High and Mighty Color is essentially a combination of two simple musical ideas: a female-fronted animé rock band and a bunch of American-styled metal thugs. It's like
Korn playing '80s rock, or maybe like that Swedish band
Lambretta, whose only minor hit, the bouncy "Bimbo," actually deserved to be a major hit. But the point is that it works well, as simple ideas often do. The meaty guitar sound has "nu-metal" all over it, and there's no denying that the screams of the male vocalist Yuusuke come straight out of
Jonathan Davis' book of angry rapping/scatting. On the other hand, the hooks are radio-friendly, the rhythm section rumbles along like good
Bon Jovi devotees, and that testosterone gang chorus in "Dive Into Yourself" is as nostalgic as it is goofy for 2007. Miko's vocal approach was rendered generic aeons ago, but she does her thing well, and since the strength of her voice is not forced to any degree, listening to her is a pleasing aural experience. The band should have balanced their songs better, as the poppy elements take firm hold after the first couple of energetic stompers, pushing the nu-metal thing in the background and dropping the novelty factor a notch. They could also think about some editing, as 64 minutes of
San sounds like too much of a good thing. But
H&MC try to compensate for it with catchy songs, and thanks to rockers like "Yoake Mae" the record remains a good listen even well into its duration.