“The Earth itself is a farce, and all humanity is a troupe.”
Constantly bubbling just under the surface, Japan’s metal scene has always been a force of creativity. More and more bands from the island have broken into the mainstream, with bands like Crystal Lake, SiM, and Paledusk enjoying a wider range of success and recognition internationally. Japanese metal bands tend to have a certain unhinged quality to them, not afraid to push past the boundaries and create something uniquely creative.
Perhaps occupying one of the most intriguing niches within the scene is Utsu-P. The solo producer is known for his use the Vocaloid voice synthesizer on his metal tracks. Notably, he utilizes the well-known Hatsune Miku software, but has since expanded to use other Vocaloid packs. The result is a sound that swings between j-rock and j-metal.
Presenting his eighth album, HAPPYPILLS, the 20-track beast can seem daunting. It is actually a two-part album, the first half containing original songs for the album, and the second half being remakes of songs he produced for other artists.
Right from opening track “No Care of Life”, one of Utsu-P’s most impressive tricks is apparent: making the Vocaloid scream. This has been one of his signature calling cards, turning Hatsune Miku or whatever programme he is using into a metal vocalist. The surprisingly filthy breakdown at the end is another thing Utsu-P is good at.
Both of the albums halves features a few key features: electronics, down-tuned riffs, and high-pitched virtual female voices blended into a bizarre Frankenstein’s monster that usually works. Instrumentally, the tracks are generally high-energy and aggressive, with very classic metalcore riffage that does enough to satisfy. As mentioned earlier, some of the breakdowns Utsu-P writes hit almost comically hard, a contrast that is rather entertaining. Deathcore slowdowns on “Friendshi_” are no doubt well executed. The backing electronics give the overall sound a 2010s metalcore feel.
Whether or not the vocals appeal to one solely depends on taste. The disparity between the cutesy, robotic vocals and the angsty, riff-driven metalcore backing tracks clearly has an audience. Whether it’s the novelty of the combination or genuine enjoyment, there is undeniably an appeal for it. Personally, there are moments where the vocals are rather grating, particularly in the moments where the vocals sound too robotic. This issue seems to plague the tracks utilising Hatsune Miku the most, with an example being “Hyper Reality Show”. There are tracks with more natural sounding vocal packs like “God Willing”, which sounds much more appealing.
Regardless on opinion on the use of Vocaloid packs, the main issue the album possesses is a lack of variety. The composition of each track is genuinely intuitive, but they rarely go beyond the standard j-metal sound. This can prove to be rather tiring, especially at 20 songs and a runtime of over an hour. I do genuinely applaud the creativity of the instrumentation, but it starts to drag at points.
Ultimately, HAPPYPILLS exists in a very specific niche, and it seeks to appeal mainly to said niche. To most general metal listeners, this sound may be entertaining in small doses, but if you don’t immediately love it upon first listen, it would be rather difficult to convince yourself to like it. Despite all that, I’m sure that existing fans of Utsu-P’s work will be ecstatic at such a large release from him and will enjoy this thoroughly. Anyone particularly adventurous or extremely bored with modern metal could give this brand of metal a try. It could be a new favourite artist waiting to be discovered.
7/10
HAPPYPILLS releases on the 6th of September via self-release. Pre-order the album here.