “anyone want to fill me in” and like fifteen minutes later this dropped lol. I was about to finally get some sleep and band-maid was like, nah you can be up for another hour geeking out in discord with the homies. I wonder if Akane did the trumpets for the backing track in manners 🤔.

MISA and Akane could just groove for three hours and sell it as a double album. I would buy it and so would everyone else. I got up in the wee hours of the morning to watch this show. I loved every second of it. I guess the neighbors did too because nobody ever complained.

You know, I have been a fan of Band-Maid for over three years now. I wasn't around from the beginning, but, I have heard everything they have done from then to now and it really is an amazing story, how this little crazy Japanese rock band has grown and matured from an almost Idol pop rock band to IMHO the best rock band in the last twenty or more years. They are no joke. You can tell from the early stuff that they were talented, but they were a bit innocent, or a bit lacking in knowledge and experience. But you could hear them working hard and growing every album on the way. They just got exponentially better and better. And when World Domination hit, I thought, "Man, this band is f-ing great!" And I would have swore that they could not get any better.... I was wrong. They are doing things that no other band in the world can do. How?? I suggest that it has a lot to do with the fact that they are Truly a Band. They know each others strengths and weaknesses and are not afraid to let their band mates do their thing, nay, they work to enhance their band mates thing. You can tell that they are working hard all the time to get better. They haven't decided that they can't be better. They don't believe that they have peaked. They don't sound like they have become bored and playing and writing cool music is still a passion for them. In short they are having FUN at what they are doing and loving every minute of it. I got to believe that it is killing them that they haven't been able to go on the road for such a long time and be in front of their fans live and in person!

Dude I wanna watch, but I want to react ugh!!! I will come back I swear lol...

You made a GREAT point about not understanding the lyrics. Back in the days before the internet, for those enough old enough to remember, you only had access to the lyrics IF the band included them with the album/CD. With the classic rock I grew up on half the time you didn't know what they were saying or what you thought they were saying was totally wrong. I didn't matter then and it still doesn't today. Quality music cuts through any barrier. 🎶🎸🥁🎸🎶🔥🙂

Black Hole is their fastest song. 220 bpm at the end. Akane had a lot of trouble practicing and said to Kanami at the beginning, "I can't do it". Answer, "You can!". Now Kanami wants to compose a song with 230 bpm. We'll see. That would be faster than any DragonForce song.

Great reaction Ryan! I agree with you, we can clearly hear Miku's backing vocals in those livestreams. I noticed things that I didn't notice on the studio version before. And now when I'm coming back to the studio version of the song, I know how to separate every detail of this beautiful chaos. That's what I love about BAND-MAID. You never get bored listening to them because you always stumble on a detail you never heard before

Kanami CAN shred like hell. She just does what works for the SONG, in concert with the others. A lot of shredders can do that one trick great, but are about as musical as a chimp banging pans together. Kanami composes and plays real and interesting songs.

That's Unseen World for you. Manners and Black Hole on the same album. It is going to be your catchphrase when listening to the rest of the album: "I wasn't expecting THAT".

One of the best times of your life Ryan is when you see Band-Maid live! They’re so electrifying live!! No opening band just them kicking ass

Another great reaction! One of the things that struck me about the songs on "Unseen World" is just how much Miku contributes to the songs with vocal additions. It's not really backup vocals but they are integral to the song. I'll admit that when I first heard some of the more "progressive" songs from "Unseen World" i.e. Giovani, No God and HGK, I wasn't sure I liked them. I realize that my ears were not used to such complex music so It sounded chaotic. Now they are some of my favorite songs by BAND-MAID. I love "Manners" because it feeds my bluesy rock soul.

It's a shame that they didn't show too much of Akane during Black Hole. This song is one of her standout songs on Unseen World. Her kick drum is lost in the mix as well, which is criminal.

Black Hole is their Bohemian Rhapsody - at 78rpm, on speed and after magic mushrooms.

Each musicians part, guitars, bass, drums and vocals, fold over each other to create a beautiful Origami masterpiece. Keep Rocking amigo!!!✌🏻🤘🏻👍🏻

When MISA gets her groove on, she really is something special. It's impossible to have a favorite with these women. They are just such a brilliant band. But MISA has a special place for me.

I swear to God! If I see them live, I will sing "Ah...ah...ah..", "La... La.. La" and "Ra... Ta... Ta..." Along with them🤟🤟🤟🤟

Not gonna lie, I've been waiting for your reaction the entire day 🖤🤘and I'm ready to enjoy these songs again with you. Thanks Po! 🕊️ Rock on! 😎

You were raving about band maid while listening to Manners, and how they changed your perception of music. Me knowing that Black Hole was up next.. "Dude.. Just wait... You don't know how much awesomeness is ahead of you :) "" Black hole is a mind fuck when you try to analyse it. every single member of the band is going completely ham, doing insanely complex stuff at like 22BPM... But somehow, it STILL SOUNDS CATCHY!

