Girugamesh is the self-titled second album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 from the band Girugamesh

Girugamesh

is a Japanese visual kei rock band, formed in 2003. The name is derived from the ancient king Gilgamesh, and is sometimes typeset with a metal umlaut as girugämesh.-2004-2006: Formation:...

, released on December 26, 2007

2007 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...

. 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

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

, Reason of Crying

Reason of Crying

- Personnel :*Satoshi – all vocals*Shuu – guitar*Nii – bass*Яyo – drums...

. The regular edition, including thirteen tracks, was released on iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 simultaneously with the Japanese release. The limited edition included only ten songs on the feature disc, but was supplemented with a DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 with two music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

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 [Girugamesh's] songs", 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

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

-mates Tatsurou and Miya of Mucc

Mucc

is a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 1997. Named after a character from the Japanese children's TV show Hirake! Ponkikki, the band is also known by the nickname 69 since "six nine" can be pronounced "muku" in Japanese...

, and with Miya as the co-producer for the album.

Composition on Girugamesh is fairly consistent with other albums, with the lyrics

Lyrics

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

 being written by vocalist Satoshi, and most of the music being written by drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

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

War

War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...

 and hatred

Hatred

Hatred is a deep and emotional extreme dislike, directed against a certain object or class of objects. The objects of such hatred can vary widely, from inanimate objects to animals, oneself or other people, entire groups of people, people in general, existence, or the whole world...

. The lyricist

Lyricist

A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...

, 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[ting] around at home playing piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

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

Touring

Stupid Tour '08 ("in Japan", "in Euro", and "Girugamesh Vs Roach")

Stupid Tour '08 in Japan January 11 – Shimokitazawa Era (Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... ) January 12 – Shimokitazawa Era (Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... ) January 13 – Shimokitazawa Era (Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... ) Stupid Tour '08 in Euro January 24 – Georg Elser Halle (Munich Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... ) January 26 – Zeche (Bochum, Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... ) January 27 – La Locomotive (Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... ) January 29 – Carling Academy Islington Carling Academy Islington The O2 Academy Islington, formerly known as the Carling Academy Islington, is an indoor music venue situated in the N1 Shopping Centre accessible via Upper Street and Liverpool Road, in the London Borough of Islington. It is run by the Academy Music Group...  (London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... ) January 31 – Klubben (Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... ) February 2 – Tavastia Club Tavastia Club The Tavastia Club is a popular rock music club in Helsinki, Finland. The house is owned by Hämäläis-Osakunta, one of the student nations at the University of Helsinki, but since 1991 the club has been operated by a private enterprise renting the house from the nation. It is located in central...  (Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... , Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... ) Stupid Tour '08 in Japan (Continued) February 7 – Route 14 (Motoyawata) February 9 – Sunash (Shizuoka Shizuoka, Shizuoka is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and the prefecture's second-largest city in terms of both population and area. It became one of Japan's 19 "designated cities" in 2005.-Geography:... ) February 10 – Hamamatsu Force (Hamamatsu) February 12 – HeartLand Studio (Nagoya) February 13 – Club Chaos (Yokkaichi) February 15 – Kyoto Muse (Kyoto Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:... ) February 16 – Kobe Varit (Kobe Kobe , pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka... ) February 18 – Crazy Mama 2nd Room (Okayama) February 19 – Belier (Yonago) February 21 – Drum Be-7 (Nagasaki) February 23 – Drum Be-9 (Kumamoto) February 24 – Drum Son (Fukuoka Fukuoka, Fukuoka is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by... ) February 26 – Live Rise (Shunan) Stupid Tour '08 Girugamesh Vs Roach March 1 – Cyber Box (Okinawa) March 2 – Music Showa Session (Yamagata Yamagata -Places in Japan:*Yamagata Prefecture**Yamagata City, the capital city of Yamagata Prefecture**Yamagata Airport , an airport located in Yamagata**Yamagata Shinkansen, one of Shinkansen lines running between Tokyo Station and Shinjo Station... ) March 4 – Club Junk Box Mini (Niigata Niigata, Niigata is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It lies on the northwest coast of Honshu, the largest island of Japan, and faces the Sea of Japan and Sado Island.... ) March 6 – Junk Box (Nagano) March 7 – AZ Hall (Kanazawa Kanazawa, Ishikawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.-Geography, climate, and population:Kanazawa sits on the Sea of Japan, bordered by the Japan Alps, Hakusan National Park and Noto Peninsula National Park. The city sits between the Sai and Asano rivers. Its total area is 467.77 km².Kanazawa's... ) March 9 – Kazoo Hall (Yamanashi Yamanashi, Yamanashi is a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. In spite of the name, it is not the capital of the prefecture, which is Kofu.On June 1, 2011, the city had an estimated population of 37,927 with 14,453 households... ) March 10 – Apollo Theater (Nagoya) March 12 – Osaka Muse (Osaka Osaka is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe... ) March 14 – Takamatsu Dime (Takamatsu Takamatsu, Kagawa is a city located in central Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan, and is the seat of the prefectural government. It is designated a core city by the Japanese Government. It is a port city located on the Seto Inland Sea, and is the closest port to Honshu from Shikoku island... ) March 15 – Cross Point (Kōchi Kochi, Kochi is the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture on Shikoku island of Japan.Kōchi is the main city of the prefecture with over 40% of its population. As of May 31, 2008, the city had an estimated population of 340,515 and a density of... ) March 16 – Salon Kitty (Matsuyama) March 18 – Namiki Junction (Hiroshima Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M... ) March 19 – Eurus (Matsue) March 26 – Kraps Hall (Sapporo)

