withering to death. (Dir en grey, 2005)
withering to death. is another one of Dir en grey’s albums that scared the fans and divided them all. This is rock, bordering on metal… but hey, I don’t know what I’m doing when I use terminology like that. It’s much darker than their previous work, and they don’t seem to experiment so much overall – whereas before it was hard to really define what Dir en grey are as a band.
The snarky will have fun with the first track’s title, Merciless Cult, but it’s worth looking past the cheesy title (really!). The drums are absolute love, and Kyo’s vocals switch from low and growly in the verses to screaming in the chorus.
Even though I said that they don’t experiment much, there are a couple of songs which are bizarrely done that I feel kinda proud of them! dead tree is has Kyo singing with gentle wee guitar(s) which every so often leap into the scariest screaming music ever. I think it’s an awesome contrast, but I can imagine so many people being unnerved by it to actually like it (beware, beware!). I guess they use the same technique in kodou, now that I think of it… where Kyo screams. Twice. He screams. Just lets loose and screams. Which I know shouldn’t be so astonishing, but it’s scary the first few times! Jesus Christ RnR borders on almost rap and hip hop, with this occasional high pitched chorus.
I’ve found I don’t listen to Higeki ha mabuta wo oroshita yasashiki utsu, Kodoku ni shisu, yue ni kodoku, and Itoshisa wa fuhai ni tsuki so much. That’s not because they’re hideously bad songs (they really aren’t!), but I get impatient. “I want to listen to THE FINAL, already!”
Howeverrr. They manage to soften the album a little, which I appreciate. I like listening to Higeki ha mabuta wo oroshita yasashiki utsu when I’m going for a walk. XD It makes me thinking of skipping down a long road, even though I know this is hardcore!Dir en grey!!!!111 and the lyrics are therefore far from peaceful..
I’d also like to say, oh my god, THE FINAL. This song is awesome the whole way through, and I can’t stop listening to it. It’s just ♥ ♥ ♥.
To summarise? withering to death. doesn’t suck. It’s different to their other albums, sure, but that doesn’t mean that they’ve forgotten how to make music I like. Just think of their Vulgar album (2003), but with guitars that occasionally stab people. That’s the best way I can describe it. I also like it more than The Marrow of a Bone, because all the songs vary that much more.
And because I got the version with the DVD
I haven’t ever bothered looking at the extra discs for CDs (eg. Zed and Franz Ferdinand). I don’t ever really care – however! Such is not the case this time. There are clips from their tour in 2004 which make me want to go to one of their concerts. Even though I’m such a wimp that I’d pass out in the mosh pit. I don’t care.
The PV for -SAKU- is so amazing (an article from MTV when this video won the Headbanger’s Ball “06 said that the best part was seeing a cockroach crawl over a lifeless hand – they’re so wrong, it’s Kyo’s expressions). Then THE FINAL (the flames, the flames! Shinya’s hair!).