Dir en grey - SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH

[Zeus 7997]

Score: | Sometimes, simpler is better.

---

 

I'm conflicted in how I want to describe the title track. Sustain the Untruth has elements that were first introduced in Dum Spiro Spero, but Diru have finally learned about the art of subtlety. Overall a straightforward rock song, there are still some of the progressive influences and none of the deathcore influences that was the fixation of this band's musical output during their last phase. I criticized the chorus when the first previews were posted, saying that Kyo needs to learn how to sing a chorus while not metamorphosing into a banshee, but I was wrong. The chorus is what holds the song together and is the most memorable. This is the most enjoyable metal song I have heard since any of the lead promotional singles for Uroboros or their cover of THE STALIN. It's 50% more song, 50% less weirdness to project some facade of artistic direction underneath all the pretentiousness. This and Rinkaku will do until they announce their full-length album.

 

The other two tracks are the epitome of filler. Ruten no Tou was good song on a frustrating album, but it wasn't so good to deserve an acoustic re-recording so quickly. And quick is the keyword here because it sounds very awkward and disjointed. The song's different phases fit together well enough, but Kyo sticks out in a very bad way: Screams that don't fit with the tone, weird coos and hums that overpower the acoustics, and a chorus that is too powerful for the minimalist re-interpretation. Not a good selection for an acoustic rendition, and not a good acoustic rendition, but they tried.

 

The live track is as all live Dir en grey renditions are: when separated from the visuals it's weak. It's good for one or two listens but after that you won't be back.

Also, if I wasn't clear already, I prefer the A-side to all of their djing-djong faux-artistic Meshuggah-lite dronecore crap we've been subjected to for too long.

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

Is djing-djong an industry term?

[Zeus 7997]

It's a very hilarious reference to a Cyclamen insult turned promotion for their new album.

[Ro plz 1290]

Sustain the Untruth out of the new batch of A sides is by far the weakest one out of the bunch. However It was very much expected and we knew exactly what we were getting. This is the first time in awhile where I've actually enjoyed just one of the instrumentals and that was Toshiya's bass. My goodness he went hard on it and it was awesome imo. I do appreciate the weird vibe of the song that Kaoru and Die were trying to give off with their parts in the verses but Kaoru's was just weak. All he did was go up and down the wah pedal...But I guess that's what contributes to the simpleness I guess. Shinya, with not much to work with did his thing, nothing special. Overall, this is a listenable A side but I prefer Rinkaku, hell even the Unraveling than this. They were both pretty simple as well but much better. 7.0/10

 

Ruten No Tou acoustic was the highlight of the single. While it is pretty much the same exact thing as the original, I really enjoy Die's part in the second verse and both his and Kaoru's in the bridge. Brings chills down my spine....WHOOSSHHH! I love the drumming which adds to the feel of the song. I do agree with Zess when he says that Kyo's screaming didn't fit with the song. It could have done without it. Toshiya's bass playing was also another highlight. If anything though, I wasn't expecting a DSS remake song so soon, kind of seems odd if you ask me. I would've preferred another oldie song but then again they DID just release the Unraveling for nostalgia so I can see and understand the call behind it. 9/10

 

The live songs are always either a hit or miss...nah just a miss. We have so many live versions (via Audio Rip/CD and or the DVD's) so whenever I see one on a single, I listen to it a few times then get rid off it. Nothing special honestly even though Gaika is one of my fav songs of of Uroboros (No rating).

 

I'll probably end up getting buying this for my collection. 

I'm impatiently waiting for the DVD to be uploaded. That is the main reason I actually cared for the release. 

[dannemannen 69]

Sustain the untruth - expected something better, if just the chorus was just a little more melodic/catchy... too bad. Still funky and cool instrumentals but nothing memorable - 7/10.

The other two songs just felt like fillers, and i never thought ruten no tou was anything special.

Hope for better future releases.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Can't even bother listening to the B-sides cuz I already predict that they will have no effect on me whatsoever. The title track is not-too-bad-ish I guess, in that vein of previous new songs where I listen to it a couple times, then completely forget about it. There are some cool parts in it (some of the verses, that main melody bit, etc) but overall it just sounds like they removed all the 'meat' from a DSS-style song and we got this. Chorus is annoying as hell too.

