Gone but not forgotten: High and Mighty Color.

 I really love being able to write about my favourite bands and the gone but not forgotten series has given me a chance to talk about gems of the past. My taste in music is quite diverse and I'm hoping that there's something for everyone as I go through this series and that people enjoy reading about bands that I hold dear in my heart. Today's focus is on the excellent, timeless rock band, High and Mighty Color. 

High and Mighty Color had a very interesting start as Sassy, the band's leader and drummer along with Meg, the rhythm guitarist, had started out in a Metallica cover band. Both members left after deciding to create their own music. Sassy recruited bassist Mackaz, who in turn invited long time friend, lead guitarist Kazuto, to join as well. Meg noticed Yuusuke's voice whilst sitting in on a school performance one day and invited Yuusuke to join the group. Yuusuke initially declined as he had wanted to become a solo artist but, due to Meg's incredible persistence eventually decided to give it a shot. It is said that Meg had asked Yuusuke to join the band every day for 4 months before Yuusuke accepted, talk about commitment. At this time the band were known as Anti-Nobunaga and played in small venues such as coffee shops and art theatres for about a year. Sassy personally sent demo tapes to every major Japanese record label in the hopes of getting signed but was rejected every single time. It wasn't until they were signed by a small record label that they got their big break. At this point they were playing in areas further away from their hometown and eventually managed to land a gig playing at an Okinawan music festival. It was at this festival in 2003 where the band's fortunes changed forever. Anti Nobunaga played in front of a sold out crowd and where the only act to do so thanks to the band's label promoting their spot. There just so happened to be a scout representing Sony Music Entertainment Japan in the audience and they liked what they heard from the band. The scout offered the band the chance to produce music for an upcoming collaboration album titled Okinawa 2003. The band then went on to compose their two original songs under the Anti Nobunaga name, Meaning and Hate You! Meanwhile, the same SMJ scout that had been impressed with Anti-Nobunaga had come across the tremendously talented female vocalist, Makii at Music Picinic Festival. The scout wanted Makii to join Anti-Nobunaga as they felt that together they could become something special and something not seen on the Japanese music scene. Makii originally refused as she wanted to study English abroad but, was later swayed by her future bandmates into watching them perform. She was very impressed by the band's energy and agreed to join them. With Makii having joined, the band opted to change their name to High and Mighty Color. The reason behind the name change is apparently due to the band looking up English words in the dictionary and Haikara seemed appropriate. After six months of perfecting their craft, they had moved up to SMJ's major record label in league with bands such as Orange Range. The group spent the majority of 2004 writing and composing, culminating in their releasing the single, Over. Over was immensely popular and sold out in just a month despite only being sold through Tower records stores. It was re-released the following year and sat at the top of the indie Oricon charts for over a month. In 2005, the band released Pride which was used for Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny. The band went on to become quite successful releasing 4 albums with Makii until she suddenly decided to quit music to focus on her upcoming marriage to Dreams Come True bassist Masato Nakamura. This was a shocking development and fans pondered whether the band would cease activities entirely. Fortunately, the group were not quite done and had begun the process of auditioning for a new female vocalist. It was from these auditions that the band found Halca. With Halca, the band released the single XYZ in July 2009 and followed it up with what would be the bands' swansong album, Swamp Man in September 2009. On August 11, 2010, the band released their final ever single, Re:Ache. The band cited musical differences and future opportunities as the reasons behind their break up. Whilst this was absolutely devastating at the time, the story does have a happy ending but, I'll get to that later. 

What really made High and Mighty Color stand out was the fusion of the male and female vocalists. The combination of Makii's angelic, harmonious melodies combined with Yuusuke's energetic lows, almost rap like style at certain points and his screams really sold the juxtaposition. Combine this two vocal styles with the high energy playing of the band and you have every ingredient necessary for success. 

One of the best examples of their expertly juxtaposed vocals and high energy playing is the song Ichirin No Hana. The majestic riffage in Ichrin No Hana is probably my favourite in any Haikara song. It's the perfect accompanying heaviness as Makii delivers an angelic, beautiful vocal performance, her melodies are just sublime. It's like heaven before heaven is shattered by Yuusuke's powerful whispering that crescendos into his screams. What I love about Yuusuke's performance is the build up, his anger builds to the screaming perfectly. The guitar solo is just the icing on the cake.

In contrast to Ichirin No Hana, the band has songs such as A Place to Go. A Place to Go can be described as a pop rock tune as it's far softer than XYZ or Ichrin No Hana. The guitar riff is still full of energy and yet a lot more subdued than in the bands heavier hits. Makii's vocals really shine on these tracks as she suits the pop like sound. Even Yuusuke is subdued as he gets a chance to actually showcase his softer vocals and does a splendid in doing so. 

Then in songs such as Tsuki, the band creates an extraordinary atmosphere and teleport the listener to other worlds. The same can be said of songs such as Fly Me To The Other Man. In Tsuki, the instrumental combined with Makii's subdued verses as well as Yuusuke's screams into the chorus really make it stand out as one of the band's finest pieces of work. 

XYZ is a straight forward heavy track that I appreciate for the crunchiness of the riffage and the powerful vocl performances of both Halca and Yuusuke. 

Overall, I believe that Haikara has a song for everyone and would recommend everybody give them a listen at least once. They may be gone but will never be forgotten. Going back to what I wrote earlier, there is something of a happy ending as far as the band is concerned as Makii reunited with Sassy and Mackaz in 2017 and formed the band DracoVirgo. Halca has been producing music as a solo artist and Yuusuke has been involved with projects such as SUN OF A STARVE.