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.
MACHINE
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
どこへ向かう満たされちゃいない
何が見えた光と闇の群れ君は
泣くのをやめ機械(MACHINE)に
溶け込んだ oh-oh-oh
ギリギリまで
皮膚がちぎれるまで走る
息を止めてこの世を呑み込む
ビルディング見つめ
正気のままここで夢見るの?
TVモニターが(Who are you?)
サヨナラを告げている
飛び込んで行く光速に
まぶし過ぎる星になるまで
信じるものは神じゃない
沸きあがる血の匂いだけ
ギリギリまで
皮膚がちぎれるまで走る
息を止めてこの世を呑み込む
バカゲテイル奴らちぎれるまで走る
正気のままここで夢見るの?
TVモニターが(Who are you?)
サヨナラを告げている
スピードが全て(Who are you?)
恐怖だけ感じている
飛び込んで行く光速に
まぶし過ぎる星になるまで
信じるものは神じゃない
沸きあがる血の匂いだけ
飛び出して行く光速に
冷た過ぎる風になるまで
信じるものは夢じゃない
走り出すこの俺だけさ
The song "Machine" by BUCK-TICK follows the story of a man who leaves his TV late at night in search of something he cannot seem to find. He is running desperately, until his skin tears and his breath stops, looking at the buildings' electric lights and glass rain. He wonders whether he is still in his right mind, or if he has started dreaming. As he runs, he sees only stars and feels the smell of blood, a feeling that becomes more and more intense as he moves forward. He jumps into the speeding light and continues until he becomes a star himself.
The lyrics seem to describe a feeling of dissatisfaction with the world, the longing for something more. The man runs until his skin tears, suggesting a sort of self-destruction in his quest. The idea that the only thing worth believing in is the smell of blood, perhaps signifies the realization that human passions are the only true things in life. The line "the only thing I believe in is not god" suggests a departure from traditional beliefs, embracing a different kind of faith that relies not on a higher power but on oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
真夜中過ぎTVを飛び出した俺は
I left the TV behind in the middle of the night, and now I’m wandering, not sure where I’m headed or what I’m looking for.
どこへ向かう満たされちゃいない
I’m unsatisfied and searching, without a clear destination in mind.
何が見えた光と闇の群れ君は
Did you see that crowd of light and darkness, too?
泣くのをやめ機械(MACHINE)に溶け込んだ oh-oh-oh
You stopped crying and melted into the machine, oh-oh-oh.
ギリギリまで皮膚がちぎれるまで走る
I’ll run until my skin tears, until the very last moment.
息を止めてこの世を呑み込む
I’ll hold my breath and swallow this world whole.
ガラスの雨電飾のビルディング見つめ
Staring at the glass rain and decorated buildings.
正気のままここで夢見るの?
Am I still sane while dreaming here?
TVモニターが(Who are you?)サヨナラを告げている
The TV monitor asks, "Who are you?" and says goodbye.
飛び込んで行く光速にまぶし過ぎる星になるまで
I’ll dive into the light speed until I become an overwhelmingly bright star.
信じるものは神じゃない沸きあがる血の匂いだけ
I don’t believe in God, only the scent of my boiling blood.
バカゲテイル奴らちぎれるまで走る
Those foolish guys will run until they fall apart.
スピードが全て(Who are you?)恐怖だけ感じている
Speed is everything, but all I feel is fear ("Who are you?").
飛び込んで行く光速にまぶし過ぎる星になるまで
I’ll dive into the light speed until I become an overwhelmingly bright star.
信じるものは神じゃない沸きあがる血の匂いだけ
I don’t believe in God, only the scent of my boiling blood.
飛び出して行く光速に冷た過ぎる風になるまで
I’ll shoot out into the light speed until I become a bitterly cold wind.
信じるものは夢じゃない走り出すこの俺だけさ
I don’t believe in dreams, only in myself as I start to run.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: 敦司 桜井
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind