Nyx Van DAMN!

the GazettE in SHOXX vol 125 (2003.5)

Interview Summary

This interview covers the process of recording the band's first mini album COCKAYNE SOUP and breaks down the track list.

Ruki jokes that they spent so long in the recording booth that when they emerged they grew facial hair.

Kai stayed at Reita's house overnight to work on the rhythm sections. When Reita thought they were done discussing recording and tried to go to bed, Kai would ask if he was still up and keep talking (lol)

COCKAYNE SOUP Track Breakdown

Beautiful 5[shit]ers: Ruki suggests paying attention to his vocals because he used a deeper voice for his screams/shouts. The background shouts in the chorus are from both Aoi and Ruki.

32koukei no Kenjuu (32口径の拳銃): Ruki shares that the guitar parts trade off between the left and right speakers. To guide Uruha with creating the guitar parts, Ruki told him to imagine a tatami room in a Showa-era apartment where someone has committed suicide.

Shiawase na Hibi (幸せな日々): The band previously played this song but when they recorded it they slowed down the tempo. Ruki says recording the vocals took quite a bit of time and was draining.

Interview Summary

This interview focuses primarily on the band's single 『白夜ニ燃ユル花〜汝、我は全能の者也〜』 (Byakuya ni Moyuru Hana ~Nanji, Ware wa Zennou no Mono Nari~)

Track Facts:

断頭台は誰が為に揺れる~汝、我は全能の者也 編~ (Dantoudai wa Ta ga Tame ni Yureru ~Nanji, Ware wa Zennou no Mono Nari hen~)

Erina says this song was originally distributed for free at the band's first one-man live. The band reworked it and sped up the temp.

denka: "Performing this song drains an insane amount of physical stamina, so with the mindset of 'let's get this recording done quickly,' we recorded it in a single take."

抱いて眠れ絶望 (Daite Nemure Zetsubou)

Erina: "This wasn't actually included in the initially, but when we wrote it, we urgently swapped out a track we had already finished recording for it."

ivy: "For this song, I actually layered and recorded two bass tracks. I want people to feel the unsettling creepiness created by having two of them ring out."

mikaru: "The entire track is driven by the word 'zetsubou' (despair) in the lyrics. I want people to feel that it is precisely within that despair where paradise exists."

夢は瓦礫の中に (Yume wa Gareki no Naka ni)

erina: "We've been playing this song since the relatively early days of forming Dio, and it's a personal favorite of mine. However, because it's quite long, it's not suited for event lives, so we don't get a chance to perform it unless it's a long stage like a one-man live."

mikaru: "However, it became a precious song—the only one in Dio that shows an optimistic direction where you can catch a glimpse of hope for the future. Precisely because it's a song we created in our early days, the lyrics turn out showing hope for the future. If it were now, these are lyrics that absolutely 'would not exist'."

Ivy: "As for the bass, this song took the most time. When we started recording on the first day, I couldn't come up with a guitar part I was satisfied with, so I re-worked and re-imagined it over and over again. Even after spending 8 hours on it, I couldn't make anything I was happy with, so I threw my bass down for the day… (laughs)."

day after day

erina: "This is the primary track of this release. To the extent that I feel it's near the top rank of all the songs I've composed so far, it's a melodic track that I personally love."

mikaru: "This is a superb love song. The theme is 'bereavement.' A person who is left behind completely shatters their own sanity due to overwhelming sadness... The key words are 'sleep' and 'magic'."

erina: "The shoot for 'day after day' took place on location at a certain famous forest (jukai). We started in the afternoon and finished late at night. While dealing with things like getting warned by the police (laughs), we spent a total of about 23 hours shooting two videos."

Cure vol. 50 (September 2007)

Front Cover: KISAKI

Back Cover: Versailles

Some takeaways from the interview that I found interesting:

During this era Ruki often wrote his lyrics from the perspective of a woman because he found it easier to express deep feelings like sadness this way.

Akai One Piece is written from the perspective of a dominatrix. Ruki is teased and asked if he is into SM which he denies and Reita suggests it's actually Kai who is into that.

Juunanasai is about a 17 year old girl who becomes pregnant and is abandoned by her boyfriend. Ruki got a letter from a fan who had a similar experience and although he appreciated that they could empathize with the song, it also made him feel sorry.

At this time the band had a very positive view about their growth, wanting to explore different genres and improve their songs not only through playing them at lives but through differences in opinion as well.

"But I think if we lose that clashing spirit, it's no good. If that growth stops, that's when I think the band itself is over. That's why I have no intention of ever stopping our growth." - Uruha

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4 - Twins

Both pain, and exhaustion too / Simply continue to slip by / Like casual flings they are / While this suffering, it has lasted / Yet, we had tolerated this coexistence until now / Is it normal to suffer? / Is the normal abnormal? / ...the time has now come / The moment of parting comes, without us even knowing who leaves whom / You, who were within me? / I, who was within you? / Ah, it does not matter anymore / I know we are friends now / We regret this emotional struggle of ours / For the home we had once shared / We shall cherish its memory / Now both pain, and exhaustion too / Are bygone flings

- HIDE -