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Dir en grey

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Quite a clean photoshoot that's somewhat at odds with the current photo on the DEG homepage. They all look great. Toshi still rocking that kilt, determined as always. Die has a WTF look which is pretty funny. Interesting how Kyo's MACABRE-era piercings are still so visible in strong lighting. Shinya's role seems to be that of a man trapped in a kind of visual/not visual androgynous limbo. And Kaoru looks like he threw a pile of velvety shawls over himself mere moments before stepping on set (he looks more awake in his portrait, though).

 

The single comes out two months tomorrow (although I don't expect to receive it until a month after that). I expect we'll start to see cover art sometime in the next few weeks and a 15-20 second clip shortly thereafter as per usual.

 

Trying to keep expectations low.

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I have no idea how to post it but i have the cover art. They posted it on their Line account. content://media/external/file/188443

Edited by Puriwate

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12 hours ago, Uglymouth said:

bio_toshiya.jpg

 

Hmm... I recognize this make-up on Toshiya from somewhere...........

 

 

 

......

......

Oh, that's right.

 

3mHxLRL2.jpg

Seike from Kerbera :D

 

Sorry, just had to. 

SPAM AS FUCK

Edited by The MAD Stallion

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13 hours ago, Uglymouth said:

bio_toshiya.jpg

 

Hmm... I recognize this make-up on Toshiya from somewhere...........

 

 

 

......

......

Oh, that's right.

 

3mHxLRL2.jpg

Seike from Kerbera :D

 

Sorry, just had to. 

 

13 hours ago, Uglymouth said:

bio_toshiya.jpg

 

Hmm... I recognize this make-up on Toshiya from somewhere...........

 

 

 

......

......

Oh, that's right.

 

3mHxLRL2.jpg

Seike from Kerbera :D

 

Sorry, just had to. 

 

Reductive. :D

 

More like, Marilyn Manson, Rock Is Dead, 1998 :D

 

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Apologies if this is old news (also apologies if I'm misinterpreting the website... the language barrier is real).

 

According to this page, we'll be getting a new 'Best Of' album soon. I'm guessing it'll be next year, which is DEG's 20th anniversary (holy shit). With this in mind, I hope that they're not going to pull a fast one on us and  only release a Greatest Hits compilation in 2017. If I were an optimist, I'd predict an album or single released Q1-2 2017 and the new DECADE in Q4 (which is more or less what they did with MARROW in 2007).

 

What's really notable here is that between 1997 and 2007, there were six LPs, two EPs (three if you count KAI) , and twenty two singles released. Since DECADE, we've only had three albums, one mini-album, and eight singles (including Utafumi). Their musical output has plummeted to less than half of what it used to be, and that's a real shame. But hey, at least that's less for us to import.

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Dir en grey's output has only lessened by VK standards, but it's about on par with music industry standards in general. I know a lot of these younger bands shit out new music every few months, but, really, how much time is spent on creating it? Take Nightmare for example. Using the same timeline as DEG where they've released only three albums since 2008, Nightmare has released SIX! And three of those were over the last three years. And considering the quality of Nightmare's material has been a big debate for several years now, I think that has something to do with the band just having no real time to compose good material. 

 

Same with Gazette. Dogma is arguably their first good album since DIM. What happened between DIM and Dogma? They released one album a year for three years (only 10 months between Toxic and Division), and those three albums are huge points of contention amongst fans. I don't think that's a coincidence. 

 

Sure, there are varying opinions regarding Uroboros, Dum Spiro Spero, and Arche, but you can't argue that they aren't three totally different pieces of work. They don't blend together. 

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You're absolutely right. Less output is not necessarily a bad thing, and it would be all too easy for them to fall into the trap of banging something out every six months and burning out too quickly. It seems that they had a torrent of song ideas and experimented with different ways of creating music in the early years before settling down once they found their sound. Now, each song seems measured, each album specifically honing a particular niche of their sound. It's more genre-focussed and mature, unlike, say, Kisou, which was all over the place (I love it for that reason). 

I daresay they've become much more serious since the days of fun, upbeat songs like JESSICA or umbrella, adopting a more 'brutal' oeuvre overall. ARCHE, however, is a step back to their older sound, kind of a blend between that and the newer sludgy stuff.

 

That said, it seems the average VK listener prefers DEG's earlier material when they were more prolific, but that's understandable, seeing as they were actually a VK band back then.

 

I should probably give Dogma a listen at some point... thanks for reminding me. :)

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Dogma was literally less than a half of the fun that BD was tbqh (oh look, another case of "it sounds heavy af = quality!"), but hey - it's just another ballgame and we are not playing that now.

 

Nightmare? Citing them in this context is just pure cherrypicking while ignoring the large plethora of other acts churning out top-notch/decent production every now and then. Did you guys forget that it didn't took much from DEG either to do Uroboros when they had (half-)finished with their initial MOAB promoing? A year/less than a year? There is a lot more going on behind the scenes than just "taking your time and coming up with something different"-kind of excuses when long breaks between post-Uroboros releases are in question.

 

I am gonna go out on a limb and recap my points from 2013-2015 to show how superficial statements akin to "not blending together" are  : DSS was the 7-string equivalent of Uroboros handbook ideas matching up with 2-3 years old trends of that time (deathcore fandoms, nu metal revivals) whereas Arche was literally the amalgamation of anything Dir since the advent of their "metal"-era (say, Six Ugly), a.k.a. very typical idea for an anniversary. It's not that hard to see the same framework behind the gargantuan curtains of "br00tal" mixing and technical frills.

 

So in this sense, what we are seeing here is basically the 7-8 years of constant throwbacking and most likely idea rehashing - anyone willing to object? As a worried, grumpy old fan, I am honestly worried about their kaisanization being more likely once they realize that they lacked a lot of "intimacy" and "chemistry" to progress towards new directions together.

Edited by Alroy

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I'm amazed that his voice is still as good as it is. I Remeber seeing this video a few years ago and was worried.  

 

 

Anyone now if he was sick or just having voice troubless? 

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9 hours ago, Saishu said:

Nightmare was an example of how frequent releases can affect the quality of composition of the music, which was the point of my post. 

[09/11/2011] Mirrors.

[06/06/2012] Inferiority Complex.

[24/10/2012] Lightning

[20/02/2013] Ballad.

[13/07/2013] Anathema.

[14/08/2013] Exodus.

[09/04/2014] Gallows.

[11/03/2015] 10th Anniversary 2004-2014 The Best.

[05/08/2015] Evoke.

[02/09/2015] Eternity.

[07/10/2015] D.A.R.K.

[14/09/2016] Avant Garde.

lynch.

 

Proof that frequent releases aren't always indicative of the material in regards to quality.

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