Customer Reviews

Kisou

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dir En Grey really is an incredible band. They can diversify themselves so much, and this album really shows that. Ever since Yoshiki stopped producing them, I think they started to get more original. It's not that the Yoshiki produced stuff wasn't also amazing, but it sounded just like your typical visual kei music.
Every member of the band shines in his own light on this album.

1. Kigan-Great way to start out an album. Really awesome guitar riff in the beginning, with some slight drumming. Then the drums get heavier and the bass kicks in. Kyo comes in quietly but then explodes and growls and screams on the chorus. I love how the song suddenly changes progression about 2/3 through the song. AMAZING STARTER (9/10)

2. Zomboid-Starts out with some distorted drumming by Shinya and then some raw guitars. That's the best word I can use to describe this song, "RAW". Really funky bass line on this one, as well as really perverted lyrics. Awesome chorus! Another great hard track (9/10)

3. 24 Ko Cylinder-This is a slower song, but just amazing! Starts out with a simple guitar line, but then builds up in lots of different layers. The chorus in this song is one of the most powerful things I've heard from Dir En Grey. (9.5/10)

4. Filth-At first I didn't like this song, but it grew on me. Starts out with some distorted drumming and some weird programming effects. The guitars are a little dull in places, but the bass and drumming are awesome. I just don't like the beginning vocal part. It just sounds like noise. The chorus is awesome though, and that's what got me to like the song. (8/10)

5.Bottom of Death Valley-Very soft song at first. Really great bassline. Sounds kinda like a Tool song. Great chorus, with Kyo's growling ^_^. Great song, but runs a little too long (6 mins). (8/10)

6.Embryo-Begins with a guitar progression similar to LUNA SEA. I love Kyo's singing on this song. Very soft and sexy. The chorus is just outstanding, and I loved how they got their guitars to sound like violins. This is definately one of the best songs on the album, as well as one of my favorite singles from them. Really harsh and disturbing lyrics though (about incest and rape) (10/10)

7.Shinsou-This is the first of the three intrumental tracks on the album. This is pretty much just a filler track, but it's still pretty interesting. Has a cool synthesizer effect and some cool electronic drum beats. Sounds like something you'd hear in a club (7.5/10)

8.gyakujyou kanou Keloid Milk-Another one of the best songs on the album. Great vocal work from Kyo in the beginning, and the guitar riff is awesome. The song has a very FULL sound to it, meaning that every member of the band shines on it. (10/10)

9.The Domestic F**ker Family-With a title like that, what do you expect? Really hard and raw song, in the same vein as Zomboid. Kyo sounds like he's vomiting in this one; very cool. The song is good for its length, but if were any longer it would have been too repetitive. (7.5/10)

10.Undecided-This is my favorite song on the album. It's a very sorrowful song, with mostly accoustic guitars and slight drumming. I love the layering on this song, and the fact that it can be calm but also intense at the same time. The chorus is wonderful, but what really made this song so excellent was the guitar solo about 2 minutes into the song. It really shows how talented Die and Kaoru are. Really beautiful song (10/10)

11. Mushi-Starts out in the same vein as Undecided, but quickly changes. I love Kyo's vocals on this song. You can totally feel his emotion in this song. The guitar progression towards the end is awesome also. Another great slow song. (9/10)

12. Shinsou-The second and dullest of the intrumental tracks. It's the same thing over and over again for a full minute. This track really wasn't neccessary (2/10)

13.Jessica-Alright, we're back again! ^_^ It starts out with Shinya's amazing drumming, and as the guitars build in, it starts to get exciting. Great guitar work on this song from both Die and Kaoru, as they both seem to have different parts and they both flow together perfectly. Toshiya's bass, as always, is very cool too. Extremely upbeat, lyrically beautiful, and just perfect! Shinya's drumming is almost too good here and I'm more than convinced he's one of the best drummers out there today. (10/10)

