Buck-Tick Zone

Original Titles in Japanese

Juusankai Wa Gekkou

Kourin

Doukeshi A

Ijin No Yoru

Gesshoku

13 Byou

Muma

Titles Translated

Juusankai Wa Gekkou - "The 13th Floor is Moonlight" (It should be noted that Buck-Tick later translated it slightly different as the tour was entitled in English "13th Floor with Moonshine". I must point out that I cannot think of any example where one would ever translate "Wa" as "with". If there is, please enlighten me.)

Kourin - "The Descent" as in the arrival of someone important, such as the advent/epiphany of Christ

Doukeshi A - "Clown A". In the song, Atsushi sings the "doukeshi" characters as "piero" (pierrot) so the title may actually be "Pierrot A". Doukeshi is an old way to say clown or fool. It is attributed to the European figure Pulcinella or Punchinello. The modern way to say clown in Japanese is "piero" (pierrot), but in Europe this is a very specific character whereas in Japan it is a little more loose, sort of like any painted face clown. To tie in with the themes of the album this song is on, it should also be noted that there is the song cycle "Pierrot Lunaire" (Moonstruck Pierrot) by Arnold Schoenberg which is based on the poetry of Albert Giraud. In this, Pierrot is both hero and fool who performs high art as well as cabaret. (See how this incorporates the themes of the album the track is from?)

Ijin No Yoru - "Night of the Foreigner"

Gesshoku - "Lunar Eclipse"

13byou - "13 seconds" (13 is "juusan")

Muma - The Nightmare - "Incubus - The Nightmare". I have issues with translating "muma". Literally the characters are "dream demon" but it means "nightmare". Another word (akumu) is more commonly used to mean nightmare in Japanese so I lean towards translating as something else, to also give more meaning to the title rather than writing it as "Nightmare - The Nightmare". The dictionary often prefers the Incubus/Succubus variety of demon, though I dislike the sexual connotation because I'd rather have it more generic. The character for demon can be translated as evil spirit or even devil. I'm always hesitant to pick words that have other connotations in the Western (i.e., Christian) world since Japan is culturally separate. Since Buck-Tick is a 'sexy' band and Atsushi's lyrics are chock full of sex, I would lean towards saying that muma means "Incubus" since it's a male demon that sleeps with women in their sleep. Also, various names of demons were chosen for the same album, such as the closely spelled Incubo (Latin for "I lie on top"), so perhaps after lengthy contemplation another demon name more suitable could be picked for my desire to have a more generic dream demon but I really couldn't be bothered.

Notes

Ranked #4 on the album chart. 40,000 copies sold.

The single released from this album was "Romance".

This is Buck-Tick's first true concept album and it is centered around one word: gothic. Hisashi came up with the idea during the tour for the previous album. It became solidified once he saw Atsushi's solo performance. It may be surprising that Buck-Tick never outright fixated upon the theme of gothic before as their influences, visuals, and music itself all touch upon gothic sensibility. As such, the band found it perhaps a surprisingly easy task to execute. The songs themselves, both the lyrics and music, touch upon other keywords such as clown, cabaret, and night. The album is divided into sections with instrumental tracks as markers.

There are 18 songs, the most Buck-Tick has ever released on a single studio album. (Though one might argue instrumentals act more as filler, or chapter dividers so they do not count as songs, per se.)

This is the second album to have artwork featuring a clown, but the first studio album to have a clown.

"13byou" is the shortest "song" Buck-Tick has ever released on a studio album that was included in the tracklisting. Darker Than Darkness had a shorter one but it was a hidden bonus track in the original release that is not available in the remasters.

After working with Atsushi's solo project and Hisashi's side project Lucy the previous year, record label director/producer Junichi Tanaka began working with Buck-Tick again. He directed Atsushi's vocals for this album. He worked with the band from their major label debut on Victor/Invitation in 1987 until they left their last album with the label in 1996.

In the lyrics for "Doukeshi A", Atsushi sings "piero" (pierrot) during the characters for "doukeshi" so it may be that the title is actually "Pierrot A". Both words mean clown but doukeshi is an old way to say clown or fool. It is attributed to the European figure Pulcinella or Punchinello. The modern way to say clown in Japanese is "piero" (pierrot), but in Europe this is a very specific character whereas in Japan it is a little more loose, sort of like any painted face clown. To tie in with the themes of the album this song is on, it should also be noted that there is the song cycle "Pierrot Lunaire" (Moonstruck Pierrot) by Arnold Schoenberg which is based on the poetry of Albert Giraud. In this, Pierrot is both hero and fool who performs high art as well as cabaret.

In the song "Goblin", Atsushi pronounces "Japanese sake" as a foreigner would. Instead of the correct "sah-que", he sings "sah-key". This in my opinion is one of the rare times Atsushi sings like a foreigner might. It is common in Japanese rock music for singers to over pronounce words in a nasally fashion that is in line with the Japanese stereotype of how foreigners pronounce Japanese words.

The kanji for "Gesshoku" employs the older version of the kanji "to eat." Not that I think they are directly related, but I must note that this same kanji is the same as the 1956 film Gesshoku that was written by Shintaro Ishihara and stars his brother Yujiro Ishihara. Multiple people in a love affair but the lyrics for the B-T song feels more dark and gothy with the mention of non-human blood so perhaps there is a creature controlled by the moon, such as a werewolf or a vampire active during a gesshoku (lunar eclipse). In some mythologies, during a full moon a werewolf will be at the height of their powers, however during a lunar eclipse they lose all of their powers.

This is the 3rd Buck-Tick album to end with an instrumental. (Third in a row.)

This is the 3rd album Buck-Tick recorded at Studio Sound Dali and the fourth album recorded at Aobadai Studio. This is the first time they recorded an album at Victor Studio since Cosmos, their last album on the Victor/Invitation label. This is the first time that they recorded an album at Prime Sound Studio Form.

This is the 3rd album that Katsushige Okazaki helped with an album--here credited as drum direction. He is also the drummer of Lucy, Hisashi's side project formed in 2004.

This is the 10th album to be engineered by Hitoshi Hiruma.

This is the 7th album to be engineered by Kenichi Arai.

This is the 2nd album to be engineered by Koni-Yang.

There was a contest to send in proofs of purchase for the album and "Romance" single where winners would receive Buck-Tick original goods. Contest ended May 2005.

Non-Japanese/English words in song titles: "incubo" which means "nightmare" in Italian and is also the Latin root for Incubus, (it means "I lie on top"); "diabolo" which was probably meant to be "diablo" meaning "devil" in Spanish or "diavolo" in Italian. As a side note, diabolos are a juggling prop and sometimes when you think of juggling you think of clowns and well, clowns are a theme of the album.

Booklet Images

group

Atsushi

Hisashi

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U-ta

Toll

Music Video Stills

Romance, directed by Hirotaka Takada