D_Drive - Maximum Impact: the impeccable synthesis of a decade

Hello my dears. I am the Raven who speaks to you.

In general, what is beautiful in instrumental music is the transparency with regard to the influences suffered by a musician in question. How is your musical ear, how you think and compose music, the tone, which artists from the past spiritually inhabit your sound, a beauty and honesty not seen in all musical genres. But in the instrumental style musicians doesn't have many opportunities to hide or camouflage what they are doing. On the contrary: the spotlight is fully on them and we listeners can evaluate note for note.

It is part of everyday life of instrumental music lovers to search for new albums that really show identity traits. As much as there is integrity in the form and transparency about its origins, it is an arduous task to create music that detaches itself from the past and points to the future. Being an instrumental musician, in this sense, is very difficult because in addition to the higher level of demand for compositions, the musician has an intrinsic need to define his own identity, to listen to his own music and perceive it, in the same way what happens in front of a mirror.

The D_Drive quartet, founded in Osaka, is the japanese representative that has lived with this challenge since 2009, when they published the first authorial and independent album, called “Something To Drink”. Going through the albums “Accelerator” in 2011 and “R” in 2015 (all of them released exclusively in Japan), the blue roses’s guitarist Yuki, accompanied by her mentor and sensei Seiji and the drummer Chiiko, had a little more than one decade to grow musically and experience epiphanies. And along with new bassist Toshi, the three founding members finally got, in 2019, an opportunity to show the rest of the world who they are. Experienced, hardened, masters of their own game: it was in these conditions that the West finally got to know the graceful, potent and relentless instrumental sea of “D_Drive”.

When we think of motorsport in the land of the rising sun, companies like Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi come to mind. D_Drive, musically, is like the roar of top engines from each of these factories. As Seiji himself says, what D_Drive creates is “driving rock”: listening to them is like imagining that you are driving a car on the road at the speed of sound, the feeling of driving a japanese titan and taking it to the extreme. This is driving rock, which, by the way, is not recommended for listening in traffic, because the melodies and punch are so contagious that the desire to step on the accelerator becomes difficult to control.

Seiji formed the band with Yuki, who at the time was her student at a music school in Osaka. Drummer Chiiko graduated in the same place, by the way, and we're talking about instrumentalists who study and write music in a high level, but at the same time don't let their virtuosity and natural talent put their compositions far away from the auditory pleasure zones of casual listeners. In fact, the songs have hooks whose function is to provide a quick assimilation. We can identify the main characteristics of a track after just a few listens. However, these hooks (usually represented by guitar and bass riffs) are only useful for the listener not to disperse and thus keep the necessary attention for what comes next, which are the solos, the twin guitar folds and the impressive changes in Yuki, Seiji, and Chiiko's time signatures. D_Drive plays hard rock and heavy metal. But also undoubtedly progressive music. The difference is that, unlike many instrumental musicians, the band doesn't let these genres stand out in isolation. Hard, heavy and progressive just orbit in the compositions, sometimes one appearing more than the other, but never monopolizing. And the result of this direction gives rise to instrumentalists of impressive versatility, who give us the feeling that they can play anything.

Seiji is a lover of rock and metal from the 80s and 90s. His main musical influences are the legendary Michael Schenker, lord of the romantic guitar, and the also extremely melodic Steve Lukather. However, as much as these influences are very evident, they only orbit the band's compositions. On D_Drive every musician has a voice (a right to contribute), which is ironic when we realize that their music doesn't have vocals. The divine Yuki is clearly fascinated with Steve Vai's melodic shred, which inevitably brings her closer to Joe Satriani's melodic sense too, even if indirectly. As such, Yuki leads Seiji to explore shred, just as Seiji, in turn, conditions Yuki to be melodic and focused (and much less ethereal than Steve Vai) in order to harmonize with him. But this only occurs after the rhythm section (bass and drums) sets the tone, the direction of how this harmonization will happen. And this one is fast and very heavy, as Chiiko and Toshi are fascinated with heavy and thrash bands from the eighties, such as Iron Maiden and Metallica. As a result, the sound of D_Drive turns out to be heavier and more aggressive than the previously mentioned 70's and 80's instrumental artists, but maintains the same level of melody, harmony and sweetness of their best moments. Whether with agressive songs or ballads, D_Drive is always a melodic band, capable of impress us with explosive or crystal clear distortions.

