Masuhiro Goto brought change to Ningen-Isu with his playing
Now, I wrote in the last issue that Nakajima Nobu brought a change to “Ningen-Isu”, not so much in his drumming style, but more in his human side.
Then, what about Masuhiro Goto?
I have to answer that Masuhiro Goto brought change to “Ningen-Isu” with his playing.
He overwhelmed the audience with a number of moves that did not seem like he had two arms.
I feel that the music of “Ningen-Isu” has become much closer to metal.
The other part was the sound effects during the silent parts.
Various instruments and their equivalents were placed around the drum set, and they were always making a lot of sound effects, adding to the atmosphere.
It is sad to think that we will not be able to see him again.
Sudden announcement caused a stir in the audience
After the show at Tokyo on December 14, 2003, he left the band.
It was at the show titled “Kejin-Gengi” (Edogawa Rampo’s long story).
There was no particular announcement, and the sudden announcement caused a stir in the audience.
The last three songs played were, in order, “Love Tied to Heaven”,
“Dynamite”,
and “Hellscape”
all fast songs!
I did not go to the show, but I would have loved to have seen them in action.
I was deeply moved to think that more than 10 years have passed since then.
Why did Masuhiro Goto quit the band?
Now, why did Masuhiro Goto quit the band?
Since the official reason for his departure has not been announced, let us speculate based on his homepage.
In Masuhiro’s diary from around 2006 on his official website, there is a picture of Masuhiro continuing to make solo works.
He clearly states, “I want to make a solo album at least once.”
His desire to make solo works may have played a role in his departure from “Ningen-Isu”.
He also made the following statement.
“Because it’s completely different from what I was originally aiming for. I don’t know how to say it, but I want to make some kind of exotic music that has never been done before, but the music I made this time is just indescribably bad punk.”
It reads as a desire to stop playing music that sounds like punk and do something more different.
Perhaps he wanted to move away from the hard rock field and play different music.
He also stated, “To be honest, these days I’ve lost interest in live performance itself.”
Studio musicians and engineers come to mind, but did he want to go in that direction?
“I’ve always had a kind of allergy to concert, and even if I enjoyed myself at rehearsals, I would often have a mental breakdown during the actual performance.”
“I can’t remember a single time I’ve enjoyed a concert with a band.”
He also makes such backward-looking statements.
If he felt pain at the concerts with “Ningen-Isu”, it is a great pity.
When he played performance for the first time in a while in support of a blues band, he said, “For the first time in my life, I felt the reaction from the audience.”
“It was one of the few gigs I enjoyed myself”, he wrote.
Masuhiro felt a distance between the stage and the audience.
In 2010, he wrote, “These days, I don’t do band-related work, but rather work to materialize the requests of arrangers and producers.”
It seems that he is still away from band activities.
When Masuhiro went to see “Zuno-Keisatsu” concert, he said, “I thought it would be fun to be in a band once in a while”, so perhaps he has not completely abandoned the band.
I look forward to the day when Masuhiro will show us his courage
In sum, I think the reasons for leaving the band are as follows.
He wanted to pursue a different type of music as a solo artist.
He felt distant from the audience at the concerts, and it became painful.
Well, this is just a prediction.
However, it doesn’t seem as if he has completely abandoned his band activities, so he may show us what we can expect from him again.
I like his drumming.
I look forward to the day when Masuhiro will show us his courage again.
March 10,2014 Freakz
(Postscript)
I wrote this article in 2014.
It is now 2022, and as you know, Masuhiro is now back in the band.
He joined “Metal-Ebisu” in 2015, so it wasn’t long after this article was written that he started his activities.
He is now a member of “Damian Hamada’s Creatures” under the name “Masuhiro “Butler” Goto”.
He is also working on a solo album.
Maybe he just wanted to come back once he had done what he wanted to do?
Whatever the case, it is a pleasure to hear his intricate and bizarre drumming again.
On a side note, this article on my old blog appears at the 17th position in a search for “Masuhiro Goto”.
It has been viewed many times.
There seems to be no other article that discusses the reason why Masuhiro left the band, which proves that there were many fans who searched for Masuhiro after he left the band.
June 24,2022 Freakz
