An unbridgeable severance and the depths of sorrow:
Unraveling VISION OF HELL's
First and Second Albums

The solitary band, VISION OF HELL, vividly portrays the darkness and despair lurking in the depths of the heart. Their music fundamentally shakes the listener's emotions. The two albums, simultaneously released in November 2023, can be described as works that meticulously record the process of the band's frontman, Mikage, confronting his own inner world through different approaches.

Disconnection from Others Repeatedly Depicted in a Pop Format: The First Album, "DUST ON THE LIPS OF THE VISION OF HELL"

"DUST ON THE LIPS OF THE VISION OF HELL," the origin of VISION OF HELL, presents various narratives set to a diverse musicality.

For example, "ENFANTS TERRIBLES" is inspired by Jean Cocteau’s novel, Les Enfants Terribles, depicting a destructive beauty within a closed-off world. In "UNDERDOG," a scathing critique of those who follow trends is cast from a self-deprecating perspective. "HATE U" expresses the exhilaration of a budding romance in a funky and colorful manner.

However, when dissecting these narratives, the presence of "you"—the "other"—who appears in most songs, emerges. Mikage persistently writes about his feelings for "you," repeatedly featuring "you". Yet, in "THE LAST SUMMER," he survives despite regretting, "Last summer, when you died / I should have ended everything," choosing to live on. In "ENFANTS TERRIBLES," he doesn't even know who "you" is. In "KISS ME DEAD," love transforms into death, and in "HATE U," love transforms into hatred, revealing a shift to conflicting emotions towards "you". "SEA OF MANDARA" is straightforwardly a song of parting with "you".

Ultimately, one can discern a sense close to resignation that "you" and "I" are separate entities that cannot truly connect or understand each other on a deep level. The same sentiment is expressed more directly in the song "FLOWERS OF ROMANCE" from the subsequent work: "There is a deep, unbridgeable gap between you and me / It cannot be filled / We cannot understand each other".

This work repeatedly depicts "disconnection from others". However, because this theme is enveloped in the outer shell of pop songs and dissolved into each respective narrative, it possesses a bottomless swamp-like allure. It draws the listener into VISION OF HELL's dark world view while still leaving room for imagination. It fully serves its role as the literal First Album, truly befitting an introduction to VISION OF HELL.

The Stripped-Bare Soul's Journey of Condemnation and Atonement: The Second Album, "DE PROFUNDIS"

In the subsequent second album, "DE PROFUNDIS," the expression of VISION OF HELL, and of Mikage, deepens. This album was reportedly created with the conviction that Mikage's unique personality, expressed directly and without reservation, would connect to the band's unique sound.

True to these words, the lyrics of "DE PROFUNDIS" show a thinning of the metaphorical expressions seen in the first album. Instead, a deep monologue from Mikage's heart is laid bare. Self-loathing, loneliness, guilt, and despair towards existence itself are confronted without any pretense.

The cry that life itself is a "sin" in "Tsumi ~THE CARDINAL SIN~," the words "Everything was meaningless and wasteful" and "No one remains" from "Hai-no-Sekai" ("WORLD OF ASH") that emphasize nihilism and solitude, the direct expression of "disconnection from others" in "FLOWERS OF ROMANCE," and the poignant scream in "OUT OF THE DEPTHS OF SORROW," "I should have died then," all directly confront the listener with the loneliness and despair at the core of his spiritual world more than ever before. The words are honed, and the scenic descriptions, though more abstract, possess a sharpness that strikes the senses. Here, there is nothing left to hide; the stripped-bare soul of Mikage resides.

Yes, these songs are the journey of condemnation and atonement of Mikage's soul. As Mikage laid bare the peculiarity (uniqueness) of his soul, that extreme loneliness and guilt instead resonated with and were sublimated into the universal human condition (universality) that lies deep within the listener. Thus, the "hell" depicted here strongly impresses upon the listener that it is the universal human condition, transcending individual tragedy. Whether the illusory hell finally reached is his place of peace or a realm of further suffering is left to the listener's imagination.

VISION OF HELL is not merely a "dark" band. What they depict is the abyss of the human condition—sin, loss, loneliness, and death—which everyone would rather turn away from. They offer no easy solace or salvation. Instead, they directly confront that abyss, digging out the pain and decadent beauty that lurks within. Their music will become an irreplaceable presence for those who resonate with this universal "darkness". And the cry of Mikage resounding from the depths of that darkness will undoubtedly leave an unforgettable mark of catharsis on the listener's soul.

TEXT: 8 Ball