Review: MUCC - Ageha

Instead of wasting time to talk about how I feel about this single, let me just say this was the song that made me take a second look at this band.

~Regular Edition~
01. Ageha
02. Concrete 082

~Limited Edition~
01. Ageha
02. Aoi Mori

Ageha starts out very deceptively, with a mellow guitar and evolves into a raging, heavy, destructive beast that doesn't let up. Riddled with slap-bass courtesy of YUKKE, and aggressive, skillful guitar lines by Miya, Ageha shows a new sense of maturity within the band. It's heavy without being loud. It makes a fierce statement musically while remaining it's composure and finess. It's the exact type of track that shows that these musicians are getting better with age. Ageha isn't without it's faults though. I find the solo off-putting as the juxtaposition of the hard with the soft seems forced. The chorus also slows the song down considerably, which creates another hard contrast. Another problem with this song that repeats throughout the single is that MUCC used the same formula for composing their choruses, which takes away from the overall package. In a period of music where even trendsetters start following the textbook instead of writing it, this offering as a single is solid despite its flaws.

Concrete 082 runs a bit long for my taste, and it's chorus sounds almost interchangeable with Ageha's, turning that into both a positive and a negative. Jazzy and full of funk thanks to the bass, the song plays it cool until around the middle part when the guitar starts going faster and faster while the others hang back. It makes the song feel a little unsettling but then it slides back into it's laid-back stance and plays out the rest of the song. It's unusual but unique and makes the long run time a bit more bearable. It's good for what it tries to do but falls short next to the title track. A good B-side nonetheless as it provides a good contrast, but you'll probably be listening to Ageha more.

Aoi Mori wisely takes it's musical ass in a different direction than Ageha, and it ends up working out better than Concrete 082. All three songs on both editions were somewhat unusual, but this seems to have the most exotic influence out of them all. It's obviously influenced by Western music but it carries an Eastern touch that is hard to pin down in just one location. MUCC succeeds doing here what many bands fail to do, and that's mixing eastern with western to create something new. Tatsurou's singing is at it's greatest here (especially during the chorus) while no one instrument overpowers another and commands the listener's attention. The overall flow works out here better than it had in the title track. Everything flows in and out, up and down, with sudden changes fitting in despite the contrast. Just as brilliant as the title track.

This makes Ageha a damn good single no matter what edition you pick up, although I suggest you try to get your hands on the limited edition because the B-side is a lot better than the one on the regular edition. Considering it's a limited edition however, you might not have that option available to you.

Regular Edition: 8/10
Limited Edition: 9/10