Seelentau

Yeah but at least you got access to the dl-forum now 

I'm always surprised that there are these people with deep vk roots selling superduper rare stuff, but nobody ever has anything by Dir en grey that's even close to being rare/special

I'm always surprised that there are these people with deep vk roots selling superduper rare stuff, but nobody ever has anything by Dir en grey that's even close to being rare/special

How does one know what he's missing when he doesn't know that he's missing it? 🤔

To preface this, I'm not in the vkei scene (neither Japanese nor international) and I don't know about its situation in regards to piracy. Aside of DIR EN GREY, I own maybe 30 albums/DVDs physically, and none of them is vkei stuff. So this is more about general piracy in the music scene.
 
I hardly knew about MH before joining, I almost never use it for vk downloads since I only listen to DEG (and their related bands) anyway, so I'm not here to grab any rips from random no-name vkei bands. I also have never been on batsu or used jpopsuki before.
 
But I have been using piracy for 99.9% of all music I've ever acquired. I don't say this with pride, but with indifference. I don't care if the artist doesn't make as much money because of me, because there's no scenario in which he would. Even if I wouldn't download the album, I still wouldn't buy it and I'm not a fan of streaming, either. So there's no potentially lost money, because there is no potentially won money.
 
And while I'm aware that this position makes my vulnerable to those with the moral high ground, I won't change this either. I currently have 100 artists scrobbled on my last.fm, that's about 1/5th of all artists I've ever pirated an album from. Imagine if the only way I'd be able to listen to those artists would be by buying their music.
It would be impossible. I would not even be able to DIR EN GREY alone if I'd only listen to their bought music (and I do buy their music, of course).
 
So the logical conclusion to me is: Either I pirate their music and listen to the band without paying them, or I don't bother with them and they won't get my money, either. It's a lose/lose situation for them.
 
And I think that this sentiment won't change, ever. Most people simply don't have enough money to buy all the music they like, it's literally impossible. So from my perspective, the artists are asking us to either chose them (for the purchases) or don't listen to them at all. I don't think that's the way to handle their fanbase, since the band needs the fans, not the other way around. I think that instead, the band needs to find other way to make money. They need to go with the flow, they can't be stuck in the "if we act like this, people will surely buy our music instead of pirating it". Nope, that won't happen. People will simply drop you and listen to other bands.

This is peak internet for me

dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
 
 

To preface this, I'm not in the vkei scene (neither Japanese nor international) and I don't know about its situation in regards to piracy. Aside of DIR EN GREY, I own maybe 30 albums/DVDs physically, and none of them is vkei stuff. So this is more about general piracy in the music scene.
 
I hardly knew about MH before joining, I almost never use it for vk downloads since I only listen to DEG (and their related bands) anyway, so I'm not here to grab any rips from random no-name vkei bands. I also have never been on batsu or used jpopsuki before.
 
But I have been using piracy for 99.9% of all music I've ever acquired. I don't say this with pride, but with indifference. I don't care if the artist doesn't make as much money because of me, because there's no scenario in which he would. Even if I wouldn't download the album, I still wouldn't buy it and I'm not a fan of streaming, either. So there's no potentially lost money, because there is no potentially won money.
 
And while I'm aware that this position makes my vulnerable to those with the moral high ground, I won't change this either. I currently have 100 artists scrobbled on my last.fm, that's about 1/5th of all artists I've ever pirated an album from. Imagine if the only way I'd be able to listen to those artists would be by buying their music.
It would be impossible. I would not even be able to DIR EN GREY alone if I'd only listen to their bought music (and I do buy their music, of course).
 
So the logical conclusion to me is: Either I pirate their music and listen to the band without paying them, or I don't bother with them and they won't get my money, either. It's a lose/lose situation for them.
 
And I think that this sentiment won't change, ever. Most people simply don't have enough money to buy all the music they like, it's literally impossible. So from my perspective, the artists are asking us to either chose them (for the purchases) or don't listen to them at all. I don't think that's the way to handle their fanbase, since the band needs the fans, not the other way around. I think that instead, the band needs to find other way to make money. They need to go with the flow, they can't be stuck in the "if we act like this, people will surely buy our music instead of pirating it". Nope, that won't happen. People will simply drop you and listen to other bands.

