the GazettE –DIVISION- GROAN OF DIPLOSOMIA Tour Final - MELT at Saitama Super Arena

In the spacious Saitama Super Arena, thousands of fans rushed to their places as the countdown to the start began with an opening shown throughout the tour. The screen behind the band’s setup showed a bilateral image crashing together, while the fans clapped in unison with the image. The lights and sound gradually became more complex, and when the members appeared on the stage one-by-one the arena rumbled with the welcoming shouts of the fervent fans waiting for the time to come.

“Let’s go crazy, Saitama!” shouted vocalist Ruki as DERANGEMENT got the fans thrashing their heads from the start and laser lights and the screen abided to the intense lights. Then on the side, sub-screens set on both sides of the stage showed the close-ups of the members. Guitarist Uruha’s solo was highlighted and had the arena fixated. Jumping with hands up in the air had taken over the thrashing, setting an energetic atmosphere. GABRIEL ON THE GALLOWS, punched in with Kai’s thunderous drums and Reita’s profound bass, gave a heavy impact as Ruki’s growls let the crowd sway to the rhythm. Yellow lights along with lasers beaming across the arena danced with the melody. The roaring in the arena increased its volume with the next song, VENOMOUS SPIDER’S WEB. The smashing drums racing through with the heavy sound of the guitar had the mass headbanging. Ruki wasted no time in energizing the arena with his shouts, and his voice brought about an addictive quality to the restless vision on the screen.

“Finally here! The tour final!” Applause in the arena arose as Ruki took the microphone for a brief MC. “It is our 11th year, and I am very happy to be here with all of you! Let’s have a blast today! Are you guys ready? Give it all you got!”

Ruki’s contagious, hefty growl triggered the mass to headbang fiercely in the beginning of VORTEX. On the spacious stage, the vocalist went from one side to the other, fueling the audience with energy as he thrashed and jumped to the weighty sound along with them. In CLEVER MONKEY the drums took the spotlight, with a riot of light effects shooting the stage. The song went from a violent rap to a melodious dive into a guitar solo, firing up the arena once again with a sea of hands, thrashing heads and the song title flashing intensely on the screen.

The lights then dimmed, and an image of blue ink swayed across the screen. The tick-tock sounds of a clock resounded throughout the arena. THE SUICIDE CIRCUS opened with Ruki’s rap, and the stage as well as the audience swayed their bodies back and forth to the deepening sound. The band went further to a darker sound with DRIPPING INSANITY. The lights showered like rain over the stage, and the medium-tempo ballad delivered many emotions through the vocalist, from a grief stricken cry to a distorted growl. Applause arose, and not wasting time, the screen flashed the words, “Quiet, catastrophe, confusion, fear, grief…” one after another. The dark feeling turned dismal as Yoin started its somber cry, yet the beautiful guitar solos by Uruha and Aoi and the bright lights showering across the arena gradually lifted the atmosphere. Slow, wandering lights abided to the serene music. Kagefumi, with its splendid melody, had the mass appreciating the song until the end. The pace picked up with Kage no sanagi. Light cast onto the two guitarists, Uruha with his electric guitar and Aoi with an acoustic one, and both blended well with Ruki’s powerful voice. The song built up profoundly: beautiful scenery of falling petals on the back screen escalated the emotional cry of the instruments and vocals.

Correlating with the introduction of Ibitsu’s MV, the screen displayed a withering flower. As soon as the music started, Ruki fired up the mass. “Saitama! Got energy for more?” Kai’s drums struck a pace and the melody had the mass headbanging once again. The heat escalated with HEDORO. Crazy laser effects flew across the arena and had the crowd thrashing their heads and clapping their hands as the vocalist fired up the crowd many times in the midst of the song. VERMIN increased the heat with the vocalist and instruments alternating shouts and a chorus that had the mass jumping freely.

Ruki warmed up the mass from the front to the back before a set of storming numbers about to come. “Give all you got!” The screen displayed a red six-rayed star, and SLUDGY CULT dove in with a massive guitar that roared and intensified the volume as the rhythm raced through. With Reita’s bass solo midway, raps and shouts, the song had enough to inspire the mass to pump their fists. In HEADACHE MAN, an explosion of smoke effects shot the stage, and the arena was in for a massive moshfest as the vocalist growled heavily, stirring up the mass for more thrashing. “Use your heads!” shouted Ruki. The arena rumbled with flying heads and moshing. Then, a grizzly laughter took over the arena for ATTITUDE. The vocalist and the mass shouted out the word “BREAK” as the screen displayed it. The mass had no time to rest themselves with the pacing digital beat, the storming sound and heavy, unfaltering shouts. REQUIRED MALFUNCTION set the crown flawlessly on the main set with a remarkable combination of fervent growls and melodious lines that had the mass satisfyingly restless to the end.

