Voyage Sans Retour (French: Journey Without Return) is the second album by Japanese rock band Malice Mizer, released on June 9, 1996. It is their first album with second vocalist Gackt.

Voyage Sans Retour
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 9, 1996
StudioBazooka, Wonder Beat, Cats[1]
Genre
Length44:37
LabelMidi:Nette
ProducerMalice Mizer
Malice Mizer chronology
Memoire
(1994)
Voyage Sans Retour
(1996)
Merveilles
(1998)

Overview

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Malice Mizer's singer and lyricist Tetsu left the group after a concert on December 27, 1994. After almost a year of inactivity, Malice Mizer recruited Gackt as their new vocalist and released the single "Uruwashiki Kamen no Shoutaijou" on December 10, 1995. With a new concept, the band's music became more art rock and synthpop, incorporating even stronger classical and electronic elements. Visually, they abandoned their 1980s goth look for colorful historical costumes with a gothic feel. It features an instrumental arrangement of a song from the days of the first vocalist, Tetsu. This is the first song to feature Gackt playing the piano and credited for the arrangement.

Voyage was released on June 9, 1996 by guitarist Mana's own record label, Midi:Nette. The first press edition, limited to 5000 copies, came in a plastic slipcase with an additional "Visual Arts Booklet".

The theme of the album is "based on the story of vampires, taking a scalpel to the human world from the vampire's point of view", which also became the concept of their live performances before their major label debut.

Track listing

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Except for Track 7, all the songs subtitles are only included in the lyrics sheet.

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Yami no Kanata e~" (闇の彼方へ~) Mana0:26
2."Transylvania"GacktMana4:01
3."Tsuioku no Kakera" (追憶の破片(かけら)~a piece of broken recollection~)GacktMana6:21
4."Premier Amour" (premier amour)GacktMana4:55
5."Itsuwari no Musette" (偽りのmusette)GacktKözi5:13
6."N.p.s N.g.s" (N・p・s N・g・s~No pains No gains~)GacktMana4:07
7."Claire ~Tsuki no Shirabe~" (claire~月の調べ~; "Melody of the Moon")Gackt, KöziKözi5:47
8."Madrigal"GacktKözi4:03
9."Shi no Butō" (死の舞踏~a romance of the "Cendrillon"~)Malice MizerMana5:25
10."~Zenchō~" (~前兆~) Mana4:19

Personnel

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  • Gackt – vocals, piano
  • Mana – synth guitar, sequence programming
  • Közi – synth guitar, sequence programming
  • Yu~ki – bass
  • Kami – drums, percussion
  • Takeshi Kanazawa – violin on tracks 2, 5 and 8
  • Mayumi Maruo – chorus, photography
  • "Patch" Kitaguchi – recording, mixing
  • Yōhei Shimada - Sound advisor, piano tuner

References

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  1. ^ "Malice Mizer – Voyage Sans Retour". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-01-19.