The band members are 櫻井敦司 (Sakurai Atsushi) (vocals), 今井寿 (Imai Hisashi) (guitars, noises, electronics, vocals), 星野英彦 (Hoshino Hidehiko) (guitars, chorus), 桶口豊 (Higuchi Yutaka) (bass) and ヤガミ・トール (Yagami Toll) (drums).
BUCK-TICK's music has changed and evolved hugely over the course of their career. Their early work is what the Japanese call "positive punk". It used simple rhythms and chords, with the songs mostly in major keys and using some English words in the lyrics. Starting with 1989's TABOO, they experimented with a darker sound, which grew more mature with 狂った太陽 in 1991. darker than darkness style 93 delved into a harsher industrial rock sound which continued all the way up through Mona Lisa OVERDRIVE in 2003. With 2005's 十三階は月光, they deliberately adopted a "goth" concept, which they combined with a retro straight rock sound for the albums 天使のリボルバー (2007) and Memento Mori (2009). Their next album, 2010's RAZZLE DAZZLE, then incorporated many instances of dance-rock.
Some elements that persist throughout their music are resounding, jangling guitar chords, throbbing, prominent bass lines, harsh roars of electronically distorted noise, and ambivalent melodies that wander between major and minor keys, as well as Sakurai's distinctive rich baritone voice. Jrockrevolution described the band's style as having gone "from the bubbly sounds of pop to the buzz of electronic cyberpunk to lustful velvety goth to the smooth style of hard rock and back again". Sakurai, who is the main lyricist of the band, is famous for the erotic decadence of his lyrics, but he also often addresses existential psychological themes. His lyrics is also described as "dance in a daydream about reality". Imai, the main composer, has written many songs that read like science fiction stories, involving genetic engineering and computer hackers, but more recently has branched out into love songs.
As Josephine Yun describes them, in 'A Concise Report on 40 of the Biggest Rock Acts in Japan', "BUCK-TICK's music is smashed-together nuances of everything from Depeche Mode and New Order to U2 and The Knack. While wry, it can float and be nebulously melodic. [...] Masked in eye makeup, Atsushi looks and sounds possessed. BUCK-TICK was (and continues to be) and anomaly in the Japanese music scene, a tangle of goth rock diluted with synth and electronica. It's unhappy, dirty music, the musical equivalent of exploded soot and smoke."
BUCK-TICK and their members have performed with, for example, KMFDM, Soft Ballet, Luna Sea, Sheena Ringo, and The Yellow Monkey. The band members have also participated in different side-projects, such as Schaft, Schwein (Sakurai and Imai with Raymond Watts (PIG) and Sascha Konietzko (KMFDM)), and The Mortal.
FLAME
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ano hikoi o shita wasure kaketa hana ga saku
Aro hikoi o shitta honou mitaina
Ano hikoi o shitta mune no botan hazushite wa
Anata no yokogao nusumi miteita
Ima wa waratte kono mune ni moeru honou wa yagate wa kieru keredo...
Ano hikoi ga shinda kiete shimoe nanimo kamo
Anata no yokogao mienakunaru
Zuttoitene kokoro no naka
Ima wa nemutte kono mune ni moeru honou wa yagate wa kieru
Utsukushii ore no tenshi FLAME
Gin iro no sora shita dakiau koibito tachi
Hohoende sora ni mau futari odori nagara
Zuttoitene watashi no naka
Ima wa nemutte kono mune ni moeru honou wa yagate wa kieru
Utsukushii ore no tenshi FLAME
Gin iro no sora shita dakiau koibito tachi
Hohoende sora ni mau futari odori nagara
Yurete iru kage hitotsu dakiau koibito tachi
Hohoende sora ni mau futari odori nagara
Hana ga saki midareru you ni hana ga shindeiku you ni
Kimi ga saki midareru you ni ore wa ikite ikeba ii
Hana ga saki midareru you ni hana ga shindeiku you ni
Ore ga saki midareru you ni kimi wa ikite ikeba ii
The lyrics to BUCK-TICK's song FLAME seem to revolve around a lost love and the memories that are slowly fading away. The first verse talks about a forgotten flower that blooms with the appearance of a flame. It's unclear whether the flower itself is a metaphor for the lost love, or whether it represents a memory of the person. The lyrics then go on to describe how the singer removed the button on their chest to see a stolen glimpse of their lover's face. However, despite these powerful memories, the singer acknowledges that the flame burning within them will soon burn out.
The chorus keeps repeating "Zuttoitene watashi no naka Ima wa waratte kono mune ni moeru honou wa yagate wa kieru keredo..." which roughly translates to "Stay here in my heart, now the laughing flame that burns within me will soon disappear". The chorus supports the theme of reminiscing about a past love and the knowledge that those memories can only burn so long before they fade away.
The second half of the song seems to focus on the beauty of love and the nature that surrounds it. The lyrics describe two lovers embracing one another beneath a silver sky, dancing together amidst the shadows. The final lines of the song repeat the theme of impermanence in relationships by saying, "Hana ga saki midareru you ni hana ga shindeiku you ni kimi ga saki midareru you ni ore wa ikite ikeba ii", which roughly translates to "Like a flower that blooms and withers, like you who bloom and wither, I should be allowed to live like that too." Overall, it is a song that speaks to the bittersweet experience of losing a loved one and the fleeting nature of memories.
Line by Line Meaning
Ano hikoi o shita wasure kaketa hana ga saku
Forgot the past when those flowers bloomed on the path I walked on
Aro hikoi o shitta honou mitaina
I have walked another path, just like walking through flames
Ano hikoi o shitta mune no botan hazushite wa
When I press the button of my chest that holds memories of that path
Anata no yokogao nusumi miteita
I stole a glance of your profile
Zuttoitene watashi no naka
Stay inside me forever
Ima wa waratte kono mune ni moeru honou wa yagate wa kieru keredo...
The flame burning in my heart that makes me laugh will eventually extinguish
Ano hikoi ga shinda kiete shimoe nanimo kamo
The path disappeared and everything along with it vanished
Anata no yokogao mienakunaru
I can no longer see your profile
Zuttoitene kokoro no naka
Stay inside my heart forever
Utsukushii ore no tenshi FLAME
My beautiful angel, FLAME
Gin iro no sora shita dakiau koibito tachi
Lovers embrace under the silver sky
Hohoende sora ni mau futari odori nagara
They smile and dance together under the sky
Yurete iru kage hitotsu dakiau koibito tachi
The lovers embrace each other with the shadow swaying
Hana ga saki midareru you ni hana ga shindeiku you ni
Flowers bloom and then wither as they please
Kimi ga saki midareru you ni ore wa ikite ikeba ii
As you bloom, I should live my life to the fullest
Hana ga saki midareru you ni hana ga shindeiku you ni
Flowers bloom and then wither as they please
Ore ga saki midareru you ni kimi wa ikite ikeba ii
As I bloom, you should live your life to the fullest
Contributed by Jack L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.