relentless

The Dillinger Escape Plan and Dir en grey? That's incredible.

The Satanist was a solid album.

When were these tours ever explicitly in regards to promotion of UNRAVELING?

"Sukekiyo is the name of a masked character in the movie “Murder of the Inugami Clan/The Inugamis” (犬神家の一族). I don’t know why they chose it but curiously, one of The Zemeckises, Raimi, is also called Inugami and has those kanjis written on his “body”. Moreover, as somebody posted in the tag some time ago (sorry, I can’t remember who it was), the legs that come out from the upper part of Raimi resemble those of another character in a concrete scene of the movie." http://sukekiyo-news.tumblr.com/page/2 There's nothing definite; but that's a very solid interpretation.

"DEGstania agitation"?

Calmando Qual: There's not a lot going on for guitar in that track. It seems like the bass opens up with a minor 2nd and the guitar is just doing something similar down the neck. For what it's going for it's pretty good. 14:50 - 19:19 is the song (sorry I couldn't find the track by itself) EDIT: The riff starts showing up at around 15:50

Going into this single, I didn't know what to expect. Even before the initial previews began to come out, there was that looming doubt with the word that the new single would be more "simple". Simple? Dir en grey has never been a complex band. NEVER. There really isn't a composition by the band that you can point to as the essence of great songwriting. Instead, the band has done a great job at taking conventional sounds of metal / hard rock and shaping it into their own sound; but that is hardly a means to claim that they're Gods at what they do. Instead, with how straight forward their music was previously, they were hard rock assimilating aspects of extreme metal into their sound. First the guitars dropped tuning, then the death growls from Kyo showed up, all within a simple song structure that only left 4/4 timing for intros and transitions (which would break into 3/4 for a measure, then go back to the original time signature); but even that departure of timing doesn't happen often. That is Dir en grey in a nutshell: A Hard Rock band that has slowly added aspects of metal and extreme metal into their sound. By pooling together multiple influences (that clearly span several decades), the band has had this spark of creativity no matter how "basic" their song structure can get. Whether it's departing into progressive territory (Vinushka) or the bizarre (Reiketsu Nariseba), the band reached a point where even though some may not enjoy the music they were making, they were honestly better than ever. And far better than their VK days could ever dream of as this is around the time that people began to say you can't classify or define Dir en grey's music. This concept of an "undefinable band" has also made their music misleading. Those less familiar with theoretical knowledge in music will proclaim "these guys are progressive metal gods" or "Who cares about Meshuggah when you have Dir en grey?", or "Dir en grey are a far better progressive metal band than Opeth". Their music has given the appearence that it is difficult and undefinable; but when it's broken down into its most simple parts, their songs are nothing different than what you would expect from a Hard Rock act -- it's just that Dir en grey is drawing from different influences, and a lot more, then most. SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH continues this tradition, and in the most straightforward way. The entire song is based off of a simple 3 chord progression that continues throughout. It is established in the beginning with the rhythm, and continues all the way to the end. In between each Chorus and Verse is a transition that even though it's nothing different than what the band has been doing in this new "era", it breaks up the track with a frantic change in tempo and suddenly we're in the next verse. In all honesty, I would have dismissed this track entirely if it wasn't for one aspect: Kyo. Lately, I have been bored with his performance. The Unraveling EP was a point where with everything he's doing, he over stays his welcome. Kasumi did not need an intro with him chanting. For once, Kyo has to learn to not "overstay his welcome" as he will often inject his voice in places where it's unnecessary. As a frontman he needs to know proper execution, and when he's pulling out every trick in the book within the first 30 seconds, the rest of it can get pretty tiring. Not that Kyo's performance isn't impressive (what he is doing makes him a stand out amongst most Japanese vocalists); just that it isn't being executed entirely well. On this track, Kyo once again delivers some incredibly memorable performances as the beginning opens with hushed mumbles and ends with one of his best vocal deliveries in years. Kyo makes this track better than what it initially was, and here I thought something like this could never happen especially as of late. Overall, I enjoyed SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH; but it doesn't have the grab that previous Dir en grey releases have had. Right now I don't have this need to hear the single again. After a few listens, I'm content even if I don't hear the song again til the next album. 7/10 (The rest of the single is fine. Ruten no Tou was good except for the random growls tossed in halfway, and what else can you expect from a live track?)

