Dir en grey - Dozing Green

The title track had a sample that did nothing impressive, and that's because it was the lame chorus. The rest of the song is really nice; I really loved the parts where there were those gorgeous background vocals. Kyo's not really what I pay attention to for most of the song, though the shrieks at the end are really awesome. It's.. for once, Die. His playing was actually expressive this time around, and really fit the mood of the rest of the music. I'm not really impressed by Shinya or Toshiya here, but, with them all together it's great. I can't wait to see what they do when they remake it.

Hydra -666- is a strange.. 'remake'..thing. Kyo does some awesome vocals here (he sure does them growls and squeals), and Shinya does some extended double bassing which is cool. Die is his normal self here, though. I listen to the Kaoru parts more than the Die ones. Something generally just sounds rather.. VK about this song. The riffing, the timing, all that reminds me (ironically) of Diru copying bands. Not that this is a bad thing. I love it. It has a general atmosphere that will most likely be very much improved on.

The live recording of Agitated Screams of Maggots is pretty good. And by pretty good I mean 'The best I've heard Kyo sound on a CD'. He doesn't fail at the screaming or skip 1000 words, he actually pulls it off, and that's what's impressive. Bad thing is his and Toshiya's vocals are way too quiet. I guess it was just a little error with the sound crew. Definately impressive.

So I'd say that this is the best single Dir en grey has released since... Oh screw it. Ever. Most singles had one song, maybe a remix, and some live stuff. But usually the live stuff sucked. But here, it's good for all three tracks instead of just one. Definately a great release.

Stay tuned later this week or next week for VK Fashion, an unusually untreaded section where I express my opinion on bands' current visuals. See you next time!

SPECIAL: Dir en grey's Strange, Strange Career

Dir en grey's career has been to some, a long up, then a quick nosedive. To others, a low point followed by a skyrocket. Maybe even a big zigzag. But, statements such as these come loaded with bias, as the crowd Dir en grey now attracts has nothing to do with their previous crowd, and their music isn't so much for teenage girls as it used to be. In actuality, their career goes "Alright mini album, okay album, good album, great album, repeat" so far. It's happened twice, and, the question is: Will it happen again? Most likely, no. They're too far into their career to release a mini album. But.. would it be awesome? Yes. Now of course, we see the Gauze fangirls and the VULGAR fangirls just like we see the couple of people who like MACABRE as well as the couple of people who like Withering to death. And also, the people who praise Kisou to no end, and, in the future when the 'newness' fades, there will most likely be people going nuts over Marrow of a Bone as well. Here's my observation on this strange occurance:

Missa/six Ugly: Both were undeveloped prototypes of the sound they would soon introduce. In Missa's case, it was jangly alternative rock and by-the-book VK thrash metal, with a sprinkle of that oldschool Diru flavor. For six Ugly, it was a mixture of hardcore punk, and nu metal. Both of which they even have indirectly said have influenced them heavily. On Missa, Kyo learned how to sing in his signature style. On six Ugly, Kyo learned how to scream in his signature style.

Gauze/VULGAR: Both are the most commercially accpetable of both, and have the easiest sound, and are true to the genre that they are lumped in. Also, both are the most visual out of the two threesomes of albums. They had their strongest ashetic as these points, having memorable costumes, and their most memorable PVs as well.

MACABRE/Withering to death.: Both are special to people for the same reason: An important stage in their lives. The experimental nature of the albums can turn off listeners on either side, but either way, both albums have both the strangest and most catchy songs from the trilogies. It's so easy to get a song like [KR] Cube or Machiavellism stuck in your head, or get totally weirded out by Hydra or GARBAGE. Also, on both albums, the themes were just inbetween those of the previous and the following.

Kisou/THE MARROW OF A BONE: Both have Kyo's most 'offensive' lyrics, his strangest vocals, and most of all, the heaviest and most coherent music. Both albums, on first listen, cause an uncomfortable atmosphere, with a couple 'normal' songs dotted around the album. During both of these albums they didn't appear in magazines very often, but their stage act was the most memorable and important part. Both are an incredible showcase of talent, and are the peaks of the periods. Strangest thing is: The singles are in the same place on both albums.

So, what's next? Who knows. If they do release a mini album, I will be pleasantly suprised, and if they do not, I will be unsuprised. It basically means, if they do, that they are still exploring, but if they don't, it means they are very comfortable with their career. So, only time will tell what will happen next for them.

