Izora is the twenty-third studio album by the Japanese rock band Buck-Tick. It was released on April 12, 2023. The album peaked at the 2nd position on the Oricon Albums Chart and is band's first Top 3 album on Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart. Its charting success makes it a rare example for such a long-lasting band and their "will and persistence" on the Japanese music scene. It is the last album featuring lead singer Atsushi Sakurai, who died on October 19, 2023.
Izora (album)
Buck-Tick is a Japanese rock band formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The group consisted of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi and drummer Toll Yagami from 1985 until Sakurai's death in 2023. The band has experimented with many different genres of music throughout their four decade career, including punk rock, gothic rock and industrial rock. Buck-Tick are commonly credited as one of the main founders of the visual kei movement.
An April 1987 concert at Toshima Public Hall (pictured in 2008) earned the band a record deal with Victor Entertainment.
Buck-Tick CDs at a Tower Records store in Tokyo (2007)
Lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai died on October 19, 2023, after cutting short a concert at KT Zepp Yokohama.