This, honestly. @Miyuu: It appears that these charts designate initial sales, not overall sales (referring to the pages that have a break down of all releases by a band and their chart positions). I know people love to post Oricon links; but they don't really tell you anything outside of how well a release did in its first week.

The Hageshisa to PV was shorter than the actual track. I feel like it's happened before as well; but I'd have to keep looking.

Singing is singing. Certainly a great amount of skill is required for Opera; but when someone says that high notes are easier than those in a mid-range, Opera is the refutation of that.

Refer to:

Generally with falsetto's, the vocalist is hitting higher notes that are normally outside of their range. If you're not doing falsetto's correctly, then I can understand why it may be easier than having a legitimate hold over your mid range; but there is no way that something like this is easier than mid range singing (it truly starts a :40): Oddly enough, with Sustain the Untruth, it feels incredibly choppy to me in terms of how this song can go so quickly from incredible to nearly boring. I'm sure I'll be able to articulate my thoughts at a later time after a few more listens; but this is the first time in a long time, for me, that Kyo really saves the song and makes it something far better than it initially was.

Even for most of the quirks in the song, it's incredibly straight forward. I like it; but I'd probably lump it with their most recent singles in terms of quality: solid but that's really it.

Please refer to where I said "You don't know that, I don't know that". I am making it very clear that I am not pretending to have some knowledge that others don't. Turned 180? Even though complete hyperbole, I can understand why you would say that; but that does not make it necessarily correct. This wasn't some "180". This was a gradual change per the band. Take all of their tours from the past 3 years and compare the evolution of their look. This has been in development for a while and is not necessarily sudden. And "Video is essentially what they did in late vulgar / WTD eras visual-wise"? You mean, the same visuals they have been using for pretty much their entire career? Their latest PVs suggest no extreme departure. Also, I fear you have mistaken my entire point to posting. My post was not to deny whatever the few of you are rambling about; but instead to offer caution because of WHAT you're arguing is baseless and unfit for conversation. If we want to make up a bunch of ridiculous fan theories, awesome, we should have a place to do that; but that said place is probably best left separate from the "News" section. I understand that you think you have this all figured out; but practicing caution would yield that what you're saying is nothing more than conjecture and poor speculation. If we are to have this conversation, facts need to be involved. And since the band has indicated otherwise, I feel we should hold off on these ridiculous discussions for now.

@ Perez: 100 % of what you're saying is based entirely on conjecture and baseless assumptions. It's fine to speculate; but to do so in such a way is counterintuitive to basic logic and rationality. First, don't pretend like you understand how bands work (especially in Japan). You don't know that, I don't know that. Second, you're assuming that Dir en grey changing their sound is reaction to poor domestic sales? Not only has the band been open about them not being in music for anyone but themselves; but any opportunity for them to expand in other markets were declined by the band (see: singing in English and deciding not to do it anymore because they didn't want to). Also, you're assuming that Dir en grey stuck with an Uroboros tour because they didn't like Dum Spiro Spero? That's plain ridiculous. It could honestly be any amount of reasons. It could even be something as obvious as Kyo's vocals not being able to sustain doing DSS material (reported health problems during production, and health problems during DSS tours). If that assumption was true (switching to Uroboros because they didn't like Dum Spiro Spero) they would not have continued playing DSS material and, they would not have an upcoming end to the "Dum Spiro Spero era". By that "logic" (or lack thereof), they would have immediately phased out any DSS. They haven't. In the end, I can understand just typing some wild speculation (it's a forum after all); but try to be rational when doing so, because it's never as simple as you try to boil it down.

Currently finishing Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad.

It's literally not.

I don't like the nu-metal influence; but it sounds pretty good.