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

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. 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.

Shining Tour '08

Shining Tour '08 [Shooting Summer] July 4 – Osaka Knave (with Gelugugu, Osaka Osaka is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe... ) July 5 – Osaka Knave (with Tr. Dan, Osaka) July 6 – Osaka Knave (with Sel'm, Osaka) July 22 – Nagoya HeartLand (with Dogma, Nagoya) July 23 – Nagoya HeartLand (with Tr. Dan, Nagoya) July 24 – Nagoya HeartLand (with Deathgaze Deathgaze is a Japanese Nagoya kei metal band. Their sound is alternative metal, though more recently they have stepped into metalcore territory.- History :Deathgaze was formed in the summer of 2003 by Hazuki, Ai, Naoki, and Kanna. After releasing their first single, "294036224052", vocalist, Hazuki, left in... , Nagoya) August 16 – Liquidroom Ebisu (Ebisu Ebisu, Tokyo is a neighborhood in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Conveniently near Roppongi and central Shibuya, Ebisu is easily accessed by the JR Yamanote and Hibiya lines via Ebisu Station... , Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... )

Following a performance at Wacken Open Air

Wacken Open Air

Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...

, the second support tour will occur, entitled "Shining Tour '08". The first performances begin in July, under the name "Shining Tour '08 [Shooting Summer]". The Japanese tour will endure through July, visiting Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

 and Nagoya, with one finale performance in August at the Liquidroom in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

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

Deathgaze

is a Japanese Nagoya kei metal band. Their sound is alternative metal, though more recently they have stepped into metalcore territory.- History :Deathgaze was formed in the summer of 2003 by Hazuki, Ai, Naoki, and Kanna. After releasing their first single, "294036224052", vocalist, Hazuki, left in...

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

Regular edition

Limited edition

Personnel

The following are all credited individuals cooperating in this album's creation.

• Satoshi – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , lyricist
  Lyricist
  A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
  
  
• Nii – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , composer
  Composer
  A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
  
  
• ShuU – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , composer
• Яyo – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , composer
• Tatsurou (Mucc
  Mucc
  is a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 1997. Named after a character from the Japanese children's TV show Hirake! Ponkikki, the band is also known by the nickname 69 since "six nine" can be pronounced "muku" in Japanese...
  
  ) – chorus
  Refrain
  A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
  
   vocals ("Patchwork")
• Miya (Mucc) – chorus vocals ("Stupid", "Crazy-Flag"), co-producer

• Masahiro Oishi – executive producer
  Executive producer
  An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
  
  
• Tetsuya Tochigi – recording, mixing
  Audio mixing (recorded music)
  In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
  
  
• Makoto Toonosu – mastering
  Audio mastering
  Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
  
  
• Tomoya Sakurai – art director
  Art director
  The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
  
  
• Severin Schweiger – photographer
• Taro Otani – "soul advisor"

External links

• Bazooka Studio Official Website