Märchen (album)

Märchen
Studio album by Sound Horizon
Released	December 15, 2010
Genre	Symphonic metal Metal Opera Folk Rock
Label	King Records
Sound Horizon chronology
Moira (2008) Märchen (2010) -

Märchen is the seventh story CD, released by the fantasy symphonic rock band Sound Horizon on December 15, 2010 through King Records. The limited edition released few days before the normal edition. The normal edition debuted No.3 and peaked No.2 on the Oricon weekly album charts. While the Limited edition sold over 40.000 copies in the first two days, 24.816 copies on the first day, 15.833 copies on the next.^[1]

Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged and lyrics written by Revo.^[2]

1. 宵闇の唄 / The Song of Dusk (10:18)
2. 火刑の魔女 / The Witch at the Stake (09:18)
3. 黒き女将の宿 / The Dark Landlady's Inn (06:53)
4. 硝子の棺で眠る姫君 / The Princess That Sleeps in the Coffin of Glass (08:31)
5. 生と死を別つ境界の古井戸 / The Old and Unused Well of the Boundary That Separates Life and Death (09:19)
6. 薔薇の塔で眠る姫君 / The Princess That Sleeps in the Tower of Roses (09:00)
7. 青き伯爵の城 / The Blue Marquis' Castle (07:38)
8. 磔刑の聖女 / The Crucified Saint (08:09)
9. 暁光の唄 / The Song of Dawn (04:31)

 10-38 [Bonus Track] 無音 / Silence (03:23)

Total of 77:00

Personnel

Musician^[3]

• Revo - Composition, Lyrics, Arrangement
• Nishiyama Atsushi - Guitar, Steel Guitar (#1,5,8)
• Yuki - Guitar, Classical Guitar (#1,3,4,8)
• Saitō "Jake" Shingo - Guitar, Classical Guitar (#2,6)
• Marty Friedman - Guitar, Classical Guitar (#7)
• Hasegawa Atsushi - Bass
• Igarashi Kōji - Piano, Synthesizer, Organ, Cembalo (#1,3,4,7,8)
• Kawai Eiji - Piano, Synthesizer, Organ, Cembalo, Electronic Piano (#2,6)
• Matsumoto Keiji - Piano, Synthesizer, Organ (#5,9)
• Junji - Drum (#1,8)
• Ken☆Ken - Drum (#2,6)
• Abe Tōru - Drum (#3,4)
• Abe Kaoru - Drum (#5,9)

Vocal, Voice

• REVO
• Ayano Kanami
• MIKI
• Kiriyama Kazuki
• Kobayashi Sayumi
• REMI
• Jimang
• Kurosawa Tomoyo
• Suzuki Yume
• Ceui
• Inoue Azumi
• Ishii Chinatsu
• Shimokawa Mikuni
• Kuribayashi Minami
• Ōtsuka Akio
• Joelle
• Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid)

Voice

• Idolfried Ehrenberg
• Tobita Nobuo
• Sawashiro Miyuki
• Tanii Asuka
• Ōkawa Tōru
• Nakamura Yuichi
• Fujita Saki
• Sascha

Illustration

• Yokoyan

Trivial

The story of the album features fairytale stories. The album explored the dark side of fairytale instead of the bright side. Well-known fairytales such as Hänsel and Gretel, Snow White, Mother Hulda, Sleeping Beauty and Bluebeard etc. can be found in the album.

The number "7" has been presented several times in the album. 7 Tragic Stories, 7 victims, 28 bonus tracks of 7 seconds each making the album total duration of 77 minutes as well as the album designed to fold out creating "七" (Kanji for 7).

The length of the titles of the list of songs are symmetrical, creating an identical form of a church. (This excludes bonus track)

The lyric booklet is made to feel like an old book or a bible.

All the songs with tragic stories contains the same identical verse, but arranged in different style representing the similarities of the stories, for instance the common theme of Revenge.

References

1. ^ 1 http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/349646/products/music/891960/1/
2. ^ 2 http://www.kingrecords.co.jp/soundhorizon/exceptional/
3. ^ 3 http://www.soundhorizon.com/information/index.html#101029

External links