relentless

there is no 11/11 date

That was in 2009 in NYC. And at NYC there was an opening act, if I remember correctly two. Though there was DEFINITELY one opening act. and i see the NA setlists being relatively the same but with added DUM SPIRO SPERO songs that haven't been played yet. The band needs time to practice them so that's the only reason why they're stalling.

I mean that chorus is practically identical. The screaming juxtaposed with a lifting chorus. Amd even Mao's growls sound like a crappy version of what Kyo has been doing lately.

Yeah like the other person said: their catalog is extremely mixed and their live performances can be pretty bad at times. Have you seen the Summer Sonic performance of VORTEX? I mean ew...Ruki doesn't even do his own screams, they use a background track for most of it.

wow...The Suicide Circus is an AMAZING song. This took me off guard.

Sounds wayyy too much like DIFFERENT SENSE, but I love it. It's a step up from their old music.

Pre-review of how I feel about these samples: 1. INFUSE INTO -- Eh. It's cool how they try to do some dubstep...but it's ridiculously poorly produced dubstep so it doesn't really sound that appealing. 2. VENOMOUS SPIDER'S WEB -- starts off as something I imagine herpes would listen to. It glistens with imagery of lollipops and men in assless chaps until it goes into that standard pop-punk sound I've grown tired of. 3. RED -- Sounds the same, but apparently there have been significant changes. Can't wait to hear what they do! 4. SLUDGY CULT -- there is nothing SLUDGY about this. It sounds like VERMIN with different timing. They could have just put VERMIN on the album... 5. THE SUICIDE CIRCUS -- more electronic sounds. Sounds kinda cool, but I keep getting the vibe that the way things are shaping up...it's just a ridiculously mainstream version of all of their passed music so far 6. SHIVER -- ? 7. MY DEVIL ON THE BED -- The drums are as upbeat as Vamps and as boring. If this song sounds the way the intro is, I'm going to hate life. 8. UNTITLED -- A cheesy ballad. If it sounds like this, it will be known as UNLISTENED. 9. PLEDGE -- Yeah yeah, their best ballad. But it doesn't fit in at all with the album. They should have substituted this for REMEMBER THE URGE. 10. RUTHLESS DEED -- Finally something that gets me EXCITED. This is what I want. Contender for best track already. 11. PSYCHOPATH -- should have just called it Psychosocial. 12. VORTEX -- A very solid song. It will be cool to hear this in the context of the new album. 13. TOMORROW NEVER DIES -- Cool riff! But Ruki kind of kills it... 14. OMEGA -- a closing track? They could have had the chance to close the album with something intense like DIM Scene...and they go with this? Why? Overall (so far): Unlike other bands...once you've heard a preview (especially one that is 44 seconds long) of a VK song...you know what it's going to sound like. Though I'm sure the GazettE will find ways to make the album enjoyable to an extent, it's just going to be ridiculously boring and a set of loose ends that they really could have taken advantage of. We'll all find out soon enough!

RUTHLESS DEED: The Blossoming Beezlebub part 2

I found The Birthday Massacre to be reallyyyy bland, but I imagine given the circumstances and mood of the show, I'll enjoy their set.

The review on ApeShit? No. He said that the album is very experimental and very hard to listen to, and at the same time stating that though the drumming is good, it just adds filler and doesn't really stand out. But the guy who wrote that review was suspect so idk.

His US tour didn't go over so well last year...so why is he touring again? Hmm..

Kyo did whispered growls back in 2008. Watch The Rose Trims Again and it's very clear. His growls suckedddddd. Now they're great! And they're different at the same time because of how full and "wet" they are, they possess the same technique as pig squeals but aren't quite there yet. It's a cool combination.

