Dir en grey - THE UNRAVELING

[Zeus 7997]

Score:  | It's like they forgot how to be melodic

---

The fandom is very averse to Dir en grey remakes. Either they nail them perfectly like they did with the acoustic rearrangement of undecided, or they butcher it beyond all salvation as they did with OBSCURE. So when Dir en grey announced that they were unleashing a whole mini-album full of remakes and one new song, I immediately grabbed my riot gear for fear of the oncoming shitstorm.

It's really not as bad as I was expecting it to be, with Unraveling kicking off the mini sounding like a DSS leftover. It stays away from the maddenly introspective "I write for me and I'm so progressive so let's place together sections of song that don't work at all to be artistic and experimental" songwriting that made the last album such an insufferable cocktail of inventive but poorly executed ideas to listen to. Karma isn't new at all, but the original sounded like it was recorded on tape a monkey wiped their ass with, so it feels like a new song too. However deep they ventured into their back catalog to pull this out of some dark orifice doesn't change the simple, repetitive structure of the song. Considering what they limited themselves to working with, it's a wonder it even turned out this decent. So is that good or bad? You decide.

The main portion missing for some of the remakes is melody. A good portion of the songs they've chosen to remake are melodic in their original incarnations, yet here Dir en grey seem fit to turn up the crunch on their guitars. This leaves us at a crossroads with some very awkward sounding song segments since the tone doesn't match the intent. One could say that this was accidental, except the remake of MACABRE and the two unplugged tracks keeps all the melodic sensibilities intact (and in some cases add some). Therefore, what are songs like Unknown.Despair.Lost doing with thinly disguised chugs and a needless breakdown over Kyo's much improved English?

Other songs like Karasu and Bottom of the death valley are barely recognizable in their new incarnations. My biggest disappointment was the atmosphere of the latter track - what I loved most about the original track was how the bass created a nice "Western" atmosphere - which has been replaced with more of a "Borderlands-styled deserted planet what am I doing here?" feel. Karasu erred on the forgettable side (but is still better than the original) but Bottom of the death valley stuck out in a good way and is a worthy remake, with the bluesy solo easily being my favorite part of the song. Before I move on, I must point out Kasumi here for them upping the cheese factor. The original was perfect. All the reverb, wah-wah pedal and Kyo-crooning takes away from the somber atmosphere. Sometimes it's good to leave something the way it is and re-record it without having to put it through the Dirufier.

Now on to the good things - I am so pleased by the lack of tacked on, awkwardly sandwiched MIDI synthesizer garbage on this release. Amon was done terribly. LOTUS was done terribly. No song on this release is as bad as those two, or OBSCURE, or whatever AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS was supposed to be. The unplugged version of Unraveling strays close to it but it stops short with piano and some flutes, which hints that maybe they realize that over the top style symphonic arrangements do not suit them. Plus points for that.

The new version of MACABRE is amazing. The first ten minutes are an almost straight rendition of the original version found on the album featuring the same name. This is all positive, since they took one look at it and realized that it is perfect the way it is and needs absolutely no tweaking. Then the last six minutes feels like a natural extension to the song, featuring some of the greatest songwriting I've heard from them ever. It trumps the original in every single way. Likewise, the unplugged version of THE FINAL sounds almost theatrical, which is a new for this band. I can detect no semblance of the original melody in the instruments, and if you removed Kyo's lyrics I would not be able to tell at all that this is the same song. However, the reinterpretation of this song is so excellent I simply don't care.

 

A step up from their last full-length, Dir en grey are finally learning that questioning everything doesn't always mean the end result is immediately good. Now if we could do something about their badly placed deathcore influences and persistent THE MARROW OF A BONE-esque "turn up the crunch and get metal" attitude, we could have a winner on our hands.

 

Also Shinya, tune your fucking drums.

[mopkins 42]

the main album tracks are PRETTY GOOD as a whole, but they really knocked it out of the damn park with Macabre

[Daisuke 20]

I only have the first Disc in my iPhone/iPod but I love this friking mini-album

 

For the first listen, I don't capt the idea of the remake, their new sound for me was strange, but now is impressive!.

 

Without Macabre in my ears, my THE UNRAVELING Overall is : 9/10

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

I don't see how a good bonus track from a limited edition CD makes for a good album as a whole?

 

Only cared about the Unknown･･･Despair･･･a Lost remake and was completely disappointed. At least this one was listenable, unlike Mitsu to Tsuba and Kiri to Mayu (to be fair: the ending of this song is awesome, but the rest of the song stops being listenable after 34 seconds) and kind of sounded like the original. Didn't feel any of the new instrumentals did much for this song, nor did the snarling.

