Dir en grey - Rinkaku

[Pretsy 1343]

My short take on one of the most anticipated vk/J-music-related releases off this year, DEG's "Rinkaku":

1) Rinkaku

Quite nice half-ballad, quite distracted a bit with djenty (some might say "sludgy", but eh) parts but a solid number was guaranteed - thanks to memorable chorus and solo which just whacks you back to Gauze/Macabre-era with nostalgia overdose. On the con side, verse parts would've been done in more interesting, new-ish formula; and ending acted as sort of failed fanservice to me with lyrical reference to [KR]Cube (the first verse). Either way, I'd call it "Lotus 2.0", which goes quite far away from being "bad" - 8,5/10

2) Kiri to Mayu

Take 2% of the original song (some parts of solo, and the main riff), add a bit of Carcass and

embarassingu!!!!

Chelsea Grin, shake it up with constant breakdowns and voila - you have a remake of Missa's starter! Old fans might surely cringe upon the view/hearing they will get, and so did I during the first listen. It ~might~ grow on me, thanks to its second, "Dir en grey-ish" solo and clean vocal break, highly reminiscent to their eerie Uroboros songs (think of "Toguro" but with maximum Ooooh-ing ). Almost decent grower, to put it bluntly - 7/10

3) Rinkaku Eternal Slumber Mix (Remixed by Akira Yamaoka)

Interesting remix, but nothing else to say, nor to review - more of DSS remix quality than Kai/Kisou remix quality which actually blew me away - mercy points for OOOOOHs and chorus (once again) though - 7,5/10

All in all, 8/10 - solid single, with a few tiring cons.

[Rosà 37]

I've written in "news" section that I didn't like this release. It's obvious that I explain here why.

First song: Rinkaku. Nice music, to the instrumentals here nothing to say it's wrong. Quiet catchy, soft. I like them. But the vocal style... my god. Kyo shouldn't sing this way. His higher vocals for almost all the time (except of some moments where he's singing - let's say - "normally") are more and more irritating. I prefer him growling. It's good for him he can sing so good after so many hospitalizations, but please... The only impression during hearing this song was "oh my god, how long it will be? 2 minutes... 1.30... please, stop this". I give it simply 2/5, because of instrumentals.

Second song: Kiri to mayu -2012-: bghbbbfhgfrrrhhooohfhbbhfbfhfhhfbfho yaaaaaaaaoooooohbhfbhffbhgbfhgb yaoooooohhhbghghbohhhbfhbohfbhgbhgofhgb <----- and so one. Did I miss something? Awww, yea... somewhere "Kiri to Mayu!". Oh. I thought it was Tsumi to batsu vol. 3, but didn't expect this song. It's brutal, no doubts. The mastering and idea of re-recording just terrible. It's definitely not to listen. 0/5

Not intrested in remix at all after such a... original experience.

To be honest, it's even worse than MOO. MOO had at least a concept. What we have here? Nothing. I miss old dir en grey from withering to death/uroboros era. I have no idea what happened to them, experiment in this way doesn't fit them. It's waste of money for this single to buy and... Yea. Don't expect too much from their next release in April.

[dannemannen 69]

I think its great and i love the atmosphere of rinkaku, no problems with the singing either.

Kiri to mayu and the remix are bad but the title song deserves a nice 8/10! A good single!

[miyuu 40]

sorry if this shouldn't be in this thread but in deg's generall thread.

i am bored and i can't sleep so here is my random & long opinion.

to be honest i agree with @Rosà

maybe i need to listen it more times but i got disappointed and frustrated and didn't listen it again / i didn't listen to it no more than very few times.

the high singing annoys me in 輪郭

the constant growls annoy me too in 霧と繭

these are not songs that i would listen on repeat and love so much as older songs they have.but i love the very few seconds he actually sings in 霧と繭.so awesome. i can have only that on repeat but is very few.

well i have some hope because i hated with passion lotus but i found some songs that i liked in dss.

also i like the lyrics and i am gonna try to listen again to this song just because of that.

(i really like their current style in looks btw. especially for kyo. and me liking or noticing their latest looks is so rare)

i don't like experimental or progressive and i am so sad because they used to be a band that i liked 90% of their songs even in moab ! i love moab! and now this doesn't happen anymore. i love nu metal or death metal etc but i can't deal with too much experiments.

and if you are thinking then why the hell i don't stop listening to them. yes few times

i wanted to stop listening to them but there are no new bands that can come any closer to the awesomness of some of their songs for me.

so i am sadly left with no choice.

i they were better new bands i would probably had stop listening to them by now and move on.

i wonder if fans just react in everything they do like is something so awesome just because they are dir en grey. and they are famous and highly regarded.

and if they were a new band they would have a different reaction. more pure opinion.

i guess that's the prize and price for being famous and looked up to, respected.

i wish they would end up eventually in something i would be more ok with. not like the past (i personally hate Clinging in the past) but maybe more metal

[Licio123 181]

Either way, I'd call it "Lotus 2.0"

That's exactly what I thought about Rinkaku. It's a longer, more polished Lotus, with great instrumentals. Kyo's voice is awesome here too, IMO. 9/10

I never liked Kiri to Mayu very much, but the song was destroyed. LOL. 3/10.

