Nyx Van DAMN!

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 -