Ningen Shikkaku (人間失格; No Longer Human) Album Discussion Thread #1

Ningen Shikkaku (人間失格; No Longer Human)

Release Date: July 21, 1990
Running Time: 48m:47s
Label: Meldak/Tokuma Japan Communications
Album Cover: Ningen Shikkaku

Genre:

Heavy Metal
Hard Rock
Doom Metal
Stoner Rock

 

Performers
Shinji Wajima	Guitar, Vocals
Ken-ichi Suzuki	Bass, Vocals
Uekan Tokubo	Drums

 

Listen

Youtube: 人間椅子 - 人間失格 [Full Album]

 

Track List

Song	Romaji	English	Youtube	Setlist.fm
鉄格子黙示録	Tetsugoushi Mokushi-roku	Apocalypse of Iron Grill	人間椅子 - 人間失格 [Full Album] starting at 0:00	18
針の山	Hari no Yama	Spiny Mountain in Hell	Ningenisu Harinoyama	175
あやかしの鼓	Ayakashi no Tsuzumi	Ghost Drums	人間椅子 あやかしの鼓	60
りんごの泪	Ringo no Namida	Apple's Tear	りんごの泪	91
賽の河原	Sai no Kawara	Side of Sanzu River	人間椅子 賽の河原	56
天国に結ぶ恋	Tengoku ni Musubu Koi	Love Connected to Heaven	人間椅子 天国に結ぶ恋	101
悪魔の手毬歌	Akuma no Temari-uta	Temari-uta of Demon	人間椅子ー悪魔の手毬唄 Ningen Isu - Akuma no Temariuta	14
人間失格	Ningen Shikkaku	No Longer Human	陰獣～人間失格 人間椅子（Ningen Isu）	22
ヘヴィ・メタルの逆襲	Heavy Metal no Gyakushuu	Counter of Heavy Metal	ヘヴィ・メタルの逆襲 人間椅子（Ningen Isu）	16
アルンハイムの泉	Arnheim no Izumi	Spring of Arnheim	Ningen Isu - Arnheim No Izumi	1
桜の森の満開の下	Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita	Under the Blooming Cherry Blossoms	NINGENISU - SAKURA_NO_MORINO_MANKAI_NO_SITA	33

 

Lyrics

See Lyrics post: Lyrics Translations - All Albums

 

Background

• The album title is from Osamu Dazai's novel titled “Ningen Shikkaku”.

 

Reviews and Articles

• Encyclopaedia Metallum/The Metal Archives: Bluesy, gloomy & psychedelic seventies' hard rock - 93%

"One thing that needs to be pointed out is how coherent this record sounds from start to finish. It focuses on a mixture of hard rock, heavy blues rock and psychedelic elements inspired by Western music of the seventies and keeps this spirit from start to finish."

• Encyclopaedia Metallum/The Metal Archives: Ningen Isu - Vol. 1: The yokai discover the riff - 73%

"All of this leads to Ningen Isu, a power trio that somehow manages to sound fundamentally oriental and characteristically western at the same time. A potpourri of Sabbathian grooves, Budgie's lifeblood, and Japanisms™, Ningen Shikkaku stands as an apt yet rough start for the band. This is Ningen Isu's primordial ooze, where they were still swimming around in the ocean of their primary influences, before sprouting the legs that would give them a sound truly of their own."

• Prog Archives:FragileKings - Ningen Shikkaku

"The band's love of early seventies heavy rock is undeniable. Think "Behind the Wall of Sleep", "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Children of the Grave" by Black Sabbath or "Guts", "Crash Course in Brain Surgery" and "Breadfan" by Budgie and you'll immediately understand where this band is coming from. In fact, the song "Hari no Yama" ("Needle Mountain" or translated on YouTube as "Spiny Mountain in Hell") is a Japanese lyric version of "Breadfan" with a different story but all the speed and bombast of the original that inspired a Metallica cover."

• Prog Archives:DamoXt7942 - Ningen Shikkaku

"In 1989 they appeared as a bizarre project on a TV program introducing new bands and could knock all judges and audience out with their terrific technique. As a basis shoving heavy and progressive rock style influenced by KING CRIMSON, BLACK SABBATH or BUDGIE, they have released 14 studio albums since 1990. Their tune and lyrics are characterized by Shinji's grounding in Japanese literature or Buddhism and Ken'ichi's curiosity about doom or spiritism - the eerie and esoteric flavour gains them popularity among maniacs."

 

Sources

Note: Some sources in Japanese; Google Translate used

• Wikipedia - Ningen Isu
• [Wikipedia (Japan) - 人間椅子 (Band)](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%BA%E9%96%93%E6%A4%85%E5%AD%90_(%E3%83%90%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89\))
• [Wikipedia (Japan) - 人間失格 (Album)](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%BA%E9%96%93%E5%A4%B1%E6%A0%BC_(%E4%BA%BA%E9%96%93%E6%A4%85%E5%AD%90%E3%81%AE%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AB%E3%83%90%E3%83%A0\))
• Setlist.fm - Ningen Isu (as of November 16, 2019)

 

Housekeeping

• Your comments will help make each album thread better. To put it another way, the threads are meant to start conversations around each album in the hopes of increasing our knowledge of each album.

• This information will come from a variety of sources, and could include misleading or incorrect information. Not surprising, given the reliance on a combination of other people's work and Google Translate. If you know something to be wrong, make a comment and appropriate action can be taken.

• Generally defaulted to earlier versions for the video chosen for each song on the track list; there can be big differences between early and later performances. Explore.

• 20191127: Replaced original video linked for Arnheim no Izumi

• Started: November 2019