BURNOUT SYNDROMES

全国ワンマンツアー2022「TOKYO」
オフィシャルライブレポート公開！！

Japan Tour 2022 "TOKYO" Offcial Live Report
（Please scroll to the bottom of the page for the English version.）

BURNOUT SYNDROMESに対して、みなさんはどのようなイメージを持っているだろうか。「アニメの主題歌を多く手掛けていて、作品の世界観を音楽に落とし込むことに長けているだけでなく、バンドの趣味嗜好も反映されている」や「工夫を凝らしたエンターテインメント性の高いライブで、ライブキッズはもちろんライブ慣れしていない人でも存分に楽しむことができる」、「気立てのいいメンバーたちに親近感を持てる」あたりが主に語られる内容であろうと推測する。実際にそういうバンドだとも思う。
だがこれがBURNOUT SYNDROMESのすべてなのかと問われると、どうしても首を縦に振ることはできない。彼らの「タイアップ作品の世界観に寄り添いたい」や「リスナーが“自分がこの曲の主人公だ”と楽しんでもらえる音楽を作りたい」という気持ちは一点の曇りなく伝わってくるが、その思いを発信する3人はどんな人間なのか？　どんなバンドなのだろうか？　――それがこれまでで最も明確になったのが、2021年6月にリリースされたフルアルバム『TOKYO』だ。
同アルバム内で大型タイアップソングと遜色ないほどの存在感を放つのは、ソングライター兼フロントマン・熊谷和海が自身の心のおもむくままに綴った楽曲だ。なかでもハードボイルドな世界観と自身の人生哲学を交えた「ロザリオをはずして」、人間の愚かさや醜さを“金（カネ）”視点でシニカルかつおどろおどろしく綴る「邪教・拝金教」、陰を感じさせる切り口で生と死を歌った「Hikousen」と「模範囚」は、BURNOUT SYNDROMESとしてというよりは、熊谷和海として発信された音楽だろう。どの楽曲も仄暗いイメージを持ちつつも、もがき苦しむからこそ見つけることができる微かな希望、もしくは小気味よいユーモアといった「光」の成分が効いているのも特徴的である。

彼の本質的な要素が楽曲の中枢となると、説得力もより強度を増す。それをより増幅させるのがメンバーのベーシスト・石川大裕とドラマー・廣瀬拓哉だ。3人はかねてから「このバンドは分業制」「各々の持ち場を守っていればいい」と口を揃えてはいるものの、3人でバンドを走らせてこれた根本の理由は、中学1年生のころから育んできた人間としての結びつきと、熊谷の作る楽曲への深いリスペクトである。

石川と廣瀬は、中学1年生のころから熊谷のフロントマンとしての資質、彼ならではのオリジナリティ溢れる世界観やソングライティングを誰よりも信頼してきた。ふたりが熊谷に追随するように、演奏面だけではなくステージ制作や動画制作といったそれぞれの武器を磨いてきたからこそ、BURNOUT SYNDROMESは「それぞれの特技が生かせる場所」になっていった。これまで好奇心旺盛に様々な要素を楽曲に取り込んできた熊谷が、『TOKYO』の多くで自身の心を楽曲へと昇華している。ともなれば、ふたりは演奏で存分にそこに応えるのみ。ナチュラルでありながらも熱い友情が下地にあるからこそ、『TOKYO』に宿る光は美しくやわらかく響くのだ。

全国ワンマンツアー2022「TOKYO」の折り返しとなるZepp Haneda公演でも、それを裏付けるシーンをいくつも目視した。
まずは音楽を中心においたライブメイク。開演前のBGMや効果音、オープニングの演出、セットリストや曲間のつなぎなどは、『TOKYO』の世界を分解して再構築・再開発していくよう。コロナ禍での開催ゆえ観客に制限があるぶん、エンタテインメント性を音楽のギミックで作り上げていた。我々リスナーが認知していた『TOKYO』とは違う『TOKYO』が広がる様子は、非常に刺激的で小気味よい。

