En: Luna Sea #1, the band of high standard
OK, I've never been a huge fan of this band, but I have to write about them as one of the rock fans in Japan.
It's Luna Sea, who has been popular for 3 long decades in this insanely competitive music scene. (inc 10-year hiatus)
Attitude
Why do I "have to" touch on this band? Because simply, their attitude to music is so damn cool & authentic.
I think they always set a higher goal every time they take a new action from releasing a new album to going on a new tour.
I'm not saying that other bands & musicians are not doing so, most of them do too, of course.
But it seems to me that their will and ambition to achieve their own goals are more obvious than others.
Guitar Team: SUGIZO
When it comes to the bands with two guitarists, their sounds tend to be unclear & bunched up especially on a stage.
In this band, however, guitar works & responsibilities have been professionally divided by SUGIZO & INORAN.
The presence of SUGIZO who also plays in X-Japan, is like Joe Perry's to Aerosmith or Keith Richards' to The Stones.
But not so sound-wise. He rarely shows that bluesy side in his play for the band. (because he certainly knows it's not required)
What he presents instead is always more melody driven, memorable guitar solos with beautiful delay sound.
Guitar Team: INORAN
If you ask me INORAN's signature play, I have to say it's his unique arpeggio.
It's like a beautiful ivy extending around "roses" which are main backing parts played by SUGIZO.
But I think his play style is constantly changing as the band evolves.
It's really cool to see him strum chords more frequently than before behind SUGIZO's recent progressive guitar riffs.
The biggest charm of this guitar team is thoughtfulness, I believe.
I always feel how thoughtfully & attentively their guitar works are done in every track I listen to.
And most importantly, it's still evolving!
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Alright, it's obvious that just one article can't cover the details of this attractive band.
Let me write about the rhythm team sometime soon!