Withering to Death

Dir En Grey

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 2006)
• Original Release Date: March 9, 2005
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Freewill America
• ASIN: B000ENUKZS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,752 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Dir en Grey are very much like their Japanese horror movie counterparts for English speaking audiences. They may not be the goriest, but there is something creepy and sinister in the underlying disjointed quality of everything involved. Take this statement from their website: "Formed in 1997, with the sole purpose to spread the feeling of hurt and sorrow caused by weakness, shallowness and egoism of humanity." Are they combating these characteristics of humanity, or furthering them because they are in the middle of it? Withering to Death fits this contradiction perfectly. Straddling the line between Marilyn Manson, Coal Chamber, and something similar to Katatonia, everything about this band points toward something coming apart at the seams. The music moves from poppy guitar rock to more furious metal. The vocals go from beautiful drones to high pitched cackle to outright wail. The Japanese singing is much more dramatic than the English translation of the lyrics inside the booklet. Songs like "Saku," "Dead Tree," and "Kodou" don't really need translation, and in fact may work better without. So ignore the booklet lyrics and just enjoy the disorienting quality of the music itself. --Robert Arambel

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This album will put your head on backwards., June 7, 2006

By	Holly "junkstory" (Los Angeles, CA, United States) - See all my reviews

I thought about giving a four star review. Then I listened to 'Machiavellism' one more time. No four-star album boasts a song like that.

I've heard complaints from Dir en grey fans who don't like where the band's sound has gone since Vulgar, but if you ask me, this is what they've been heading for all along. Too much 'Zakuro'-like moping makes albums droop. Here, the band has achieved a perfect yin-yang balance between soulful melody and brain-crushing weirdness. Kyo's vocals do the best job of illustrating the dichotomy, particularly on tracks like 'Saku', which begins with throaty screaming, moves into moaning and mumbling, and alternates into a chorus of gorgeous falsetto. It's over before you know what hit you. Wham. Next song.

I mentioned 'Machiavellism' earlier, and I shall do so again. The riff is nothing less than addictive, and the rock-out bridge could get a whole stadium screaming whether they know the language or not. But Diru never dwells for too long on one style. The harpish chords of 'THE FINAL' make me want to cry. 'Spilled Milk' is a hearty headbanger. 'Kodou' is almost industrial.

I always admire a band that can seriously weird me out, and listening to Dir en grey is the ultimate 'WTF?' experience. Mind-screwing lyrics [even disregarding the awkward translations in the American edition] cap off Withering to death as a bizarre, wonderfully explicit masterpiece.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing new sound, May 16, 2006

By	I AM "somebody who loves music" (California) - See all my reviews

Before I had chance to listen to Dir En Grey I was into the typical bands that make heavy metal and hard,alternative rock here in the states but after a while, I longed, desperately for a new sound. I decided to expand my horizon and see what our friends in Asian listen to. After a while I found DEG and I was in awed.
I managed to get a copy of this cd a while ago and I can tell you, it's like nothing I had ever heard here in the states. The songs are quite unique- some hard while others hold a very melodic vibe, without question, all amazingly crafted. In fact, all of their stuff is top notch-if you can get your hands on Vulgar, I encourage you to get it- its one of my favs.
if you'd like to hear other awesome bands, get your hands on some of Hide's stuff and D'espairsRay- amazing artists.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Westernized... but still Diru, August 2, 2006

By	V. Salzman "Illustrator" (Rock Hill, SC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first song I heard off this album was Dead Tree, and it raised hopes that had been not-so-high for a long time. I understand "Vulgar" was a hard, dark album underscored by the ripping sound of thousands of fans breaking away from the band, but I was not one of them. I still believe that is a very strong album.
"Withering", I feel, is not so strong as "Vulgar" and even "Macabre". It is brilliant, don't get me wrong--I've never met a Dir en grey song I don't like--but the band seems to be leaning very hard on Kyo's vocals instead of their own very high degree of talent.

Don't let that dissuade you. If you're into vocals--and I am--you can't help but be blown away by the murmuring, whispering, shrieking, wailing and sobbing sounds that Kyo can rip out of his throat. I haven't seen anyone else mention it in these reviews, but "Merciless Cult" contains what I believe to be the most beautiful, heart-stopping scream ever recorded. Look for it right around the two-minute mark.
This is an album that is difficult for me to listen to while driving. I saw their show in Los Angeles, and my mind is forever burned with the images of this band in concert. They are incredible, absolutely out of their minds. I have never seen such a crowd mentality, so much power and love for one band. And rightly so. Even though I barely knew the album when I went, they played the entire thing for us, and I have listened to it nonstop since. I don't feel it's the beginning of the end of their career. On the contrary, it is a great gateway for the Western listeners who may be put off by their older, melodic, much more Japanese sound.

On the strength of this album alone, I have converted at least five people into Dir en grey fans. ;) This album is available in Hot Topic and all over the internet. Buy yourself a copy and enjoy the bonus DVD as well. Ignore the clumsy english translations of the lyrics in the book. Then prepare to fall hard in love with a band that represents the new face of rock.