Kelrya

Interesting. I found this article http://www.worldfolksong.com/sp/songbook/japan/warabeuta/onisan-kochira.html
Apparently it comes from a game where one kid is blindfolded and tries to tag the rest of the kids, and they call the blindfolded kid “oni” and use this phrase/song. Also according to this article this phrase or a variation of it is used in movies/TV/etc. by thieves taunting the cops who are chasing them.

Does it? Seems like “oni” is just being used as a metaphor for a predator type. 

I really prefer the old Fukai chorus though. The new one is okay though.

I really prefer the old Fukai chorus though. The new one is okay though.

Imo DEG was at their peak in terms of creativity, atmosphere, technicality and musicianship from about 2009-2013. Songs like Different Sense, Diabolos and Rinkaku are just on another level even compared to their own discography. I also loved a lot of their “br00tal” remakes even though they sometimes forgot what was special about the original, for example with Obscure. But they made a lot of gems like Kiri to Mayu and Zan as well, and it allowed them to expirement in a way that I don’t think they would anymore, like with Tsumi to Batsu/Kisei. For me Sustain the Untruth was really bad in comparison and while most of Arche was much better than that single thankfully, and it was a great album overall, it also sometimes felt a little to clean and conventional. TIW was great too, I loved the aggression and emotion so much, but the songwriting and riffs sometimes felt too simple compared to their best work. But I think overall, while they may not be at their absolute creative peak, this band is still great and I’ve never been truly disappointed by any of their albums. This single feels like a cool mix of TIW and Uroboros (maybe even some Unraveling) and I can’t wait to hear the new album in 5 years. 

I think we won't be able to watch the full video until the next "Average blablabla video collection" DVD/Blu-Ray, same with the full TWOM music video

Don't hold your breath, they're still holding TWOM hostage! 

They’ve already made songs in the key of C# in ADADGBE tuning, like Downfall for example. They just use the 4th fret of the low A string (C#) as the root note that they chug on. Utafumi and Ningen wo Kaburu were also like this but they used the 5th fret as the root note so the key was in D. In Different Sense they used the second fret so the key was B. They do this a lot.

They’ve already made songs in the key of C# in ADADGBE tuning, like Downfall for example. They just use the 4th fret of the low A string (C#) as the root note that they chug on. Utafumi and Ningen wo Kaburu were also like this but they used the 5th fret as the root note so the key was in D. In Different Sense they used the second fret so the key was B. They do this a lot.

They’ve already made songs in the key of C# in ADADGBE tuning, like Downfall for example. They just use the 4th fret of the low A string (C#) as the root note that they chug on. Utafumi and Ningen wo Kaburu were also like this but they used the 5th fret as the root note so the key was in D. In Different Sense they used the second fret so the key was B. They do this a lot.

They’ve already made songs in the key of C# in ADADGBE tuning, like Downfall for example. They just use the 4th fret of the low A string (C#) as the root note that they chug on. Utafumi and Ningen wo Kaburu were also like this but they used the 5th fret as the root note so the key was in D. In Different Sense they used the second fret so the key was B. They do this a lot.

They’ve already made songs in the key of C# in ADADGBE tuning, like Downfall for example. They just use the 4th fret of the low A string (C#) as the root note that they chug on. Utafumi and Ningen wo Kaburu were also like this but they used the 5th fret as the root note so the key was in D. In Different Sense they used the second fret so the key was B. They do this a lot.

Oh yeah I forgot to translate that Utafumi teaser lol.
 
Kid: *Screaming*
“Can you not become one?” (I think he’s acting like he’s Kyo hyping up the crowd) 
*Screaming*
 
Mom: “Yoshio, you’re good at (singing/screaming) Dir en grey.”
 
Kid: (Something like “I’m letting out my pain” or something? It’s kinda hard for me to understand him here but he for sure says the word pain).
“Amazing, right?”
 
Mom: “I wonder if you’ll do an encore?”
 
Kid: “Okay!”
 
*Hageshisa starts playing*

There’s no way 90% of these anonymous troll accounts of rape and stuff are true, nobody would “lol” about it even in Japan and I’ve lived in Japan. And I’m surprised people are so thirsty for drama that they will believe this dumb internet gossip. Plus Kyo has specifically said that he is not into BDSM so I really doubt he’s raping underage girls with liquor bottles. Plus he’s like 5’3” so he’s definitely not picking fights with random people unless he’s trying to get himself killed. This is the creepy cringey tumblr-y edgelord side of VK fandom that I can’t stand.

I very much agree with this. Grotesque is my favourite on the album because it's kind of like Sukekiyo had a beautiful love child with DEG. The heavy stuff is pretty meh in my opinion but not like the garbage they used to come out with. 

This. Screaming weird noises is not everytime the best stuff to come up with.