After the members left the stage, the mass was in for a surprise. Along with the SE [MELT], a massive explosion rumbled the stage and silenced the mass. With blazing fire effects, another explosion had the lighting fixture dangling from above, and smoke spreading from the stage created a chaotic scene. Though at first the mass was in awe with the sudden effects, by the end a roar of applause engulfed the arena once again. Only a band like the GazettE could carry out an outrageous presentation like this.

The first encore started with bassist Reita’s and drummer Kai’s session, Ride with the Rockers. Reita gave a good groove with Kai striking the drums hard, letting the mass heat up and ready themselves for a set of their old traditional songs. After Reita’s massive shower of shouts, the two guitarists came back on stage, powering up their instruments’ volumes in unison as the mass shouted back in reply. Then Ruki came out yelling, “SAITAMA! Give it all you GOT!” with his fists pumped up, stirring up the crowd for the speedy Akai One Piece. The mass spun their heads, swaying right and left heavily, and the members moved about the stage. Uruha and Aoi met up on the front platform performing together face-to-face. The mass was in for more when Psychedelic Heroine started with Ruki’s “Let’s dance!” Colorful lights danced to the mid-tempo melody, and the mass jumped continuously with their hands dancing in the air.

“SAITAMA! First of all, I’d like to say thanks to everyone, and we are very fortunate to have met you all! Are you guys having fun today?” Answering to Ruki’s call, thousands of voices shouted excitedly in return. “It’s the tour final, and it is the GazettE’s 11th year. I’d like to say thank you very much for following us these 11 years. I appreciate everybody’s support. You know, when five individual adults work together for quite some time, sometimes we clash against one another with many things, but today, I believe we have become one. This tour taught me a lot, and I’m sad that it will be over. Can you give us more of your voices today?” The mass didn’t hesitate to answer him back as the arena once again roared in shouts and applause. The band shouted back for more as they dove into FILTH IN THE BEAUTY, their very first major release. From the start, the mass headbanged to the heavy beat. Bright lights revealed the arena to be filled with thousands of fans jumping and singing along. The countdown for COCKROACH triggered shouts from the restless crowd. Reita created a groovy bass line that just stuck to your ears, and the energetic set continued with LINDA~candydive pinky heaven~. The fans as well as the members became one as they jumped, headbanged, and moved their bodies freely to the vibrant music that best ended the array of traditional songs.

The members came back onstage once more for a double encore. After Ruki shouted, “Welcome to HELL,” the most contagious number of all, Kanto dogeza kumiai, stormed into a chaotic hell. The mass kneeling on the floor banged their heads crazily as the band spread themselves across the stage. Ruki left the stage for the runway on both sides of the arena to greet the fervent fans, shouting for more thrashing. The two guitarists, playing their guitars back-to-back, seemed to enjoy the view of the arena. An uplifting song, ☆BEST FRIENDS☆ , was the grand finale for the day, presented with exploding silver confetti falling down on the mass. Fans swayed their hands and sang along with the band to the encouraging song. Thousands of satisfied smiles could be seen.

Before leaving, each of the members had something to say.
Uruha: “Had fun today? It has been a good opportunity to do new things during this tour, and it turned out to be a very good tour.”
Kai: “I am proud to have members as well as fans that I can share the same music with. There is no definite promise of what will come in the future, but I believe the path is right! Thanks.”
Reita: “Wow, it’s been 11 years already. We’re not gonna stop here, so please continue supporting us!”
Aoi: “Hi, this live was such a good live. I was happy to see all of your smiling faces, and I am fortunate to have the members and all of you, sharing this time together. Thank you.”
Last but not least, Ruki took the final word.
Ruki: “It was our wish to let everybody see something new through this tour. Was it fun? It’s sad that the tour is over, but it was fun. Please continue to come along with us to embark on the future dream! Love you all! Hold your hands and jump with us!”

The live ended with the members and fans jumping together, setting the final crown on the finale. The members’ encouraging words of the “future” is surely something worth anticipating, with the new single and album releases to come in the near future!


Setlist

1. DERANGEMENT
2. GABRIEL ON THE GALLOWS
3. VENOMOUS SPIDER’S WEB
4. VORTEX
5. CLEVER MONKEY
6. THE SUICIDE CIRCUS
7. DRIPPING INSANITY
8. Yoin
9. Kagefumi
10. Kage no sanagi
11. Ibitsu
12. HEDORO
13. Vermin
14. SLUDGY CULT
15. HEADACHE MAN
16. ATTITUDE
17. REQUIRED MALFUNCTION
SE
18. [MELT]

Encore 1
1. Ride with the Rockers
2. Akai One Piece
3. Psychedelic Heroine
4. FILTH IN THE BEAUTY
5. COCKROACH
6. LINDA~candydive pinky heaven~

Encore 2
1. Kantou dogeza kumiai
2. ☆BEST FRIENDS☆