The remix is nice, not better than the original, but has a slower tempo, and more ballad-ish feel to it. 8/10

[TheTrendkiller 68]

This single is the bomb. 10/10 No less.

[fagiel 0]

The title song is the only one deserving to be mentioned in my opinion. But as my friend said then "Kiri to Mayu" re-make perfectly balanced the lighter sound of "Rinkaku" in the case of this single.

I´m surprised that people here mentioned they didn´t like his high singing. I personally really enjoyed his voice and it mesmerized me to the very core. Somehow it cut right through me and gave a feel strong enough to move mountains. And I believe at the moment I was listening to "Rinkaku" I would´ve tried too. He has a really nice and unique voice, so I´m sad he´s done mad screams more lately. Not that I don´t like his screams or anything, but at some point there were too much of them. That´s the reason I didn´t enjoy the re-make as well. In my opinion it was simply boring.

Which comes to the mix then it was a really nice and relaxing one. The beginning of it striked right through and prepared well for what was waiting afterwards. I really liked the calm yet powerful sounds of piano. Sometimes a little sudden and unexpected tones. The mix obviously concentrated more on Kyo´s voice, which was wonderful.

Also I couldn´t stop myself mentioning that the PV for "Rinkaku" is one of the best ones from them in my opinion. 10pts also for that one separately.

Overall I´d give 10/10 to this single, something that made my year.

[ShanethVarosa 1209]

I haven't been able to really get into the song very much. I would agree with the "Lotus 2.0" stances because Lotus is a song that I now like after months of really trying to get used to it because it is so underwhelming at first. The song is DEFINITELY good, not bad. It's just not as in your face as songs by them I like more like Hageshisa, Ruten no Tou, and Different Sense. But I would probably put it higher on my favorite Dir songs list than anything before Vulgar.

[Number Girl 48]

I enjoy the title track. I actually really enjoy Kyo's higher vocals - I'm not sure why. Sometimes those growls/screams can get a bit old after some time . . .

I didn't bother listening to the second song. Haven't been impressed much by their self-covers so far and was pretty sure I'd feel the same about this one.

[relentless 254]

Hating on Dir en grey because they're popular is so 2008.

Rinkaku is cool, and surprisingly I wasn't too bogged down with all of the clean vocals. It flows very nicely 8.5/10

The kiri to mayu remake is far more similar to its counter part than some will lead on. There are some incredible guitar parts in this and makes it easily far better than the original 9/10

[Augie1995 325]

I enjoy the title track. I actually really enjoy Kyo's higher vocals - I'm not sure why. Sometimes those growls/screams can get a bit old after some time . . .

I didn't bother listening to the second song. Haven't been impressed much by their self-covers so far and was pretty sure I'd feel the same about this one.

I agree with Number Girl. Rinkaku was a fresh change from their usual stuff cause you don't get many songs from DeG that are clean like this. I love their usual stuff with the heavy riffs and the growls but Rinkaku is absolutely lovely. The lyrics are something else and the music is astounding.

The one thing I disliked was the outro part. It felt like another part of another song, almost disjointed compared to the rest of the song.

Uhh, I got into DeG in 2010 with their release of Lotus so unfortunately, I don't believe that I have heard Kiri to Mayu before so I liked the song. The guitars are excellent, really cool guitar solo in here

Don't care much for the remix xD

[Asakusa 95]

It's kind of a let down that nobody even cares about the remix when such a name is mixing it, akira yamaoka is the legendary composer of the silent hill series.

Well, the single is awesome, I loved every part of it.

And yes, I'm a fan of DEG since 2004, yes they're my favorite band and actually I love every song by them.

And no, I don't love them just because it is by them. Every once in a while I think about a possible single or album I wouldn't like but when the thing is released... it doesn't dissapoint me.

Anyways, Rinkaku is a refreshing song since the MOO album.

Kiri to mayu remake is actually pretty similar if you hear the drums and the guitars, it's cool.

Rinkaku remix is awesome, you can hear it is akira's work and get a silent hill meets dir en grey kind of thing.

