Mirror (album)

Mirror
Studio album by D'espairsRay
Publication (s)	April 11, 2007 (JP) June 22, 2007 (EU) March 18, 2007 (US)
Label (s)	Sword Records (JP) Gan-Shin (EU) J-SHOCK RECORDS (US)
Format (s)	CD
Genre (s)	Pop-Rock Alternative Metal
Title (number)	12 (JP) 13 (EU)
running time	56:35 (JP) 61:06 (EU)
occupation	Singing : Hizumi Electric guitar : Karyu Electric bass : Zero Drums : Tsukasa
production	D'espairsRay Shinobu Narita
Studio (s)	aLive Recording Studio Studio 446 Power House Studio Swing Bamboo Studio BX studio
chronology Coll: set 2005 Mirror Redeemer 2009

Mirror is the second studio album by the J-rock band D'espairsRay . The release took place in Japan on April 11, 2007 and in Europe on June 22 of that year.

Emergence

After the release of their first album Coll: set on June 29, 2005, their [Secret Coll: set] tour began on July 29 in Japan. Further concerts in Japan and the USA followed. So they played on February 26th at the MegaCon in Orlando, Florida. The resulting recordings were released on March 8, 2006 as DVD The World Outside The Cage . The single Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana , released on April 5th, had two live performances from Orlando ( Forbidden or Garnet ) on an extra CD.

In the summer of 2006 they switched the label from Sweet Child Records to Sword Records . The tour [LIQUIDIZE] -Yuugousuru Taion- also began , which took her to the Wacken Open Air in Germany on August 3rd and 5th . The final took place on September 8th and 9th in the LIQUIDROOM in the Ebisu district in Tokyo and was released as Liquidize (Live Tour 06) on December 20th, 2006 as a live DVD, the LIQUIDIZE photo album of the tour was released on July 15th released and included a CD with the song Closer to Ideal .

Studio recordings for Squall began in early 2007 and hit stores on March 14th. Karyu received the inspiration for this song from a letter. The single was the first to be bought in a limited and regular version, the principle was retained for later releases. However, Karyu wanted to write songs that could be played at Wacken or similar festivals. The choice of the title song for the March single was therefore difficult, Karyu wanted TRICKSTeR , but the other band members decided on Squall . Karyu and Zero weren't sure whether MIRROR should be on the new album or not. The last song on the album was supposed to be recorded in early March, but Karyu added Kaleidoscope three days earlier . Although the management refused to change the schedule, the song was still put on the album, so the recordings ended with a day's delay.

On April 11th the disc was in stores in a limited and regular version. The regular edition contained photo cards of the band members, an English booklet and an extra CD with music videos by TRICKSTeR and Squall ; the limited edition also contained photo cards, but was delivered in a digipack . The European version still contains the bonus track Desert .

trip

Hizumi at Ruisrock 2007

The Spiral Staircase # 15 Tour started on the same day . The first concert was reserved for fan club members only. The tour schedule consisted of 15 concerts, the last one took place on May 15th at Shibuya-AX .

This was followed by the US tour, where they performed at the J-Rock Revolution Festival on May 26th. Her subsequent European tour began on June 29th ( Mirror was released in Europe on June 22nd ) and went to Spain, Sweden and Finland. There they performed at two festivals, on July 1st at the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival 2007 in Helsinki and on July 7th at Ruisrock 2007 in Turku .

On September 5, 2007, the Spiral Staircase # 15 Final Live DVD was released in Japan.

style

The singles as well as the album contain elements of pop-rock , which was a novelty for D'espairsRay at the time. Their first album Coll: set was already more melodic and harmonious than the singles and EPs that were previously released, but it was still in the field of industrial metal and alternative metal . This style development now continued; but led to discussions within the band about how far they should go with it and how more melodic their songs should be.

The A- sides of the singles Kogoeru yoru ni saita hana and Squall are more likely to be assigned to pop-rock , as well as the B-sides MAZE and the sad ballad SCREEN . Only PIG and Desert are heavier songs. The principle of composing the A-side "softer" for a single has been retained from Kogoeru yoru ni saita hana until today.

The album is structured in many ways. In addition to ballads such as SCREEN , Kaleidoscope and Squall, there are also pieces of music that can be assigned to alternative metal, such as TRICKSTəR , Desert and the title track MIЯROR . The song DAMNED combines these elements and embeds them in a dark and oppressive atmosphere, which is reminiscent of Coll: set . While Lost Scene creates a dark atmosphere, Hollow , Closer to ideal , SIXty∞NINe and Angeldust are much more rock and a mixture of pop-rock music and metal. As with Coll: set , singer Hizumi also used guttural vocals .