「邪教・拝金教」では陰影を効果的に用いたライティングのなか、石川と廣瀬はそれぞれ俯きながらフロアタム、スネアを叩き、ピンボーカルの熊谷は迫真の歌でもって観客の心に刃を突きつける。観客に楽しんでもらうべく楽曲のストーリーテラーとしてステージに立っていることが多い彼が、楽曲の主人公としてしなやかに君臨する。これまでにBURNOUT SYNDROMESで味わうことがなかった躍動感に息を飲んだ。

アルバムの核とも言える楽曲「模範囚」を披露する前、熊谷はMCでこう話した。
「ライブをやれなかった約2年間でメンバーやお客さんの大事さもわかったし、だからこそ今まで言ってこなかった“ありがとう”をちゃんと言わないとなとようやく気付かされた」
「全然眠れないとき、すごく孤独な夜に書いた曲。最近眠れるのは、本心から“ありがとう”や“お前らと一緒にバンドやれて良かったよ”と恥ずかしげもなく言えるようになってきたからだと思う。この世界は自分次第なんだなと思ってます」
いつものクールな語り口のなかに、やわらかさがあったようにも思う。自分の理想の世界を外界に発信してきた彼が、内に秘めた等身大の姿や現実的な面を少しずつ明かしていく様子は、闇夜に朝日が差し込むようなぬくもりがあった。「模範囚」が本編中盤に置かれ、アルバムリリース当初は同曲とセットで1曲のようなものと語られていた「Hikousen」が本編のラストに据えられたことは、バンドの歩みが進んだ証と言えるだろう。

石川が観客とリアルタイムでLINEのやり取りをし、それをプロジェクターに映し出しながら3人のトークとともに観客との距離を縮めるセクション。アンコールのラストの「セツナヒコウキ」を演奏したあと廣瀬が「さっきイヤモニが壊れて。でも16年一緒にやってるから、なんにも聴こえなくても合わせられた。ふたりの動きで全部わかる」と笑顔で語ったシーン。この日ステージで起こったすべてにおいて、3人の関係性がなければ成し得ない。だからこそ3ピースバンドの演奏が映えるロックナンバー「セツナヒコウキ」は、この日最も力強く、晴れやかに響いた。

「セツナヒコウキ」を演奏する前、熊谷は「どんな暗闇でも熱い気持ちががあればあなたに会いに行ける。そんな気持ちを込めた曲」と語った。この曲を書いたときには未知にも近かった“東京”。そこから時を経て生まれた『TOKYO』は、現実や自分自身の心のなかを直視したうえで制作された、リアルが詰め込まれた作品となった。さらにこの全国ツアーをきっかけに、3人は新しい旅へと足を進めている。ともなればこれからの行先はもっと広い世界だろう。
まだ見ぬ領域に胸を高鳴らせている3人の姿は非常に頼もしい。そうしたポジティブな気持ちで新しい物語を紡げるのは、石川の言葉を借りれば「あなた（観客・リスナー）を含めてBURNOUT SYNDROMES」だからだ。
TOKYOを飛び立ったこの先にどんな旅が待っているのか、どんな旅にしていくのか――BURNOUT SYNDROMESの飛行船の行方を見守りたい。

文：沖さやこ
写真：生熊友博

What kind of image do you have of BURNOUT SYNDROMES? I'm sure the main things you'll hear are: "They've sung a lot of anime theme songs, and they're not only good at incorporating the world of anime into their music, but they also reflect the band's color and character. I guess another main thing that people talk about is "the members are very friendly". Yes, they are.
However, if you ask me if this is all, I just can't nod my head. Their desire to stay close to the world of the anime which they work with and create music that makes the listener feel like they are the main character of the song is conveyed to us clearly, but here is the question - what kind of people transmit these thoughts? What kind of band is this? The full-length album "TOKYO," released in June 2021, made this clearest of all.