10/10

[Wicked Teletubby 528]

actually I would be kind of glad to hear more MOOish stuff since I couldn't get enough of it.

still Rinkaku sounds like a great new direction for the band. loving it.

Rinkaku - just great. the only questionable thing about the single is Touru's meowing part on Rinkaku.

Kiri To Mayu - nice MOOish number, a dark and strong one. a headbanger's joy.

Rinkaku Remix - that is so Yamaoka, dark and beautiful. would sound perfect in any Silent Hill release.

9/10.

[Furik 832]

Rinkaku - I wasn't expecting much from the song after hearing teasers but after listening to the whole song, I really do like it. I'm not a fan of their "ballads/softer songs" at all because I don't feel Kyo's voice does justice - even during the Gauze/Macabre eras but this song, for some reason, just does well. The instrumentals, everything just works. This song took me be surprise. 5/5

Kiri to Mayu - This is a disappointment. I enjoy their heavier work but this is just a mess. Not worthy of being considered a remake/reimagining/whatever. It's horrible. It's just noise. I mean, I can tolerate the previous remakes but this is, without a doubt, the worst so far. I would love to rate it a 1 but.. they didn't try.. at all.. 0/5

Rinkaku Remix - It's gorgeous, creepy without a doubt but it's all over the place. Yamaoka was bored and i'm not blaming him because remixing a Dir en grey song is a complicated procedure (judging from their past remix attempts - none of them turned out consistent) I'm only giving it a "1" because I really do enjoy Silent Hill and the music. 1/5

[OmegaChaos 1]

The single as a whole was really good...

Rinkaku - This is much softer than most of their recent music....still really good..but I feel that chorus in this song is really lacking...but this song probably has the best solo of their whole material...so I give it..7/10

Kiri to Mayu - This remake is totally epic...probably their best remake ever....the instrumentals and Kyo,s vocals are both really amazing here....and I have to say that I enjoy DIR EN GREY,s heavier side much more...10/10

don,t really care about the remix...

as a whole I give the single 8,5/10

[ghost 2686]

I laav this single.

 

Rinkaku

I think the main track is amazing. The instrumental composition is intricate and there are nice contrasts of smooth and gritty guitars.

Kyo's falsetto is beautiful and almost classical and at time haunting. His normal singing voice is as great as ever too.

The ending at first wierded me out because I didn't think it fit with the rest of the song, but the unconventional-ness actually gets me excited to hear the end of the song.

8/10

 

Kiri to Mayu

Yah like most I didn't really dig the remake as much. I can see what relentless said about this actually being really similar to the original, but I was never a real fan of Kyo's MOO screams and growls. It gets too much for me and this kinda just sounds like [decayed crow] to me because of it. I like the instrumental composition though and ESPEcially that one melodic vocal break.

6/10

 

remix

remixes are aight. I never liked Dir en Grey remixes (save for maybe Zan , Macabre, decayed crow, kr cube).

This one I liked, lots of ambiance n all that. But, meh it's just a remix and I'd rather listen to the original.

-

 

overall

7/10

[x_dak_x 5]

rinkaku:

this is difficult. I loved the instrumental composition.
at times I loved PARTS of the instrument/singing combo...
and other I absolutely hated the singing altogether.

 

kiri to mayu (rinkaku):

ok I'll admit, I'm totally biased.

I had a deathcore/black metal/screamo phase back in day. this really felt like a dejavu...

bit iffy at the beginning, but by the end it so grew on me. bit sloppy/all over the place though.

 

Rinkaku Eternal Slumber Mix (Remixed by Akira Yamaoka)

I don't mind a bit* of kyo's higher pitched singing.. but an entire song with it is over-kill... whinny and annoying.

I like this version better than the original though

[Mind of the sun 71]

Rinkaku - I like the song, but it gets boring quite fast. But its nice to see them a single that its just not growls and screams. Song is catchy though. (6/10)

 

Kiri to mayu -  I usualy love their remakes more than the single the title song. But this one is just a mess to me, not awfull, just a bit to chaotic for me. (4/10)

 

Rinkaku Remix - The creepy vibes goes with the song so well. Espiecially the first minute! But Kyos vocals gets a bita annoying after a while. (6/10)

[Ro plz 1290]

No need to do a song by song analysis.

 

This single is a step up from DSS. And It seems as if the break really did Kaoru and Die well. Looks like they were able to practice and do more than just chug their way throughout the song. Single is debo. Chorus is debo. Kiri to mayu is pretty much a new B-side with the only hint to the old version is the intro riff and chorus. Didnt like the remix at first but it grew on me. This single is just badass.

 

9.5/10