The song SCREEN was revised. While the single was still a quiet, calm and depressing ballad, the album version is a melancholic, orchestral elegy full of heavy metal. It's the quietest piece of music in their discography to date.

Except for SCREEN and Squall, the songs on the album have a very fast rhythm, which according to the band is unintentional.

reception

The album received good reviews. D'espairsRay would have done everything right with Mirror and surpassed their first album Coll: set by one or two levels, which not a single fan could have expected after the pre-singles.

Allmusic describes D'espairsRay as an "adaptation of Rammstein for Japan", especially the song SIXty∞NINe could hardly hide this. The style of music is also influenced by Marilyn Manson and Europop . The core of their style, however, are hard but not intrusive guitar riffs, fast but not hysterical playing and a melodramatic interpretation of Jim Morrison 's baritone . They would manage to combine heaviness and pop, but the chorus of Hollow would have to disappear.

The album reached number 36 in the Oricon charts , making it the band's highest-ranked album to this day.

Track list

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Mirror   JP 36 4/2007 (2 weeks)

Singles

Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana   JP 41 4/2006 (3 weeks) Squall   JP 42 3/2007 (2 weeks)

Track list CD:

1. DAMNED - 4:48 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
2. TRICKSTƏR - 4:17 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
3. MIЯROR - 4:10 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
4. SIXty∞NINe - 4:34 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
5. Kogoeru Yoru ni Saita Hana (凍 え る 夜 に 咲 い た 花) - 5:07 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
6. SCREEN - 4:50 (Music: Karyu & Tsukasa / Text: Hizumi)
7. Lost Scene - 4:28 (Music: Tsukasa / Text: Hizumi)
8. Hollow - 4:11 (Music: Karyu & Shinobu Narita / Text: Hizumi)
9. Closer to ideal - 6:02 (Music: Karyu / Text: Karyu)
10. Angeldust - 4:19 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
11. Squall - 4:56 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
12. Kaleidoscope - 4:53 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
13. Desert - 4:31 (European version only) (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)

Track list extra CD (only in the regular edition):

1. TRICKSTeR (PV)
2. Squall (PV)

Singles

Kogoeru yoru ni saita hana

Kogoeru yoru ni saita hana ( Eng : the flower that bloomed on the icy night) appeared in Japanese stores on April 5, 2006. It was only available as a maxi single, with a special booklet and extra CD with a live performance in Florida in February 2006. The cover shows a flower against a black background, the flower is blue if the extra CD contains the song Forbidden and orange if it is Garnet .

Track list CD:

1. Kogoeru yoru ni saita hana 凍 え る 夜 に 咲 い た 花 - 5:05 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
2. MAZE - 4:38 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
3. PIG - 4:32 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)

Track list extra CD:

1. Garnet (live)

or:

1. Forbidden (live)

Squall

The single Squall was released on March 14, 2007 in Japan. The regular edition still contained the song SCREEN , the limited edition a DVD with the music video for Squall .

Track list CD:

1. Squall - 4:55 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
2. DESERT - 4:32 (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)
3. SCREEN - 5:02 (regular version only) (Music: Karyu / Text: Hizumi)

Title list DVD (only in the limited version):

1. Squall (PV)

Web links

• Website of the band

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} http://www.jame-world.com/de/articles-54656-biografie-spezial-d-espairsray-teil-2.html
2. ↑ ^{a b} D'espairsRay 10th anniversary special talk I 2007 (The 200-page brochure with interviews was sold on the 10th anniversary in the CCLemon Hall, English translation of a blog )
3. ↑ http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=POCE-94102
4. ↑ http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=POCE-14102
5. ↑ http://www.jame-world.com/de/articles-1972-d-espairsray-squall.html
6. ↑ http://www.jame-world.com/de/articles-2120-d-espairsray-mirror.html
7. ↑ http://www.jame-world.com/de/articles-3396-interview-mit-d-espairsray-in-madrid.html
8. ↑ http://www.jame-world.com/de/articles-2120-d-espairsray-mirror.html
9. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000496068
10. ↑ http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/646411/1/
11. ↑ http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/697692/1/
12. ↑ http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/701814/1/
13. ↑ http://www.amazon.de/Mirror-DEspairs-Ray/dp/B000PHX5XC
14. ↑ http://www.jame-world.com/de/articles-2656-interview-mit-d-espairsray-beim-jrock-revolution.html
15. ↑ http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=UMCE-8205