Live report of Sel'm: Enter upon a new phase

Rockmaykan was filled with a diverse crowd full of mixed emotions ranging from excitement to anxiety. Since it was a Monday, the venue wasn't packed but there were many fans who came, anticipating the appearance of Sel’m as a five-member band, and the tension in the hall seemed unusually high.

After what seemed a very long time, disturbance came on, and the fans clapped and screamed as they do at any Sel’m live, however what came was very different from the habitual practice, as together with the bassist Takuma and Tsubaki came the new guitarist Nagi, raising his arms and greeting the audience as if it was the most natural thing, although some awkward strain could be felt. Coming together in front of the drum set, the five members wished each other luck and the live kicked off with the aggressive shingigan, taking a high pace from the very start.

If Nagi was nervous, he did a very good job of hiding it, looking very confident and comfortable as a member of Sel'm. Takuma, after having spent over 3 years in the front, did not surrender to stand at the usual position that bassists take, and although the stage of Rockmaykan looked quite narrow, he tended to go to the front more, standing almost on the same level as the other members. Next was parasitic root and the audience head banged and shook their fists, almost as much as they would at any other Sel'm live. One could argue that it was still the same band, however especially the next song, N∞℃, made it obvious that Sel'm have indeed changed. While their sound was now much more saturated and intense, the new line-up allowed them to have more elaborate guitar lines, catchier melodies and a very new level of energy transmitted through their music.

During a little pause, as the stage was in darkness, MANJ' was lit up, standing behind the drum set, screaming and shaking his fists, urging the audience to give some more noise. Continuing the show, the front man Tora greeted the public, asking them once again to make some noise, which they did as mushi ga naku basho started, head banging and shaking their fists energetically, although some startled figures could be still be seen. Barefaced eye had a completely different feel to it that usual, and it was visible that not only did Nagi bring something new into the band, but his assistance allowed more freedom for Tsubaki, who seemed to be enjoying it. The audience continued jumping for spiral world, clapping along to the catchy fast beats of the song, and by this point everyone seemed to participate with passion to the back of the hall. As Tsubaki screamed into his microphone, Tora seemed to have some troubles finding the right tune, but virtuously masked it, dancing while looking quite confident.

After a pause, a new song, saezuri, started with soft chords and the band slowly came to the front of the stage. Takuma's elaborate bass lines were impressive, standing out in the quiet atmosphere of the enchanting song, and this time Tora showed his voice in it's full beauty, moving the audience with it's power. Following was another one of the bands' quieter beautiful compositions, tenohira no niji. A complete change in mood came for the darker song, LAMENT, one of Sel'm's oldest songs and the fan’s favorites, and the audience followed the members' lead enthusiastically. It was one of the less successful songs of the evening, the sound being slightly messy, and as the members swapped places it was obvious that they are not used to navigating on such a small stage with five members. The sinister atmosphere was kept during kumo nochi ame, and as MANJ' swung his arms around madly with a vivid expression on his face, the audience head banged as one and screamed rhythmically as Tsubaki performed a solo, sounding slightly messy. Next was a yet unreleased song dusty doll, which has however been frequently played at the band's lives and so the audience jumped to the upbeat rhythms. The band seemed to be enjoying themselves, and it was especially nice to see a wide smile appear on Nagi's face. More positive energy could be felt in roid, as MANJ' stood up drumming, firing up the fist-shaking audience, and the song seemed to have a very new sound, especially captivating and moving, going right under one's skin.

In a short pause, MANJ' threw his drumsticks onto the stage over and over again, and the other members egged the audience on, as the air in the hall seemed to have become dangerously hot before the last song of the set. DEVASTATION started with the audience cheering happily and jumping to the upbeat rhythms. During the verses, the fans went jumping and moshing from one side of the hall to the other, clearly enjoying themselves. The band seemed perfectly natural the way they were that day. As the song finished, the members came to the front, waved to the audience and went off the stage, and immediately the hall was full of excited but noisy voices, discussing the new member and the new Sel’m, and seemed to have almost forgotten to call for an encore.

After a couple of minutes of the audience screaming for more, the charismatic MANJ' came out and played with the audience, then the other members followed. Erase the cast started quietly, then as the members rushed forward it suddenly exploded, being one of the songs that seemed affected by the line-up change most. Following was another fast, lively song akatsuki, to which the members moved around the stage more as the audience head banged violently, and came to the edge of the stage all together, urging for more noise.

Finally came an MC from Tora, who seemed incredibly nervous, introducing the new guitarist. Although Tora's announcement sounded a bit unclear, more members of the audience realized that Nagi was from Shulla, and excited stirring could be seen here and there. Nagi took his turn to greet the public and asked them to continue supporting the five-member Sel'm to which the audience applauded. Tora announced that a new single Creature was to come out on January 14th and that Sel'm were to play another oneman in January - it turned out the "secret item" that was scheduled to be sold at today's live was tickets for the show. The hall was full of happy voices and in the positive atmosphere the next song played was Creature, performed for the first time. The melodic song had a more poppy touch to it and was quite different from usual songs of the band. Despite that, it had a typical Sel'm touch to it, and was completed by a short but flawless solo by Nagi. Some of the audience caught the gist and shook their fists to the upbeat melodies and the band seemed content to be received so warmly. Concluding the evening was the fast-paced, fresh and catchy Road of judgment to which the audience exploded with energy, head banging and shaking their fists, as the band rocked out on stage. Urging the public to scream once more, the band ended the evening, throwing their picks or bottles and even parts of the drum set into the crowd, and looking satisfied they slowly left the stage.

Sel'm have proven that any anxiety that their fans might have had about the new member had no ground to it - as a five member band they rocked Rockmaykan even harder than the day before. Surely there were some parts when the sound was messy and out of tune, but the band was not used to perform this way and their nervousness showed at some points. However, with time and more performances, their new intense and detailed sound is bound to be perfected and new levels of success are awaiting this talented band that is full of creative energy.

SETLIST:

Shingigan
parasitic root
N∞℃
-SE-
Mushi ga naku basho
barefaced eye
spiral world
-BGM-
Saezuri
Tenohira no niji
LAMENT
Kumo nochi ame
dusty doll
Roid
DEVASTATION

ENCORE:
Erase the cast
Akatsuki
-MC-
Creature

Road of judgment