I hope they release the version of "Play" they did during that show. The intro is beyond awesome and their interactions and playfulness are on full display.

Every one of these girls are improving individually at what they do, and it is ending up a total mind-fuck of a sound. This is another of their songs that requires many listens to comprehend what is going on. Another work of genius from the girls. Astonishing ! As a musician, I am completely in awe of these 5 girls.

I didn't realize that Miku chug like that at the beginning of Black Hole. Then Kanami starts dropping lead riffs from all over the place.

Miku is everything po~!

Miku can scream at me anytime she wants!!!!! 😍😍😍 and MISA is a cold blooded assassin on that bass...GODDESS!

I have to say Ryan these Beautiful Ladies Musicianship never seizes to amaze me. Every time I hear their songs I hear something different I didn't hear before. I'm a 61 years young Maidiac Such a Phenomenal Band. And their songs live are So great to listen to. Keep Rockin Man.

Someone kicked over a bees nest at the end of black hole.

I always love your professional reactions. Black Hole is my new favorite of Band-Maid. I think I heard Akane say it was about 220 bpm. 👍👍🤘🤘

It's great to hear Miku playing the guitar intro on Black Hole! And her singing parts are so unique that are an important part of the Band-Maid sound.

with this live miku...i mean currupo opened for them and i think it was over half was in befor they lowered mikus guitar and mic... Saiki noticed early and just started belting louded lol

Leave it to BAND MAID to take something GREAT and make it even better. Can't believe you never heard BLACK HOLE. The intro with Saiki talking is one of my favorites. You even get a little vocal fry from her in MANNERS. If they turn the bass up anymore it will be like listening to PRIMUS :p . As far as MISA (MISA MISA) I don't think she is constrained by what a typical bass player would do. Bass typically plods along, just carrying a beat and a chord. I know she has listened to a lot of music, studied a lot of music ... but she really plays the bass more like a lead guitar. I think her approach to playing bass is quite radical and that is what makes her special. Lastly, the amount of work MIKU puts in on BOTH of these songs makes me wonder it that was not at least part of the motivation for releasing them together. The rhythm guitar really stands out on BLACK HOLE.

This two pack seems to be sending a message. Pick any genre and we're better at it than whoever you are listening to.

when manners ends I always wish I had a lighter so I light up the darkness in tribute to a great song.

Miku really shines here ... she has worked a lot creating this weird, eccentric alter ego, but every time she takes her Zemaitis and goes on stage, she is the most genuine person in the world.❤🎸❤

I don't know if I posted this before, but this is one of the best reviews from you I have seen. I really enjoyed the opinions during the middle of the review.

Blame the editor, not the camera person. At the exact point you were talking about not being able to see Akane, she was pulling faces at the camera. It was incredible and we saw this moment in the last two concerts. Unbelievable they didn’t show that here. Seriously, she was playing 200 bpm, and as she smashes the cymbal, she leans towards the camera and makes a slightly silly face. Such confidence

Black Hole is what i call for "Controlled Chaos" in music.

Akane has really been working her foot speed. Really nice BD work at the end of Black hole!

Was it worth it to be missing out on this for the reaction? That's for you to figure out. I'm always impressed by the people who are actual fans and are able to resist binging their entire discography.

I agree about the guitar levels, but it was nice to hear Miku so well for a change !

Ryan your the 10th reactor I've watched so far to this online vid to bandmaid and your by far the best reaction and sound quality! These ladies are amazing!👍❤🤘🤘🤘

Re-listening to this and Warning and some other stuff I'm reminded how cool it is in Unseen World that they have taken vocals past just "lyrical" instruments and have incorporated them as another melodic or harmony instrument. It's often mixed back quite a bit but some of Miku's vocal lines as have been mentioned by Ryan and others in this discussion are not just "backing" Saiki but performing a different counter melody often without words, just vowel sounds or whatever. In Warning when the guitar solo is going off Saiki and Miku are providing harmony as if they were just another harmony instrument. It's cool stuff and Im not sure I've ever heard anything quite like that in a rock context. It's like they are pulling in some vocal tricks from Acapella and Jazz vocal groups.

Jesus ! Black Hole. What a tour de force. Amazing.