 

But it's Dir en Grey, so everyone is going to love it anyway.

[Asakusa 95]

But it's Dir en Grey, so everyone is going to love it anyway.

inb4shitstorm

[one-eyed waiter 28]

my review hehe

[bonsaijodelfisch 328]

my review hehe

i think i lost a considerable amount of brain cells trying to read this.

the attempt at least to spell correctly would make your points much more believable...

[one-eyed waiter 28]

i think i lost a considerable amount of brain cells trying to read this.

the attempt at least to spell correctly would make your points much more believable...

please get over yourself and admit how bad the ep was

[ShanethVarosa 1209]

^^I saw that on Tumblr earlier.... It was really awful. Couldn't even attempt to read it.

 

I feel as though once again Zess has outshone my reviewing abilities, but I'm going to give it my best effort to express what I'm feeling about this EP/album.

 

The title song I enjoyed purely on the basis that it did remind me of Dum Spiro Spero in a way that it had both a heavy and ethereal quality that set it apart from other songs in their discography and the very album in which it was on. It was, for me, a step up from Rinkaku, a single I found to be... Not bad, but just boring and really unenjoyable. This song was a lot more... Fun, if you will, than the last single they released which is reason enough for me to like it.

 

The other songs on the EP I was skeptical of because I knew they were going to be reimaginings, but I didn't think any of them would actually be good. I thought they were going to be totally stripped down and almost Rinkaku-ized versions of their old and good songs. Thankfully it wasn't that way, it gave me what I wanted which was high energy, chugging guitars, and growls. Which idfc about what the popular vs. unpopular opinion is. I like Kyo's growls and churning guitars.

 

I'd have to say the absolute best and most stand-out song(s) is (are) both versions of The Final. The rock version of it was a simply brilliant rock song. No other way to put it. The composition and arrangement seems like they aren't trying to be anything, they're just trying to play music like a rock band should and do one of their most iconic songs justice. The piano version is just as good, but in a sense that it is WAY more calm and actually very beautiful.

 

Kasumi, Karasu, and Unknown.Despair.A Lost remakes were also very good. I don't have anything more to say about them other than I enjoyed them wholeheartedly. Even Macabre was pretty much fucking incredible on this EP, especially since I gave the original no time of day whatsoever. I actually sat through all 17 minutes of it and enjoyed it. Where the EP suffered was Bottom of the Death Valley which was a bit too long and boring for me... It had moments within the song that were pretty cool, but overall it was nothing too special. The WORST part was the unplugged The Unraveling. It really just sounded like terrible disjointed noise with no purpose other than being weird and "different".

 

Overall, though, my iTunes average rating of the EP was 5 stars.

[bonsaijodelfisch 328]

please get over yourself and admit how bad the ep was

lol, that's not what i was talking about silly

 

@shaneth nice summary!

[nekkichi 6042]

the thing that bothers me most with unravelling is that the remake part of it has plenty good ideas and experimentation that is gone completely from their current material.

 

bottom of dead valley, kasumi and karasu are one of my most loved tracks by this band, and no remake sounds better than original.

that is a polite form of saying they fucked up all three completely, but they do deserve some credit for "effort" that they put into re-arrangement.

the effort that would be way more appreciated if they actually bothered composing new songs and writing a set of new lyrics (because rehashing "yami ni manko, fukai wo chinko" lines and adding chugs here and there is not really hard. they could probably hire yohio for that too.)

 

title track, on the other hand, is their most generic single song to date - yet, not a bad one.

 

kyo's signature howling got old right after uroboros, I can't even comment on that.

 

new macabre sounds like a humble excuse for all the cash grabbing they are doing after basement dwellers haven't bought three million $ 10 DSS copies at hot topic.

 

 

oh and how could anyone not like the imbecilic chug fest of unknown despair lost, which is hilariously close to original otherwise.

 

simply re-recording it would be not kvlt enough I see.

 

 

& honestly I'm at the point of hating this band's present where the only excuse for falsettos would be a terminal cancerous tumor on kyo's vocal chords that forces him to howl pretty much all the time, otherwise he chokes on his own growls and dies.

and how is that an excuse after all.

[Flame-X 441]

I didn't like how Kyo sounded so lifeless during THE FINAL's chorus.

[Asakusa 95]

my review hehe

I didn't understand anything you vomited there, sorry.

[saishuu 3220]

I didn't like how Kyo sounded so lifeless during THE FINAL's chorus.

