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| die by Buck-Tick |
Music: Imai Hisashi
Lyrics: Atsushi Sakurai
Album: Darker than Darkness –style 93-
To die is the end of life. There are many theories, myths and beliefs that have been made to justify and explain what it really means to die. These theories, myths and beliefs have driven people to create an imagery of what is death, from horrifying images to a peaceful and lovely beauty. These images of death have also fueled creativity in arts and literature and it has much evolved throughout the years. Because of its mystery, many have been delighted and indulged in death as a subject. Though dying has influenced a lot of artistic and literary works, the very root of these theories, myths and beliefs are most probably for those who are grieving, for those who needed solace and for those who lost their loved ones. In the end, no one actually knows. Only the dead knows death and that's what "die" is about. It's a song of the final moments of life before death occurs.
Death is never an uncommon subject from Buck-Tick’s discography, but this theme was hardly used not until they entered the 90’s. Though, BT has already started to change their image as their music slowly ripens in Aku no Hana (Flowers of Evil, 1990), the emotional input and their sound matured in Kurutta Taiyou (Lunatic Sun, 1991). As recalled by Higuchi (bass), it was a period where Imai (guitar and main composer) was full of ideas. According to him, everyday, Imai had a new song in mind and a new song to record. Also, Sakurai noted that it was his first time to write sincerely as he poured out all of his emotions into the songs, a feat he never did before. BT during that time had given a lot of time and effort on Kurutta Taiyou unlike the earlier ones. After Kurutta Taiyou, BT was never the same again. Two years after the release of Kurutta Taiyou, Darker than Darkness –style 93- followed and the album showed much of their musical maturity as their music delved more on darker themes. This became more apparent when they released “die” as a single in 1993. Their dark image became their trademark and death from then on is one of BT’s flagship themes.
Death is never an uncommon subject from Buck-Tick’s discography, but this theme was hardly used not until they entered the 90’s. Though, BT has already started to change their image as their music slowly ripens in Aku no Hana (Flowers of Evil, 1990), the emotional input and their sound matured in Kurutta Taiyou (Lunatic Sun, 1991). As recalled by Higuchi (bass), it was a period where Imai (guitar and main composer) was full of ideas. According to him, everyday, Imai had a new song in mind and a new song to record. Also, Sakurai noted that it was his first time to write sincerely as he poured out all of his emotions into the songs, a feat he never did before. BT during that time had given a lot of time and effort on Kurutta Taiyou unlike the earlier ones. After Kurutta Taiyou, BT was never the same again. Two years after the release of Kurutta Taiyou, Darker than Darkness –style 93- followed and the album showed much of their musical maturity as their music delved more on darker themes. This became more apparent when they released “die” as a single in 1993. Their dark image became their trademark and death from then on is one of BT’s flagship themes.
Backstory: In relation to the writer
In 1990, Sakurai Atsushi’s mother passed away while he was on Aku no Hana tour. Since he was on tour, he wasn’t able to mourn fully, but his grief reflected on the album Kurutta Taiyou (1991). When Darker than Darkness was released, Sakurai’s writings focused more on dying and what’s beyond death. As BT was experimenting on different instruments and other sound devices, Sakurai’s writing became more of poetry which writes about Love and Death or what’s beyond. This was more materialized on the release of the single “die” in 1993. The song’s theme and meaning was briefly discussed in Music Station (while Tamori got distracted by Sakurai’s beautiful face):
If Kurutta Taiyou was more on the deep emotions and overcoming a loss of a loved one, Darker than Darkness was about Sakurai’s obsession of death and the single “die” just reflected on it. In his interview back in 2005, he was able to elaborate more on this. He described how he fled from truth and sought more of theories or even fantasy to cope with death which was very apparent on his lyrics.
“At that time...I wasn't religious but I was charmed by various unscientific theories regarding the loss of a loved one. I just wanted it all to be a lie, I didn't want to see reality. I fled from it…When people experience a big shock, they don't want to face it, it’s a defence mechanism. So naturally they'll turn to the unscientific.” –excerpt from SNOB, 2005
Like many, he did not understand death and because of that, he relied on the theories, myths and beliefs. The song "die" materializes his vision of what are the final moments one could experience before succumbing to death. The song was referring to him dying, following the footsteps of his mother and leaving everything behind. In return, he became obsessed with it. Perhaps, this was made out of regret and grief to accept the loss of his mother. It's his way of grieving. In those dark years he lived, perhaps, there was a looming death wish in him after his mother died.
Perhaps, it's his way to know what it means to "die."
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Notes:
- This is my interpretation and opinion about the song, so it is not official. If you have any ideas and suggestions you'd like to share, please do comment below. This post is open for discussion. ^^
- To "Die" and Beyond - Interpretation would be up soon as a continuation for this article.
Credits:
- Video and subs: guitarchic11292
- Translation: nopperabou.net (Lola and w_b)
- Translation: sexualxxxxx-sub
- SNOB interview of Atsushi Sakurai translation can be found here.
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