I can finally do a detailed review! Kyoukotsu No Nari: Great intro! Intros are supposed to do what Kyoukotsu does, and that's set the mood and create a vibe that will be consistent throughout the album. 10/10 THE BLOSSOMING BEEZLEBUB: It goes somewhere...but at the same time it doesn't. It's very true to its name in the sense that it just blossoms and progresses in a very subtle way. Despite those subtle off-timings and transitions though, the song just sits there and shuffles along. Though the musicianship and performance by Kyo are great! 8/10 DIFFERENT SENSE: Damn. One of the strongest tracks on the album! What more is there to say about such an iconic song in the bands career? 10/10 AMON: Really cool, but the guitars are completely underpowered. There could have been more power and more kick to this song, but there wasn't. What the hell happened? 7.5/10 Yokusou Ni Dreambox" Aruiwa Seijuku No Rinen To Tsumetai Ame: Didn't know I was actually going to like this song, but it realllyyyy surprised me! The intro is great! 9/10 Juuyoku: The progression, the break down, the harmonies...oh my god. 9.5/10 Shitataru Mourou: Pretty cool rock-like progression that grooves along. The song is saved from its stagnant progression though once a break down comes in and ends on a completely different note than the rest of the song. Variation! 7.5/10 LOTUS: MUCH better production than the single, and with that...a lot more enjoyable to listen to especially within the context of the album. 9/10 DIABOLOS: Though set up sort of like Vinushka (the thrashy riff is sort of similar), it conveys a strong image and emotion a lot better than Vinushka. The changes in tempo are a lot more subtle than in Vinushka -- it all blends well together! 9.5/10 Akatsuki: A very very very odd song that goes through many different genre shifts and just goes all over the place. It's unpredictable and a really good example at that "free form" sound the band was describing. But under review I feel like it doesn't really fit...but to say that is really unfair. 7/10 DECAYED CROW: Dir en grey's most brutal song, and they do a damn good job at it! Seeing this performed live is going to be quite the treat. 10/10 Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami: guitar parts changed, more sludgy, and a lot more bass. The song feels very constricted but is still a great track! 9/10 VANITAS: damn! One of their best ballads. Thoroughly impressed, and one of their only ballads that I listen to by choice. 9.5/10 Ruten no Tou: Dir en grey's best closing track. Hands down. Everything about this song is just above and beyond their previous work. 10/10 Overall (Average): 9/10 Overall (Impression): 10/10 (This is Dir en greys best work, and the fact they were able to come up with such an incredible sound and put together the best album of 2011 so far is entirely admirable)

if it's a theme song...then it'll be ridiculously catchy

I'm having a really hard time with this album. It's great and just so weird -- very hard to properly grasp and take in. There's so much going on that I need a while to see if I love it or not. Though I will say that despite any reservations I or anyone else may have, you can not discredit this band for what they have done on this record. It doesn't take some sort of music theory enthusiast to understand that what the band is doing is pretty great. The remastered version of Hageshisa to... really bothered me though. Jens Bogren (original engineer) did an AMAZING job with it (besides leaving the bass out), and Tue just kind of dulled it down. Which is surprising because Tue's work on the rest of the album is AMAZING and some of the best mastering I have heard on an album in a while. Right now I can't really assign it a number rating, but I know this is a great album and something that will propel their status across the world once more attention gets drawn to it. oh and, DIABOLOS sort of drags on...but it's cool i guess

I'm guessing the real reason they play old songs in Japan is just another form of fan service. Afterall, Japanese fans are incredibly flaky and consist largely of vk fans who love their older material. You have to yield to those demands. The rest of the world is different, and I'm seriously going to feel incredibly bad for the band when some fool walks up to them with these demands. Ungrateful.

It's not opinion based, but even the technical aspects of it. Vocals, progression, etc.

Highly doubt that. With what the band has been saying this is truly going to be nothing like what they've done before. And that's really the point. and @filth_y: no, they sound nothing alike. sorry.

AMON is incredible

oh and sorry for double post, but none of those are correct really. especially embryo...

They're never going to play any of those songs overseas because they don't want to play them more than likely. Playing old songs in Japan (usually only at a knot only lives) is a form of fanservice seeing as how their dedicated fanbase there is made up of very fickle people that if they don't hear Ain't Afraid to Die once every 2 years they'll stop liking the band immediately. Passing these around and trying to get the band to play these songs are incredibly snobby, and i can only IMAGINE the reaction from the band. Bad idea.

I pictured a consistently heavy album, and the review confirms it. Ball blistering brutality is going to be something very interesting for the band to pull off.

No offense...but this is absolutely ridiculous. Nothing about that letter, or petition, or whatever is remotely plausible. Sorry. And I am sort of tempted to see them this year but don't really know where to go..

^ To be fair, TMOAB was a very melodic album.

In an interview, Die said that the album has less variation, but has several hints of melody throughout. So pretty much it's all just going to be one big ROAR fest.