“Octavius” is the 10th single in ゼラ (Zera)’s discography so far, and even though the band just released their 11th single at the moment of writing, I do want to pull your attention back to the single before it first.
ゼラ (Zera) is a four-member band, existing out of 水翠 (Hisui) on vocals, Aqui and ミナギ (Minagi) on guitar, and 流 (Ryu) on bass. This means that no, the band indeed doesn’t have a drummer in their lineup, but for live shows they have made use of 志雄 (Shiyu, Rides In ReVellion) and 幹太 (Kanta, DEVILOOF) as support members.
As the name of the single might suspect already, “Octavius” is based on the legend of the ghost ship “Octavius”, also known to some as “the ship of ice”. Assuming this tells you as much as it told me initially when I first saw the title of the single, allow me to tell you something about the legend first:
Legend goes that the ship was found west of Greenland in October of 1775 by a whaler (a whale hunter ship). After boarding the ship the entire crew was found below deck, frozen and almost perfectly conserved. Hence the nickname “the ship of ice”. According to the story the ship supposedly set sail in England for the Orient in 1761, reaching it’s destination in the following year. Upon return, the captain decided to take the Northwest Passage, of which little was known at that time. The ship became trapped in the sea ice north of Alaska.
After the ship was found by the whaler Herald it was carried away by the streams the night after the encounter, and never seen again. The last recorded position of the ship while the crew was still alive was about 250 miles (about 402 kilometers) north of Alaska.
In modern pop culture the ship and it’s story supposedly served as inspiration for Jacques Tardi’s graphic novel “Le demon des glaces” (The Demon of Ice), and it’s also featured in a naval mission in the video game Assassin’s Creed III.
Phew. Okay. Introduction almost over. The single exists out of the title song “Octavius”, “The Ship Of Ice” and “レミングス” (Lemmings).
Based on the synopsis of the legend you immediately see the connection between the first two tracks, don’t you? But where does “レミングス” (Lemmings) fit in? Oh please allow me to tell you.
Swallowed by the waves, I take the helm of illusions
Let’s start with the title song first. “Octavius” makes use of ゼラ (Zera)’s catchy rhythms (trust me, their rhythm overall was what initially pulled me into their music, I just don’t have the space to talk about it in detail here) combined with the different voices produced by 水翠 (Hisui). The lyrics are sung in Japanese, with exception of “Crossing the sea, just in time to drown. The name of the ship is “Octavius”.” in the chorus, which are sung in English. The lyrics don’t really touch on the story I explained in the introduction, but clearly do take inspiration from the “ghost ship” aspect, almost as if the storyteller is standing on the deck of the ship itself as it sails during a foggy night in it’s final moments.
The acceptance of the storyteller’s inevitable end is not only visible in the lyrics themselves, but also in 水翠 (Hisui)’s voice when he sings these words. During the beginning of the song he makes more use of his regular, clean vocal style while the chorus makes use of his deep, almost growl style. As the song continues his tone slowly shifts in the most subtle way to embody the acceptance of the inevitable, becoming more theatrical for the last verses before ending with “Drowning in the night, becoming a wandering shadow. The warmth that takes away everything. Play the moment of death. Play forever.”, subtly preparing for the next track already.
The music video for the song is as theatrical as you can hope for from a ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) band. While opening with an approaching ship, the video is mostly filmed in front of a detailed background reminiscent of the style in the late 1700’s. The band obviously plays their instruments in front of this backdrop, but are also shown in different shots posing for the camera throughout.
One of the subtle details I do want to point your attention to are the shots of 水翠 (Hisui) where he’s wearing the claws you unfortunately can’t really see in the image at the top of this article. (To make up for that, here’s a shot of him wearing those claws.) Combined with the outfit and the solo shot of bassist 流 (Ryu) where he wraps his hand around some chains, the subtle horror of transforming into wandering spirits (or ghosts, if you will) comes forward in a very creative way. Same for the shots of 水翠 (Hisui) sitting a the piano and writing in a journal. The original legend also goes that they found the captain in his cabin, frozen in time while writing in his journal. But what about the ice that plays such a big part in the legend, you ask? Throughout the video you will see shots that appear like the camera has frozen over, again adding an extra subtle, but oh so important detail to the visual version of the story as a whole.
The style the legend is being referred to in both the lyrics and the music video is so subtle, but so full of detail. I can’t lie, as soon as I saw the music video I wanted to dive into this single for you.
