This interview was originally published in Japanese on barks.jp. Translated by VK Chronicle.

Interview: Metronome Release Anniversary Album “無限×変転=1.44”

This year, 2026, marks the 10th anniversary of Metronome’s restart. Their full album 無限×変転=1.44 (Infinity × Transformation = 1.44), which celebrates this milestone, was released on September 16th.

◆Behind-the-Scenes Photography

The album is a remarkably appealing work, packed with compositions that harness a narrative-driven structure despite its compact nature, catchy melodies, lyrics that reflect each member’s individuality, and high-quality musicianship. Here, we feel Metronome has achieved further refinement. We had all the members speak extensively about 無限×変転=1.44.

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Q: When making 無限×変転=1.44, did you have any particular theme or concept in mind?

Fukusuke (TALBO-1): We discussed making it something of a revival from the start. I suggested going with songs that would recall how we felt back over ten years ago—music with a youthful energy to it—but otherwise I left it to each member’s judgment.

Q: It’s a concept fitting for an anniversary, but what strikes me about 無限×変転=1.44 is how it inherits Metronome’s identity while displaying new appeal. The variety in song styles seems to be a distinctive feature of this work—was that intentional?

Fukusuke: When everyone brought their songs to the selection meeting, we realized there were some gaps to fill. So we added necessary pieces later, swapped out some of what we’d originally chosen—that sort of selection process happened.

▲Fukusuke

Q: That approach clearly paid off, resulting in a very well-balanced album. With so many quality songs, could each of you mention a track that left a particularly strong impression?

Fukusuke: For me, it’s “上を向いて歩いていこう” (Let’s Keep Our Eyes on Tomorrow). For this song, we had professional shamisen player Hideki Onoe participate. We also had Ako Tomine sing “Kagome Kagome”—she’s an old acquaintance I happened to run into at Yokohama Station about twenty years after we’d last seen each other.

Q: There’s real depth to those connections. As you mentioned, “上を向いて歩いていこう” uses the children’s song “Kagome Kagome,” yet it’s fundamentally a powerful, fast-paced number that shifts into dark, heavy territory in the C-melody, with a catchy and refreshing chorus. It’s quite multifaceted.

Fukusuke: “Kagome Kagome” has been used in various songs over the years, so I was conscious about not using it in an obvious way. Also, in this song, everything except the chorus is hard—the guitar is really distorted, right? During production, when the King Records producer heard it, they said, “I think of a Metal Zone.” The moment they said that, I bought a Metal Zone on Amazon (laughs). So this song was recorded using the Metal Zone.

Q: You used the actual effect unit rather than a simulator. The lyrics to “上を向いて歩いていこう” are very positive—”life is full of suffering, anguish, and conflict, but let’s walk forward believing in the future.”

Fukusuke: Thinking about both the 10th anniversary of our restart and our 10th anniversary as a major label band, I thought it would be interesting if the three of us took turns singing. And to express that “we’re making this song together as one,” I made the lyrics positive. There’s a moment where Shiraku goes “Ha!” around the middle of the song—I wanted that to convey a turning toward something more optimistic.

Riu (TALBO-2): For “上を向いて歩いていこう,” I recorded the bass around the time I got the demo, but when I heard the mix after it was arranged, the impression completely changed. “Kagome Kagome” wasn’t even in it originally, and there wasn’t that underground feel at first—but it really came forward and surprised me. That’s what made this track memorable for me, and I think it turned out really well.

Q: And throughout the album, you often play more active bass lines in the final chorus, which really amplifies the song’s climax.

Riu: Part of that comes from Fukusuke’s bass in the demo, but yeah, I definitely took that approach more often this time. Lately, I’m not a fan of that “copy-paste” feeling. So I try to adjust the arrangement little by little throughout the song to avoid it. I want to show that humans are playing. I feel like the energy when a song finishes is different because of that, so I hope it comes across.

Shiraku (VOICECODER): For “上を向いて歩いていこう,” the part that goes “♪ wa-tchuane-me” is, in my opinion, my “best voice moment” (laughs). Overall, I prioritized momentum—a raw kind of delivery—and the recording went pretty smoothly.

▲Shiraku

Q: The A and B sections have rhythm, but the C-section’s incantation-like singing creates such an exquisite tonal shift.

Shiraku: The composer gave me directions like “sing it this way here,” and I usually adapt it to my style. But I don’t think I was asked to go that heavy with it. So I interpreted it my own way.

Q: It’s great how despite everyone composing, each song showcases all three members’ personalities. So, moving on to a track that left a strong impression on you, Riu?

Riu: “PΛRΛDOXIΛ” for me. Some songs on this album were released on streaming first, and “PΛRΛDOXIΛ” is the newest in terms of when it was written. I think this is the first song with this kind of arrangement that Metronome’s ever done. We managed to land it in exactly the right place, and it kills live too—I’m really glad we made it.

Q: “PΛRΛDOXIΛ” is striking in how it contrasts digital hardness in the intro and verses with a brilliant, danceable chorus.

Riu: When that proper melodic line suddenly appears in the chorus, I was careful about making sure it didn’t feel tacked on. Also, when expressing this chorus with us now, I wanted to make sure it didn’t come across as too light. I wanted listeners to feel some kind of message—something with that veteran quality to it. Pop can sometimes sound cheap, and I absolutely wanted to avoid that.

▲Riu

Q: I understand completely. Metronome isn’t pop—you’re catchy. The lyrics of “PΛRΛDOXIΛ” go, “The more I create you / the more I approach humanity.” Could you tell us about those lyrics?

Riu: This is pretty common now, but I’ve always loved AI, 3D models, and metaverse worlds, and I’ve been touching on them pretty early on. I’ve made simple games too. The more I did those things, the more I had this sense of creating humans. Like, “this is human,” or “the game world is just a heavily stylized version of reality,” or while training AI I’d think, “Wait…?” So “PΛRΛDOXIΛ” has those feelings woven into the lyrics.

Q: I see. Personally, I interpreted it as: through idealizing someone you once had feelings for in your own mind, you came to understand the subtleties of human emotion and deeper feelings.

Riu: That actually sounds cooler (laughs). As for me, I think it’s fine if listeners have their own interpretations and layer their own thoughts onto the lyrics.

Fukusuke: About the guitar on “PΛRΛDOXIΛ,” I’ve always thought—even on songs that would normally suit a 7-string guitar—I can make it work with a 6-string by finding tones that don’t simply sound like machine downtuning. Other bands do it too, and there are plenty of moments where guitarists lower the key. I tried various things and eventually found that this particular gear was best, so I used it for “PΛRΛDOXIΛ.”

Q: It really drives home how strong your approach to sound design is. And points like the whammy effects on “PΛRΛDOXIΛ” show that this album’s guitar work doesn’t just play chords and riffs—there are lots of sounds and approaches that deepen the world-building.

Fukusuke: Since I’m not the technical type, basically I want to grab ears with sound. So I’m always searching for sounds that feel strange. Like, “if you play it this way, you get an odd sound.” I wanted to bring that energy to this album too, so it might appear in various places.

Shiraku: “PΛRΛDOXIΛ” has a pretty big difference between my lowest and highest notes, so I remember struggling with it quite a bit. It was pretty tough.

Q: The vocal delivery in the chorus—there’s real seductiveness to it—is genuinely captivating.

Shiraku: I’m not sure (laughs). I always try to copy the vocal in the demo. I figure that’s probably the right answer, you know? The demo is what I hear first, so the world is already built there, and I just try to match it.

Q: Do Fukusuke and Riu’s demos have the melody sung in real vocals rather than programmed?

Riu: Yeah. Shiraku’s mentioned in interviews before about matching the demo vocal, so I’ve started including one. Though the temp vocal recording takes forever (laughs).

Shiraku: Ha ha (laughs). I’m always grateful for these two’s hard work—it makes it so much easier for me to visualize things.

Q: It’s definitely a strength of Metronome that everyone can sing. So what’s a track that left a strong impression on you, Shiraku?

Shiraku: The advance single, “すべてがEになる” (Everything Becomes E)—it wasn’t originally written for the album. It was made before the discussion about going for a rock sound reflective of the early days, but there’s actually some connection there. When I was writing this one, I thought, “Wait, I haven’t done any new wave stuff with Metronome at all. What have I been doing?!” So I decided to really do it, and that’s how “すべてがEになる” came to be.

Q: It’s got techno vibes and a funky A-section, then jazzy transitions, a dreamy interlude—it’s packed with “wow” moments.

Shiraku: The interlude, I was imagining the Twelve Girls Band (laughs). I’m a huge fan of theirs, and this song uses a lot of Chinese instruments.

Q: There’s something nice about pairing such a somewhat-esoteric song with lyrics like “Don’t think too hard about the details. Just relax.”

Shiraku: I always want the lyrics to feel like they don’t have a message—so they don’t get heavy. The real thing I want to say is probably just one line somewhere. I always write like that, and this was no different. I also threw in a lot of rhyming—not exactly puns, but rhyme schemes.

