Lucifer’s Underground is a Visual Kei band from Nagoya that started their activities in 2013. As their visual appearance already suggests, the characteristics of their music is rather dark sound, and the lyrics are written by vocalist Hina.
Both Hina and guitarist Maki used to be members of the successful Matina-band AZALEA and later played together in the band hurts. Bassist Yuuri used to be a member of the rather famous UNDER CODE PRODUCTION-bands chariots and Cu[be]. Bassist Toki and drummer Yōichi officially joined the band in 2017 and don’t seem to have been in any well-known bands before. The band is signed to umbrella records, of which Yuuri also is a representative.
Their first mini-album, 不実なアンブレラ (Fujitsu na amburera, Insincere umbrella), has been released on March 4, 2015. The cover of this release is also one of the first officially released photographs of the band.
Tracklist:
1. 不実なアンブレラ (Fujitsu na amburera)
2. リストカットと性行為 (Risutokatto to seikooi)
3. Meu amor é
4. 流転 (Ryuuten)
5. 桜 ~for weste child~ (Sakura ~for weste child~)
The first track, which gave the album its name, is a rather calm song compared to most of the other ones. The rhythm is catchy and the melody is remarkable, though it seems to me that for this song the focus is on Hina’s strong vocals that lead the other instruments.
When first listening to the second song, the melody suggests a much more positive, almost happy atmosphere. The song is quite fast and features instruments the other songs do not, such as the piano. However, once I read the title, which means something like “wrist cut(s) and sexual intercourse”, I realized something surreal and obscure among that ‘happy’ atmosphere.
Meu amor é, the third track, is my personal favourite. It is a tragic love song with lyrics that are more or less easy to understand, and yet are deep and many lines leave a lot of room for interpretation. Being melodic, sad and strong at the same time, the sound matches the lyrics very well. What I like most about this song is the way Hina shows his strong voice’s enormous vocal range, going from deep to high within seconds several times.
流転 (Ryuuten) is probably the darkest and most powerful track on the mini album. Once again, Hina displays his skills by not just singing deep and melodic passages, but also by partly screaming and shouting. Since especially those shouted parts are very energetic, this song is very popular at concerts and perfect for head-banging and other furitsuke.
The final track is a song that one could call a summary of the entire mini-album. It contains both very heavy parts including screaming as well as calm passages that are more melodic and once again focus a lot on Hina’s vocals, though guitars are also very prominent. The song finishes with a slightly hymnal passage that brings both the song 桜 ~for weste child~ (Sakura ~for weste child~) and the album itself to a glorious end.
Summing up, this album is definitely a recommendation for people who enjoy music that is rather on the darker and stronger side. However, melodic parts with wide-ranged and controlled vocals are dominant over screaming and shouting passages, and the variation this piece provides shows how much effort the musicians have put into it. After all, three of five members, including Hina -the member who writes the lyrics- have already gained a lot of experience through previous band activities and producing music.
Since the band is signed to an indie label rather than a major one and describes themselves as underground musicians they are not very well-known outside of Japan. Therefore 不実なアンブレラ (Fujitsu na amburera) is only available in Japan and through the band’s official website. The price including taxes is ¥ 2180, which is approximately € 17.00.
Rating: 92/100