Following is “The Ship Of Ice”, which as the title suggests is a continuation of what “Octavius” before it already started. Where “Octavius” ends with the death of the ones on the ship, “The Ship Of Ice” is much more a performance of the transformed crew, which has been frozen for thirteen years. (According to the lyrics, that is.)
While being about the same length as the title song, “The Ship Of Ice” has a lot more information incorporated in it’s lyrics. The ship continues to sail with it’s frozen crew still on board, effectively becoming a ghost ship. “The journey to the abyss continues aimlessly. A monochrome ruin with no living souls. Sing and dance, raise your sails and march. The feast of wandering ghosts never ends. Take the helm and head to the lost ocean.”
Once again making use of the various vocal styles 水翠 (Hisui) can produce, ranging from his clean vocals to his growl-like ones and long notes, the track gets a far more haunting feel, while also being upbeat and almost cheerful in the most haunting way. The lyrics are a combination of Japanese and English, taking you on an almost movie-like journey with this ship and it’s frozen ghost crew. “We wander the ocean frozen in time. The ship moves on aimlessly. Ghost ship floating in the ocean. Dyed black in the bottomless abyss.”
Closing off the single is “レミングス” (Lemmings). And looking at the previous title, you’ve probably already wondered from the first time I pointed this out how this ties in to the rest of the single, don’t you? Well, I can finally tell you.
“レミングス” (Lemmings) starts with the same haunting, yet theatrical style as the tracks before it, keeping up the pace rather than slowing it down as a final song, but also giving center stage to bassist 流 (Ryu) who’s instrument is the most dominant for the first verse. Musically speaking it immediately fits into the realm of the other tracks, but lyrics wise it’s story is told through the eyes of the storyteller, much like “Octavius” itself did. Sung entirely in Japanese, the storyteller looks back on his life, now a ghost on this ship as his heart froze over before he knew it. “There is no right answer to a meaningless life. We can’t understand each other, we can’t forgive each other. If there is no hope of making amends.”
Lyrically speaking “レミングス” (Lemmings) is the most emotional song on the single, changing between acceptance and even resentment of the past, which is again highlighted by the many voices of vocalist 水翠 (Hisui), putting emphasis on certain words depending which style of vocals he uses. But again, where does it tie in with the other tracks other than the storyteller being part of the ghost crew? “The ship sails without a destination. The frozen ghosts. Like lemmings.”
The crew has no control over what they are and what they do anymore. All they can do is move forward, much like the lemmings do in that video game you might have played once or twice.
Conclusion
Like mentioned earlier in this review, the moment I saw the music video for “Octavius” I couldn’t wait for the full single to be released and see if the other two songs tied into it. And ゼラ (Zera) absolutely delivered on that part. Not only did they take inspiration from a legend of a ghost ship, they also didn’t flat out copy it, but rather made their own imagination of it, with a hauntingly fitting look that screams ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) and a hauntingly fitting musical form of their story to match it.
All three songs fit the theme, and are unique without sounding boring or repetitive. As I said before, it was initially ゼラ (Zera)’s rhythms that pulled me into their works, but when I say that I don’t only mean their instruments, I also very, very much mean the vocals. Aqui and ミナギ (Minagi)’s guitars put emphasis where you’d like it, and the same can be said about 流 (Ryu)’s bass lines. Obviously a band that doesn’t have a drummer doesn’t highlight their drums as much, but they are very clearly present in their work and complete the full picture. If you haven’t heard this single yet, I would highly recommend it! Even with the language barrier you will still have a haunting experience, proving that music indeed crosses borders.
This release is available for streaming via Spotify, but if you’d rather have a physical copy of the CD (because yes, there is only one version), then we’ve go you covered too. We’ve listed all the information you need below:
 PCM-321 // ¥1,650 |
02. The Ship Of Ice 03. レミングス (Lemmings) |
2024.02.28 Shop: CDJapan | Amazon |
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雪 (Yuki) is the owner and driving force behind Arlequin.
She originally started the project in 2009 as a photographer under the name of Arlequin Photography, but developed an interest in journalism and translation ever since. Because of these interests interviews and reviews were added to the project, until it eventually hit the limits as a "photographer" in 2021, and Arlequin Magazine was added to the mix.
雪 (Yuki) is a native Dutch speaker with a graphic design degree, which means she is also the main person behind Arlequin Creations.
After all these years she is still the main person who does interviews the interviews and live photos that you see on Arlequin, but also a large chunk of the reviews and behind-the-scenes work and communication goes through her.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.