. In the album, the songs written by the vocal Kazuumi Kumagai are as strong as the big anime theme songs. Among the songs, "Rosario wo Hazushite" which combines a hard-boiled story with his life philosophy, "Jakyou, Haikinkyou" which cynically and frighteningly describes foolishness and ugliness from the perspective of "money," "Hikousen" and "Mohanshu," which is a song about a man's life and death in a shadowy way, are probably the music that tells the stories as Kazuumi Kumagai rather than as BURNOUT SYNDROMES. All songs have a dark image, but they also contain "light" elements such as a faint hope that can be found only through struggling, or lighthearted humor.
When his essential elements come to the center of a song, its persuasiveness becomes even stronger. The three members of the band, bassist Taiyu Ishikawa and drummer Takuya Hirose, amplify this strength, and although they have always said that the band is a division of labor and each member should be able to do his own thing. The main reason why the three of them have been able to run the band until now is because of the bond that they have nurtured since they were in the first year of junior high school and their deep respect for the music Kumagai writes.
Ishikawa and Hirose have trusted Kumagai's talent as a frontman, his unique worldview, and his songwriting more than anyone else since they were in the first year of junior high school. As the two have followed Kumagai's lead, they have honed not only their musical skills but also their stage production and video production skills, making BURNOUT SYNDROMES a place where each of their specialties can be utilized. Kumagai, who has been curiously incorporating various elements into his songs, sublimates his own heart into many of the songs in the album "TOKYO". The light in "TOKYO" resonates beautifully and softly with the passionate friendship that lies underneath naturally.

At the Tokyo concert of the nationwide solo tour 2022 "TOKYO" which was held at Zepp Haneda, I saw many scenes that explained this.
First of all, the concert was centered on music. The background music and sound effects before the start of the show, the opening performance, the setlist, and the connections between the songs seemed to deconstruct, reconstruct, and redevelop the world of "TOKYO". Since the event was held under the COVID pandemic and the audience was limited, they created their entertainment with the gimmick of the music. It was very stimulating and refreshing to see a different "TOKYO" from the "TOKYO" that we listeners had been aware of.
In the song "Jyakyou, Haikinkyo", Ishikawa and Hirose hit the floor toms and snares, and Kumagai, the vocalist, sang with conviction and thrust his blade into the audience's heart. Kumagai, who often stands on stage as the storyteller of the songs, reigns as the protagonist of the song. I feel the dynamism that I had never experienced with BURNOUT SYNDROMES before and it took my breath away.
Before performing "Mohanshu" which stands as the main song of the album, Kumagai said in the MC: "I've been unable to perform live for about two years. During this pandemic, I've come to understand how the members and the audience important are, and that's why I've finally realized that I need to say thank you properly, which I haven't said before. I wrote this song on a very lonely night when I couldn't sleep at all. The reason I can sleep these days is that I can say "thank you" and "I'm glad to be in a band with you guys" from the bottom of my heart without embarrassment. I think that this world depends on me.
There seemed to be a softness in his usual cool vibe. He has been presenting his ideal world to the outside world, but the way he gradually revealed his inner self was like the warmth of the morning sun shining through the dark night. The fact that "Mohansyu" was placed in the middle of the show and "Hikousen", which was said to be a set of one song with it when the album was first released, was placed at the end of the show was a sign of the band's progress.
Ishikawa communicated with the audience in real-time by the messenger app, which was projected on the projector, and the three of them talked with each other to get closer to the audience. After playing the last song of the encore, "Setsuna Hikouki", Hirose said with a smile, "My ear monitor just broke, but since we've been performing together for 16 years, we were able to match even though we couldn't hear anything. I can understand everything watching you two move." Everything that happened on stage that day would not have been possible without the relationship between the three of us. That's why the song "Setsuna Hikouki", which was performed by a three-piece band, sounded the strongest and brightest of the day.

Before "Setsuna Hikouki," Kumagai said, "No matter how dark it gets, I can come to you anytime if I have a passion. That's how I feel in this song. When I wrote this song, "TOKYO" was an unknown place for me.” The album “TOKYO," which was released after a long time since then, was created after facing the reality and the inside of his own heart. It became a work filled with reality. With this tour as a starting point, the three of them are now moving forward on a new journey. Since this tour, they will move on to a new journey, which will probably take them to a wider world.
It's very encouraging to see the three of them excitedly looking forward to the unseen territory. The reason why they can spin new stories with such positive feelings is that, in Ishikawa's words, "BURNOUT SYNDROMES includes you (the audience and listeners).
What kind of journey awaits them now that they have taken off from TOKYO, and what kind of journey they will make - I would like to watch over the direction of the airship of BURNOUT SYNDROMES.

Translated by JIN

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