 

Meh. |

[DogManX 179]

The title song shines predominantly through the chorus, and there's no more really to it. The main riff and bridge all sound like there will be coming an outburst of organic melody any second, but then it stays in its form and only develops a bit during the little solo. All this makes me think that Dir en grey didn't really leave the formula of DSS and Unraveling... they just changed it very subtle. All in all it still has this "must sound somehow weird and unpredictable" and the obvious way it is done makes it pretty weak. I loved all releases since Different Sense, but this is a..very dishonest..letdown. 4/10

 

Ruten no tou..nah, it's an acoustic version.. it's not bad, but I can't bring myself to accept it as a full song and so *no rating*

 

Live version? Skip. *no rating*

[Furik 832]

I guess opinions are mixed on the single but I, honestly, loved the single track.

The mix of random light electronics, the trippy guitar effects, and Kyo's vocal effects make for a really

solid track that blew me away and I didn't even have any high expectations at all.

 

I haven't enjoyed a good single from them that is this melodic (in the chorus, anyway) since Dozing Green. 

 

As for the B-sides, the acoustic version of Ruten no tou is decent. It's not as out there like their other acoustic songs however it's only worth a couple of listens.

 

And the final live track.. is just what it is.. a live track.

 

Overall, I give the single a 7/10. Disappointed in the content included in the single itself though - I kind

of wish the B-sides were something better but I was not disappointed in the A-track at all.

[Wicked Teletubby 528]

I think I'm finally into a title track. it's kind of messed up and is straight forward at the same time. after a couple of proper listens I ended up thinking it's a weird song. but then again, each time I hear anything new from the guys I feel the same. I didn't dig Rinkaku, but this one will definitely enter my daily car playlist.

except for a chorus part which grabbed everyone's attention a lot, my personal highlight of this song is Touru's very first mumbling part in it. I don't know the lyrics but the thing is really catchy. I expected to hear this part somewhere in the middle but DIR EN GREY tends to break the rules so...

anyways, SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH is a great number. I want an album like this: straight forward.

 

speaking of Ruten No Tou, I've never really liked it. this acoustic version is no difference. and mixing high pitched vocal parts with even very aggressive but still acoustic guitar sounds weird. thank you, guys, but no.

 

live track is just another live track. nothing special. and I don't like the song.

 

overall 7/10.

[miyuu 40]

http://www.cddata-mag.com/article/interview/2014/01/23/16/54/57

 

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my opinion quote from the other thread.  

miyuu, on 22 Jan 2014 - 5:31 PM, said:

 

     also i like the repetition in chorus/music. (i enjoy straightforward  but i enjoy  more complex  too.)

 

    i think this song  is more addictive than unraveling and rinkaku.  i could have it in repeat for very long time lol.

    especially while watching the video i liked it even more or maybe i got used to the voice and sounds nice.

    since my only problem about this song is i think i will always  prefer songs without falsetto.

    but that's personal preference and personal taste because i think his high voice here is fine. it fits with the atmosphere so much.

    the music hits me in waves and ♥ ♥ ♥♥ xDD

 

 

i like ruten no tou acoustic

but Ruten no Tou  is one of my favorites songs of dss.♥ so you could expect me to like the acoustic. (but there is some funny voice somewhere in the acoustic xD.)

also i like unraveling but i think stu is more catchy.addictive to me.i never  liked rinkaku. i suspect though & now is more clear to me what the problem is,maybe, not sure. i am having personal issues/problems  with the falsetto xDDD ,not the music. obviously the way in rinkaku annoys me more. in stu i think it's ok .but as i said i think i wiil always prefer the clean vocals.

the live it's ok  ,nothing better than regular.

kyo's lyrics are intriguing  as usual xD ♥

[relentless 254]

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?)

[kurenaishineek 646]

This was quite a good single from the band , or well not really . The live song was something i did not even listen and deleted it without a second thought . The acoustic version of ruten no tou was , well ... hmmmm ... dont know what to say , it was not bad , but not good , it was normal . The title track was good and i like it , but something was lacking , i like bands with power vocals , like screams , shouts and growls , and that why i always loved DeG , but this song lacks all of this , there is so much clean vocals in it that i cant listen to this song more than once in a while , i seriously hope that they want turn from a metal band to a buch of pushover boybandish pop rock . For now they look like they getting softer and its a bad thing with this band .

RATING : 7/10 but only for title song , the acoustic one gets a 4/10 and the live song no rating cause i did not even care for listening to it (especially cause most of theyre live songs dont sound anything like live) .