It is interesting to note that there is no randomness in the band's compositions. They are not an impromptu journey, with no clear sense of where it started or where it will go. It is a racing circuit, with a clear sense of structure and purpose. But don't think that the musical road is oval: instrumentally speaking, the compositions are like circuits so elaborate that only the most daring pilots will be able to transit. And this is a message for guitarists who decide to study the band's songs: without dedication, you won't be able to follow Yuki and Seiji. The blue roses’s lady is the most proficient female guitarist in all of Japan by far, and considering the eastern market as a whole, she easily ranks alongside the likes of Syu and Hizaki in terms of technique and songwriting ability. This is a surreal finding when we take into account that Yuki only defined that she wanted to be a guitarist later in life, around 17 years old, when she started playing the guitar inspired by her father. Since then, she has maintained a 10-hour day of study, which drops to 5 or 6 hours only when she is on tour. Yuki sleeps and wakes up thinking about the guitar and that explains everything we hear and watch her performances on social media. If the band is driving rock, Yuki is always on the gas. In addition to being a naturally beautiful woman (a true japanese beauty), her refined technique, precision, tone and talent as a composer are qualities that make her irresistible to any listener. She has everything and owes nothing to anyone. The only thing Yuki probably doesn't have is time, given the level of demands she puts on herself and the obligations of an independent band. She has to do a lot more than just get up on stage and play an instrument.

As far as the structure of an instrumental rock composition is concerned, professionals and listeners alike know that writing for this strand is like working on several tracks at once. All it takes is a good ear to realize that a simple hard rock song made for vocals, with verse-chorus-verse-chorus, doesn't usually require even 10% of the creativity and boldness of instrumental songs of the same length. Yuki and Seiji decided to make this principle the philosophy of D_Drive: their music does not have vocals, but the instruments play the constant role of occupying the place that, in theory, would be the vocalist. Especially the guitars. And since the two dialogue and synchronize quite frequently, the verses of the songs also work as a kind of duet on many occasions. Conceptually, there is something cinematic in the formula, as Seiji draws inspiration from natural landscapes and films to compose. The bass/drums dynamism acts as a disinhibitor for the twin guitars, who then express themselves with as much energy as they can. And in the case of slower songs, this force is passionately deposited in the tone.

For years, D_Drive refined this modus operandi, until it finally caught the attention of reputable companies in the music industry. The most iconic of all was undoubtedly Marshall (famous for the impeccable quality of amplifiers). Through their label, called Marshall Records, they presented an interesting proposal for the band, which gave rise to the album in question, called “Maximum Impact”, released in 2019. This is the first international release of D_Drive, which we can consider a collection of the most remarkable tracks written since their foundation. The title does not lie: what they really want is to make the maximum impact, task completed efficiently.

That said, don't be fooled into thinking that "Maximum Impact" is simply a set of cut-and-pasted tracks from earlier D_Drive albums and singles. Thanks to the british label, part of the content was re-recorded or remastered, inserting completely new basslines thanks to the inclusion of Toshi in the band, replacing the now ex-member Shimataro. The tracks sound infinitely superior to the original versions thanks to the surgical work of engineer Akihiro Nishimura and Christian Wright, who mastered the material at the legendary Abbey Road studio in London. “Maximum Impact” is the best release from D_Drive sonically speaking. The sound quality we find in this wafer is surreal, one that very few albums produced in Japan could compete with.

Three tracks were chosen by Marshall to appear on the album and another seven were chosen according to the band's preferences. The layout of the seltlist was chosen thinking about the format of the band's concert, as Seiji wanted us to be able to listen with the same intensity and sensitivity as a performance, which is where they really prove that they are capable of playing these compositions note for note and without the help of any technological apparatus. Energy and precision define a D_Drive concert, where the audience literally sings with their guitars.

“Attraction 4D” opens the album with its foot in the door. It is representative of the band as a cohesive quartet that shares the spotlight, ready to take the listener on a journey that they will want to repeat. “Attraction 4D” is heavy and has traditional arrangements commonly heard in bands like Iron Maiden. But it is impossible not to notice that the sound reminds us a lot of the classic instrumental album “Surfing With The Alien”, Joe Satriani's masterpiece. The solid base, the tempo, the folds through picking and tapping... all of this reminds us of the good old Joe, but with the weight and aggressiveness characteristic of Maiden.