How would one do that when it's released in April?

dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
 
 

Ctrl+F
no dir en grey
mfw
 
 

mazohyst is on 5, Fukai is on 3

lul I just checked their setlist for August 30, 2014, and as it turns out, "Chain repulsion" is the only song (aside of INWARD SCREAM) from that show that they had yet to release... I mean wtf, why would they even release a song from four years ago now? And what about INWARD SCREAM? And why didn't they release them earlier... ._.

dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
dudu dudu duduuuudududud
 
 

This individual did a better job at keeping alive the spirit of VULGAR than the band did during the Mode of VULGAR tour.

It's a pre-production version. I don't know where it comes from, though.
I also heard about the alleged tentative names for the TMOAB tracks, but I don't know if they are real...

cringey af tbh

I just want to point out that Die posted last December that they're already finishing the works on their new album.
So there's definitely coming something sooner rather than later. Maybe on the last day of their tour?
Besides, there's also the two mode of releases coming.

There's been a lot of negativity in this thread recently (not sure if troll or not). Just throwing my hat in the ring with some positive (but hopefully fair) mini-reviews. You do not have to agree with my opinion.
 
GAUZE: Slightly awkward in places. Much of this is generic for a VK band. Unlike almost anything later, this is basically a true Visual Kei album, with strong pop hooks, light, bouncy instrumentals, and some exceptions. Mazohyst is the first sign that the band want to go conceptual, epic, and darker than their peers. The Mode of... tracks do little more than just exist, possibly a throwback to La:Sadie's or perhaps Malice Mizer. I find Schwein no Isu and MASK very forgettable. ZAN is gigantic; the remake doesn't stand up to Kyo's insanity in the original version, yet it makes up for it by being br00tal (or something). Also, the video for Yokan is fucking hot.
Fav track: アクロの丘
 
MACABRE: This album is the seed of what is to come. It's almost a proto-UROBOROS in its concept, yet maintains the playful pop of GAUZE enough that it isn't totally bleak. You can tell that they wanted this album to be truly epic, but their immaturity as a band means that it doesn't quite hit that mark. It's still great, though. The only song I'd lose here is audrey (too predictable/tedious). 
Fav track: egnirys cimredopyh +) an injection
 
ain't afraid to die: Just this one song alone is better than many albums out there. Glorious.
 
Kisou: I guess some people love this and some loathe it. For me, it's the former. This is the first time we see DEG try something totally new. It's like Experimental Industrial Electronic Punk; really raw and in your face. The amount of sonic variety means that there should be something here for everyone. The interludes are cool, although I can see why maybe they're disliked. I'd say that this album is almost perfect, with only The Domestic Fucker Family being weirdly out of place. Oh, and PINK KILLER is amazing. 
Fav track: 鴉-karasu-
 
six Ugly: Strangely, there are two remakes here, with Children being only 2 years old at the time. However, everything here is good. Excellent, in fact. It'd be cool to see Hades back in the live show. 
Fav track: HADES
 
VULGAR: OBSCURE is enormous. That's not to say that this is the only reason to listen to the album. When this first came out, I was a little disappointed, as every track sounded more or less the same (just guitars, barely any electronics unlike Kisou). It quickly grew on me, though. There's very little to dislike here (at a stretch, maybe Sajou no Uta is a tad forgettable). At this point, there's almost none of the old DEG sound left.
Fav track:  NEW AGE CULTURE
 
Withering to death.: I was so not excited when this was announced and I have no idea why. I dithered on the purchase until I heard a clip of 愛しさは腐敗につき, and then instabought it just for that song. Wow, this thing is great. Some people criticise the production (it sounds too clean?), although it seems fine to me. This is a return to a more playful aesthetic for the band that I still really wish they'd touch back on. Aside from the rather blah Jesus Christ R 'n R, this album is solid. dead tree to the end is basically perfect. Yes, even Beautiful Dirt. Yes, even GARBAGE. Love this thing.
Fav track: Spilled Milk
 
