Maximum the Hormone: Having a Stroke meets The Rain Man

Japan is an intense place. I’ve never been there, but I’ve fornicated with people who have. Needless to say, I have insight n’ shit.  A people of discipline, the Japanese also have a knack for being fucking crazy.

Undying cultural devotion + Massive amounts of radiation poisoning = CRAZY

Recently I’ve had the privilege of discovering a band hailing from said archipelago, Maximum the Hormone. I wish I could accurately describe the weird they embody, but unfortunately the English language just cannot do it justice. However, I will try to my best to tell you, as the reader, what to expect, and why exactly you should go out of your way to listen to them.

SEMEN.

This band sprinkles in quite a bit about the magic male fluid we all know, and some of us may or may not love. Coming (no pun intended) from a cultural group of people known for their less-than-sizable ‘members’, I find this especially entertaining.

RANDOMNESS AND STUFF THAT NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO TRANSLATE

The bands website states that, “the lyrics [they] write appear to be meaningless but huge amount of metaphors and sarcasm are hidden behind.”  This is a direct quote copied from the website, so ya know, fuck grammar. ANYWAY, I’m sure if we lived in Japan we might be able to decipher what the hell is being sung about, exactly. But alas, we do not, and therefore the English translation presents us with lyrical gems ranging from stuff about the Japanese version of Croc’s (jesus WHY!?), video game cheat codes (because stereotypes), to what-ever the fuck “eraser rain” is, and a bunch of stuff that has to do with the act of breaking shit or being broken. Oh, and “8^th grade laser beams”. Because who knows what the hell goes on in a Japanese classroom.

Here is the trailer for their latest album, which includes snippets of each song along with the lyrics translated in English. It’s sooooooooooo worth the watch. Seriously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tG01PprC-vk

THE SOUND

It’s fucking awesome. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be writing about it. It’s just as random as the lyrics, but  catchy, technical and fundamentally exclusive.  They have some stuff that I personally feel is ripped off from System Of A Down, but hey, they say stealing is the biggest form of flattery. With that said, here is the band’s latest video for the single “Yoshu Fukushu” off the album baring the same name.  Go get your Japan on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=beN5ep5MrdY

What do you guys think of Maximum The Hormone? A bit too “out there”, or oddly refreshing? Let me know in the comments!!