I've always found the concept of people suddenly hating music they used to love quite ridiculous. One may not prefer the old music they listened to; but to suddenly dismiss everything they listened to before? It sounds like many are not listening to the music solely for the music, and that perhaps with things like VK and other scenes, the drive is to be apart of the experience less than it is the enjoyment of the music. That or they're embarrassed they listened to a certain kind of music and want to rebel against that? It's a bit confusing for me. My taste in music seems to be a constant enjoyment of everything. From a young age I listened to Rap, Pop, Rock, Folk, Jazz, Metal, and Classical. If anything has changed, it's the prominence that one will have in my life over the other. Now I find myself listening to more Classical and Metal vs. any other "genre"; but I still recognize my enjoyment in those other forms. If anything has influenced what I listen to now, it could be age; but I also attribute it to musical maturity. I was not studying music when I was 13 nearly as much as I am now, so what I listen to may have been influenced by that (I used to love Nirvana, now not so much); but never has there been an instance where I'll just suddenly hate something.

Agreed. Within "Deathcore" what Thousands Years of Plague is doing is nothing different than what Whitechapel, The Red Chord, The Acacia Strain, and Chelsea Grin are doing.

Yes. The reason why I brought up that band is because not only do they call their videos "PVs" (a Japanese thing to do); but their members play the same instruments as each member of Dir en grey. They also wrote a song that sounds exactly like IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS by the GazettE. I guess it would require further knowledge of the band to assess whether they are "Truly crappy western 'visual kei'"; but their image would indicate that's what they're aiming for.

@Bear: That's the key word, isn't it? "Manage" Sure, Wataru manages to do what he does; but the lack of quality in his falsettos and gutturals (and his occasional high squeals now) shows that. There is no actual control over what he is doing which is what you would expect someone who has taken lessons to have. You don't need a degree in gutturals to do them; but you at least need to know the basics on how to properly do them, and if you miss that it will inhibit performance and vocal health. And, it depends on how you want to define "great vocalist". If we are taking it at it's most basic level, a "great vocalist" would be someone that demonstrates an incredible skill in performance. And if it comes down to that, you do need training to do so. You or I could never dream of performing Opera unless we went through years of training. We couldn't stay in key unless we trained our ears and voice to find the proper key, we could not perform gutturals unless they were trained. Every facet of music is training. Do you think Malmsteen, Gilbert, Paganini, Pavarotti, or Fischer-Dieskau could excel at what they do without training? No. Training is the essence of music. Bands practice when they're not touring, and vocalists do warm-ups to preserve the quality in their voice. It all comes down to training and practice. In regards to Hellhammer and Sepultura: Though I'm not going to speak on the quality of the band, "Classics" are less about technical skill than it is about impact on a genre. When people reference the Beatles as being the greatest band of all time, they are recognizing their cultural influence. There was a band of young girls named "The Shaggs" who released an album called Philosophy of the World. They literally did not know how to play music and assembled because their father had a premonition from God that they would be a great band. Well...listen to that album. It is a mess, yet, Zappa and Cobain hailed the album as being "Great". When it comes down to the music in question, it's all about personal enjoyment and preference, true; but when we are discussing PERFORMANCE, that is something that can be objectively discussed because there is good form, and bad form. There are notes you hit, and notes you miss. The performance of musicians can be heavily critiqued that can remain separate from the music.

Do these guys count?

A professional vocalist most of the time will have vocal training to minimize singing's impact on their vocal cords. It's exactly the same way with gutturals and high screams -- there is legitimate technique that is employed to minimize said impact. It also allows the greatest use of the voice to not only protect the vocal cords; but to maximize the sound as well. Many VK vocalists go into screaming from copying other bands (Sadie and 12012 in regards to Dir en grey, even Dir en grey in regards to many Western metal bands) without ever considering the legitimate impact that improper screams can have. Kyo has had a history of vocal problems, and now Wataru from 12012 is experiencing difficulties. Kyo doesn't take vocal lessons, and from the way Wataru sounds, he doesn't either. Finally, it's more or less expected that a musician knows what they're doing before they start doing something. You would expect a guitarist in a death metal band to be able to play that kind of music (or even on its most basic level, you'd expect that musician to be competent in performance and theory). The same standard is applied to vocalists: There are techniques for singing, falsetto's, and screams. If a vocalist does not employ those techniques, or they simply do not have proper training to be doing what they're trying to make their voice do, it becomes an absolute mess. The likes of Wataru are competent when it comes to growls and any other extra ordinary thing they're trying to do; but a majority of the time it's not very good.

It's what new bands do for promotion (if people were expecting an EP with several tracks or an album this early, they were asking for too much). Though, $20 for that one song? You're paying more for the novelty than you are the actual track.