Mike Shinoda is at it yet again: the fifth episode of his "Already Over" sessions is now available on YouTube. In this episode, which depicts a session dated early December 2023, Shinoda is shown visiting Tokyo to meet with his merry band of chosen Japanese musicians at Avaco Studio Recording 301. Shinoda's hand-picked performers for this session are no joke, with most of them having cut their teeth playing in bands over the years, in addition to being strong enough at their craft to gain Internet followings as instrumentalists and content creators on their own. On lead guitar is Kazuki (かずき), also known as NagomiBright. Kazuki's YouTube channel features a myriad of guitar covers, tutorials and effects gear reviews and has over 337,000 subscribers. On bass is MINA, previously a member of the now-defunct Japanese pop-rock act GIRLFRIEND. MINA posts bass guitar covers, tutorials and tips on her YouTube channel, where she is also shown to be proficient with a number of other instruments. She also posts short-form content on TikTok which has earned her 1.6 million followers there. On piano is Yomii (よみぃ), who runs a piano-centered YouTube channel with over 2 million subscribers. Yomii began earning accolades in music at a young age: at 15, he composed a piece which won first prize in an official music contest for the Bandai Namco rhythm game "Taiko no Tatsujin". His achievements since then include becoming an ambassador, instructor and advisor for Yamaha's AI Music Ensemble system. His most recent video documents some entertaining shenanigans from the "Already Over" session in Tokyo ... On the drums is Maiki (マイキ), AKA Maiki P, an artist and songwriter who formerly played drums as part of a Japanese pop duo LatuLatu (ラトゥラトゥ) and the rock outfit Yullie-Echo (ユーリーエコー). In addition to drumming, Maiki provides songwriting and production contributions to other Japanese artists, and some of the work he has been involved in appears on his YouTube channel, which boasts almost 900,000 subscribers. Providing musical direction and perhaps helping Shinoda to oversee the whole affair is Minoru Yokoo, a veteran recording engineer and coordinator who has filled a wide range of management and technical roles for rock bands and orchestral acts around the world since the early 90s. Shinoda himself actually fills the rhythm guitar role this time, marking the first time he has played a guitar for any of these performances. The band leaps headfirst into the titular song with a double-length full-band intro. The audio mix prominently highlights MINA's slap bass coupled with Maiki's double-kick drumming. Kazuki slips in lead guitar melodies throughout the arrangement, starting with the short re-intro section after the first chorus. Meanwhile, Yomii, sitting at a Steinway grand and wearing his signature shades, plays an arpeggio part throughout the second verse. Later in the song, he launches into a virtuosic piano solo to kick off the bridge, before giving way for a flashy guitar solo from Kazuki over a rockabilly rhythm switch-up from Maiki. To follow up this intense performance of "Already Over", the group challenges itself further with a dynamic rock band arrangement of the Fort Minor classic "Remember The Name". Guitarist Kazuki and pianist Yomii deftly trade off playing the song's iconic cello hook. Shinoda raps his two eight-bar verses from the song back-to-back; the band picks up the intensity for the second verse, before building into a heavy double-chorus to close out with. At that point, even Shinoda himself appears shocked at what they've managed to do. If things go as they previously have, this live recording of "Already Over" will be available for streaming and download on digital music platforms at the end of this week. What did you think of this "Already Over" session? Let us know!