When I was a kid, Def Leppard were like gods. They were the best band I had ever heard and my favorite for many years. But most songs, I could understand maybe half of what Joe Elliott was singing. 🤣

I was one of the 21 people who watched your live-stream live ;) hehe As a big fan of her old custom-made Black Cloud, I must say that MISA's new Black Smoker Jazz Bass is an absolute beast :D Also, I think this is the PRS that Paul Reed Smith personally made for Kanami :D

BAND MAID is a marvellous band from Japan. They have perfect synchronization and harmony when they play music. Saiki and Miku complement and fit perfectly as voices. Saiki sings... direct from the lungs ... she have unique abilities ... and range in her voice. She is fantastic . Miku , successfully gives color to the vocals of the group with her voice , playing excellent rhythm guitar and ... she is the soul of the band. Kanami plays the guitar and her whole body is involved in this playing. She really enjoys it with her mind ...her body...and her soul. She is one of the best guitarist that I have ever seen . Akane enchants us when she plays drums. Each of its limbs (arms and legs) has a separate role ... as if they were 4 different people in one body, with one mind. Misa ... she is a pleasant and timid giant who... when she holds the bass in her hands ...she is transformed to a hurricane and is unrestrained. A hurricane that sweeps away everything in its path. All 5 girls work together as one body ... as one mind ... giving us wonderful songs. They have the talent .... they have the skills ... they are so cute and dynamic .... they have excellent communication with their audience ..... What else to ask for !!!!!! I hope ... BAND MAID will continue to exist ... for many, many more years Because they have created a unique sound ... with character ... and personality. Their own personality. That's all I had to say about this amazing band. Keep walking BAND MAID ... KEEP dreaming. by Dimitris Thomazos Music Lyricist

I'm glad you like . nice reaction .

Love Manners!! Great opening with Akane and Misa! Thank you for reacting to this video.

Yeah I noticed too that often Kanami's guitar is to low in the mix. I wonder if it's YT compression. Some footage of this particular on-line concert sounds fine e.g- _'Thrill & Warning'_ I know the whole _World domination tour at Line Cube Shibuya_ has that issue. But if you go on _bilibili_ and listen to their Live at _The Zepp Tokyo or Studio Coast_ performance the mix sounds mean azz!!!!

Great reaction as usual Ryan.. Really like this slightly slower version of manners;; Bloody awesome!!!! agreed on the video, so much clearer than usual... Misa was going ballistic, like her new curled hair look too.. :) My wife was asking me how I can listen to people singing in Japanese? I said exactly to her what you just said.. Lol Its all about the music and the presence, and they rock both... Black hole is another very cool track. Goose bump city, so much happening, can't take it all in.. Love it.. Best wishes from France..

Everyone should pay attention to Saiki during Black Hole. Her face is so intense and angry! It's a very strong performance. You can really see that she is all the way in on this song. That was the main thing I took away from this video. I love this band!

In Manners after a gazillion times listening to it I begin hering more and more. Kanami gets kind of lost until you realize that she is harmonizing with the vocals on guitar.

Great reaction man. Appreciated!

Figured you'd have to pause a bit more for Black Hole. Song's really intense. They were asked about it and they said they were a little worried to play it live because at the BPM of the song if someone screws up then they're just going to be lost. I really enjoy it because it's so prog metal and seems like a song where they were really trying to push themselves creatively to see what they could get away with. Of course to be Band-Maid, when they made a prog metal song they decided to take the usual 10 minute song and just cram it into 3 minutes. You were right about how good the vocals are here. I actually do like them more than on the album. Although the album lets you hear Kanami better as you mentioned.

They usually pan Kanami almost all the way right and Miku far left . Kanami's dominant parts get lost. They need to give the lead more space in the mix. Live domination/ Freedom/ . . etc. Moratorium is the only live mix where the guitars are correctly balanced. Love this band! Hope they get enough comments to fix it moving forward. ;)

Epic reaction Ryan. It is amazing how they can have the crazy instrumentation of Black Hole and still make it catchy. Don't know if many bands can do that. I like your explanation on how BM changed how you listen to music. I know they have really broadened my horizons. Is there a cooler bassist than Misa?

I've always treated vocals an an instrument rather than words. Even if in english, it makes no difference to me. I don't even bother looking them up lol. Misa's bass style reminds me of Roger Glover (Deep Purple). He was one of those inventive, add to the song bassists. He liked the attack of a pick as well. But Band-Maid is my favourite band of the last decade or more, no question.

black hole is my favorite track off the new album and top 5 overall

holy syncopation overload batman. it sounds like everyone's playing their own song slightly offset from each other but it somehow sounds like it belongs together. IDK my brain is melted after that.

Misa is frigging awesome but Arkane's drumming is also a thing of beauty, together they are my favourite rhythm section since Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, nuts I know.

Band Maid is so special in their live performances.

They are the legit the best band in the last 10 years. Amazing musicians with amazing vocals.

