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| From left to right: Ue-chan (Ba), Daisuke-han (Vo), Nao (Dr) & Maximum the Ryo-kun (Gt & Vo) |
MAXIMUM THE
HORMONE combines loud rock with pop, funk, ska, hardcore, heavy metal
and punk. The band's style can be described as a contrasting style.
On one hand you have Daisuke & Ryo's screams and on the other
hand you have Nao's melodic voice. The lyrics usually make no sense
at all, but none of the fans seem to mind at all. Their major
inspirations are System Of A Down, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and The
Ramones. Similar artists are DEATHGAZE and Blood Stain Child.
MTH was
founded in 1998 by Daisuke Tsuda and Nao Kawakita in Hachiōji, a
suburb of Tokyo. The original members were Daisuke, Nao, KEY and
SUGI. After they got some recognition from some regional shows, the
band signed a contract with indie label “Sky Records”. The first
and only full length album with this lineup was “A.S.A. Crew”.
Back then Daisuke's lyrics and the band name were written in English,
but that changed when KEY & SUGI left MTH in 1999.
The band
started looking for new members to join and drummer Nao immediately
thought of her little brother Ryo. He had been playing the guitar
since his junior high school years and on top of that, he could sing
very well too. When Ryo joined the men split up most of the vocals.
Daisuke took care of the screaming and rap parts while Ryo did the
more melodic parts. It was also Ryo who took over the majority of the
composition of the band's later work. To complete the group, bassist
Ue joined MAXIMUM THE HORMONE. After this major change, they all
decided to switch writing their lyrics and name in katakana. It was
the sign of a new era in their career.
In August
2000, the band released their first single “Bullpen Cather's
Dream”. One year later the first mini-album “Otori” was
released.
In 2002 MTH
left Sky Records and signed a contract with independent label 33cjl
Records. The single “Niku Cup” was released on May 29, 2002, and
the new album “Mimi Kajiru” followed on October 10. In 2003 MTH's
first real success came thanks to the single “Rolling 1000toon”,
which was used as the ending theme for the anime “Air Master”.When
album “Kusoban” was released in 2004, MTH gained the recognition
of a major record label. They signed a contract with “VAP” later
that year. The release of “Rokkinpo Goroshi” in 2005, caused a
flood in their fanbase. They began to sell out more shows, played
many rock festivals and released a live DVD.
2006 was the
year of MTH's commercial success. The single “Koi no Megalover”
became the band's first Oricon top 10 hit, claimed the #9 spot. This
would mark the band's introduction to the mainstream media in Japan.
Their exposure increased with the performance at the international
rock festival, “Summer Sonic 2006”.
The 5th
album “Buiikikaesu” was released on March 14, 2007. It reached
the #5 spot in the Oricon charts and was certified gold by the RIAJ.
“Buiikikaesu” is still their most popular album to this day.
Three of the songs on this album ("What's up, people",
"Zetsubou Billy" & “Akagi”) were also used as
opening/ending themes for the anime “Death Note” and “Akagi”.
That same year they went on another nationwide tour and performed 57
shows. Including festivals such as “Summer Sonic 2007” &
“Punk Spring 2007”, MTH performed over 100 shows and sold out all
venues.
On March 19,
2008, the band released their second live DVD “Deco Vs. Deco”.
The DVD featured performances from the late “Buiikikaesu” tour.
That year MTH also made their very first overseas appearance in the
U.S. And Canada. They were support for the band “Dropkick Murphys”.
MTH got even more recognition after their performance at the hide
memorial summit on May 3, 2008. On July 9, 2009, the band released
their 8th single, "Tsume Tsume Tsume / "F"", and
announced the beginning of a new "Tsume Tsume Tsume" tour
featuring 24 shows. This single is still their most successful one
since it reached #2 on the Oricon charts.
Later that
year, in October, the band began their European tour. They completed
the tour in 17 days and played 6 shows in England, one show in Köln,
Germany, one show in Paris, France, and a final show in Barcelona,
Spain. During their shows in England, they played warm-up for the
band “Enter Shikari”, and continued the European tour with the
band until November 3. in December the band would go on a brief
hiatus due to Daisuke's corrective throat surgery.
After
Daisuke had recovered from his surgery, MTH went on to headline
several shows in Japan with support from “Bring Me The Horizon”
and “Blessed By A Broken Heart” in May 2009. They also won the
award for "Best Rock Video" for "Tsume Tsume Tsume"
in the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Japan. In November it was
announced that Nao was pregnant, but that all scheduled shows would
continue. Not long after Nao fell ill and was rushed to the hospital.
She was told that it would be unhealthy for both her and the baby to
continue performing. The band went on another hiatus and were forced
to cancel all shows, including a performance at the “Soundwave
Festival 2010” in Australia.
On May 6,
2010, there was a statement on the official website that Nao had
given birth to a healthy baby girl. This meant the end of the hiatus
and MTH appeared as extras in the live-action version of “BECK”.
On February 7, 2011, the group released videos for the songs
“Chiisana Kimi No Te” and “maximum the hormone” on their
official website. A month later the single “Greatest the Hits
2011-2011” was released. The title was a pun by the band, telling
the fans that: "Greatest Hits doesn't necessarily mean a
collection of past titles. We can say these new songs are our best!"
This single also claimed the #1 spot on the Oricon charts for 2
consecutive weeks. It was the first time since the band's creation
that MTH topped the charts.
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