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~~MicShazam~~ · 09-10-2017, 03:08 PM

I'm going to try a new thing here and do some sort of short form, commented overview of a whole artist discography. I'm going to refrain from posting song links and instead just give my heavily compressed thoughts on each album and a rating of each. If I do this again later, I may well change the approach. It's an experiment and I'm not sure how helpful it actually is. Anyway, here goes:

Guide to my Favorite artists: Dir En Grey
Country: Japan
Formed: 1997
Status: Still active and fairly productive. A new album is probably not that far away.
Genres: An eclectic mix of J-rock, nu-metal, death metal, alternative rock, , pop hooks, progressive metal and other musical elements.
Members: Same lineup since the beginning.
Kyo – lead vocals
Kaoru – guitar, backing vocals
Die – guitar, backing vocals
Toshiya – bass, backing vocals
Shinya – drums, percussion

Discography overview:

Gauze (1999)

Their first album is a pretty raw and frantic sounding mix of J-rock and nu-metal elements. Pretty interesting and it's grown on me over the years. Kyo's vocals on this album sound a bit like he's caught a cold. It will be a few albums before his talents are truly unleashed. The best song on the album is the menacingly unhinged and frankly rather oddly named Mazohyst of Decadence .
8/10 - A solid starting point. Pretty rough around the edges, but brimming with energy an personality.

Macabre (2000)

A bit of a sophomore slump. It's not bad, but the songs aren't as memorable as on the first album and it doesn't sound as good. The best thing about it is probably that the band seems intent on being a bit weirder here than they were on the first album.
7/10 - A good album, but not where anyone should start with this band. This one is for the already converted.

Kisou (2002)

Very, very good! It's a more melodic, more refined evolution of what the band was doing on Gauze. Feels more matured, less histrionic. The song Embryo might just be the first true classic this band has produced. Kyo's vocals are still somewhat nasal and off-sounding. I think it works, but the next album is where he starts getting a lot better.
8/10 - I like this album a lot, but it is undeniably a bit uneven. Good place to starts, but not their peak.

Six Ugly (2002)

This 6 track EP displays a clear change in style. All of a sudden these very modern sounding Deftones and American contemporary metal inspirations heavily modify the band's sound. Not an entirely successful experiment and the songs aren't really all that good. It is however very interesting in how it foreshadowed the change of direction that would happen on the next full length album.
6/10 - It's allright for what it is, but pretty much the nadir of the whole discography.

Vulgar (2003)

This is where the band starts transitioning into the band I truly love. The front cover, back cover and all the pages of the booklet are mostly black, which is how the band would present their albums from this point on. Fittingly, the music is more abrasive, considerably darker and more metal influenced than the previous more rock-leaning outings. Kyo's vocals expand into growls, shrieks and more refined sounding melodic singing. His octave range also seems to have suddenly expanded. Instrumentally and structurally, the songs start getting a bit more complex, but there's still a lot of their old style left in the mix here. It's a transitional album. The sound of a band forging a new identity.
8/10 - Very good, but not their ultimate expression of this style. There are several classic tracks on the album, so it isn't skippable by any means.

Withering to Death (2005)

This is the first truly classic Dir En Grey album. I pretty much just love it front to back. One of my top 10 favorite songs of all time is on this album. Big words, I know! It's called Itoshusa Ha Fuhai Nitsuki . This song is the culmination of the softer side of the band in their new style. There are more amazing songs on the album in various styles, but if you only hear one, make it this one! Like most of their albums, this one is pretty over compressed in the sound, but it still has an amazing vibe to it. Easily one of my all time favorite albums and a pretty eclectic mix of styles. Not by any means the band at their most abrasive, even though some songs are rather frantic and heavy.
10/10 - I love it to death!

The Marrow of a Bone (2007)

This album is radically more harsh and wild than the previous album. There are moments of quiet, but this album is overall much like being beated to death with a set of heavy static spitting speakers. I don't think it's the strongest effort of the band and it's pretty hard to get through in one sitting, but I really do love the atmosphere of this album, plus there's some really solid tracks here. It doesn't quite measure up to the previous album, but some rate it way higher in the band's discography than I do.
8/10 - Good, but quite a mouthful. A pretty offensively overcompressed production job that's peaking and crackling all over the place. Death Magnetic go home, this album is a wall of migraine inducing noise. I like it, but damn does it test my ears.

