Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fresh blend of both old and new DeG sounds., November 11, 2008
When Japanese Rock group "Dir en grey" started getting their foot in the door of the American market, having stateside tours and cheaper album releases in U.S. stores, it made some of their more finicky fans nervous and think that the band would take on too much of a Western influence and somehow become "ruined" by the American Music industry. With their previous release, Marrow of a Bone, it was very harsh and loud except for the two ballads (Namamekashiki Ansouku and The Pledge) but UROBOROS has a little bit of everything for everyone, even the naysayers. There are dark metal moments, but there are soft melodic bits as well. I'd have to say the 6 best songs from the album are VINUSHKA, STUCK MAN, RED SOIL, WARE YAMI TOTE, GLASS SKIN and DOZING GREEN. The only thing I didn't care for were the english remakes, I'm okay with Kyo throwing in some "engrish" here and there, but not full on songs, his voice is way too soft when he sings English and the original Japanese versions of Glass Skin and Dozing Green are so much better. I really hope _THOSE_ are the one's they'll be singing at the U.S. concerts as it would kinda confuse the fans who already know the phonetics to the japanese versions (lol, internet).
I'm really happy that Dir en grey hooked up with THE END RECORDS and DAMN! Management, here's to hoping they'll create more varied merchandise and maybe put out a U.S. Tour DVD in the future. The U.S. fanbase would go nuts for a "Best PV's" Collection DVD, especially if it had the uncensored OBSCURE video on it. Youtube is fine and dandy, but a high quality DVD would be so much better.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Taken by surprise; Much better than Marrow of a Bone, November 12, 2008
I was one of the skeptical people when I heard about this album. As a big fan of their old stuff, and even Withering to Death, I was mildly disappointed with Marrow of a Bone and it's "wall of fuzz" sound. All of my worries were laid to rest when I popped this cd in.
In an inexplicable twist, Diru has been able to marry the sound they had on Withering and Vulgar with some of their older stuff to make something heavy, yet melodic. The ballads are there ("Glass Skin"), the heavy songs with screaming are there, and the straight up rock with well placed hooks are back. The one thing I enjoyed the most is that while we still have heavy songs, I can actually hear the guitar chords. On Marrow, the guitar in a majority of the songs was just a palm muted fuzz that made it difficult to discern what was really going on.
Another worry I had about this album was Kyo's voice. I do believe he is the best singer out of any band I've heard from Japan, including both metal and pop/rock. However, with his gut-wrenching screams now in play, I had feared that he may be losing his voice. Not so. Kyo actually sounds better on this cd than any of the previous albums. You will hear Kyo hit notes that just seem impossible (especially noticeable on "Dozing Green"), in addition to keeping his throaty screams and peppering in some rare moments with death metal growls.
Overall, this is an outstanding album. If you liked Vulgar and Withering to Death, you will love this cd. If you liked Marrow, you will probably like this cd, although it's less frantic and more epic. If you liked Gauze and their older stuff, you may also like this, but listen to the singles first.
Also, since there are so many versions of this album being released, I urge you to purchase the special edition with the extra songs. On the NA release, both Glass Skin and Dozing Green are in English. While that's fine, Kyo does sound much better on the Japanese tracks, which can be found on the special edition disc in the NA as bonus tracks.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW, November 12, 2008
Dir en grey once again proves how simply amazing they are. The first time I put this album on, I was shocked that the first song (with lyrics), Vinushka, was almost 10 minutes long! And it was amazing. Every song is amazing. I can't think of many adjectives to describe the cd right now, because quite frankly it is AMAZING. Heh... if you're having doubts, if you were turned off by Marrow of a Bone or Withering to Death and like their older stuff better, you will like this cd. It combines the old and the new Dir en grey- literally something for everyone.
And after seeing these guys in concert, and hearing Kyo's new "screams," which are so much less harsher but oh-so-much more interesting, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the insanity he brings to every cd is yet again on this one. This cd is experimental, beautiful, and AMAZING. This is a whole new range of music for them, and my god Kyo has a vocal range that leaves me speechless. I have not listened to anything else, haven't even thought of listening to anything else, since I bought this album.
Hands-down my favorite album of theirs to date!
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