Withering to Death (W/Dvd)

Dir En Grey | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Freewill America
• ASIN: B000ENUKZS
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,243 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Merciless Cult

2. C

3. Saku

4. Kodoku Ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku

5. Itoshusa Ha Fuhai Nitsuki

6. Jesus Christ R'N R

7. Garbage

8. Machiavellism

9. Dead Tree

10. The Final

11. Beautiful Dirt

12. Spilled Milk

13. Higeki Ha Mabuta Wo Oroshita Yasashiki Utsu

14. Kodou

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 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

This review is from: Withering to Death (W/Dvd) (Audio CD)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars oh, the Brutality!, December 30, 2005

By 

Kel Swain (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Withering to Death (Audio CD)

Withering to Death is Dir en grey's 5th full-length release (and if these import prices gall you, WtD will be released by an American label in March 2006 so you'll hopefully be able to purchase it for a more reasonable price -plus it comes with a DVD!)

Dir en grey changes with every album, something that some fans love while others hate. There seems to be a constant war waging between the "old-school" fans who long for everything Kisou (3rd album) and prior and "newer" fans who have continued to embrace Dir en grey even as they have made some drastic changes in musical and visual style.

WtD is by far the most brutal, gritty, and dark sounding of Diru's albums. The tone of the album is oppressive, with songs full of thick, thunderous riffs instead of the minute-long, wailing solos of previous albums. (which i also love, by the way) It is probably the least varied of Diru's albums, but still delivers a great performance.

Vocalist Kyo does a lot of screaming like the tortured maniac he is(the poor boy cuts himself onstage for god's sake!) but still treats us to his low, throaty croon and his spine-tingling falsetto. Kyo's voice is probably one of the most distinct aspects of Diru's music. He can do amazing things with his voice; words can't even begin to describe the heart-wrenching emotion he can make you feel. The guy's emotionally disturbed, no doubts there, and the force of his demented feeling can knock the wind out of you and have you writhing on the floor.

While many complain that WtD falls short of what has come to be expected from a legendary rock band like Dir en grey, I feel that it is still a very solid release that is listenable all the way through. Saku and Garbage are real screamers, and the latter especially sounds like kids with pans and a spatula upon first listening. Dir en grey is like coffee, it's an aquired taste, and requires a second, third, even a fifth chance to be truly appreciated. The jewels of this album are Itoshisa Ha Fuhai..., Jesus Christ R'nR, the FINAL, Kodou, and Dead Tree. Itoshisa... is a slower song, dark and melodious, it nonetheless makes you want to tear your lungs out and step on them (in a good way). Jesus...is more cheery (if Diru ever is) with a great beat and fun chorus. the FINAL and Kodou are both lovely songs, what I consider to be "straight Diren". There's no sloppy messin' around or unique-but-freaky experiments with these songs; both are emotional, solid, and great to listen to over and over. Dead Tree features a haunting guitar melody and the most glorious falsetto of all time.

The bottom line is, buy this album.
or if this one doesn't appeal to you, try an earlier release. Gauze is diverse, with more pop-sensibility than any other Diru album, it's follow-up, Macabre, is Gauze's older, rougher, and more gloomy sister. Kisou is the turning point in Diru's career and is thus varied and unique. Vulgar stands out on it's own, and was the first Diru record I listened to. It has some of my favorite songs (Red...[em], Marmalade Chainsaw, and Audience Killer) and is a very solid album.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Their Best, May 30, 2005

By 

Aya "Totchi chan ^__^" (Delaware) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Withering to Death (Audio CD)

In my opinion this album is their best album to date. I find that many bands grow jaded and lackluster with age but this band has gotten better. They've left their earlier visual kei days of which many bands still cling to and have really concentrated on making an even more awesome rock sound. The bass lines and guitar riffs on this album truly show growth in talent and artistic expression. Their singles saku, the final, and kodou truly reflect the quality of the cd and the growth of the band. The other songs are just as good if not better. The cd jacket contains the lyrics in japanese and also translates them into english, which is a very nice feature. The cd art is very pretty unliek the image on the site it is a black cover with a white dead tree and the cd is like the cover except the tree is purple. The jacket contains a lot of purple and looks very nice. I think this cd was worth the fifty dollars.