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| Dir en GreyWithering to Death2006 Warcon 
  Review by: Sirens See others by this writer Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on June 29th 2007
One thing I’ve noticed on this site was the lack of overseas reviews by the staff. The International Spotlight does a great job introducing new bands from around the world, and sure, there's a few of those Europe bands everyone loves here and there. But there are a lot of styles going unnoticed by the readers. One being J-rock (Japanese rock), or Visual Kei, have you.
You walk the mountain road made of corpses smiling. Again you reach out and ants gather under the lily under the sun. People that can't redeem have ash, tears, and tacitunity in both their hands... What's cruel is when the sun and the moon come together. Even tomorrow looks away. On the Red Day you question taciturnity...It's also the effort Kyo puts into his vocals, live or recorded, that makes him a great frontman. The album explodes with "Merciless Cult," and keeps on at it for the first couple tracks. The guitar work in Withering to Death is by no means groundbreaking, but it's how Kaoru and Die match up their playing…they don’t, but they blend together fine, and it’s what makes Diru, Diru (Saku and Machiavellism are good examples). I couldn’t go on without noting Toshiya’s bass work on the album; it would be empty without his style (songs like "The Final" and "Kodoku ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku"). Shinya’s percussion also needs some praise (again "The Final," also "C"). Diru is a refreshing band because of their ability to go from brutal metal then burst into catchy melodic choruses making listeners want to sing along... but it's Japanese. The slower songs on this album display Diru’s softer side, but at times it just seems like they just threw the song together and it just drags on ("Higeki wa Mabuta o Oroshita Yasashiki Utsu" at 5:08). Unlike most Diru albums there aren’t any guitar solos or bass solos. They approached this album with an attitude toward making music that a listener could feel, without all of the showing off. And it’s the sign of progress -- bands do that sometimes. However, in their earlier work they could show a few people who was boss. After the disc comes to an end, and depressing yet satisfying screams are screamed, older Diru fans are left disappointed as Diru leaves the Visual Kei genre and reach out toward their creative inner-selves. Newer fans of the more aggressive Diru will be pleased and encourage the newer style. Highly recommended for those looking for a new thrill. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
lol ppl on here are so critical!! Diru (i've never heard of this shouryaku, though) sucks. "comparing dir en grey to envy is like comparing disturbed to isis" I saw these guys last nite and holy god they were terrible. The lead singer sounds like picachoo. The guys voice is unique but it's also horrible. He kept doing like Tychee then he would bust into some horrible Korn grunting shit. Dir En Grey had a long-running Visual Kei phase, but this album is their first when they started to "snap out of it" (the singer was still kinda decked out, but that's about it.) Unfortunately after this album they ventured into writing 50 percent nu-metal on their new album... best japanese band is envy, hands down. mono in close second. "Dir en grey is okay. "polysics is clearly the greatest japanese band (softball was a close second). " Hey guys. It's cool if you don't like Visual Kei. But don't pretend that you even know what it is. This Dir en grey album isn't even VK. Dir en Grey are terrible. You guys need to listen to more Melt Banana. This album is a genuine piece of art. Dir en grey is different from Japanese rock bands because they are capable of showing true musicianship from the beginning to the end of every album. So many Japanese artists focus on their visual style and being popular with teenagers instead of the music they create. Dir en grey sincerely puts emotion into each and every song, especially in live performances. You can tell they have an unending passion for what they do, which is more than anyone could say for most bands hailing from any country these days. ...and I would agree not to place them under the "punk" genre. polysics is clearly the greatest japanese band (softball was a close second). Melt bannana blows. Fuck this noise. The only Japanese band worth talking about is Melt-Banana. I heard a few songs by these guys and thought it was fucking terrible. Visual Kei is one of those shitty parts of Japanese culture that American Japanophiles go apeshit for just because it's from Japan. If an American or European band was doing this, it would be written off as the garbage it is. Meanwhile, there are plenty of Japanese bands that are actually good but won't ever get any exposure outside of that country because it doesn't inspire losers to dress up in anime costumes and masturbate to thoughts of having a Japanese girlfriend. I like this album and the band. Plus, if you ever get the chance to see them live, do it it's definitely worth it. Lots of teenage girls screamin and it's funny when Kyo(singer) cuts himself because they all go quiet. And he does it every time that I've seen Dir En Grey live. Next time review some good punk please I agree with the first post *diy Uhm, I would imagine this genre isn't reviewed because: A: it is no where near DYI from it's origin. B: it sounds nothing like punk. i just saw these guys open for deftones in st. louis. they are most likely the worst band i have EVER heard. they were so bad they were getting booed by the crowd. this shit was horrible 10 years ago. haha i reviewed this about a year and a half ago. i wish i could rereview it a week after hearing it. This review is so shitty. The writer is attempting to sound like he knows what he's talking about but it comes off like the writing of a high school music nerd...and not in a good way. Also, the band sucks ass. This band represents everything that is wrong in Japanese rock music. (the worse being that they will probably get huge stateside...) |