14. karasu-Begins out with some programmed drums to a weird guitar, and slams back with some cool drum work from Shinya and bass work from Toshiya. I thought the song was going to be soft as first, but then the chorus kicks in. It sounds kinda "nu-metal"-ish, like something from Mudvayne. The song is a little annoying and a bit uneven at time, but it all works out in the end. (8/10)

15. Pink Killer-Looking at that title, I knew I was in for something hard. And indeed, this song is HARD. I don't think the word "hard" decribes this song well enough. This is simply the fastest, craziest, most hard core song I've ever heard from any band. The best part of the song is Kyo's screaming at the end. It sounds like he's going to pop out of the speakers and attack you. Awesome song, though kinda uneven at places. (8.5/10)

16. Shinsou-This is the last and best of the intrumental tracks on the album. It starts out with some programmed drumming and then a piano comes in. It really settles you down after the craziness of Pink Killer. This track is the definition of musical bliss. Pretty much perfect, and an excellent closer to an amazing album. (9.5/10)

There you have it, Kisou! One of the best albums I've heard from anyone in 2002. If you're a JRock fan, Dir En Grey fan, or just a rock fan in general, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.

To me Kisou is the perfect balance of hard rock, ballads, and weirdness. As any fan would tell you, Dir en grey is an acquired taste that would require you to listen to their material a few times to really get an idea of what they sound like.

Kisou is no different, it took me a while to really appreciate this album because of it's bizarre distortion whether in vocals or instrument, though eventually it starts making sense.

My picks for this album are "kigan", "24ko cylinder", "Bottom of the death valley", "Keloid milk", "mushi", and "Jessica".

If you're a fan of ballads there's a fair chunk of it that includes: 24ko cylinder, Bottom of the death valley, embryo, undecided (kinda) and mushi.

For the real hardcore lovers there's kigan, Zomboid, Filth, keloid milk, the domestic fxxker family, karasu and pink killer.

And for something different: pop rock. You'll love Jessica.

There are 3 instrumental tracks that I personally don't find worthy to listen to except for the last one, track 16, which is a piano instrumental.

I love the craftmanship of each song, there aren't any songs I don't like, so I find this a pretty solid album. A friend of mine who hasn't heard much of them even told me that Kyo puts a lot of emotions into his singing when I sent her "mushi". So it's a plus to listen to an emotional vocalist who also has range from growling to falsetto.

This is one of thier -best- CD's yet! Everyone writes a song (Except Shinya), even Kyo for once! This album has one of the widest ranges of music they've done, and includes everything from punk to piano! Besides, it has pictures inside! In all its a great CD, and you should BUY it! n_n v

Dir en grey's masterpiece. Opening with 'kigan', you instantly know that you are in for an eccentric ride. But one could never guess that it would be this good.
Without a question, '-mushi-' is the highlight of the album. The acoustic guitars, the drums, the bass, and the voice are all perfect. If you have a chance to see this live, I highly suggest you do. They are incredible on their 5 Ugly DVD.
While some of the 16 tracks seem to be fillers, the rest of the songs make up for it. Ending the cd with '[shinsou]' was a wise choice. The piano piece always brings a tear to my eye. Okay, I exaggerate. But, still a beautiful work of art, nonetheless.
If you are new to the world of Japanese music, I recommend you to start off with this band. Dir en grey.

If you want a CD with all different types of styles on it, this is the one for you. It is intense, emotional, poetic and disturbing all at the same time.Dir en grey is one of the best bands out there. Get on the bandwagon and buy this CD. You won't regret it. There's hardrock for you headbanging types. Some ballads, some poppier upbeat tracks. Even a few instrumentals.

Many people thought that Dir en Grey would die without Yoshiki, and also said that their music without him would be ... [of poor quality]. But they were totally wrong.

Missa and Gauze were good albums, I must admit. But it is exactly like listening to any of X-Japan's albums, they are great. But Dir en Grey is Dir en Grey.

If you like X Japan then you will love their first 2 albums, but if you are open to the new J-ROCK power then you must listen Macabre and Kisou.

Kisou has it all, from hard heavy rock to soft pop, even to punk. This is their best album up to now, and if you don't belive me then listen to any of their new singles. Their PVs (Promotional Videos) are great, specially Filth. Don't miss the opportunitie to purchase this CD.

