Mind Haven by MAKE MY DAY

Japan is an untapped mine of musical gold and my latest find is no exception.

​Label:

• In The Family Records

Release Date:

• 29th of January 2020

Band Members:

• Isam - Vocals 
• Julian - Guitar, Vocals
• HAL - Drums
• U-SUKE - Bass

Genre:

• Metalcore
• Post-Hardcore
• Nu-Metalcore

It's no secret that I love my J-Core, you guys see it almost every week, but I can't help if the bands of this genre kick some serious arse. Meet ​MAKE MY DAY, a Japanese Metalcore, Post-Hardcore and to some degrees, Nu-Metalcore (though some people call it Trancecore) act out of Tokyo, who prior to the Coronavirus outbreak were heading for a massive year.

​They dropped their second full length album Mind Haven on the 29th of January before announcing a pretty sizeable tour in support of it, sadly that all went to shit, which is a massive shame for the world. 

Now I must warn you, if you suffer from neck pains, steer clear of Mind Haven, it is full of sick breakdowns that will get your head nodding whether you want to or not, and you don't have time to prepare yourself, as Mind Haven starts with one almost immediately with opener 'Mind Haven', yes that's right, MAKE MY DAY started their album with a breakdown, so you know it won't be taking any prisoners.

While the whole record is absolute musical gold, I was still able to find my three stand outs. First off is the title track 'Mind Haven', because as I mentioned, it starts with a breakdown. Remember, these aren't in any real order, so up next is my favourite off the record, 'Money' ft. Flare Boy (singer from Malissa, a group you should also check out). 'Money' is a 'Core and Trap fusion and a very in your face song, which always seems to draw me in (check it out below).

'Money' is also the first main step the band does on the record away from the base Metalcore sound, meaning everything afterwards is totally off the wall good. The final choice is the closer 'Wake Up', it has a bit of a primal feel for a standard 'Core track, but the extra vocals from Io and Kagura from Broken By The Scream (an Idol Deathcore band) really help push it further, plus it ends with a breakdown, leaving you wanting more and happy to hit repeat.

​I've actually been chipping away at this album review for a couple of weeks now since other reviews and projects have been a little more pressing, and every time I return to work on it, I found it easy to get back into, making Mind Haven great to listen to.

I need to thank MAKE MY DAY for featuring Flare Boy, Io and Kagura on their record, as I've discovered two new bands (Malissa and Broken By The Scream) to keep an eye on and hopefully feature soon. But most importantly, I've been very impressed by this young Japanese band, so much that I'm quite excited to watch them continue their career and see how they'll build upon this release.

The mixing of styles works really well for me, as does the guest appearances.

9.5/10 

Written by Dan.
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