The Reverend

Hands down the best hip hop artist I've heard in ages. Dude is on another level, both lyrically and aesthetically. Creative and original.
 
 
 

Haul from osaka shopping (minus random Puresound VHS's)
 

| 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.
 
 
Support the artist!
iTunes | CDJapan

DIR EN GREY was great yesterday! 
 

There you go!

headshot for my new oshare kei band: 鼻くそMOUSE

Of the stuff I've listened to the clear winners are DEG and DIMLIM, but I haven't checked out any of the non-vkei stuff listed yet. Excited to listen to new toe and heck out NITRO DAY, sounds like they could have a place in my playlist based off of the description. I've also never given Mass of the Fermenting Dregs a try, so I'm going to rectify that later.
I was unaware of new Shiina, fitear1590. I love when she goes full cinematic, really looking forward to checking that out.
As always, thanks for putting this list together everyone.

Haha, I would not have thought about it until this thread... but having been to a few VK shows I now will absolutely think to myself "oh this has got to be the bit they jump back and forth across the venue during" or "I bet this three minute song takes 15 during a concert".
 
There are names for the different moves??

That new toe sounds sweet!
 
Y'all both got the wrong song from Chedoara though... the last minute/outro riff of "愛憎につき..." might be my favorite part of a song from this year so far.
 
 
 

That new toe sounds sweet!
 
Y'all both got the wrong song from Chedoara though... the last minute/outro riff of "愛憎につき..." might be my favorite part of a song from this year so far.
 
 
 

That new toe sounds sweet!
 
Y'all both got the wrong song from Chedoara though... the last minute/outro riff of "愛憎につき..." might be my favorite part of a song from this year so far.
 
 
 

The Official Review team is back with the perfect accompaniment to the avalanche of Halloween candy and pumpkin spice lattes you're about to destroy your body with: the best j-tunes of the summer! This quarter includes a great variety of visual kei, J-Rock, and whatever the heck genre you'd call that second track that @CAT5 wants us to listen to. Come discover some new music that we've curated for you, or re-listen to your favorites now enhanced by the critiques of your favorite Monochromians. Let us temporarily transport you away from your boring job (at least in spirit if not in reality). Agree with our picks? Think we're idiots and shouldn't even be allowed to listen to music much less act as taste makers for the community? Good! Tell us why below.
 
 
@The Reverend's picks
 
"くしゃみ" (Kushami) by まみれた (Mamireta)

 
 
 
"Lemoned" by NITRO DAY

 
"New Order" by Mass of the Fermenting Dregs

 
 
 
@YuyoDrift's picks
 
"Obliterator" by JILUKA

 
"Knight of Sword" by Unlucky Morpheus

 
 
"MAD [K]" by DIMLIM

 
"絶縁体 (Zetsuentai)" by Dir en grey

 
 
@Zeus's picks
"Raununculus" by Dir en grey

 
 
"今宵は飄逸なエゴイスト ～ Ego,Schizoid,Beat." by Demetori

 
 
 
"make my story" by lenny code fiction

 
"RED SWAN" by YOSHIKI feat. HYDE

 
 
"GROTESQUE" by DIMLIM

 
 
"Renatus" by lynch.

 
@CAT5's picks
"Etude of solitude" by toe

 
"からかひ" (Karakai) by Sweet William と 青葉市子 (Ichiko Aoba)

 
Thanks for reading!

prominent visual kei library グラスレ (grass thread) has unofficially been closed after having been inaccessible recently, plus a lack of updates over the last few years. I assume the admin decided to close the door on the site for good.
 
http://www22.big.or.jp/~yunisan//index.html

No one saw the sarcasm in this?

Fun topic!
 
(Correct me if I'm wrong and they did release something...) I don't think there was really a live DVD from Kagerou's indie, pre-full album days.
 
Basically I wish they'd released a concert DVD from the show(s) they recorded the Wrist Cutter PV at.
 
Zekkyou Psycopath was good, but nothing touches Daisuke's sequined suits from the wrist cutter video.
 
 

last photo i take in Instagram lol  show myself

Wearing my new Mario tee.
 

I went to a wedding recently and stayed in a fancy hotel
 

Karma servin' dat old-school Kiyoharu look, I approve~
 
Sweet album art too!

Bring back the eyepatch Karma pls
 
Flyer with the CD cover and tracklist:
 

 
The cover is very pretty!
 

these visuals are so elegant omfg karma christ SNAPPED

their mini album "Inferiority Complex & Narcissism" will be released at 2019/1/8.

Vo.業-karma-

Gu.拓也-takuya-

Ba.誠-makoto-

Dr.和樹-kazuki-

Fun topic!
 
(Correct me if I'm wrong and they did release something...) I don't think there was really a live DVD from Kagerou's indie, pre-full album days.
 
Basically I wish they'd released a concert DVD from the show(s) they recorded the Wrist Cutter PV at.
 
Zekkyou Psycopath was good, but nothing touches Daisuke's sequined suits from the wrist cutter video.