Kuchiki no Tō

Kuchiki no Tō (朽木の灯) is the fourth studio album by Japanese rock band Mucc, released on September 1, 2004, by Danger Crue Records. A European version was released on September 12, 2005, by Gan-Shin. The album reached number 19 on the Oricon Albums Chart.

Overview
Guitarist and principal songwriter Miya said that prior to Zekū (2003) and Kuchiki no Tō (2004), his lyrics were about past events and "traumas" he experienced, but with these two albums he wrote about present inner feelings within the band. Despite audiences loving the shows, he seems to regret having done this as he speculated that he drank a lot on those tours so he would not have to face what he was expressing on stage, and stated that there is one song on Kuchiki no Tō that he will no longer play. Gan-Shin, who released the album in Europe, reported this song to be "Kuchiki no Tō".

Mucc released Kuchiki no Tō Live at Roppongi, a live album where they perform Kuchiki no Tō in its entirely, on October 31, 2004. The songs "Namonaki Yume" and "Monokuro no Keshiki" were re-recorded by the band for their 2017 self-cover album Koroshi no Shirabe II: This is Not Greatest Hits.

Reception
Kuchiki no Tō reached number 19 on the Oricon Albums Chart. Kerrang! included it on a list of 13 essential Japanese rock and metal albums. Describing it as dripping with insatiable angst and menace, Jamie Cansdale wrote that "Mucc ripped their soul from their chests with their fourth outing. An unapologetically bleak tour-de-force of melancholia, Kuchiki no Tō tapped into an inner darkness, hellbent on implosion, and channelled it through Tatsurou's tragically ravishing shrieks." He also wrote that, although Mucc later reached international success with a "more optimistic outlook", they have rarely topped the emotional rollercoaster that is Kuchiki no Tō.

The songs "Akatsuki Yami" and "Oboreru Sakana" were covered by Sid and Gibkiy Gibkiy Gibkiy respectively, for the 2017 Mucc tribute album Tribute of Mucc -En-.