Somehow Kyo is my favorite thing about DEG and my least favorite thing about sukekiyo. He sounds fine when he’s singing normally but I really really really fucking hate the obnoxious fake screaming breathing/coughing/wheezing/whispering mouth sounds that he does that ruin half the music. I love his clean vocals and his actual harsh vocals but good god he makes some annoying noises in this band. It would be cool if it was once in a while but he uses that weird old man whisper yelling thing on damn near every song on Adoratio. I’ve never had a problem with his harsh vocals in DEG, in fact I love them. I just can’t stand the way he does them in this band. However I do have some hope for the future since Gerbera and that demo song from January both had traditional harsh vocals that didn’t sound like nails on a chalkboard.

I think Shinya would rather die.

I think Shinya would rather die.

I think he looks the best he has in years. The bright dyed hair may be strange on a 40 something year old but he’s in a VK band and it looks fine on him imo. Mostly I’m glad he shaved that awful chin beard thing he had for so long.

There’s no way 90% of these anonymous troll accounts of rape and stuff are true, nobody would “lol” about it even in Japan and I’ve lived in Japan. And I’m surprised people are so thirsty for drama that they will believe this dumb internet gossip. Plus Kyo has specifically said that he is not into BDSM so I really doubt he’s raping underage girls with liquor bottles. Plus he’s like 5’3” so he’s definitely not picking fights with random people unless he’s trying to get himself killed. This is the creepy cringey tumblr-y edgelord side of VK fandom that I can’t stand.

Great review, Zeus! I agree with most of your points.
 
I certainly think that The Insulated World is DIR EN GREY's most mature and consistent album to date. It feels like they played to their strengths more than ever and cut the experimentation to an extent that actually benefits the record instead of bloating it. There’s hardly any filler tracks on here. The only criticism I have in this department is that Zetsuentai feels unnecessarily long plus I’m not a huge fan of Utafumi. Both those points don’t change the fact, however, that this is the first DEG album in a long time that I can sit through without feeling exhausted, uncomfortable or wanting to skip tracks.
 
In general, the whole thing feels very raw, stripped, immediate and concise which are properties a lot of their past albums lack. And even though the experience is so condensed and straight-forward, I wouldn’t call it “dumbed down” at all. On the contrary, everyone seems to execute their part with a heightened sense for technical finesse. There’s still a good degree of playfulness and experimentation, most notably in Kyo’s multifaceted vocal delivery and some of Shinya’s brilliant drum fills. But that’s not even the best part. The riffs on this thing are jaw-dropping at times. Thanks to mostly great songwriting (which gets a little repetitive during the second half) and this nasty, thick and gritty guitar tone, they punch you in the chest so hard you’ll find yourself gasping for air. Strong riffs and catchy hooks dominate of The Insulated World, but occasional sparkly clean passages and some great guitar solos break up the density and bring in some of that In Flames / Dark Tranquility Swedish melo-death flavor. While I really would have wished for the bass to stand out more (as in Keigaku no Yoku), I still think that it is mixed quite well. It does take the back seat in some songs, but really adds to the aggression and overall atmosphere in others (as in Devote My Life).
 
As for the production, I don’t think it’s awful. The thing is, if you listen to it on crappy hardware, it sounds crappy. I tried it with some cheap Urbanears Plattan and it was a mess. But hardware like this is not designed to deliver a pure, detailed and balanced representation of the music you’re listening to. The main problem is that The Insulated World is very heavy on the lower mids and low frequencies and with bass boosted headphones or speakers (which is more or less standard for almost everything in the budget range) you get a completely distorted “image” of what this album actually sounds like.
 
PS: I don’t agree that Devote My Life is “unlistenable”. Sure, the guitars sound punishing and harsh but I see it as a fit representation of the lyrical content. Plus after all this build-up of excruciating tension during the verses, the chorus/breakdown with its wide bed of bass and gutturals opens the whole thing up and creates a very satisfying dynamic imo.

| Dir en grey's tenth album is something special indeed.
 
Few artists can bring the scene together and elicit responses from everyone the way that Dir en grey can. They can make you pause your habitual listening routines to check out their newest single or album, even if you don't like them. This is because Dir en grey is one of the few bands where we can sense the progression and self-improvement from release to release. I don't think that Dir en grey aspires to impress anyone but themselves from three years ago, and now more than ever I see and feel a band that has graduated from copying trends to setting them. As a concept, and after listening to the album several times, I believe The Insulated World refers directly to them, their view on the world, and the inspiration for where the music they wish to create comes from.
 
The Insulated World feels like a journey into oneself, and the album feels separated into two parts. The first half of the album feels like a turbulent descent into madness, while the second half feels like the madness has yielded to tranquility as the listener floats towards personal understanding. I prefer the second half to the first half. This is a far cry from literally every other album of theirs, where tracks were arranged haphazardly and the experience suffers for it. I can hear various influences from each of their previous eras and albums - some more than others - but one of the most redeeming points about The Insulated World is that it doesn't sound like anything in particular.
 