I will tell you a funny story about understanding the lyrics. For many years when I listened to Hotel California I used to think the line "Please bring me my wine", was "Please bring me my wife". As you can imagine this totally changed the meaning of the song to me I thought it was really cool that his wife's spirit had not been seen since 1969 and that he was stuck in this hotel in some sort of spiritual prison. Oh well I guess I was overthinking it!!

Thank you for featuring more Band-Maid and pointing out some of the special stuff they do. Having grown up in the Beatles era, and heard a heck of a lot of stuff between then and now, I think Band-Maid are on track to be the best rock band since the Beatles. A couple more years at this rate of quantity and quality, and they are there.

Great reaction vid! Love your channel. Akane said Black Hole is their fastest song, coming in at 220 beats per minute. She said she was practicing hard to be able to perform it live.... And here we are!!! Kanami found out that Dragon Force has a song at 225 bpm, so she is writing a new song to up Akane's game to match it.

I never cared for the studio recording of that song, but the live version, with that MISA/Akane opening, crazy good.

Ryan you can read about what me & B-M got up to behind the scenes here in my book "Fifty Shades of Gary". Available at all good fictional bookstores :)

MISA is so damn cool! Black Hole is like progrock on speed!

The only complaint is they didn't show much of Akane, she was doing a LOT in the black hole song

Assassin and the gorilla!!!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥best rythm team on earth!!!❤❤❤❤ thanks 👍👍👍👍👍

how exactly did miku go from using the guitar as aprop to opening up a song like this with a beautiful precision metal lick, thats insane dedication

their release made my day yesterday and now i get a good reaction from a dude that really appreciates them....nice

Kanami is always trying to support her band mates which may account for the reduced mix of her guitar.

The most innovative band on the planet now...maybe ever.

Kanami's guitar has always been held back. I don't if it's by design so it doesn't cut everything out but it's been an ongoing thing in the mix. I like to believe since she plays all over, under and throughout the song her mix has to be lower to blend with the rhythm or vocals depending on where in the song she decides to play her magic

Next time you play it, turn on CC.... the lyrics on Black Hole could've been written by Neil Peart in 1977.

Ok....this is my way of seeing Band Maid....I see them as a beautiful painting.....Miku💕 is the canvas on which the others are displayed, Misa💕, Akane💕 and Kanami💕 are the primary colors from which ALL colors are possible through mixing, Saiki is of course the beautiful frame that surrounds and contains it all.....without ANY one of them, the finished product is not possible....❤

I should probably just say, ditto, to everyone’s comments. These ladies are great, fun to listen to, and fun to see their interaction. Let’s bring back the concerts with; BAND- MAID leading everyone’s list of groups to see live.

Even famous and distinguished bands like RHCP can't play Live this good.

The most anticipated song from their latest album 'Black Hole' 🤟 dangggg it sound amaaaazing live...No God done..Black Hole done....waiting for HGK 🤞thanks Ryan 🙏🏿 Akane rules !!! 🤟👏👍🏿🥰

Regarding the lyrics, you can turn on English subtitles. They never used to have these on their videos, but after switching to Pony Canyon last year, all their new releases have them.

Misa's bass tone reminds me so much of Justin Chancellor from Tool. Almost like I'm hearing The Pot again.

Saiki just slays this lead vocal performance! She is the best front person in music today! So powerful , dynamic, beautiful! A perfect compliment to the other members, She is a phenomenal

Listening to "Manners" in retrospect, I have the impression that the words "Go to the Unseen World" have a double meaning and also apply to getting to know the music of this band. Perhaps this makes sense, because their music has different "tastes" that are worth exploring, also anew.

I'm glad you got over the "language barrier" hurdle. Once you get past that, the world of music available to you is much, much wider. As others have said, I tend to listen to the voice as just another instrument (started with that listening to opera). When you look at it that way, language doesn't matter.

That first lead in fill by Akane was awesome! I'm glad to hear the bass better on this mix. That Miku "echo" vocal comes out much better in this recording, it's in the original but can barely be heard, had to check because it sounds so good here. Miku is a shining pigeon here for sure. This tune is in my top Band Maid tunes, definitely don't/can't have a number one favorite. I need more time with Black Hole, but then again I said the same for "Different" and "Warning" and now I love them. Akane is in beast mode on this one.......hell, they ALL are, what am I saying....Lol!

This is definitely a Miku step-up piece. They are all growing and advancing. Perfect to pair this with Black Hole, which is the first time Kanami gets comfortable with pentatonic. They started out awesome. They are here now. I can not imagine where they will take us.

Should listen to the DICE.

They are making Music History .... their own !

Miku’s mic IS ON!!😁💪🏻🤘🏻

Great reaction . Band-maid brings happiness to my day every time