Dir en grey

[Tokage 5930]

tfw you never had that much of an attachment to The Final anyway & thus don't get why everyone was flipping their shit at the remake even way back when it originally came out, i would've probably gotten more upset had they decided to remake dead tree instead

Edited August 5, 2019 by Tokage

[nullmoon 784]

1 hour ago, Disposable said:

I'm also of the opinion above that all the heavier stuff is at the very least funny to have around, whereas the lighter remakes of everything but Undecided I can't stand. The amount of songs from them that I just won't listen to is not great and it's mostly the remakes like Kasumi, Wake, Final and then also Obscure from the heavier ones. 

I tried to forget that horrifically flat Obscure remake. Thanks for bringing it into my life again ughhhhh XD 

[LIDL 692]

This is the most absurd but also arty remake they've ever done thus far, nobody knows what to make of it, I still don't. It's like Yoko Ono on acid.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsjIcKO1HuM

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by LIDL

[EvilHippy 142]

Their early heavy stuff is usually cringy or strange (Rasetsukoku comes to mind, which only wins from being remade).
Remakes like Tsumi to Kisei and Hydra are just new songs, tbh. It's difficult to compare them to their older counterpart.

Now about The Final/Kasumi stuff. I prefer new Kasumi because it sounds softer and has a nice solo. But, I like old version of The Final because of a fuller sound (dunno how to explain it). So, it's usually hit or miss. New Wake is easier to digest. Undecided shouldn't be categorized as a remake - it's just an acoustic version (like Ruten no Tou).

Edited August 5, 2019 by EvilHippy

[kuyashii 124]

4 hours ago, Nowhere Girl said:

Undecided and Bottom of the Death Valley would like to have a word with you.

Undecided is a bit of a strange case because it didn't really change anything composition-wise (I think they added a verse didn't they? Haven't heard that one in ages), like it was said above, it's "just" an acoustic version. I actually like the Glass Skin version more than the original. BotDV (and Karasu for that matter) are indeed softer songs but aren't that much the "anthemic" kind of compositions (Kasumi and The Final), the originals are more less conventional compositions that allowed for some twisting and turning that gave the songs an interesting character. I'm not really that big on neither version of BotDV either (but the Tabula Rasa ver. is pretty cool though, I like how Toshiya added the original bass line in the intro).

[nekkichi 6043]

they literally should have never touched their entire kisou - WTD catalogue

 

the macabre remakes are very good (at least intrumentally all of them were improved), zan is sound vomit, but so was the original so w/e.

[EvilHippy 142]

So, yeah. US tour this December.

[nullmoon 784]

I'm listening to Arche and I forgot how much I love it. Sure it's a bit bloated but it's miles ahead of their last album in terms of...well everything. The Insulated World is pretty much unlistenable for me bar a handful of tracks. 

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

the best stuff on arche is really good. Kaishun, magayaso, rinkaku, midwife and tosei ranks high in late dir en grey to me and some other songs are good as well

[EvilHippy 142]

22 minutes ago, Disposable said:

the best stuff on arche is really good. Kaishun, magayaso, rinkaku, midwife and tosei ranks high in late dir en grey to me and some other songs are good as well

I'll probably be an uncultured swine, but why do you like Magayasou? 

[sleepy coffee 1476]

Dream setlist for na tour would be a few songs from every release but no way that happens 

Edited August 14, 2019 by chipathy

[Nowhere Girl 189]

8 minutes ago, EvilHippy said:

I'll probably be an uncultured swine, but why do you like Magayasou? 

For me it's the opening guitar riff that's repeated throughout the song. It feels disgusting, and I love it.

[GreatNorthernVK 183]

Quick question: I’m seriously pondering a stop on the NA tour this time around. In the past couple meet and greets, were there any photos or autographs allowed? I sprung for the Gazette meet and greet and was disappointed that they allowed neither. Just wanting to know if it’s worth it, especially because I’ve heard that Kyo and  Shinya just go through the motions.

[geist 227]

Arche as a whole is really good; but there are a few tracks I can't stand including Midwife, Kaishun, and Sustain The Untruth. Midwife isn't a "bad" song per se; but holy shit that intro is terrible. I've ranted about this several times before. Kaoru writes this amazing groove and what does Die do? He fucking ruins it with this terrible lead work. And OF COURSE it's a few db higher than Kaoru in the mix so you get this awful lead guitar passage and all the good shit is buried underneath it.

 

Fuck that song. One of these days I'll stop being lazy and write my own lead passage for a cover; but right now I'd rather keep complaining.

[ghost 2687]

8 hours ago, GreatNorthernVK said:

Quick question: I’m seriously pondering a stop on the NA tour this time around. In the past couple meet and greets, were there any photos or autographs allowed? I sprung for the Gazette meet and greet and was disappointed that they allowed neither. Just wanting to know if it’s worth it, especially because I’ve heard that Kyo and  Shinya just go through the motions.

What?? That's lame. They really couldn't be bothered to sign a few things and/or take photos? 

[geist 227]

8 hours ago, GreatNorthernVK said:

Quick question: I’m seriously pondering a stop on the NA tour this time around. In the past couple meet and greets, were there any photos or autographs allowed? I sprung for the Gazette meet and greet and was disappointed that they allowed neither. Just wanting to know if it’s worth it, especially because I’ve heard that Kyo and  Shinya just go through the motions.

