BUCK-TICK is a Japanese rock band, originally formed by Imai Hisashi in 198… Read Full Bio ↴BUCK-TICK is a Japanese rock band, originally formed by Imai Hisashi in 1983 in Gunma, Japan, with its current line-up lasting since 1985. They are commonly credited as one of the founders of the visual kei movement. As of yet, they have released twenty-three original studio albums and one of self-covers, nearly all reaching the top ten on the charts. Their most recent album, "異空 -IZORA-", was released on 12th April 2023.

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.

Gessekai
BUCK-TICK Lyrics

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赤黄色向日葵橙群青紫陽花
赤黄色向日葵橙群青紫陽花

波に漂う月の光昏睡の中月の光
游ぐ独り暗い海を
波に漂う月の光昏睡の中月の光
走る独り暗い空を
あなたに逢えるなら

赤黄色向日葵橙群青紫陽花
赤黄色向日葵橙群青紫陽花

游ぐ独り深い闇を
あなたに逢えるまで
赤黄色向日葵橙群青紫陽花
波に漂う (赤黄色向日葵)
月の光 (橙群青紫陽花)
昏睡の中 (赤黄色向日葵)
月の光 (橙群青紫陽花)
波に漂う (赤黄色向日葵)
月の光 (橙群青紫陽花)
昏睡の中 (赤黄色向日葵)

月の光 (橙群青紫陽花)
波に漂う

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of BUCK-TICK's song "Gessekai" paint a picture of a solitary figure adrift in the sea, with the moonlight and waves as their only companions. The repetition of colors, such as red, yellow, orange, indigo, purple, and sunflowers and hydrangeas, suggests an emphasis on nature and a vivid visual imagery. The singer of the song yearns to meet someone - perhaps a lover or a friend - and the repetition of the line "if I could meet you" highlights their desperate longing. The chorus is hauntingly beautiful, with its use of the evocative Japanese phrase "gessekai," which means a world of moonlight.

One interpretation of the song could be that it is about loneliness and the search for connection. The sea and sky symbolize vastness, and the singer's isolation within that vastness highlights the feelings of loneliness that they experience. The moonlight could represent hope, as well as a source of comfort and illumination in the darkness. The repeated references to colors could also suggest that the singer is searching for beauty and meaning in a world that might appear monochromatic without the presence of another person.

Line by Line Meaning

赤黄色向日葵橙群青紫陽花
Listing colors of flowers

波に漂う月の光昏睡の中月の光
Moonlight drifting on the waves, in a state of sleep, and alone in the dark sea or sky

游ぐ独り暗い海を
Swimming alone in the dark sea

走る独り暗い空を
Running alone in the dark sky

あなたに逢えるなら
If I could meet you

游ぐ独り深い闇を
Swimming alone in the deep darkness

あなたに逢えるまで
Until I can meet you

波に漂う (赤黄色向日葵)
Drifting on the waves (colors of flowers)

月の光 (橙群青紫陽花)
Moonlight (colors of flowers)

昏睡の中 (赤黄色向日葵)
In a state of sleep (colors of flowers)

月の光 (橙群青紫陽花)
Moonlight (colors of flowers)