Rock music is awesome; maid uniforms are hot. Combine this two and the power of music and the cuteness will triple. This is BAND-MAID in a nutshell. However, cute looks are not enough for the highly competitive scene — the band must know how to make the listeners go crazy. For five years BAND-MAID, hasn't had problems with that, and their second full-length album, WORLD DOMINATION, is not an exception. You’ll get exactly what you can expect from the girls: fast heavy riffs and huge amounts of energy.
The album doesn’t have a long introduction. From the first seconds, I can’t live without you. breaks in with catchy guitars and powerful, loud drums. The impudent beginning of the song can stun a little, but after that, when listening more closely, you can hear a familiar riff. Isn’t it from the opening part of Slipknot’s The Devil in I? It sounds quite similar. However, this is only a resemblance — two tracks are totally different in terms of atmosphere and structure.
Play and One and only have the same amount of energy as the first track, accelerating WORLD DOMINATION even further. A little later, the crazy DOMINATION begins. A pure atomic burst that destroys everything nearby, the track forces you to move your head, especially during choruses where the combination of SAIKI’s vocals and AKANE’s drumming sounds utterly good and powerful. It's a little bit of a shame that the band put such an energetic song almost at the very beginning of the album, because after DOMINATION the release significantly slows down.
The other 11 songs (the European version of the album includes a cover of MUCC’s Honey) can’t be compared to the first four, though they’re not weak at all. BAND-MAID offers great hard rock which is easy and pleasurable to listen to. There are skillful guitar solos along with catchy choruses. One song has more emphasis on the rhythm, while the other is more dynamic and aggressive. Of course, a few ballads are also present. And in every track you will probably (and you definitely should!) praise the drummer — AKANE’s doing the best she can and without a doubt can be called the best band member among equals.
Here's the fun fact. We’ve been listening to this album since its release, but after dozens, dozens and dozens of playbacks, the release just doesn’t want to stick in our heads. Well, except the hellish DOMINATION — it’s impossible to forget this one. Other songs are remembered partially, like the nice and simple chorus of Play or the emotional burst at the end of Spirit!!.
However, during the playback, WORLD DOMINATION does its job well. It’s impossible not to headbang to fast and energetic music combined with SAIKI’s great vocals. But, when the album is over, the tracks are immediately erased from memory, leaving not the full picture but only the brightest spots.
Nevertheless, don’t miss WORLD DOMINATION if you love quality rock music. This is a really nice work with one flaw: it lacks balance in the tracklist. The remaining songs simply can’t compete with the energetic opening quartet, which leads to a noticeable slowdown of the release. On the other hand, every track proves its worth. BAND-MAID surely know hows to set listeners on fire.
