The Mad Capsule Markets.
MAD. The reason this blog exists. Of all of the Japanese bands I've been introduced to over the years, Mad is easily my favorite... it's definitely the one I have the most sentimental attachment to. One of the things that makes Mad so great as a whole is that by following their albums in chronological order, you can feel an organic, natural transition into new sounds-- it's possible to follow their maturation as a band, without any extreme left turns.
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HUMANITY (1990)
Genre(s): melodic punk, noise punk
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: N/A
International release?: No
Mad's debut album is a respectable first effort. The production on it is a bit rough, as many independently issued punk albums tend to be, but it doesn't affect the quality of the songwriting any, although some of the later re-recordings of songs from this album bring the tunes out in their full glory. Avoid getting the 1996 reissue if possible (the cover art above is of the original release on Insect Noise), as some of the songs are censored on that copy, and the original edition retains lyrics in the liner booklet.
Verdict: 7.5 / 10
Most recommended songs:
"三秒間の自殺", "讃美歌", "Humanity", "どうしようもない人の唄", "ラ・ラ・ラ (僕がウソつきになった日)"
P.O.P. (1991)
Genre(s): melodic punk, noise punk
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: Censored songs, muddier production
International release?: No
Of all of Mad's albums, I wouldn't hesitate to call this one my least favorite. Despite being their first album on a major studio, this album has objectively worse production than the independently produced and released
Humanity. It doesn't help that the label forced them to censor a lot of their songs, including those that were re-recorded for this album (they managed to make it funny by censoring the offending words as obnoxiously as possible, but it still blows that they had to). The new songs are on par with
Humanity in terms of songwriting, but they get lost in the awful production.
Verdict: 4.5 / 10
Most recommended songs: "ギチ", "Mad中毒", "ハリネズミとXX", "Yourself Lock!!"
CAPSULE SOUP (1992)
Genre(s): melodic punk, noise punk, industrial punk
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: Electronic elements introduced, better production, more melodic vocals, more curious and experimental tone and songwriting
International release?: No
Technically, this is an EP, but it plays an important part in their chronology all the same. Perhaps inspired by their song "Japanese Sight" on their label Invitation's
Dance2Noise 002 compilation, Mad went about introducing trace elements of early 90s industrial into their own releases (think early KMFDM or Pig), to surprisingly cohesive and well-executed results. That isn't to say this release is covered in synths, but it does take the attitude present in "Japanese Sight" and runs with it a little further. However, not every track on here benefits-- "G・M・J・P" gets a bit lost in its own noisy primitiveness. (The version on their 1996 self-titled album is far superior.)
Verdict: 7 / 10
Most recommended songs: "Bach Sleeps.", "セルフコントロール", "彼女のKnife", "Jesus Is Dead."
SPEAK!!!! (1992)
Genre(s): melodic punk, industrial punk
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: Electronic elements further employed, more melodic vocals, more guitar effects, less experimental and more streamlined songwriting
International release?: No
If
Capsule Soup was Mad tampering about and experimenting with their sound to find a neat direction to wander into,
Speak!!!! is them finding that direction and comfortably milking it for all they can. The songwriting is above the level they employed on
Humanity, and it provides a sonic template for what would've been an interesting direction for punk to travel toward in the early 90s. My only real qualm with this album is that the beeping in their cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Solid State Survivor" is annoying compared to the original version, but otherwise, this album has a lot going for it.
Verdict: 8.5 / 10
Most recommended songs: "マスメディア", "Underground Face", "チェスノ兵隊", "D-Day", "Government Wall"
MIX-ISM (1994)
Genre(s): melodic punk, hardcore punk, ska punk
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: Electronic elements (mostly) absent, less guitar effects, ska punk elements introduced, slightly tighter production
International release?: No
The first of two brilliant albums that Mad released in 1994,
Mix-Ism is Mad's only attempted foray into including elements of ska punk. The industrial influence on the sound of
Speak!!!! has been mostly put to the side in favor of this short-lived excursion, although they do occasionally incorporate it without making the album feel even the slightest bit incohesive. Most of this album is awesome, however there are a few songs that feel like filler; the somewhat overly repetitive "New Society", for example, is far from the perfect choice to immediately follow the awesome "プロレタリア".
