Close to the Edge

Lip Cream’s third album Close to the Edge was released just one year later after the release of the legendary 9 Shocks Terror. This album is also a masterpiece packed with songs that represent the essence of Lip Cream. This album differs slightly from the band’s previous production style, with the band leader Minoru’s intentions strongly emphasized. Minoru was deeply influenced by the works of Go Nagai at the time, according to JhaJha, particularly in terms of ideology. He sought to fuse the apocalyptic themes and worldviews found in Nagai’s works, such as “Devilman” “Mao Dante” and “Guerrilla High” into Lip Cream’s musical style. The jacket artwork depicting a giant octopus swallowing the whole Earth, as well as the colour palette evoking outer space, were all Minoru’s original concepts. The airbrush art, which was rare at the time, was created by illustrator Kohno Shinji. The title logo, handwritten band logo, overall layout, and label design were all handled by JhaJha. The Close to the Edge recordings took place on December 21, 22, and 23, 1987, and January 10, 1988, at Shinjuku Jam Studio. At this time, Lip Cream was going through a period of internal conflicts among the members, which may have contributed to the intense tension created by the harshness of the music and JhaJha’s unique choice of words in the lyrics. The physical version of this album features an English translation of the lyric. However, Lip Cream sincerely hopes that English-speaking listeners will also raise their fists and sing along to the phrases in Japanese. There is meaning in conveying the message in Japanese.