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.
Seraphim
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
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秋は異形で
サヨナラだ
血を吐く束の間
這いずる束の間
春 狂 夏 空
サヨナラだ
The lyrics to BUCK-TICK's song "Seraphim" are quite cryptic and open to interpretation. However, it appears to describe the passing of seasons and the inevitability of change. The lyrics suggest that spring "unravels" (繰る) and summer "devours" (喰う), while autumn is something foreign and strange ("異形で"). The repeated phrase "sayonara da" (さよならだ) emphasizes the finality of this transformation.
The imagery becomes more intense in the second verse, describing moments of struggle and despair. "Blood vomits for an instant" suggests a violent outburst, while "crawling for an instant" implies a difficult, exhausting effort to move forward. The second half of the verse repeats the same themes as the first, with an emphasis on the fleeting nature of life.
What ties these themes together is the idea of transition and transformation. The seasons themselves are a metaphor for the passage of time and the way that everything eventually changes. The phrase "seraphim" itself refers to a type of angel, indicating a spiritual or heavenly dimension to these changes. The lyrics suggest that even amidst struggle and suffering, there is still a sense of something transcendent and beautiful.
Line by Line Meaning
春 繰る 夏 喰う
Spring spins around, summer devours
秋は異形で
Autumn is peculiar
サヨナラだ
It's goodbye
血を吐く束の間
In the midst of spewing blood
這いずる束の間
In the midst of crawling
春 狂 夏 空
Spring is frenzied, summer is empty
秋は異形で
Autumn is peculiar
サヨナラだ
It's goodbye
Contributed by Arianna H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.