My ears perk up any time I hear that Miyavi will be collaborating with another artist. In this case, he’s met his perfect match. The Rampage (more about them here!) are very familiar with rock sounds, crafting many standouts from bombastic guitar riffs and swaggering vocals. Combine their talents with Miyavi’s incredible playing and hook-writing, and you’ve got the ingredients for a Bias List fever dream.

The sad truth is that fever dreams are rarely as amazing as a fan’s imagination can conjure. The first time I heard Round Up I’ll admit I was a tiny bit disappointed. Basically, I wasn’t sold on the slowed down verses. I wanted an all-out banger from start to finish. Further listens have trained my ears to focus on what the song is actually delivering rather than what I hoped it would deliver. And with that frame of mind, Round Up is another triumph for The Rampage.

The song blends so many of the group’s strengths into one. We’ve got the aggressive guitar crunch of the chorus, the swaggering hip-hop of the pre-chorus and the softer, vocal-led moments during the verses. Round Up’s hook sneers with a downright lethal force, capitalizing on The Rampage’s natural charisma. And of course, Miyavi gets a chance to shred the guitar during the fiery bridge. At its best, the track is a ferocious beast, firing on all cylinders. With any luck, this will be the start of a long-lasting team-up between these two J-pop titans.

Grade: B+