''Ray'' is the seventh album by

L'Arc-en-Ciel , stylized as L'Arc〜en〜Ciel and abbreviated as Laruku, is a Japanese rock band formed in Osaka in 1991 by bassist Tetsuya and vocalist Hyde. Following the departure of original members Hiro and Pero, guitarist Ken and drummer Sakura were ...

, released on July 1, 1999, simultaneously with '' Ark''. It reached number two on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

chart, behind only ''Ark'', and sold over two million copies, being certified by the

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include prom ...

Track listing

Covers

"Shinshoku ~lose control~" was covered by Fantôme Iris, a fictional visual kei band from multimedia franchise

Argonavis from BanG Dream! ''From Argonavis'' (stylized as ''from ARGONAVIS'', originally titled ''Argonavis from BanG Dream!'' in 2018–2021) is a Japanese multimedia project by Bushiroad. An anime television series by Sanzigen aired from April 10 to July 3, 2020, ...

on their first solo live ''Fantôme Iris 1st LIVE -C'est la vie!-''. "Honey" and "Snow Drop" were covered by Eric Martin and

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

, respectively, on ''L'Arc-en-Ciel Tribute''; a different mix of Martin's cover was later included on his cover album '' Mr. Rock Vocalist''.

Personnel

* hyde –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer * ''Ken'' (film), a 1965 Japanese film * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine * Ken Masters, a main character in th ...

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, chromaharp on track 1, keyboards on tracks 2, 7, 8 and 11,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

on tracks 3, 5 and 11 *

tetsu Tetsu (written: 哲, 徹, 鉄 or テツ in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese musician *, Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

yukihiro Yukihiro is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms Yukihiro can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *幸弘, "happiness, vast" *幸宏, "happiness, wide" *幸浩, "happiness, wide" *幸� ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, tambourine and

shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

on track 2, guitar and keyboards on track 9 * Hajime Okano – keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 * Hitoshi Saitou – keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 * Shinri Sasaki –

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

Track listing

Covers

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References