MILLPLAT

Millplat, on their only album I know of, plays a strong form of heavy rock, with quite a bit of prog flourishes. Instrumentally, they are very good at this form, and from the outset of the album, they impressed me. On the first track, the instrumental Ambassador, guitarist Izumi Mutsuhiko sets us up with some beautiful soloing, with string pops and bends that reminds me of David Torn.

But on the second track, Twinkling Nasa the vocals start. I don't know if this style of singing is popular in Japan, but for me it ruins the album. Igarashi Hisakatsu sings in a grating falsetto, made worse with an overly operatic falsetto. He sounds like a cartoon version of early Geddy Lee, played to an extreme.

One track does stand out. Prism, an instrumental, of course, shows just how great the band could have been without Hisakatsu's screeching. It is an amazing piece of heavy prog.

I'm not surprised the band disappeared after this debut.