Verdict: 9 / 10
Most recommended songs: "プロレタリア", "Pet", "オルゴヲル", "Too Flat", "Problem Children", "Be Silent Fuckin' System"
PARK (1994)
Genre(s): Melodic punk, hardcore punk
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: Ska punk elements absent, faster and tighter songwriting, bass guitar higher in the mix, tighter production, more mellow songs
International release?: Yes (US)
Judging just by the first half of Mad's career (up to the 1996 self-titled album), this is easily the band's pinnacle of songcraft, and my personal favorite album of their entire discography. There isn't a lick of filler to be found anywhere on this album-- even the bonus tracks on the limited edition first pressing are both excellent additions to the record. "公園へあと少し" and "P-A-R-K" alone rank in my top five songs from Mad, and the rest of the album honestly isn't that far behind them. The production is overall chunkier than their last two albums, which gives it more of a hardcore punk feel, and gravitates them toward the sound that would be showcased on their next offering.
Verdict: 10 / 10
Most recommended songs: "Hi-Side (High-Individual Side)", "パラサイト", "公園へあと少し", "Cr'ock On The Work (Automatic)", "生まれたばかりの絵画を燃やせ", "P-A-R-K", "太陽の下 (limited edition/US release bonus track)"
4 PLUGS (1996)
Genre(s): Hardcore punk, melodic punk, rap metal
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: Bass guitar is much higher in the mix and drives the music, electric guitar recedes into the background, bass guitar effects introduced, more guitar effects, slight electronic elements reintroduced, rougher and less melodic vocals, rapping vocals introduced, increased amount of English lyrics, guitar and bass solos included
International release?: No
If there's anything remotely close to an extreme left turn in the band's career, this album is it. While this album is still very much a hardcore punk record, it is more sonically driven by Takeshi Ueda's far heavier bass guitar work than Ishigaki's guitar musicianship this time around, just about everyone in the band is playing at a "heavier" level, they're playing consistently faster and leaving little room for softer, mellower songs (although the standout exception, "Normal Life", is one of the best songs on the album), and the lyrics are far less melodic than they were on
Park. These deviations from their prior sound, however, fully work together in making an excellent and cohesive set of songs, making this album not only a truly unique album in their discography, but a unique punk album in general. While it does unfortunately drag towards the end, most of the songs here are well-worn classics in the band's discography.
Verdict: 9 / 10
Most recommended songs: "Possess In Loop", "Crack", "Kami-Uta", "Walk!", "Normal Life", "S.H.O.D.O.K.U.", "O・U・T"
THE MAD CAPSULE MARKET'S (1996)
Genre(s): Hardcore punk, melodic punk, industrial punk, rap metal, drum n' bass, dub
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: Bass guitar higher in the mix depending on the song, electric guitar higher in the mix, a lot more electronic elements reintroduced, more melodic vocals
International release?: No
On the surface, it may look like a "best of" album that adds little if anything to a band's chronology, this particular one contains re-recorded songs that are all re-worked to some degree. Notably, the two songs here from
4 Plugs, released earlier in the year, are the most drastically reworked of all of them; "Possess In Loop" is far, far faster than its original version, and "Walk!" has been remixed into a dub song by Adrian Sherwood. One of the more interesting reworks here is the new version of "Hi-Side", since not only are the lyrics now in English, but Takeshi's bass guitar is again higher in the mix, much higher than the original version on
Park-- considering that guitarist Ishigaki left shortly after this album's release, the increased bass on this and
4 Plugs may have been a point of contention with him.
Verdict: 7 / 10
Most recommended songs: "Possess In Loop!!!!!!!!!!", "Hi-Side (High-Individual-Side)", "Jesus Is Dead? Jesus Is Alive?", "G・M・J・P", "Down In The System (System Error)"
DIGIDOGHEADLOCK (1997)
Genre(s): Hardcore punk, melodic punk, industrial metal, rap metal
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: Simpler songwriting, more industrial/electronic elements, rougher, less melodic vocals, electric guitar presence lessened, more rapping vocals
International release?: Yes (Europe, US)
In terms of songwriting alone, this is the band's lowest point-- the songs are far simpler, more repetitive, and more reliant on the added electronic effects, more along the lines of how industrial metal normally is. At the time of its initial release, this may have been Mad's least-liked album, for all I know. However, through sheer energy and passion, they manage to pull that off and make this a fun, highly enjoyable record, even if it doesn't totally stand up to a lot of the rest of their excellent discography. This album is especially enjoyable retrospectively as the bridge between the more hardcore punk sound of
4 Plugs and the more industrial-tinged melodic punk sound of
all three of their remaining albums.
