DIVISION Tracklist Speculation
The tracklist for DIVISION has been released and it looks mighty interesting, if only because anything GazettE-related is interesting. Indeed, there's only so much that song titles can tell you about a release, but on the other hand the less clues, the wider the scope of speculation. It's like interpreting minimalist art! Or, to go for a more apt comparison, like interpreting contents of ancient texts on the basis of their table of contents; common practice in the study of Classical Antiquity. And there's nothing as fun as wild speculation, right? Right.
DISC 1
1) [Depth] - An intro for disc 1, only on Ltd Edition. I'm guessing this might be an eerie, atmospheric start as opposed to the dubstep groove of Infuse Into. Knowing Ruki, "depth" is likely to mean depth of despair, or something equally cheery.
2) 歪 (romaji: Ibitsu) - This could be translated in various ways: distortion, strain, oval, elliptical, crooked, warped. Might be an aggressive first (full) track, akin to Vortex. Very typical song title for Ruki, who seems to be fond of words that have to do with spiral motion, representing his worldview of world descenting into hell & corruption. (Rather Lovecraftian, actually.)
3) 籠の蛹 (romaji: Kago no Sanagi) - The Caged Chrysalis, in other words. In case you're wondering, chrysalis is a moth or a butterfly still inside the cocoon, waiting for the completion of its transformation. Sounds like a potentially deep song, with complex, meaningful lyrics; how is a cocoon, a self-built protective covering, a cage? I guess we'll find out in August.
4) ヘドロ (romaji: Hedoro) - Oh how I laughed at this one. See, it reminds me of Pedoro, the parody version of Totoro in Gintama. (Basically, instead of a huge cuddly magical creature, Pedoro is a half-naked pedophile cop next door... It's funny, I swear.) Actually though, "hedoro" is (according to my dictionary), a sludge, slime or chemical ooze. It's probably a safe bet that this track is made of disgust.
5) 影踏み (romaji: Kagefumi) - In English, something like Treading on Shadows. Another deep song, perhaps. A ballad? Angsty love? Grief? Loneliness?
6) 余韻 (romaji: Yoin) - Translates into many lovely things. Afterglow, aftertaste, lingering memory, trailing note, reverberation. Could be something like Shiroki Yuuutsu: gentle but sad.
7) [DIPLOSOMIA] - This outro is clearly an opening/ending made for the Groan of Diplosomia tour. Diplosomia, as we all hurried to learn some weeks ago, means conjoined ('Siamese') twins.
DISC 2
8) [XI] - In other words, 11th. Eleventh what though? Hour? Zodiac sign?
9) Derangement - This has to be screamo again. Deranged insanity.
10) Required Malfunction - This also sounds like an aggressive, heavy song. Perhaps slightly slower in tempo.
11) Dripping Insanity - Okay, lol'ing now. First deranged, then malfunctioning (as "required"...huh...), now dripping insanity?
12) Attitude - Now this looks like a turn for the better. I like this name. I hope it's going to be something like an anthem.
13) Gabriel on the Gallows - Right, so Gabriel has to be the biblical angel, mostly known for delivering messages. He was also apparently present at Golgotha (which is what the gallows presumably refers to) and also announced the resurrection of Jesus to those ladies visiting the grave. I won't say any more about this, since there's so many directions this could go to, but I'm intrigued.
14) [Melt] - A final outro, possibly a calm ending to all the fast & furious that probably dominate this disc.
And that was that. I had much more to say about the first disc, and I'm guessing that's where most of the more thoughtful songs are going to be, whereas the second disc has harder, aggressive songs with lots of screaming. It's an interesting divide, and it'll be interesting comparing this arrangement to the regular edition where we'll have all the songs (except Depth and Diplosomia) on one disc, in different order.