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.
LIMBO
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shinobiyoru shoumatsu ni obienageku sei ka
Omae ga nagasu akai chi no imi wa
Ikiteiru akashi to tsumi to batsu no sei ka
Ai wo kawa zou tatoe jigoku demo honoo ni nurete sex for you
Omae ni fureru atsui chikyuu furuwasu
Yurirugi no nai shinjitsu yo mekurumeku ai yo
Chi wa tagiri niku odori kuruu tobichiru mitsu wa six or nine.
Me wo tojiteirya ii no sa kanjiteireba ii no sa
Ai wo kawa zou tatoe jigoku demo honoo ni nurete just one more kiss.�
Omae ga ireba ii no sa kurutchimaeba ii no sa
Omae ga ireba ii no sa kurutchimaeba ii no sa
Kurutchimaeba...
The lyrics of BUCK-TICK's song LIMBO explore themes of despair, fear, and desire in the face of impending doom. The first verse speaks of tears and their meaning, questioning whether they are a manifestation of fear and despair at the approaching end of the world. The second verse refers to blood, reflecting on the question of whether it serves as evidence of one's continued existence or punishment for past sins. The song then goes on to speak of the power of love and sex, which can still ignite even in the midst of chaos and destruction. The final lines emphasize the need to find release and embrace madness in the face of an inevitable end.
Line by Line Meaning
Omae ga nagasu namida sono wake [kanji: riyuu] wa
The reason for your tears that you shed
Shinobiyoru shoumatsu ni obienageku sei ka
Is it because you fear the approaching end?
Omae ga nagasu akai chi no imi wa
The significance of the red blood that you spill
Ikiteiru akashi to tsumi to batsu no sei ka
Is it proof that you're alive or the punishment of sin and guilt?
Ai wo kawa zou tatoe jigoku demo honoo ni nurete sex for you
Love will do even if it's in hell, wet with the flames, for sex with you
Kowarechimaeba ii no sa tokihanateba ii no sa
It's okay to break down, it's okay to let it all out
Omae ni fureru atsui chikyuu furuwasu
When I touch you, the hot earth trembles
Yurirugi no nai shinjitsu yo mekurumeku ai yo
It's the genuine reality, the dazzling love without hesitation
Chi wa tagiri niku odori kuruu tobichiru mitsu wa six or nine.
Blood swirls, flesh dances, and the dripping honey is six or nine
Me wo tojiteirya ii no sa kanjiteireba ii no sa
It's okay to close your eyes, it's okay to feel it
Ai wo kawa zou tatoe jigoku demo honoo ni nurete just one more kiss.�
Love will do even if it's in hell, wet with the flames, just one more kiss
Omae ga ireba ii no sa kurutchimaeba ii no sa
It's okay if you're here, it's okay if it's twisted
Omae ga ireba ii no sa kurutchimaeba ii no sa
It's okay if you're here, it's okay if it's twisted
Kurutchimaeba...
If it's twisted...
Contributed by Bentley V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.