 

I think this sums this whole thing up perfectly. It's like they're taking the life out of the songs and replacing it with sludgy, tuned down and lifeless guitars, random and out of place bass lines and the chug ugh arrhh vocals and in the end it's just sad. I do, however, actually rather enjoy the remakes of THE FINAL, MACABRE and かすみ, only because they actually had a recognizable melody and they tried to do something slightly interesting with them. Unraveling is OK too, although forgettable. Overall, the originals are still miles better and this mini is just pointless. Also, what the fuck did they do with Bottom of the death valley?

[Asakusa 95]

I love DIR EN GREY since the Vulgar album, they're my favorite band and I've loved every release they'd done... but... I never thought I'd say this but... I'm disappointed.
The main song is awesome, I loved it but the remakes... for god's sake they butchered one of my favorites to pieces, Unknown...Despair...a lost was amazing but the new version is a piece of shit. ¿Why do they had to include shrieks and growls into it?, they killed this song so bad.
There are little highlights like kasumi, the final and macabre, but the rest...

Like I already said, I never thought I'd say this but this remakes are sad. DEG I love you but you disappointed me for the first time.

[kilt 0]

"title track, on the other hand, is their most generic single song to date - yet, not a bad one."

 

Dude......did you even listen to lotus or Hage?

 

 

 

Their best release since WTD

 

I like the laid back, chilled out feel of the album. I feel that they have matured so much on this release, like they know what they are doing.

[Guest pixyfalse01.]

I like the title song, and i told everything

[nekkichi 6042]

"title track, on the other hand, is their most generic single song to date - yet, not a bad one."

 

Dude......did you even listen to lotus or Hage?

 

lotus sucks and hageshisato's been hardly generic at the time of its release, what's ur problem really

 

oop @ dude part

why u so basic, gurl

[kilt 0]

lotus sucks and hageshisato's been hardly generic at the time of its release, what's ur problem really

 

oop @ dude part

why u so basic, gurl

you are wrong at everything in this post, keep it up, you will be a legend in no time.

 

<Grammar Nazi proofed post>

[nekkichi 6042]

you are wrong at everything in this post, keep it up, you will be a legend in no time.

 

[Zeus 7997]

This is a review thread, not a place to debate whose opinions are wrong. You're both free to think the other person is fractally wrong but don't muck up this thread with your problems.

[mopkins 42]

okay, after a few more listens

 

UNRAVELING: very good!  nothing about it stands out too much, but it's a really solid song with a cool atmosphere.  8/10

 

KARMA: my least favorite thing on here, but the less chuggy growly parts are super nostalgic.  5/10

 

KASUMI: not much different from the original, which I was already kind of lukewarm on, and I don't think kyo's new wails add anything to it.  SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE, KYO  6/10

 

KARASU: a pretty neat reimagining of a song I never liked all that much!  it's still lacking punch, but it's cool enough  7/10

 

BOTTOM OF THE DEATH VALLEY: not as memorable as the original, but a decent alternate take on it!  feels appropriately sludgy without falling into drone territory.  8/10

 

UNKNOWN DESPAIR LOST: didn't stick with me at first, but the second time around I really started appreciating the way they ripped it apart and pieced it back together!  8/10

 

THE FINAL: a pretty good version but it feels completely unnecessary??  they could've remade another song and gotten a lot more mileage out of it.  7/10

 

MACABRE: I'd been hoping for a remake of this song for a REALLY LONG time, because I love the original but kyo's classic vocals are kinda hard for me to stomach anymore, and this version is better than anything I could've hoped for!  the *TRUE STAR* of the album (even though it's technically not even on the album but, you know, whatever)  10/10

 

I was really hoping for a minialbum full of new stuff, but I think this release did more than enough to justify its existence  B')

[r... 720]

Here's the good part: they re-imagine the songs, so there's a bit of a 'surprise' element that almost makes this mini bearable. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't, but at least they try. The best part of this mini is whenever the familiar melodies appear, because they were already great in the first place.

 

Here's the bad: I think it's safe to say that nowadays DIR EN GREY equates heaviness with downtuning everything to A and low growls. It isn't. And Kyo sounds flat most of the time.

 

Here's the ugly: Shinya sounds downright bad.

 

Overall it's a very weak and forgettable attempt to recreate that early magic. The new song is derivative anyway and it wasn't the main selling point of this CD, so who cares? 4/10.

[Gizorz 24]

But it's Dir en Grey, so everyone is going to hate it anyway.

 

Fixed that for you.

[Wicked Teletubby 528]

may I ask what seems to be a problem with drumkit sound?