THE MARROW OF A BONE: Weird Engrishy titles, weird Engrishy lyrics, Kyo's voice steadily getting worse with each successive live, and the band just suddenly went very dark and angry. This album turned a lot of people away from the band. I listened once and almost threw away the CD. Didn't listen to the band for months. Then I gave it a second try, and it made sense. I spent an entire Summer listening to nothing but this while painting. It was truly something else. Yes, it's messy, ugly, and raw as fuck, but that was the point. It's grotesque and Kyo sounds like a cat in a blender. But alongside all this rage, we have moments of utter spellbinding beauty, too; songs that are some of the highlights of DEG's entire career up until this point. Just fantastic. My only complaint might be that some of it feels a little undercooked. A little repetitive, perhaps. But it feels honest and true in its message.
Fav track: 艶かしき安息、躊躇いに微笑み
 
UROBOROS: Hoo, boy. This one. This is the album that MACABRE wanted to be, but wasn't. It's also possibly the most complicated album in terms of song structure and writing techniques. This thing is an absolute beast; a monster. In my opinion, this may be the band's finest moment. Every track here has a reason to exist. It's marvellous. Possibly my favourite album next to Kisou.
The initial release was plagued by slightly dodgy mixing (didn't notice how bad it was at the time). Another big problem with the original version was the inclusion of the atrocious English versions of Glass Skin and DOZING GREEN. The remaster fixes these things, but also adds in the remake HYDRA 666 for absolutely no reason. It doesn't really fit and already had its place on the single. 
Fav track: VINUSHKA
 
DUM SPIRO SPERO: Thought UROBOROS was complex? Think again! Here, the band decided to cram as many ideas as they possibly could into each song, resulting in some completely bizarre Frankenstein's monster of an LP. This is the sort of album that you could probably hear something different in every time you listened. In the studio, it works very, very well, but live, the album falls short, with the band's meagre 5-piece unable to fully re-create the enormous sound they created with computer magic. This album is good, but it's also quite bleak, dreary, and at times a little tedious. It tries to push the UROBOROS idea too hard and goes a bit off the deep end, for better or for worse. This was also the time where the band's output became glacial. Hageshisa to... was released two years prior to this, and I was already bored of it when the album finally came out (and the mixing was terrible). Also, side note: the 'symphonic' versions are absolutely rubbish. They should have hired an orchestra or some actual performers to play with them (not necessarily on stage). Also, second side-note: this is the beginning of the polarising 'Kyopera'.
Fav track:  「欲巣にDREAMBOX」あるいは成熟の理念と冷たい雨
 
ARCHE: On the surface, this is a return to the band's old sound... sort of. It's like looking through a gloomy telescope at that old material and reminiscing on it. I'd say this is more mature, more measured. Less spontaneous. It's really very good. I have absolutely no complaints here.
Fav track: 濤声
 
TL;DR: I am a Dir en grey fan and I like the band's music. So there.

There’s Dir en grey and DIR EN GREY. 

Won all my auctions:
Dir en grey VHS tape
Dir en grey Yarouze
Dir en grey TOUR05 It withers and withers -Bootlegged- (incl. cardboard box)
Dir en grey various magazine clippings
FOOL'S MATE 1997/07
FOOL'S MATE 1999/06
SHOXX 1997/07
SHOXX 1997/09
SHOXX 1997/11
SHOXX 1998/01
SHOXX 1998/04
SHOXX 1999/03
 
Shipping will probably kill me

HMMMMM

Since my instagram is public anyway~ (been to the barber since, tho)
 
Well now it's not public anymore lolol

Won all my auctions:
Dir en grey VHS tape
Dir en grey Yarouze
Dir en grey TOUR05 It withers and withers -Bootlegged- (incl. cardboard box)
Dir en grey various magazine clippings
FOOL'S MATE 1997/07
FOOL'S MATE 1999/06
SHOXX 1997/07
SHOXX 1997/09
SHOXX 1997/11
SHOXX 1998/01
SHOXX 1998/04
SHOXX 1999/03
 
Shipping will probably kill me