“M16” is even more aggressive and a little darker. Chiiko beats the drums mercilessly and although the composition has its melodic and full shred moments, the emphasis is undoubtedly on the bass. The listener will have fun with a very typical characteristic of D_Drive: the behavior of placing the instruments to respond to each other, as if they were in a game of questions and answers.

“Cassis Orange”, the third track on the album, returns the accent to the melody again, but this time with even more sophistication. It is in this composition that D_Drive emphatically demonstrates to the listener their intention to make the guitars act in the role that could be of a vocalist. However, although they have a lot to say, they don't speak for themselves, as Toshi begins to have more freedom to shine and demonstrate a delicious tone, which justifies the band's decision to count on him.

The album follows with “Lost Block”, definitely the most progressive moment. This is one of the tastiest and most interesting instrumental tracks Japan has produced in decades, no exaggeration. The beginning takes place with a layer of keyboards to create the epic atmosphere, followed by the entry of guitars with clean tones. They are elements that serve as the ignition for the attack of the riffs that soon appear, with constant breaks in the time signatures. The style reminds us a lot of Dream Theater and the way John Petrucci writes music. “Lost Block” is a composition that shares a style very similar to the “Images & Words” era, which will make Dream Theater fans smile from ear to ear. Chiiko stands out mainly in the very nice way she uses the cymbal. Such an adjective well defines the feeling of the listeners, because the desire it gives is to put the track to play uninterruptedly. It's a progressive song that offers a lot musically, but never becomes dull. Not to mention that it is equally pleasurable to hear and see Yuki concentrated and with total focus on what she is doing, such is the difficulty level of “Lost Block”.

“Gekirin” marks the middle of the path with a true sound axe. Screaming bass, raging riffs and plenty of punch: this is a track for true bangers to headbang like there's no tomorrow.

And after so much energy, the sublime, cinematic and romantic ballad “Unkind Rain” takes us to seven minutes of an absurdly inspired Yuki, demonstrating why Steve Vai was such a reference musician for her. This is the slowest song on the album, which seeks to value tone more than speed. They realize that in addition to working quickly on every millimeter of the instrument's neck, Yuki never gives up a good vibrato and the use of whammy bar whenever it offers extension and balance to the notes.

“Gradation” surprises us with an acoustic intro, but it lasts for a very short time. Exhaling positivity, we are soon led to electric riffs that take us back to the festive atmosphere of the 80s. Witness is a key word in “Gradation”.

The eighth track, “Mr. Rat Boots", is one of the most beloved and popular tracks by D_Drive in Japan. Always looking for something to reduce the daily stress of japanese big cities, “Mr. Rat Boots” is playful, fast-paced and with an air of Steve Vai as well as Eddie Van Halen. Yuki and Seiji are quick in riffing and exploring single notes, as Chiiko's drumming doesn't allow them to slow think, only to act intuitively. The song sounds like a comic narrative from someone who doesn't have a lot of time to waste, but at the same time a lot to say.

“The Last Revenge” is a composition that was born a classic in mid-2016. And for me, this is one of the main songs in terms of teaching us what Seiji understands as driving rock. The intro oozes beauty with sweet, clean licks, but as soon as the central riffs emerge, they are very solid. “The Last Revenge” is the song of folds: Yuki and Seiji are always so flawlessly in sync that one gets the impression that they can both read each other's minds. It's like the metronome has become part of their body functions.

And finally, to close the album with a golden key, the band invites the listener to exhaust all the remaining energy in the furious “Screw Driver”. Toshi's galloping bass is what gives the air of grace and the guitars will try, in the following minutes, to survive this imposition through the strongest riffs they can produce. Another excellent explosive song, but with the refinement that only musicians with theoretical knowledge are capable of producing.

And so we finish “Maximum Impact” and this podcast. An album that D_Drive deserved so much. They are a wonderful band and, in a way, this album presents a synthesis of their best old songs, treated with the necessary respect and attention to value the qualities they possess. This is one of the top instrumental rock and metal albums of that decade. Simply flawless.

Corvid greetings!