Typically what happens -- or what has happened the past couple of years -- is the band stands behind a barricade and people stand/sit in front of them and get their picture taken. There is very minimal interaction with them, and sometimes they let you do questions for a few minutes. The value, and if it's "worth" the $148, is entirely based on your own subjective assessment. 

 

For me it's worth it because I've been dying to ask Kaoru guitar-related questions for fucking ever. I don't care about getting a picture, I don't care about the laminate, I don't care about early access to the venue or the merch -- all I want to do is ask Kaoru guitar related stuff so I can pick his brain. That's worth $148 imo

Edited August 15, 2019 by geist
thought it was a double post, it wasn't, praise be

[GreatNorthernVK 183]

I’ve heard about the barricade before, from people who went to the last Toronto show. I get it, they want to protect themselves from the occasional nut. 

 

For me, it’s worth it if I at least get a picture, and early access. An autograph would be great. I brought Miyavi’s Firebird LP to get signed in Toronto last year, and it was announced the day of that only fan club members would get an autograph.

 

I would bring my Uroboros LP with a silver sharpie if I thought I had a decent chance of one.

[GreatNorthernVK 183]

1 hour ago, ghost said:

What?? That's lame. They really couldn't be bothered to sign a few things and/or take photos? 

Yup. Handshake and a hand towel. The early entry wasn’t even that worth it, as the merch selection had already been picked almost clean by the US fans. About 75% of the people opted for VIP.

[Saishu 1589]

I did a meet and greet with Kaoru and Die in 2006, then the entire band in 2008. Both times required you to buy merch at the venue (and to be fair, 2006 was at Family Values and applied to every band). 

 

There were no barricades at both events; they sat behind tables. The Kaoru and Die meeting was just a quick handshake, the full band meet and greet in 2008 was handshakes and each member signed the merch you bought. No idea how they would handle it now. 

[LIDL 692]

5 hours ago, geist said:

the band stands behind a barricade and people stand/sit in front of them and get their picture taken.

That's sounds like a zoo tbh. Is this for real?

I'd rather pay 2K for actual experience with lesser boundaries and photo op.

[rekzer 599]

I did the VIP thing in 2013 in NY and there was no barricade. 

 

We spent about 10 mins with the band members and the translator picked about 3 people from the VIPs at random to ask 1 question each. There was about 40ish people in the group. The we got to take a pic with the whole band. Kyo covered his face and everyone but Kaoru were wearing sunglasses. After the pic we were allowed into the venue before the regular crowd but not to the merch as the merch was set up during the show itself. It included a copy of The Unraveling regular edition and a VIP poster that got destroyed during the show because i was holding it in my hand so I threw it away. 

 

I honestly did wanted that pic so it was worth it for me ( i don't post it here because it is very cringy) but i would never pay for a meet & greet with them again.

[ghost 2687]

8 hours ago, GreatNorthernVK said:

Yup. Handshake and a hand towel. The early entry wasn’t even that worth it, as the merch selection had already been picked almost clean by the US fans. About 75% of the people opted for VIP.

Yikes. Sorry to hear that. At least they gave you something you can actually use after the concert lol

[nullmoon 784]

11 hours ago, geist said:

Arche as a whole is really good; but there are a few tracks I can't stand including Midwife, Kaishun, and Sustain The Untruth. Midwife isn't a "bad" song per se; but holy shit that intro is terrible. I've ranted about this several times before. Kaoru writes this amazing groove and what does Die do? He fucking ruins it with this terrible lead work. And OF COURSE it's a few db higher than Kaoru in the mix so you get this awful lead guitar passage and all the good shit is buried underneath it.

 

Fuck that song. One of these days I'll stop being lazy and write my own lead passage for a cover; but right now I'd rather keep complaining.

How can you not stand Kaishun?!

[Euronymous 325]

just sent the insulated world to a musician friend of mine check out,and his mind is blown away .he instantly became a DnG stan.then i got intrigued,like "why can i not enjoy that album as well?".so i just decided to give it a spin,without any sense of criticism or comparing with previous works,and it actually flowed really well. i've come to the conclusion that TIW can be an outstanding experience for non DnG hardcore fans.compared with the 3 previous albums,TIW is just ridiculous,but i think if we take that out from the dir en grey-hall and listen to that as a random metal album,we'd be able to enjoy with no problems.

[saiko 429]

9 hours ago, Euronymous said:

just sent the insulated world to a musician friend of mine check out,and his mind is blown away .he instantly became a DnG stan.then i got intrigued,like "why can i not enjoy that album as well?".so i just decided to give it a spin,without any sense of criticism or comparing with previous works,and it actually flowed really well. i've come to the conclusion that TIW can be an outstanding experience for non DnG hardcore fans.compared with the 3 previous albums,TIW is just ridiculous,but i think if we take that out from the dir en grey-hall and listen to that as a random metal album,we'd be able to enjoy with no problems.

Like actually trying not to realize what a tragedy is that one of the most creative bands in Japanese music history suddenly ran off of ideas lol