MUCC - Myakuhaku

Released on January 25th this year, MUCC's Myakuhaku is a collection of new tracks that partly pays tribute to their past sound and the rest are a rather lovely melodic mix.

The album explodes into life with the opening title track and its pleasant guitar acoustics and pretty melodies. Then, it gets down to the band’s darker side with Tatsurou’s deep growls and the heavier grind of the string instruments. There are familiar sounds already testing your ears, and you might just wonder if you’ve heard this one before, but overall this track is a good start, much like Suiren was for the mini-album T.R.E.N.D.Y minus the electronic effects.

Zettaizetsumei picks up the pace even more, and throws in a few twists early on, such as effortless switches between vocal styles, and the integration of musical styles that make the track interesting to listen to but very difficult to pin down into a specific genre. CLASSIC, on the other hand, is a more straightforward rock song with twinkling synths, dashes of piano, and an altogether softer sound.

From here, Myakuhaku takes a more experimental route. Killer brings listeners back round to the heavier side of MUCC with raspier vocals, alternating rhythms, and heavy, grinding guitars. BILLYx2 Entwines ROCK STARS, however, has this very American rock ’n’ roll feel to it, with a pounding drumbeat and flirtatious guitar melodies that are good for both some serious dancing or head-banging.

By now, most MUCC fans will have realised you have to prepare for the unexpected, and some tracks might be hit-and-miss for many, but Myakuhaku is an imaginative collection of tracks. Some are arguably have more of the band’s ‘classic’ sound that can be put side-by-side with older material, while the rest are brilliantly new and inventive. EMP is one track that you could say highlights the old and the new combined, throwing in a bit of a Korn edge, with deep basslines and a singular drum beat followed by an edgy guitar melody and vocals that flit from dark, growling verses to a flowing chorus that’s both enchanting and mesmerising to listen to.

The next several songs take on a different tone, featuring a more melodic approach from the instrumentation and the vocals. However, Sirius brings listeners back full circle with a moody middle section as Satochi pounds the rhythm out on his drums whilst Yukke and Miya unleash this terrifically heavy piece that will leave your ears ringing.

Altogether, Myakuhaku is a nicely rounded album with sections and tracks that will appeal to fans of every era of MUCC’s career. Whether you preferred Cover Parade, Shion or Shangri-La, there’s something on this album for everyone.