If you love VIsual Rock, then you will love this one. I specially recommend you "Jessica", "Filth", "Embryo" and "Shinsou". Don't miss this CD.

If you liked X Japan's "DAHLIA", or Pierrot's "PRIVATE ENEMY", or hide's "JA ZOO", or even Luna Sea's "MOTHER". Then don't miss this one. Even if you liked LINKIN PARK's "Hybrid Theory" you will love this one too.

100% guaranteed to one of your favourites.

I was introduced to Dir En Grey about a year ago by two of my friends. I was skeptical - their music was "okay". However I was very curious and wanted to know more, so one of my friends burnt me most of their CDs that she owns. Kisou is the first and the most frequent one I listen to! Why? Because it's just SO GOOD. Normally I'm a fan of 80s/keyboard/alternative music (The Cure, a-ha, Siouxsie, Björk) but this is one album I just cannot get enough of. It starts off with "Kigan", which really sets the tone with some low guitars courtesy of Kaoru and Die, and Kyo's singing and Toshiya's bass and Shinya's drums (all five band members are oh-so-extremely talented like you have no idea), gets a little higher, and the chorus is phenomenal. Most of the songs are invigorating the same way, and Kyo's energy is insane; he can show almost every emotion through his vocals. However there are some slower/more peaceful songs such as "The Bottom of the Death Valley", "Embryo" (about sisters and mothers and fathers) and there is also "Mushi" which can be heartbreaking to listen to at times. Don't get thrown off by Amazon's listing of the tracks... there are more than that, and they also are not in that order. This album is also fantastic if you want to go for a powerwalk!
My favorite song is a fun song that evolves all over the place in ways you may not even be able to imagine... well I can't spell most of it but I know it ends in "Keloidmilk".

If you're up for something fun and new, definitely definitely DEFINITELY get Dir En Grey's "Kisou" album.

This CD and Macabre are the two best albums that Dir en Grey have come out with. For a number of great hits, this album has it all; Jessica, Filth, Mushi, embryo and the amazing Bottom of the Death Valley. The guitars have improved beyond belief in this album, reaching the heights promised on Gauze and Macabre. Granted that when you start listening to an artist you want to go to the beginning and get the first album (or in this case the second since Missa is all but impossible to find these days) but in this case, skip Gauze and go straight to kisou or Macabre.

If Dir en Grey ever reached a peak this was it. This is the album right before they tried to be 'industrial'(and failed!) and after they had spent enough time together to be able to blent ther vocals and music together. This is, without doubt, their best album. It has a wide variety of styles and unlike Gauze (which was still pretty good) no song sounds the same.

Dir en Grey have recently started to gain some serious recognition outside of Japan. They embarked on their first ever American tour just this passed year. And even though that may be all fine and dandy, I wish it was this record that they were supporting on the tours instead of Withering to Death (which was a fine record, just not nearly as good as this one). Kisou is without a doubt the best thing Dir en Grey has ever done. It is not just a "metal" record; it is a dark, psychedelic, and very bizarre piece of work that defies genre classification. The songs range from eclectic rock to depressing acoustic ballads and strange, abstract discordant ambient-like metal songs. Stuff that is far more innovative and inaccessible than the relatively straightforward heavy metal of Vulgar and Withering to Death. A lot of people say that this album was the turning point for Dir en Grey, but I disagree. Of course, things got a whole lot heavier and more "Americanized" on Vulgar, but Kisou seems like a pretty logical step from the dark Gothic rock and experimental indulgences of Macabre. It is also arguably their last "visual" record. Kisou is a further experiment of Diru's sound and, unfortunately, much of the experimenting in Dir en Grey's career ended with this album. In other words, they really stopped taking risks after this record, which is unfortunate. I hope they do something different after Withering to Death, but based upon the singles released so far the progression of Dir en Grey's sound seems to be "let's make it heavier than the last record."

I cannot help but to think that maybe being "heavy" is not all there is to making a "good" record.