09-10-2017, 03:08 PM	#8 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,634	I'm going to try a new thing here and do some sort of short form, commented overview of a whole artist discography. I'm going to refrain from posting song links and instead just give my heavily compressed thoughts on each album and a rating of each. If I do this again later, I may well change the approach. It's an experiment and I'm not sure how helpful it actually is. Anyway, here goes: Guide to my Favorite artists: Dir En Grey Country: Japan Formed: 1997 Status: Still active and fairly productive. A new album is probably not that far away. Genres: An eclectic mix of J-rock, nu-metal, death metal, alternative rock, , pop hooks, progressive metal and other musical elements. Members: Same lineup since the beginning. Kyo – lead vocals Kaoru – guitar, backing vocals Die – guitar, backing vocals Toshiya – bass, backing vocals Shinya – drums, percussion Discography overview: Gauze (1999) Their first album is a pretty raw and frantic sounding mix of J-rock and nu-metal elements. Pretty interesting and it's grown on me over the years. Kyo's vocals on this album sound a bit like he's caught a cold. It will be a few albums before his talents are truly unleashed. The best song on the album is the menacingly unhinged and frankly rather oddly named Mazohyst of Decadence . 8/10 - A solid starting point. Pretty rough around the edges, but brimming with energy an personality. Macabre (2000) A bit of a sophomore slump. It's not bad, but the songs aren't as memorable as on the first album and it doesn't sound as good. The best thing about it is probably that the band seems intent on being a bit weirder here than they were on the first album. 7/10 - A good album, but not where anyone should start with this band. This one is for the already converted. Kisou (2002) Very, very good! It's a more melodic, more refined evolution of what the band was doing on Gauze. Feels more matured, less histrionic. The song Embryo might just be the first true classic this band has produced. Kyo's vocals are still somewhat nasal and off-sounding. I think it works, but the next album is where he starts getting a lot better. 8/10 - I like this album a lot, but it is undeniably a bit uneven. Good place to starts, but not their peak. Six Ugly (2002) This 6 track EP displays a clear change in style. All of a sudden these very modern sounding Deftones and American contemporary metal inspirations heavily modify the band's sound. Not an entirely successful experiment and the songs aren't really all that good. It is however very interesting in how it foreshadowed the change of direction that would happen on the next full length album. 6/10 - It's allright for what it is, but pretty much the nadir of the whole discography. Vulgar (2003) This is where the band starts transitioning into the band I truly love. The front cover, back cover and all the pages of the booklet are mostly black, which is how the band would present their albums from this point on. Fittingly, the music is more abrasive, considerably darker and more metal influenced than the previous more rock-leaning outings. Kyo's vocals expand into growls, shrieks and more refined sounding melodic singing. His octave range also seems to have suddenly expanded. Instrumentally and structurally, the songs start getting a bit more complex, but there's still a lot of their old style left in the mix here. It's a transitional album. The sound of a band forging a new identity. 8/10 - Very good, but not their ultimate expression of this style. There are several classic tracks on the album, so it isn't skippable by any means. Withering to Death (2005) This is the first truly classic Dir En Grey album. I pretty much just love it front to back. One of my top 10 favorite songs of all time is on this album. Big words, I know! It's called Itoshusa Ha Fuhai Nitsuki . This song is the culmination of the softer side of the band in their new style. There are more amazing songs on the album in various styles, but if you only hear one, make it this one! Like most of their albums, this one is pretty over compressed in the sound, but it still has an amazing vibe to it. Easily one of my all time favorite albums and a pretty eclectic mix of styles. Not by any means the band at their most abrasive, even though some songs are rather frantic and heavy. 10/10 - I love it to death! The Marrow of a Bone (2007) This album is radically more harsh and wild than the previous album. There are moments of quiet, but this album is overall much like being beated to death with a set of heavy static spitting speakers. I don't think it's the strongest effort of the band and it's pretty hard to get through in one sitting, but I really do love the atmosphere of this album, plus there's some really solid tracks here. It doesn't quite measure up to the previous album, but some rate it way higher in the band's discography than I do. 8/10 - Good, but quite a mouthful. A pretty offensively overcompressed production job that's peaking and crackling all over the place. Death Magnetic go home, this album is a wall of migraine inducing noise. I like it, but damn does it test my ears.