is the fourth studio album by Japanese

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

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. A ...

, released on September 1, 2004 by

Danger Crue Records Danger Crue Records is a Japanese visual kei independent record label located in Tokyo, Japan. It was originally the record label of the Danger Crue music office, both founded in 1981. According to D'erlanger drummer Tetsu, Danger Crue was formed ...

. A European version was released on September 12, 2005 by

Gan-Shin is an independent European rock music record label. History It was formed in 2004 by Matthias Müssig, Christoph Ortner-Bach and Deville Schober. The label, actively distributes physical records in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sp ...

. The album reached number 19 on the Oricon Albums Chart.

Overview

Guitarist and principal songwriter Miya said that prior to '' Zekū'' (2003) and ''Kuchiki no Tō'' (2004), his lyrics were about past events and "traumas" he experienced, but with these two albums he wrote about present inner feelings within the band. Despite audiences loving the shows, he seems to regret having done this as he speculated that he drank a lot on those tours so he would not have to face what he was expressing on stage, and stated that there is one song on ''Kuchiki no Tō'' that he will no longer play.

, who released the album in Europe, reported this song to be "Kuchiki no Tō".

released ''Kuchiki no Tō Live at Roppongi'', a live album where they perform ''Kuchiki no Tō'' in its entirely, on October 31, 2004. The songs "Namonaki Yume" and "Monokuro no Keshiki" were re-recorded by the band for their 2017 self-cover album ''Koroshi no Shirabe II: This is Not Greatest Hits''.

Reception

''Kuchiki no Tō'' reached number 19 on the Oricon Albums Chart.''ムックのアルバム売り上げランキング''
Retrieved May 16, 2011 ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' included it on a list of 13 essential

Japanese rock , sometimes abbreviated to , is rock music from Japan. Influenced by American and British rock of the 1960s, the first rock bands in Japan performed what is called Group Sounds, with lyrics almost exclusively in English. Folk rock band Happy ...

and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

albums. Describing it as dripping with insatiable angst and menace, Jamie Cansdale wrote that "Mucc ripped their soul from their chests with their fourth outing. An unapologetically bleak tour-de-force of melancholia, ''Kuchiki no Tō'' tapped into an inner darkness, hellbent on implosion, and channelled it through Tatsurou's tragically ravishing shrieks." He also wrote that, although Mucc later reached international success with a "more optimistic outlook", they have rarely topped the emotional rollercoaster that is ''Kuchiki no Tō''.

Track listing

Notes

Covers

"Akatsuki Yami" and "Oboreru Sakana" were covered by Sid and Gibkiy Gibkiy Gibkiy respectively, on the 2017 Mucc tribute album ''Tribute of Mucc -En-''.

References

Mucc albums 2004 albums {{2000s-hard-rock-album-stub