Fukusuke: With the guitar on “すべてがEになる,” from the intro through after the A-section I’m playing single-note phrases, and I deliberately roughed it up a bit to bring out that new wave feel from the start. But when we actually recorded it, I ended up playing it cleanly to feel good. Even when you try to be intentionally rough on a CD, it’s surprisingly hard. It just ends up sounding like a mistake. So if you hear this song live, the new wave feel really comes through more. It’s not a highlight on the CD, but I’m telling you now (laughs).

Riu: This song’s bass sound changed drastically from the advance release. I wanted the whole album to have that grittier tone, so I changed the bass sound on all the streaming songs I mixed. The album version has that heavy distortion, while the streaming release is natural and funky, so people can enjoy the difference.

Q: The bass on “すべてがEになる” is fundamentally gritty, but the chorus has real bounce, and the interlude shows supple playing.

Riu: The original demo had things like staccato parts, and even playing them cleanly, those nuances come through naturally when you distort them. I think that’s part of it.

Q: Beyond the catchiness of the songs themselves, the depth in the playing is also a major appeal of Metronome. The tracks you all mentioned are wonderful, and among others, “ΣVΣRYTHING=LIFΣ” uses its brilliant digital aesthetic as a great accent for the album.

Riu: We agonized over the structure of that song right up to the end. The intro with that slightly game-music vibe—that’s because I used to write songs like that. The King Records director requested it, and I thought, “If I were doing this now, how would I approach it?”

Q: It definitely has fresh appeal. Lyrically it has that “this world is like a dream” quality, doesn’t it?

Riu: I aimed for lyrics that sound pop on the surface but are actually kind of philosophical and deep. I also really cared about the title “ΣVΣRYTHING=LIFΣ.” To express the song’s world-building, I replaced “E” with “Σ” so it’s readable but isn’t quite correct English. It’s more like a “post-human” image. Language is symbols, after all.

Q: So Riu, you’re really into cyberpunk more than I realized.

Riu: Yeah. I’ve always loved sci-fi since I was a kid, and I went to engineering school too. As a musician I’m drawn to funk, punk, and rock, but I think my raw personal interests are naturally coming out now.

Q: That’s fascinating. And Shiraku’s vocals on “ΣVΣRYTHING=LIFΣ” have this cool, handsome quality that’s truly captivating.

Shiraku: Thank you. This kind of singing, I wouldn’t do in my own songs, you know? If a style suits a song, I think it’s okay if I’m not the one writing it, so I save it for other people’s tracks. For this one, I recorded two versions—one with the understanding that the voice would be processed, and one with vibrato—and had them choose. In the end, they went with the more natural version.

Q: I’d love to hear more of this kind of vocal work. Next, “ケノヒビ” (Some Days) really showcases Metronome’s compositional skill, with that contrast between frantic energy and ennui.

Shiraku: It wasn’t in the initial track list when all the songs came in. But once we could see the bigger picture of the album, we felt we needed one more song that fit the direction we were heading, so we just went for it with a kind of momentum.

Q: Even with that momentum, it’s clear the song couldn’t be straightforward—it naturally became something unconventional.

Shiraku: Yeah (laughs). I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, but I just end up wanting more, you know? It’s not like “I have to change the arrangement”—I just want to.

Q: The fact that those bold transitions don’t feel jarring is a big part of why that works. “ケノヒビ” lyrically explores bewilderment and frustration with the repetitiveness of daily life.

Shiraku: I’m singing about not knowing what “special” really is for me—wondering when it’ll come. I absolutely hate boredom. Routine in my daily life is fine, but if I ever start feeling bored about bigger things like my whole life, I get scared that I’ll just give up. So I’m constantly thinking, “Oh no! Boredom! I’m bored! This is dangerous!” (laughs).

Q: That’s definitely driving your willingness to take risks. And closing the album with “そんじゃ、また。” (See You), which has that comforting sense of elevation, is a brilliant structural choice.

Fukusuke: Thank you. When I was writing it, I wasn’t really thinking of it as the album closer. I don’t write mid-tempo songs like this very often in Metronome, so I wanted to specifically try making one. The title sounds like a proper ending, but in the lyrics the last line is “Don’t have expectations of me,” right? That just gave me a kind of goodbye feeling, so I went with it (laughs).

Q: Farewells usually carry sadness, but this one feels bright and clean.

Fukusuke: Even though I wrote it, I really like how it ends. I think only Metronome could end an album with the line “Don’t have expectations of me.”

**Q: Ha—maybe you’re right (laughs). Even with that

Read the original Japanese interview on barks.jp