Verdict: 7.5 / 10
Most recommended songs: "Systematic.", "Water", "Have No Fear", "Sickly Bug", "3.31", "Asphalt-Beach", "Do Justice To Yourself, Do Justice To My Life"
OSC-DIS (OSCILLATOR IN DISTORTION) (1999)
Genre(s): Melodic punk, industrial punk, pop punk, rap metal, drum n' bass
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: More diverse electronic elements introduced, electric guitar presence increased, more complex but tighter songwriting, more melodic vocals, more of Takeshi Ueda's sweet high-pitched backing vocals, increased amount of English lyrics, rapping vocals slightly decreased, drum machine assistance introduced for stylistic reasons
International release?: Yes (US, UK)
This album is Mad's international breakthrough album for a reason. (Okay, including "Pulse" on a Tony Hawk game may have been
most of the reason, but still.) They overcame the songwriting weaknesses that held down
Digidogheadlock, popped their sound up with a lot more melody, in essence partially returning to their earlier sound just a tad, tightening up their songcraft, and producing yet another album without the slightest bit of filler. I would have to rank this as a close third, if I had to rate my favorites among the Mad discography.
Verdict: 10 / 10
Most recommended songs: "Tribe", "Pulse", "Multiplies", "All The Time In Sunny Beach", "Island", "Step Into Yourself", "Good Girl -dedicated to bride 20 years after", "MIDI Surf"
010 (2001)
Genre(s): Hardcore punk, melodic punk, rap metal, industrial punk
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: More diverse electronic elements, more experimental songwriting, mellower songwriting, simpler "heavy" songs, less melodic vocals, less English lyrics
International release?: Yes (UK)
After making a brilliantly honed album of electronic melodic punk, Mad decided to experiment with the
Osc-Dis sound and see where else they could take it. The answer?
Pretty damned far. Without making this album feel slapped together, they managed to expand and explore their new sound into new directions that most likely wouldn't have been accepted from a band outside of Japan. It may be because of their increased desire to experiment that this album didn't see much international recognition, little enough for Palm Pictures to drop Mad after this album flopped in the UK when they made
Osc-Dis a bonafide international hit. This and
Park are almost tied for my all-time favorite Mad album, but this is the one that sits at that #2 spot,
Park is just almost impossible to top.
Verdict: 10 / 10
Most recommended songs: "Chaos Step", "Gaga Life.", "Jam!", "雲-kumo-", "XXX Can Of This.", "Good Day", "Fly High"
CiSTM K0nFLiqT... (2004)
Genre(s): Hardcore punk, industrial metal, industrial punk, rap metal, melodic punk
Sonic deviation(s) from prior album: Less diverse electronic elements, less mellow songwriting, more streamlined songwriting, far less melodic vocals
International release?: Yes (UK)
The final release from Mad regresses slightly from their short experimental period on
010, deciding to hone in on mostly heavy tracks for a newfound international audience. The mellower songs are few and far between this time around, although their presence is as welcome as the heavier bulk of this album. The first couple tracks honestly don't do much for the album, and it really isn't until "SCARY -delete streamin freq. from fear side-" that it actually picks up where
010 left off. The last track is a neat little playoff, but doesn't truly encapsulate all of the achievements Mad had made in their 16 years of existence. This album is great, don't get me wrong, but compared to the two masterpieces it followed, it feels a bit retready. Regardless, it seemed to serve as a great sonic blueprint for both AA= and Wagdug Futuristic Unity, the two projects that rose from Mad's ashes.
Verdict: 8.5 / 10
Most recommended songs: "SCARY -delete streamin freq. from fear side-", "W.O.R.L.D.", "Cracker!!", "Sunny Beach Rd.", "Loud Up!!", "She Loves It -explore the new day", "Happy Ride"
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Alas, that is where the mighty Mad discography ends. I hope this serves well as an introductory piece for anyone even remotely interesting in trying out The Mad Capsule Markets, or helps those with only a partial view of the Mad discography to open their eyes to the pieces they haven't given a shot yet. If you would like to leave your own rankings of the discography, or your thoughts on specific albums, please leave a comment or two.
