relentless

Watching their new live dvd was pretty interesting. The first thing I noticed is that Ruki's growling at points has improved...he's been practicing. And what's up with them doing the whole Dir en grey thing with the candles and weird atmosphere? I felt like I was watching Dir en grey-lite. Even the bands' mannerisms on stage have changed. I'm used to bright lights and a very fun vibe all around, but in this dvd you get a lot more darkness and I guess more of an...eery appeal? Very interesting. Oh and is that Ruki fucking up notes? His singing does seem more "lazy" for the most part, and the way he opened 13stairs[-]1? What in the world...his voice sounded bad. +1 for Ruthless Deed though

a continuation of 12012's new album.

The mixing is both better, and worse at the same time? Weird.

Mao is getting better at his growled vocals, and the rest of the band is adding different stuff to their repertoire -- but in the end it's the same old Sadie trying to sound like everyone else without trying to branch into their own sound. 4/10

Sounds like the same sound Sadie has done on every release they've ever done. How can you go from Rosario to this?

You prefer outdated, irrelevant information. That's ok. Posting misleading charts and 5 year old articles is totally the way to go!

Lol outdated much? Nekkichi, if you're going to be like me and post links make sure they're relevant first! Two main things are clear: 1. Greatest ROCK albums -- Post W2D is not "rock", especially Uroboros and Dum Spiro Spero 2. Also, check the date genius, 2007 lol. That's before even Uroboros! At this point you're just rambling. At least you tried xD

I can sort of see what you're trying to say, but at the same time I feel like you're still missing the point. I can list positive reviews all day everyday -- well written and poorly written ones -- but what ultimately matters is the general consensus which was what I was highlighting to prove nekkichi wrong. That's really it. Slightly unrelated but: Dir en grey doesn't make music JUST to be heavy and br00tal. It doesn't take the biggest Dir en grey fan to understand that.

Lol childish. The coupling tour was going to be an incredible opportunity for the band to reach out to a much wider and more varied audience (the still reckless tour was actually pretty varied), something they SHOULD have been doing this whole time. Wait, first you bash Asking Alexandria and then you mention bands like METALLICA and KORN? LOL! wat? Lol I don't go on Fukkatsu, but I know the forum well enough to know you made a name there and you were constantly shit on by everyone. You're missing the point here Pretsy: which happens when you come in late, read the last few posts, and try to draw a conclusion from everything. But here, I'll fill you in: Nekkichi: Dir en grey are uninspired sell outs that are losing Japanese fans steadily because Dum Spiro Spero flopped and my fav albums are the bands worst (Withering To Death and Vulgar? REALLY? lolz) Me: You're complaining about musical preference and masking it as fact, furthermore you're wrong in those ridiculous accusations (Pretsy, read previous posts) Congrats Pretsy, you like everybody else can formulate your own opinion on the music you listen to, that was never an issue here. "Try Harder"

im being more of a nuisance now than anything. and lol. typical argument for someone mindlessly hating on a band. When someone defends, call them a fanboy. Yep, great idea! Not redundant at all. It'd be funny to know that I like Dir en grey in passing, but can distinguish between objective criticism and obnoxious rantings with no direction. You say Dum Spiro Spero flopped, yet it's acclaim and subsequent successful tour in support of it (Age Quod Agis) prove that to be false. Your central argument surrounding the band (creativity issues, "bland", etc.) when it's rooted in nothing, it makes no sense. It's pompous especially when the whole "OH THEY'RE UNINSPIRED AND BLAND" is the biggest cliché in the entire japanese music fandom. The same senseless think-tank formulated the whole "DIR EN GREY IS JUST AMERICAN METAL", and continue to create any excuse to hate on the band just because they're popular and said "fuck you" to VK to carve their own direction. You continue to highlight that "DIR EN GREY IS STEADILY LOSING FANS IN JAPAN" yet their shows and the frequency of which prove otherwise (pre-hiatus). And furthermore, what does it even matter when (I know, I've said this) their fanbase outside of Japan (international market) is strong. The whole THEY'RE LOSING JAPANESE FANS would mean something if they weren't relevant outside of Japan...but they are. So it kind of doesn't matter. EDIT: oh and nice job with all of those logical fallacies, really helps portray your point of view so much better.

you talk a lot, but don't back it up. i back it up. nuff said. QED.

