マキシマムザホルモン - 予襲復讐

[Wicked Teletubby 528]

so I it a proper listen that took me three days and now I'm pretty much ready to sum up my thoughts.

 

needless to say how this release has been anticipated. I mean the last time they did release something full format was back in 2007.

of course Nao getting married and giving birth to a baby was a very much okay excuse but.

 

ok, whatever. it's 2013 and MTH are giving away an album. not a lousy single like it was in 2011.

I'll go track by track to be more specific.

 

予襲復讐 is a total ROAR. I love it - right until it turns into a shitty sports movie soundtrack.

I'm not sure what is going on in Ryo's head bu this is so weird. yes, just weird.

 

鬱くしきOP ～月の爆撃機～ / 鬱くしき人々のうた is a classic MTH: fast, punky, funky and HEAVY. I love it.

 

便所サンダルダンス is the first track that no one heard before the release. and it's.. ok. just ok. not too much of a super song or whatever.

 

中2 ザ ビーム - I don't know really know what to say about this one because I'm not digging it at the moment.

perhaps I'll fall in love with it some time later.

 

「F」 and 爪爪爪 were released back in 2008 as a "double A-side single".

whatever they are, they're cool. perhaps the best numbers on the albums.

 

ロックお礼参り ～3コードでおまえフルボッコ～ is only two minutes long. it swooshed right in front of me and left nothing behind. which is sad.

 

アンビリーバボー ～スヲミンツ ホケレイロ ミフエホ～ - YES. the goddamn Red Hot Chili Peppers going nuts. I love this.

 

え・い・り・あ・ん - like it was with the opener, this song is super cool right until it goes into a Sailor Moon soundtrack.

first half - yes, second part - no.

 

My Girl - another bow the RHCP released before. sound ok to me but I prefer faster and heavier MTH.

still, I just adore the "VAGINA" part.

 

 

メス豚のケツにビンタ (キックも) - whoa. what was that? this would totally fit into an anime.

 

ビューティー殺シアム - still digging this one. I do want to.

 

Maximum The Hormone. YEAH. right when I wanted this album to explode, it did.

truly, one of the beast songs they've ever recorded.

 

恋のスペルマ. seriously you guys. growling about semen with the poppy background?

one should stop taking MTH seriously to dig this number. "SPERUMA!!"

 

overall I must give this album 8/10. Yoshuu Fukushuu feels ok.

but the best tracks were the ones they've released before.

 

almost everything I didn't hear before just doesn't sound great to me.

still the album has sold 60000 copies on the very first day which is cool, I guess.

 

my language skills hate me so I'm sorry if this was any hard to read. :/

[nullmoon 784]

Sorry, 8/10?! You don't even seem to like half the songs!

[Zeus 7997]

Sorry, 8/10?! You don't even seem to like half the songs!

 

Normally I don't judge other people's reviews, but he's right on this one. This review reads more like a 5/10, which is where this album belongs.

 

Score: | Maximum the Hormone forgets the formula that made them popular

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I expected more after five years of little to no activity from Maximum the Hormone. Both of their prior albums, Rokkinpo Goroshi and Buiikikaesu, saw this band successfully mix pop sensibilities, funk, and nu-metal into an enjoyable, crazy package. The trick to both those albums was knowing when to place what type of sound where. 

 

Yoshu Fukushu forgot all about that.

 

Consistency is the name of the game here and it's what this album lacks. With the exception of the songs released before, the rest of the songs range from consistently bland to consistently bad. Each track tries to do too many things and does absolutely nothing impressive. The riffs are slacking, the punk edge is dull, and even the bass-slapping is at an all-time low. Worst of all, the few times MTH gets heavy, the song invariably jumps into a pop section that goes on for a minute longer than it should. Almost every song gets lighter as it goes on, not heavier. You can count on this.

 

Re-recorded tracks deserve a mention because they're among the best here. They also deserve a mention because MTH messed most of them up. Songs like maximum the hormone or Tsume Tsume Tsume feature "crowd sections" of obvious fake stadium roars. It's as lame as it sounds. Every song except my girl should have been left the way it was originally recorded - this song features removed crowd cheering and is the better for it. 

 

The most enjoyable of the tracks are the single tracks, which most fans of MTH should already have. Other than that, there's little to nothing here worth keeping. You can trash this album.

[Wicked Teletubby 528]

I guess that sounded kind of messed up, sorry.

anyways, I'll stick with my 8/10 because that is my overall feeling about this album.

[relentless 254]

Maximum The Hormone are enjoyable; but their gimmick ultimately takes away from the music on display. Instead of writing a straight forward album showcasing their songwriting skills (which is prevalent on the album), they went for another tongue-in-cheek style release that shows that they have a distinct sense of humor more than anything. With several songs leading into pop melodies or opening with them, we're given an album where the only inherent value is to laugh about its presentation more than revel in its greatness. There's some good songwriting on here; but it's the same old nu-metal sound they have been pushing with breaks of punk-esque aggression. It's cool; but it's more "unique" than anything else.

 

Maximum The Hormone has released another album which shows they're different, and that's all they have to show for it.

 

4/10

[Shmilly 519]

I'm not really ready to give a score yet, but I'm definitely enjoying the album overall. I agree that most of the best tracks are ones we've heard before though.

[Pretsy 1343]

An album with a promising start and such a lackluster ending. I would have liked this with less "familiar" elements and more willingness to be extreme (there IS "new kind of experimentation" tho, but in such minuscule amounts ). Best songs would be the ones I heard already aka pre-2010 single tracks and among "new ones" only the title song and Swomint song.

 

Not like I am willing to say I have waited for this in vain, but...

 

6/10.