On listening to the new BAND-MAID single, “Different,” for the first time, one is struck by a sense of absolute chaos. The first thing you hear is vocalist Saiki singing, “Let’s go! it’s show time!” What follows is an absolutely relentless aural onslaught. The rock riff that follows is almost manic in its intensity. Has BAND-MAID ever written a song more insane than this?

Yet the melodic line of Kanami’s lead guitar that is played over this riff is clearly influenced by traditional Japanese scales. The first impression is that of an incredibly accomplished merging of the hardest of hard rock with the gentle tones that one would hear in a Japanese inn. It is a jarring, but irresistible juxtaposition. And it totally kicks ass.

「1」

To the non-Japanese speaker, the lyrics are impenetrable, with the exception of a few lines that appear at random, such as “Come back to, come back to,” or a random “Just you wait…” or “deep in the dark.” What in the world is going on? Where exactly is the verse? The chorus? This is madness.

You listen to this mayhem several times and decide that it’s time to watch the official video of the song. Mirabile dictu, the video has the English translation of the lyrics:

Darkness falls

No guiding light,

Ordinary seems dazzling.

 

Make it a rule;

Race where you can see.

 

Come back to,

Come back to,

Rise from the dead.

 

Grieving and praying get you nowhere

What of the Gods?

Nobody’s listening

 

It’s hard to believe in existences you can’t see.

The clock is ticking.

This is nihilism at its most fundamental. Jean-Paul Sartre could not write anything more soul-crushing than this. Who would have thought that the sweet, funny Miku Kobato could write such an indictment of the meaninglessness of life?

「2」

Yet Miku goes on to write:

But I won’t stop

Just you wait!

 

Totally different world

A flaming torch to my apathy;

Anguish.

 

Awake your potential!

The tumbling world flashes

And sways away,

As if it were real.

 

Let’s go!

It’s show time!

What Miku is saying, and Saiki is singing, is that it doesn’t matter that there is no God who is listening to us. It doesn’t matter that you can’t believe in existences you can’t see. You can still find meaning in your life. It does not matter that “devil or angel, two sides of the same coin.”

「3」

BAND-MAID asks the listener, “Comfortable compromises? Do you need them? Nobody knows.”

Life can be hellishly difficult, as Saiki sings:

Once more shadows blunt my courage

Once more the loop is reborn.

No more! But I won’t stop, not yet.

Just you wait!”

「4」

It calls to mind the Friedrich Nietzsche quote, “And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.”

The ultimate message of “Different” is similar to Nietzsche’s conclusion. The indomitability of the human spirit can conquer the seeming meaninglessness of life. If you don’t dance, you have lost a day. The last lyrics that one hears in “Different” are, “Your time to shine.”

「5」

In the face of a meaningless world, BAND-MAID is telling its audience that they can still make a difference, that they can still accomplish great things in life. There is no excuse for sitting on your ass and doing nothing. “Let’s go! It’s show time!”

The message is that life may appear hopeless, but you can still make a difference. Waste your life if you want, but you’re better off if you realize that this is your one and only “show time.” Therefore, make the most of it.  One doesn’t have to be a fan of BAND-MAID or of Japanese rock music to understand that these are lyrics of the greatest profundity.

「6」

Sure, a genius like John Lennon could reach such intense levels of meaning in lines like “imagine there’s no heaven…it’s easy if you try…no hell below us…above us only sky” A genius like Bob Dylan could write “Inside the museums, infinity goes up on trial…Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while.”

But to hear such despairing, yet profound, and ultimately inspirational words from an all-women Japanese hard rock band whose aesthetic is defined by costumes worn in “maid café’s” is something else entirely.

「7」

Oh, and yes, the guitar riffs played by Kanami are killer in their intensity. The drums played by Akane are relentless in their driving rhythms. Misa’s bass keeps the listener off balance as always. Miku’s rhythm guitar is ferocious. And Saiki’s vocals are as bad-ass as only she can be, always challenging the audience to really, truly listen to her.

BAND-MAID. “Different.” This is the greatest single of the year. Let’s face it: the year 2020 was a challenging year. BAND-MAID has recognized those challenges and proposed a solution. “Let’s go! It’s show time!”

Please click on “日本語” in the top menu for the Japanese version of this article.