Nowhere Girl

If anyone should be ashamed, it's the band for selling it at such a disgustingly high price.

I see you like NIN. On the more electronic, industrial side, you might enjoy BAAL or Blam Honey.

I'm thinking of getting the TOUR12-13 IN SITU-TABULA RASA DVD. Is it any good? I've heard there are no subtitles for the documentary sections. If I know virtually no Japanese, is it even worth the purchase?

FUCK YES!

I'd love to see them again in the UK. It's doubtful, as I estimate only about 150 people tops attended the last concert. Looking forward to the new album. Might wait for a regular edition. Not sure how interested I am in another collab disc, unless there's something crazy on there...

Seems like a troll post but you say "Prove me wrong" at the end. Sure. They then came out after a short time and played a completely off-the-cuff set without any bells or whistles. Kyo sounded great.

For me it's just the opposite. Hated the album on first listen. Now I enjoy it very much. The only song I find to be a little weaker is Celebrate Empty Howls. That one's possibly a slow-burn grower.

Dir en grey - TOUR2011 AGE QUOD AGIS Vol.1 [Europe & Japan] I think that's about it.

This was spoken about at length in the Dir en grey topic. IIRC, Phenomenon was actually the second or third time they walked off-stage. Kyo was fucking incensed. Who knows what happened backstage. It was really disappointing, of course. We weren't told anything whatsoever and had to wait for probably an hour in total between songs. The venue hardly handed out any water, so at the front, we were all dead from the crush and heat. At the end of it all, it was all worth it. The band were clearly mortified by what happened, and played an improvised set with no backing tracks. Really raw performance, full of energy. None of them were standing around looking bored as usual. It was great. They really put everything into the show. I'd say it was possibly the most lively I've seen them play in years. It would have been the best show I'd personally attended if it weren't for the technical difficulties. I actually wonder if this will show up on a documentary DVD.

Probably a stupid question but something I've never known: What does 'SE' mean? From context, it's obviously some intro instrumental track played from tape as a band walks out on stage. But what is it? Does it stand for something?

Most people would say that TIW is mastered poorly. It just doesn't sound good, regardless of the quality of the songwriting. This is unbiased objectivity, not influenced by personal feelings. But this is what we got, so we have to deal with it. Objectively, perhaps VINUSHKA, DIABOLOS, and Zetsusentai all have a similar structure, and are therefore increasingly more tedious. It's like DEG have no new ideas anymore when they phone in the obligatory 'epic' on the album. Subjectivity is an individual's opinion. I personally think that the long version of DIABOLOS is far better. The demo feels like a bog-standard song. The album version is like a journey. Zetsusentai is maybe a bit too close to VINUSHKA, structurally. Although, it does have plenty to enjoy aside from that minor niggle. In the same way, Sustain the untruth is a rip-off of FILTH. Which it kinda is, but it's its own thing, too, and they both have their own merits that distinguish themselves from each other. It might be intentional. For example, the main riff from DIABOLOS is recycled throughout Kaishun, and a chorus motif from Kasumi is recycled in HIGEKI HA MABUTA WO OROSHITA YASASHIKI UTSU. The band is over 20 years old. One has to expect a few songs to feel or sound similar. At this point, I'm just glad we're still getting new material.

'Superior' is subjective.

Just a bad translation? Here I was thinking that Kyo was seriously considering self-destructing (regarding TIW lyrics).

Yeah, only the Japanese Limited Editions of both had the extra discs. The 'deluxe' version of DSS released overseas was a bit sparse in comparison. The official site has all the info: DUM SPIRO SPERO DUM SPIRO SPERO AT NIPPON BUDOKAN

IIRC something like this happened during the GHOUL tour. It's all on the documentary DVD. The guy in charge of video was a huge fuck-up and they basically tell him right there and then that he's fired. What happened in London was really disappointing, there's no doubt. But I feel that we got a way better show in exchange for the time we spent waiting. While they at first adopted their usual super-cool nonchalant attitude, when the band came back out (after Phenomenon), the show was really intense, with the whole band putting on one of the best performances I've seen in ages. The crowd was also completely into the music. Felt great. The songs in the second half were back-to-back aggression with no breaks between them; barely even a moment to breathe. As soon as one song ended, the next one began. Intense. I feel like they were trying to squeeze in as many tracks as they possibly could. They played almost until the curfew at 11pm. Great interaction with the audience, members switching sides multiple times, smiles from the band, and huge gratitude when it was all over. Die stayed out the longest, giving a little speech in English about how grateful they were. Kyo looked especially relieved; I think this was probably very stressful for him. Kyo's look was really interesting. Kind of like a death monk with skull make-up. He was also wearing orange contacts with slit pupils like a snake, and pink paint on his face that showed up only under UV. Die and Toshiya also looked awesome. x The venue was okay but the bouncers were morons. People were begging for water and they only handed out a few bottles. We were all really crushed near the front and there was really no way to get out even if we wanted to.

Whaaaaat!!!!!! But it's ssoooooooooooooo ahead of its time!!!!!! It hasn't aged a bit!!!!!!!!1

Yeah, I think the VULGAR 1st press edition just has a mini DVD containing only a censored version of OBSCURE. That video is available in full on AVERAGE PSYCHO, so it's a bit pointless. Not sure about any differences between MISSA and six Ugly.

This is because the album was (presumably) mixed specifically to be played in that kind of context. Reaching a wider audience with a loud record that still sounds okay on a rubbish system. Also, CD is better than mp3/aac/whatever every time, unless you're dealing with lossless. 1411.2 kbps is higher than 256 kbps. This is maths. Pure fact.

My copy of The Insulated World arrived yesterday, much sooner than expected. Usually it takes a month to get through customs. It sounds way better on CD than the rip. Much happier with the album now. I take back anything negative I said about it.

That's sort of the point, isn't it? It's DEG taking the piss out of themselves musically as well as calling out those fans who turned away when they started going metal. It's a sardonic "fuck you, I can do what I want" tone that I always found to be almost triumphant.

Wat. Also Taiyou no Ao is fantastic. For me, there are a few songs I often skip. MASK and audrey come to mind immediately. Jesus Christ RnR is kinda fun but pretty stupid, too. Some of the newer singles I just roll my eyes at when they start playing them live. Hageshisa to... was horrendously overplayed for a long time. LOTUS feels boring now. Sustain the Untruth is the same. Tbh, I'd take any bad Dir en grey song over the crap they play on the radio these days.

Did they ever claim to be an experimental band? They've experimentED with a ton of different modes of writing and producing music, sure. But their music has always been at least relatively digestible structurally since pre-GAUZE. They went a bit experimental with DSS, but even there, songs like DECAYED CROW still have clearly defined verses and choruses. Since ARCHE they've been quite vocal about simplifying the music, presumably because it's tough for them to rehearse and pull off live.

Listened to the album three times now. Really getting into it. I still think the production is bad, but the music seems pretty solid at least.

Might be a weird ending without the piano Shinsou...

Given how shit the original PINK KILLER sounds, I'm almost surprised they didn't remake it for TIW, which sounds equally shit, albeit in a slightly different way. PS: I secretly love PINK KILLER. ♥