Just clarifying that the reception over Dum Spiro Spero was incredibly positive. I looked but couldn't find anything. Though I do know that the 3,900 is from just the first week of sales, after that idk. But to track success you also track their corresponding support tours, etc. Even that's a little premature though due to their inactivity.

"The Final Word: Dir en grey have in Dum Spiro Spero a diverse, brutal, terrifying album that needs to be heard and spread." (http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/music/1839) "This is not an album that can (or should) be recommended to any particular genre of music fan, and DUM SPIRO SPERO is certainly not an album for everyone. Many will no doubt miss the point of such an intensely chaotic album and all its painful dark beauty, but for everyone else, this album is a spectacular piece of work, with some great musicianship and eerily enchanting melodies. " (http://www.primalnoise.com/node/183) "Dir En Grey is one intense metal asylum patient paddling a brand of hair-raising sonic art packed so full of diversity and avant-garde goodness that they keep you coming back for more. Indeed, while I breathe, I most certainly feel hope—hope for similar magnum opuses in the future that is." (http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/146 ... piro-spero) "The glory of Dir En Grey has always been how they manage to pull beautiful melodies through the most astonishing and brutal of metal hazes. DUM SPIRO SPERO features no dearth of those enchanted minutes, from the delicate moments of “Lotus” to the punitive crush of “Hageshisa To, Kono Mune No Naka De Karamitsuita Shakunetsu No Yami.” (http://blogcritics.org/music/article/mu ... n-grey-dum) "Japan's finest shapeshifting metal machine's latest may be their most bipolar, but it's also their most complete. The moments of beautiful brutality help clear the muck occasionally built up by punishing slogs through the grind-and-growl swamp. B+" (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20514603,00.html) "we’re off on a satisfyingly challenging, perpetually writhing musical beast that sees Dir en grey at their best. It’s far from easy listening but it’s an approach that’s won them legions of devoted fans in the process and comes close to reducing many of their peers to nothing more than musical footnotes in the larger scheme of things." (http://www.rocksound.tv/reviews/article ... piro-spero) quod erat demonstrandum

"tastes haven't changed to fit the shitty new direction. it's not just teenagers and nolife metalheads." you don't understand their music yet you consider yourself a fan of their previous work. ha also: that's not 3,900 total sales in just the US alone, it's from the first week of sales. lol

You put an emphasis on dwindling Japanese sales vs. throughout the world for Dir en grey, and that seems to be some basis for the assumption "Oh they must be bad now". Wrong. I said this before, Dir en grey's initial fanbase is largely that of VK fans. So what is a VK fan going to do when Dir en grey basically says "fuck you" to that joke of a scene? Get mad, obv. You then go on to assert that Dum Spiro Spero is a poorly received album and that it was some sort of mistake. To you? I can see that when you want to hear 304 goushitsu and S at every live they do probz. Now what about that reception? http://lmgtfy.com/?q=dir+en+grey+dum+spiro+spero+review http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dum_Spiro_ ... 28album%29 One reviewer even compared them to Black Sabbath, another going as far as to saying that Kyo is the most diverse vocalist in metal. And metal's "Best kept secret" Oh so it was received poorly? No. You're just mad they make good music.

Post wouldn't post so: 1. We're comparing albums that came out as long ago as 13 years against an album that came out not even a year ago. That makes sense. 2. Dir en grey, like many Japanese bands that reach a wider international audience, received a decrease in sales overtime. Shocking? No they ditched a fad and short term sales. 3. Their claim to fame in Japan was Garden, their world renowned fame is two back to back albums Uroboros and Dum Spiro Spero. 4. Local sales (Japan) have dropped, international sales have surged (especially with increased focus and exposure of the band)

Koloss is a fucking sick album. Sometimes not as varied as previous material, it's still good!

Dum Spiro Spero didn't flop...lol

Yeah, VK bands nowadays are lucky to sell out venues over 2500 capacity. In my recollection a lot can't even push that much.

The consistency issue happened several years ago. Now the only problem with Kyo's performances that I've seen personally, is the long winded sentences he loves to use which he can't always handle well. And when it comes to the performances, anyone who's read a Kyo interview would understand.

12012 is FAR from a big band -- it's easy for western fans to neglect that.

Out of nowhere but: Kyo doesn't need to "learn" proper singing techniques.

Now is it the theater at MSG or the full stadium? They're promoting it as the full stadium and I read an article in which the author seemed to think so as well. ?????????????

Same.

Everything that's heavy in VK is apparently metalcore.