''Girugamesh'' is the self-titled second

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

from the band

Girugamesh is a Japanese rock band, formed in 2003. Their name is sometimes stylized with a metal umlaut as girugämesh and is derived from the ''Final Fantasy'' character. They disbanded on July 10, 2016, although announced a new song, to celebrate la ...

, released on December 26,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

. A limited and a regular edition were released, with different contents, as well as a European release featuring three extra tracks from the band's previous EP, '' Reason of Crying''. The regular edition, including thirteen tracks, was released on iTunes simultaneously with the Japanese release. The

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

included only ten songs on the feature disc, but was supplemented with a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

with two

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

s for "Vermillion" and "Kowareteiku Sekai", and backstage footage.

Music

The album features a notably heavier sound than their previous album, with a more "aggressive, destructive, and power" sound. Drummer Ryo comments that during touring, the band felt as if "there was something missing in our irugamesh'ssongs", and the band "wanted to make our songs a little bit harder with an "edge." The band collaborated on "Patchwork", "Stupid" and "Crazy-Flag" with

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed d ...

-mates Tatsurou and Miya of

Mucc is a Japanese visual kei rock band, formed in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1997. The classic line up of Tatsuro on vocals, Miya on guitar, Yukke on bass, and Satochi on drums was solidified in 1999 following the departure of original bassist Hiro. ...

, and with Miya as the

co-producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

for the album. Composition on ''Girugamesh'' is fairly consistent with other albums, with the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer ...

being written by

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

Satoshi, and most of the music being written by

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer' ...

Ryo, with minimal music composed by Nii and Shuu. The lyrics in the album are often about controversial subjects such as

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

and

hatred Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger Anger, also known as wrath or ...

. The

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income de ...

, Satoshi, has stated that his lyrics were often written on tour and the "main inspirations are from situations and human relationships me". The music, being mainly composed by Ryo, was often produced when "sit

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

around at home playing

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

, guitar or programming some drum sequences," and the intention was to "make the songs shorter and more efficient" with the heavy sound.

Touring

In support of ''Girugamesh'', the band toured in both Japan and Europe, under the tour title "Stupid Tour '08"; the tour is named after the "stupid" amount of tour dates, surpassing forty, rather than the song from the album. The Japanese leg had Girugamesh performing a series of one-man lives (i.e. only Girugamesh performing) throughout Japan. Later in January, Girugamesh toured Europe for the first time, visiting

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Sweden and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

. Following their European tour, Girugamesh continued the "Stupid Tour '08 in Japan", followed by a short pause. In March, Girugamesh returned with a two-man tour with fellow Japanese band Roach, visiting venues all over Japan including

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. Following a performance at

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...

, the second support tour will occur, entitled "Shining Tour '08". The first performances begin in July, under the name "Shining Tour '08

hooting Summer Hoot may refer to: Publications * ''Hoot'' (novel), a young adult novel by Carl Hiaasen * ''Hoot'', a 1996 children's novel by Jane Hissey * ''Hoot'' (comics), a British magazine published from 1985 to 1986 * '' The Brandeis Hoot'', a student n ...

. The Japanese tour will endure through July, visiting

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

and

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...

, with one finale performance in August at the Liquidroom in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Concerts in July will feature second acts, including Gelugugu, Tr. Dan, Sel'm, Dogma, and

Deathgaze is a Japanese visual kei metal band formed in 2003. History Deathgaze was formed in the summer of 2003 by Hazuki, Ai, Naoki, and Kanna. After releasing their first EP, "294036224052", vocalist, Hazuki, left in spring 2004 to form his own ba ...

, while the tour finale show will be a one-man performance, with only Girugamesh.

Track listing

Regular edition

Limited edition

Personnel

The following are all credited individuals cooperating in this album's creation. *Satoshi Nakamoto –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

*Nii –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, composer *ShuU –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

, composer *Яyo –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

, composer *Tatsurou (

) –

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

vocals ("Patchwork") * Miya (Mucc) – chorus vocals ("Stupid", "Crazy-Flag"),

*Masahiro Oishi –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

*Tetsuya Tochigi –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

, mixing *Makoto Toonosu – mastering *Tomoya Sakurai – art director *Severin Schweiger –

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

*Taro Otani – "soul advisor"

References

External links

Bazooka Studio Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girugamesh (Album) Girugamesh albums 2007 albums