Dir en grey - Agitated Screams of Maggots

STOP. CANNON TIME. Here's where I give my (underappreciated) opinion on Dir en grey, once again! Ah yes, ah yes. So, here's the lowdown.

LOL DIS SINGL SUX ITZ SOOOO WESTURN OMG I H8 DEEROO NOW I WSH DEY WER STIL VK!11!111!1!!!1 2 MUCH SKREEMIN KYO SUX GRRHRHFRDGG DEY KOPY FVT BANDZSZZ I KAN HEER IT GAAH DEYRE SO LAZYYYYY

:| Happy? I bet not because I just made a mockery of mose Diru 'fans' who stick around just to be annoying and like a wrench in the gears. I don't mind bad reviews-- but when someone repeats themselves over and over without ANY good points that actually could be used in a conversation and not a bash/attack, that's trolling, Officer. That's pretty much what everyone does, except us few who actually like it. There's no way to justify hanging around and just over and over saying the same tired lines about every time they do ANYTHING, even announce TOUR DATES. It all comes down to this: Take your bland VK bands, and just leave. Damn. Is it that hard to realize the band doesn't give a rat's ass what you think about their current direction? Obviously, if they've done a repeat offence for two albums, going on three, they WANT to do this. So.. in short, shut the hell up.

So anyway! With my nearly-no-holds-barred-I-bet-if-people-read-this-I'd-be-flamed-by-total-jerks rant out of the way, I shall now actually review this thing.

The main.. song.. thing.. it's just what I wanted. It's almost perfect. All it's missing is a grooving breakdown and a nice quick blastbeat. Other than that, it's a great direction for them to go in, because, face it, he'll probably sing this better live. (See: Sleazoid) He doesn't have to do any showoffy stuff here, which he seems incapable of doing due to him using too much of his energy at once, so he should be able to at least not be absolutely terrible. But, back to the single. The production is much better than anything post VULGAR. Everything's pretty clear, and Kyo isn't buried or overpowering. Shinya's audible! It makes me smile... almost. Well, actually, the only sad part is when the song ends.

So, next, we have the live ones. THIS is what people should be ragging on, instead of the single-- the single was awesome. This, on the other hand.. this is just.. not acceptable. I'm sure if they release it on some DVD it'll be just fine. SEEING Kyo make the errors somehow soothes the mind. After it's been raked up by the horrible sounds he makes during clean vocal parts. ..Then you can tell, the horrible sounds are caused by him overworking himself. So, all is well by then.

Okay! There we go! I just let out a little frustration at fanbases and reviewed a nice single while at it. I even listened to it twice! Now, I'll wait to see if anyone gets mad enough to comment or something. See you next week when I will probably review... something recent. Whatever comes to mind. XD

Dir en grey - Ryojoku no Ame/Kiyoharu - Vinnybeach

Dir en grey - Ryojoku no Ame - Wonderful song. I was expecting it to be slow and pointless, in the way Higeki blah blah off Withering to death was. Kyo's vocals don't derail or do anything that isn't possible to do live or anything. That was a huge problem on that past releases, including Clever Sleazoid. I can also see they have better sound effects. And.. ...Kaoru plays NOTES in this song! It's awesome that this song still has power, without being fast and heavy. The lives tracks are pretty impressive too. Kyo doesn't suck like on the Sleazoid live tracks.

Kiyoharu - VINNYBEACH ~kaku no kaigan~ - Somehow through the useless intro I knew I was in for a treat. It cuts into Dance, and things change, the bass is WAY too loud. Dance is floaty and uneventful for the most part, but.. Still good. Bye bye is one of the best songs Kiyoharu has made since 1999. It has an alternative rock feel without being alternative rock. It's wonderful. There's something special Kiyoharu does with a song to just make it... ..Beautiful! Emerald is just as shiny as the jewel it's named after. I enjoy this song so much, it competes with Wednesday! It has this sound that only Kiyoharu can make, and that I sure wished Kanno Boogie had. But now we have it! There are alot of great moments on this album, and a few bad ones. Seiza no Yoru is still boring in my opinion, I can't stand Kono Kodoku blah blah, though it follows the Kiyoharu rule. Its closing, Kimi no koto ga isn't too, though I wouldn't listen to it on purpose.

There we have it, again. Two great releases.. again. See you next Monday when I review... something else!