In the past, I've felt that Dir en grey bit off more than they could chew, and failed to deliver on their own expectations. I felt this most when listening to DUM SPIRO SPERO, where the band used progressive elements for the sake of being progressive. The Insulated World has the progressive elements applied more sensibly, similar to ARCHE. Songs morph and change direction on a whim, but there are hooks and motifs that the band returns to that gives each song coherency. Vocalist Kyo reminds us once again that he's the king of vocal manipulation - just in case you had doubts - but he's embraced his mid range more. Focusing on the extremes of his vocal techniques leaves an immediate and lasting impression at the expense of it sounding very binary. I prefer the vocal extremes for specific emotional climaxes and using other vocal techniques for specific feelings at the appropriate times. "Values of Madness" is the best example of what I am describing, where we get screeching, rapping, singing, and more in a compact four minutes. The re-recording of "The Deeper Vileness" is another great example, and also highlights how well some of the ideas they explored in The Marrow of a Bone translate into their new style ten years later.
 
Complaints about the terrible production job for the singles "Utafumi" and "Ningen wo kaburu" were founded and make more sense in hindsight, with the new versions sounding less congested. Die and Kaoru no longer compete with Toshiya for total control of the low end frequency, Shinya's drum kit sounds less robotic, Kyo doesn't feel tacked on top of the mix, and there's plenty of room left for the guitar distortion techniques and electronic samples to breathe. For the most part, I like the tone chosen for the guitar and the way everything comes together in each song, and I would rank this among both their best and least obnoxiously mixed albums to date. I wish they could get their singles to this quality.
 
The Insulated World is not a perfect release. "Devote My Life" is not listenable due to the piercing, unrelenting tone of the guitar. Sticking it in the second slot does a lot to turn away people who only have once chance to give Dir en grey. They should have gone with a guitar tone closer to "Downfall". "Ranunculus", while a great song and a good note to end the album on, has an atmosphere which doesn't fit with the album. I get the impression this track was conceived either very early or very late in the production cycle, because it stands well on its own. I also am unable to find the hook in the album opus, "絶縁体" (Zetsusentai), which I find difficult to wrap my head around. They've done this style of track more effectively with "Vinushka" and even "Diabolos", and it doesn't hold a candle to the pure atmosphere of "MACABRE". Speaking of Macabre, I also find the new version of "理由" (Riyuu) slightly inferior to the original version. The cover of the song does justice to the original by not straying too much from the melody, but they reined in the emotion of the song and the guitar solo with only a cleaner sound to compensate,  and the original version of the song sold itself on its emotion. They didn't ruin it, but they didn't improve it much. The new version of "鬼眼" (Kigan) falls into the same camp, but the much better production values edges it out ahead in the end. For the record, I much rather these safe reinterpretations than ones that butcher the song beyond recognition.
 
These interpretations are subject to change as I spend more time with The Insulated World, and perhaps catch them live one day to experience these songs in person. Even a month later, I still think I wrote this review prematurely, as there are songs still growing on me and others that I am unsure if I like or not. I am pleased overall with how this album turned out, and I can see myself listening to this album in a few years without the songs wearing thin. Dir en grey did well, and this is an album I can recommend to both long time fans and the curious, but if ARCHE did nothing for you then this won't either.
 
 
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There’s no way 90% of these anonymous troll accounts of rape and stuff are true, nobody would “lol” about it even in Japan and I’ve lived in Japan. And I’m surprised people are so thirsty for drama that they will believe this dumb internet gossip. Plus Kyo has specifically said that he is not into BDSM so I really doubt he’s raping underage girls with liquor bottles. Plus he’s like 5’3” so he’s definitely not picking fights with random people unless he’s trying to get himself killed. This is the creepy cringey tumblr-y edgelord side of VK fandom that I can’t stand.

What makes me baffle is all this people believing in everything written in a forum where people are notorious known for trolling. Expecially the kyo parts, the guy was always a fucking hermit(there are pictures of him where the guy was the only one drinking soda in a sea of wasted fuckers, he also always gtfo as soon as the showd ends most of time)  and you are believing things like he getting wasted and shoving arms inside school girls and
 trying to fight randoms in izakaiyas even though he is a fucking dwarf and  probs would get brutalized. I cant deny that probably some things are true cuz there are a lot of vk guys who confirm these type of behaviour in parties in interviews( even kyo himself told he was made to do a lot of bs when he was a junior in those drinking parties.)
But maybe it's true , i dont know cuz Kyo never shreded my clothes, told my woowoo smelled like rotten fish and robbed my empty wall after ravishing me. LOLOLOL