This is some awful, sudden news. Still processing it.
If anyone would like to join us in a tribute event where we listen to our favorite B-T songs together, you can find more info here.
6 Likes
I havenât been on this fucking forum in over a year after a bunch of personal deaths last year, and then this year when Issay passed I got the news a week late secondhand cause I donât use any social / news media.
So at the time I think- âgod well Atsushi is still out thereâŠâ But yet I become paranoid after.
Now tonight, I feel impulse to check this site for whatever reason, literally no reason, and have intrusive thoughts taunting me âWhat if heâs passed away and itâs on the front page??â
And itâs real. Fucking shit. I canât believe it at all. I had only just begun to stop being fully numb in June but fuck it I guess. I really canât even process it, canât even cry my brain is refusing.
Thank you for everything you brought and put out into the world, even to the very end, too fucking short end. I would maybe not even be here now had I not found B-T. You completely re-energized my snuffed out spirit, gave me some sense of understanding and a strange hope, even if I am no one and Iâd never even get to shake your hand and thank you, I felt less alone.
10 Likes
he was pretty open about having poor health, and their 30th anniversary show also coincided with his previous hospitalization
I didnât realize his parents also passed away very early; there might be an inherited genetic part of it as well, since people who seen B-T live often commented he was very well put together and seemingly lived on the sober, taking good care of himself side.
5 Likes
Thanks for this, I didnât know. I also thought about his parents dying young, his dad was an alcoholic but he was really close to his mother - songs like Jupiter, Sakura and Long Distance Call are all about how profoundly her death affected him 
5 Likes
I donât think it was geneticâŠat least not quite so directly. Sakuraiâs father died due to alcoholism at 53 and his mother died of cancer at the age of 51.
Sakurai himself was known to be heavy with the alcohol for a number of years, both by his own admission and that of others who knew him (late teen/young adult period and for some time following his motherâs passing being the first couple bad points that spring to mind), and even putting aside peak usage, he was open about a routine he had of vodka shot(s) before bed to deal with his PTSD nightmares.
He started taking better care of his health after he survived that bout of septic peritonitis back in '96 and other smaller scares in the following decades as far as anyone could tell, but chronic alcohol consumption, even when itâs more mild, isnât kind on the vascular system and even cutting back wonât necessarily undo any weakening the veins and arteries mightâve already incurredâŠnot to mention heâd had COVID twice over the past few years, which may not have helped on that front either, despite vaccination.
And yet in spite of everything I just said, Iâm still partway in shock that it happenedâŠBT was one of those bands that felt like theyâd go on forever. A constant, reliable presence with a desire to keep trying new things, even in a scene with so much turnover and a tendency for groups to fall into ruts.
And music and vocal talent aside, I had long admired Atsushiâs willingness to try to shine some light on the topics of abuse and mental health, even knowing Japanâs deep discomfort with those things.
Canât begin to imagine how the rest of the members are feeling, having known each other for so longâŠthe circumstances are just all too sudden and he was too damn young.
15 Likes
I keep thinking about how unfair it is, Iâve seen a lot of comments like âwe have to be thankful for all the music he gave usâ and while I think itâs a nice sentiment it doesnât really help the sense of loss⊠itâs so sad, the more I think about it the sadder I feel
9 Likes
After refraining from commenting on it for like a week because I am the kind of âI said the wrong thing and lost the social interaction, which is something that is possible to doâ person aka bad at communicating I decided to try my best here.
Because I wanted to point out that though my feelings for this man are recent (and happened after over a decade of being aware he and his band existed and enjoying a lot of artists inspired by or friends with him so go figure) somehow I went through what I call the rite of passage to being a fan (sorry Iâm a clown to cope ; ; ; ) which consists in being in a dark room like a sad vampire thinking âdamn Iâm weird and sickly and alone someone like me was destined to rotâ ur brain goes âthat never stopped Atsushi Sakurai thoughâ and the realization hits like an endless bout of hope lol free serotonin forever!!!
Jokes aside (maybe not joking) maybe the opportunity to go through it is the reason why it took me so long. Canât thank enough what he has done for many. Still in denial (maybe denial phase lasts longer when itâs someone youâve passed by many times and then you have a heart to heart and start falling for them and then theyâre no more - thatâs the experience I had ⊠) so enough. Hopefully he will be always seen as the legend he is. And now for a random video that shows the amazingness of his talent together with B-T virtuosity and artistic vision 
8 Likes
RIP Atsushi Sakurai
1 Like
He left us way too soon⊠goodbye King.
Iâve been playing my favorite BT song Angelic Conversation on loop these days.
The music video always reminds me of the fragility and fleetingness of life.
11 Likes
DIR EN GREY performed NATIONAL MEDIA BOYS as a tribute at todayâs live.
20 Likes
memorial event for Atsushi, âTHE CEREMONYâ will be held at Zepp Haneda on 12/8~9
8 Likes
People reselling the flower offering tickets - originally 1500 yen (~$10) - for 20,000+ yen ($132 or more) :
https://twitter.com/livedoornews/status/1723612738172404026
Absolute ghoul behavior 
1 Like
Instead of the usual year-end THE DAY IN QUESTION concert, the event âăăŻăăŻçŸè±Ą-2023-â (BUCK-TICK Genshou-2023-) will be held at Nippon Budokan on 2023/12/29. More details to be revealed later.
4 Likes
Really curious for what this will be, if they chose to move foward and keep together as a band, it would be amazing
Not sure if there is BUCK-TICK without Sakurai.
5 Likes
Whoâs going to take Sakuraiâs place then? Kiyoharu? Toshl? one of the Kyoâs? or perhaps Morrie? Though i can even see them reshuffle the lineup if they choose to keep going.
1 Like
TUSK? I wish.
I think itâs better to not have a replacement.
Buck-Tick feat. someone in rotation.
This would open some very interesting opportunities, Takanori Nishikawa, Sheena Ringo, etc. Many guest vocalists would be fun, and they have many friends
Keep the Parade spirit alive
23 Likes
My guess is this will just be a special one-off occasion with maybe a roster of guest vocalists, and then theyâll see where they go next in what capacity, if at all (if itâs anything to go by, Imai commented online that he definitely wants to continue).
In any case, itâs bound to be a special event since the last time they labeled a concert with the title âBUCK-TICK Genshouâ it was their comeback and symbolic âresurrectionâ as a band after Imaiâs drug scandal in 1989 (and before that, other âBUCK-TICK Genshouâ gigs coincided with milestones such as major label signing announcement or a step up in venue sizes).
10 Likes