Japanese rock legend
MORRIE released his new solo album
HARD CORE REVERIE on December 25th. It has been almost 20 years since his third album
Kage no kyouen. In addition, a couple of the songs on the album feature
SUGIZO from
LUNA SEA on guitar.
MORRIE toured three cities to promote his new album, beginning with Nagoya on November 23rd, and concluding with a final in Tokyo. The tour final was held in Tokyo Kinema Club, an exotic and nostalgic opera house-like theater. Dark, decadent, erotic, but also full of life,
MORRIE guided 600 fans into the depth of his existence.
Blue light dimly lit the theatrical stage, which had a mezzanine on the left hand side. The musicians entered the stage one by one, looking quietly focused.
Hiroshi Sasabuchi was on drums, followed by
FIRE on bass,
Takeyuki Hatano on keyboard,
Yutaka Aoki on guitar, and
yukarie on saxophone, all of whom participated in the recording of the new album. Then,
Heather Paauwe, a violinist and muse to husband
MORRIE entered. The loud ovation was momentarily interrupted by a solemn atmosphere when
MORRIE, dressed in black as always, finally appeared.
The show started with
COSMOS no nakani, a musical portrait of his longing. However, when
MORRIE switched to an electric guitar, he began cutting into the stillness with his guitar riffs, with
Sasabuchi’s powerful drum beat supporting him from behind. The funk number
Paradox completely changed the atmosphere. The throbbing bassline and powerful sax lick funked up the floor while a melody of violin added a progressive taste to the song.
MORRIE’s deep, glamorous vocals sometimes added a dirty flavor to the song, while his sharp guitar sound lifted up an ecstatic sax solo from
yukarie.
“Welcome. My first new album in about 20 years is about to be released. I will play some of the songs from it now, so please enjoy”,
MORRIE greeted his fans. Breaking through a boundary of nothingness beyond life and death, right and wrong, and even love and pain,
MORRIE started to project his reveries while his muse in black benevolently played violin by his side. His dry voice and the slow strumming sound of an acoustic guitar built up his wild mindscape.
Dust Devil modulated back and forth between slowness and intensity until
Aoki and
MORRIE’s fast guitar cutting brought the song to a critical point. The beauty of his falsetto was at its peak during seventh song
Haru kurue, giving fans a mesmerizing sweetness that somehow seemed to contain a sense of nihilism underneath. The vocalist stepped up the stairs to the stage mezzanine, looking otherworldly and erotic during
Chrysis.
Absorbing the white spot light,
MORRIE swayed to the rhythm and dazzled fans by singing a song filled with melancholia. The graceful melody of
Heather Paauwe’s violin, sometimes like shadow other times like light, followed the singer transcending beyond the verge of nothingness during
Unchained.
Heather and
MORRIE sometimes smiled at each other. The closing song of the album
Killing Me Beautiful, which was filled with mercilessness and warmth at the same time, sounded almost like a love song.
However, the show got enthusiastic toward the end. The sensual and energetic funk number
SEX setsudan started to play.
yukarie’s sax playing owned the stage, while her and
Heather’s chorus refrain of
SEX setsudan made the song even sexier.
MORRIE’s deep voice and
FIRE’s bassline aroused the fans’ luxuria. In response, fans sang along with the two ladies onstage. The capacity crowd jumped up and fist pumped during the straight rock’n roll number
Inu. The unchained band members played solos one by one at
MORRIE’s call during the dazzling last song
Memai wo aishite yume o miyo. A frenzied celebration of life and reverie closed the show.
The show had two encores. During the first,
MORRIE played the opening song of his new album
Prologue: Go Under.
MORRIE showed another signature singing style of his, a combination of a goring growl and a celestial falsetto that is often used in his other bands.
MORRIE headbanged to the pounding beat of the drums, with the aggressive guitar riffs of
Aoki and
FIRE supporting him on either side. Fans pumped their fists to show their appreciation for the new song.
During Encore 2,
MORRIE took some time to speak to his fans. “Thank you for coming today. Please listen to my new album. It will be a good lullaby for your winter night. I like this venue a lot, so I will play my birthday show on March 4th next year here again. Maybe I should invite
Kiyoharu as well.” Cheers of anticipation immediately followed his announcement. Later,
MORRIE presented fans an exceptionally catchy and straightforward love song,
Anohito ni au. He then closed the show with the song
Kokodewanaidokoka. Once again, his desert-like mindscape took over the stage. How naturally, almost gently, he could sing out disturbing lyrics was astonishing. “Thank you. See you again next year”.
MORRIE bid farewell.
Set List:
01. Cosmos no nakani
02. Paradox
03. Saru no yume
04. Panic no Me
05. Dust Devil
06. Sign
07. Haru kurue
08. Chrysis
09. Disquieting Muse
10. Goodnight Reverie
11. Unchained
12. Riding The Night
13. Killing Me Beautiful
14. Kanki e
15. SEX setsudan
16. Mahiru no youran
17. Inu
18. Hakaishiyou
19. Farce yo towa ni
20. Memai wo aishite yume o miyo
Encore 1
21. Go Under
22. Nagamenoii anata
Encore 2
23. Anohito ni au
24. Yume utsutsu
25. Kokodewanaidokoka
HMV is taking international orders for
HARD CORE REVERIE, you can order the regular as well as the special edition
here.
Promotional videos for
HARD CORE REVERIE can be viewed below:
Killing Me Beautiful
HARD CORE REVERIE trailer
