Abingdon Boys School is something of a super-group, though that might not be immediately apparent. Their front-man is none other than the platform dancing/silly arm waving Takanori Nishikawa, aka T.M. Revolution. Most J-pop fans already know all about him (for reasons why, see: T.M. Revolution), but what about the other strapping (not so) young lads in the band?
Sunao, the phenomenal lead guitar player, is also a member of and writer for T.M. Revolution's solo work. Shibasaki Hiroshi, rhythm guitar, was in a band called WANDS (think New Kids On The Block with guitars) before leaving to form al.ni.co, a sort of arty grunge band. Ikuo (bass) is a member of Cube Ray, as is drummer Kozy Hasegawa. Hasegawa has played in a few other bands like Out Of Order, Admucho Family Band and The Esper, and that’s just the beginning. In short, this guy is a tireless and prolific drummer.
The real brains and brawn behind the band seems to come from the keyboard/turntable/laptop/programming guru Toshiyuki Nishi. Also known as TKO, he has worked with and produced or arranged music for a huge number of artists like The Alfee, Tomoyasu Hotei, Tomovsky, Tetsu69, J and of course T.M. Revolution. He's also performed live with Pizzacato Five and Tetsu 69 among others. Trolling though his site and reading over the lists is rather exhausting.
All of this diverse talent leads to some equally extraordinary music. Their first self-titled album is consistently thick with layers of detail, while at the same time providing plenty of balls-out rock. Even the slower tracks "Nephilim" and "Lost Reason" bring a huge lumbering metal machine to back them up. In fact it's usually Takanori who manages to keep the band from falling off the tracks into territory that may be too dark for a wider audience. His clear and pretty voice calms the otherwise savage riffs. It's a testimony to the quality of the other band members that Takanori is often the weakest link. He is a great vocalist in his own right, but his hard-rock shortcomings are really brought to light in their cover of Buck-Tick's "Dress." While the song reaches new heights of awesomeness due to the massive sonic assault, there really is nothing that compares to Atsushi Sakurai's god-like vocal prowess.
Their music is everywhere. From NANA ("Stay Away"), to the Death Note movie tribute album ("Fre@K $HoW"), Buck-Tick tribute album ("Dress"), to various anime shows like Darker Than Black ("Howling"), D. Gray Man ("Innocent Sorrow") and also video games like the PS3 FolksSoul (“Nephilim”). Ever single has been used as part of another major work. With this much coverage and mainstream acceptance, I expect absolutely huge success for Abingdon Boys School.
Howling
Official Site
Members
Takanori Nishikawa - Vocal
Toshiyuki Nishi - Keyboards/Programming
Sunao - Guitar
Shibasaki Hiroshi - Guitar
Ikuo – Bass
Kozy Hasegawa – Drums
Releases
Abingdon Boys School - 2007
Blade Chord
Innocent Sorrow
Nervous Breakdown
Athena
Nephilim
Fre@K $HoW
5 comments:
Abingdon Boys School has just released there self titled album today with 12 tracks and 6 of them are brand new songs, I've heard the entire album, and thought it was awesome, Takanori Nishikawa sounds much better as a singer in this band than he does as T.M.Revolution..Just my personal opinion. Also tey have a new single coming out on December 5th called "Blade Chord" for the video Game Sengoku Basara: Heroes. Which is something to look for to from this band!
Thanks for the new single info!
Yeah, I have the new album on its way in the mail. I can't wait! I've been avoiding any early downloads so I can savor the moment when I load it into the CD player and blast it throughout the house.
I'll be updating the ABS entry as soon as I can review the album.
WANDS sounds like what? LOL I don't think you ever heard a full WANDS album.
Oh internets how you make me laugh.
It's a testimony to the quality of the other band members that Takanori is often the weakest link. He is a great vocalist in his own right, but his hard-rock shortcomings are really brought to light in their cover of Buck-Tick's "Dress." While the song reaches new heights of awesomeness due to the massive sonic assault, there really is nothing that compares to Atsushi Sakurai's god-like vocal prowess.
Spot on I say. Theirs is an angry Dress compared to BUCK-TICK's sad version.
"Theirs is an angry Dress compared to BUCK-TICK's sad version."
True true. I like both versions a lot. What I really want is the ABS band and Atsushi's voice. Win/win! I don't mean to say the the BT version isn't great, I just like the harder, more epic edge they bring to the song.
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