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Next Order: Live-Roaring Colors

By Keith Hannaleck

Artist: Next Order
Title: Live-Roaring Colors
Genre: Jazz-Rock-Fusion
Label: LoLo Records
Website: www.lolorecords.com/NextOrder.htm

Formed in 2002, Next Order is a jazz/rock/fusion group from Japan who has set out to impress American audiences with their aggressive and colorful improvisation style. Next Order has heavily toured Japan sharing the stage with acts, such as Gongzilla, Tribal Tech and African Express Trio. The musicians behind Next Order are four virtuosos, including guitarists Yuji Muto (graduate of the GIT Musician’s Institute), Takumi Seino (graduate of Berklee), bassist Atsutomo Ishigaki (also a graduate of Berklee) and drummer Gori Matsuda (often called the “busiest drummer in Japan”). Next Order’s first album, “Live- Powered Nexus” was the group’s United States debut album on the label LoLo Records. The live-recorded, instrumental jazz/ fusion, “Live-Roaring Colors,” is the group’s second album.

Recorded live at the Jazz Inn Lovely in Nagoya, Japan, “Live-Roaring Colors” is a dynamic jazz/rock/ fusion album jam packed with colorful guitar harmonies and solid bass lines. Yuji Muto’s guitar in the right channel and Takumi Seino in the left creates great rock/fusion harmonies throughout the album and gives the music a truly unique appeal.

Songs like “ Geppetto” and “Synapse” are fast-paced combinations of heavy rock and fusion/ jazz. With its dynamic harmonies and instrumental breakdowns, “Geppetto” shows off the groups’ unique ability to improvise and play live. Like “Geppetto,” “Synapse” gives this album its rock appeal. With a Hendrix-like guitar solo and intense drum solo, “Synapse” is aggressive, energetic and musically dynamic. “B-612” brings the album down-tempo with more jazz and less rock, and ends with a killer jazz guitar solo. “Desert Yellow” starts off with a jazzy feel, descends into a cacophonic breakdown, then brings it all together again with a rock/fusion appeal.

The final two songs on the album, “Simply ‘Red’” and “Prelude To…” stand out in comparison to the other songs on this album. Most of these songs blend rock, jazz and fusion styles in an energetic, almost frenetic manner. “Simply ‘Red’” and “Prelude To…” are slower-paced, contemplative songs with a straight-up jazz feel. “Live-Roaring Colors” is an album that shows off an incredible level of musicianship. With this album, Next Order proves to be a group of talented musicians who have created a colorful collage of jazz, rock and fusion.

Reviewed - February 27, 2008

Tracks:

1. Geppetto
2. B-612
3. Desert Yellow
4. Blue Moon
5. Another Day
6. Synapse
7. Simply "Red"
8. Prelude To...

About the Author:

Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the promotion of artists via the various media outlets flourishing online. He has worked closely with artists, management, publicity directors, and webmasters to provide some of the best and far-reaching coverage an artist could have. Focusing primarily on the internet as a medium for his work, Keith has been a pioneer in the industry changing the way a reviewer with his various talents are used by many artists, PR folks, and labels. He has provided strong and valuable work to labels, artists, and publicity people, writing reviews, press releases, and biographies and much more over the years, giving the people he works with the maximum amount of exposure through several top-notch websites that post his content on their sites.

Hannaleck built and maintained his own website in 1998 while networking and building his reputation through thousands of reviews and interviews, creating a special niche for himself. Through many years of dedication and hard work, he has reached a respected level of competence and knowledge that is frequently sought by the music industry today. Known for his speaking from the heart interpretations of music and being able to put it in layman’s terms for music fans, his work is found everywhere in cyberspace and in traditional print media, from press kits to quotes from reviews in magazine advertisements.