Dir en grey - 鬼葬 [2002]

Calm and ominous beginning in "鬼眼 -kigan-" before the shit breaks loose into a rocky thrash section. This feels much more raw than the previous couple of albums. "ZOMBOID" has a punky thrash feel to it. Good energy. "24個シリンダー" is a bit schizo with more sedated and darker guitaring and a build up to spastic vocals. A bit repetitive, though. "FILTH" isn't particularly catchy, but it's a quirky song that's fun to listen to. "Bottom of the death valley" is a bit more catchy. Another one with a more sedated feel. Luckily, there's a bit of variation, which is really a necessity on an album that is this long. Just before the middle of the album, a more electronic sensibility is introduced into the song writing. It also feels like the guitaring gets a little heavier. There's a bit more creativity on this one than there was on Macabre. The songs have more solid writing overall, too. Really not a fan of the chorus vocals in "蟲 -mushi-"... they basically ruin the song by wreaking of trying-too-hard. So, overall it's a mixed bag. There are some really good songs, and some pretty weak ones. However, the effort to push the creativity is there.

Rating: 7.75

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Dir en grey - Macabre [2000]

Strange intro track. Persian feel until the metal guitars kick in giving way to the vocals only towards the end. "脈" kicks in with more of the creepy feel of the first track. There seems to be more metal influence in the guitar riffs now even if the distortion isn't turned up to eleven. It's only the second song and I've got very mixed feelings. The metal parts are pretty good, there's a noticeable expansion of creativity, more crazy vocals, but then there's also these light and very poppy J-Rock sections that make me feel a bit sick. "理由" seems to settle more into an actual style rather than the mish mashed randomness of the previous tracks. Much more rock now and for the first time in this album, there is solid and memorable writing. "egnirys cimredopyh +) An Injection" certainly feels a bit drug-inspired thanks to all of the phaser effects on the guitars. Fairly catchy as well. "蛍火" employs lovely violin parts to blend lighter alternative rock with Japanese folk with great results. "【KR】cube" marks a return to some of the more catchy songwriting while "Berry" lays a few lines of coke out on the table. "MACABRE —揚羽ノ羽三ノ夢ハ二蛹一—" is a fairly epically-long song with more good writing. "羅刹国" is a deep dive into the metal well. So, after a crazy, weak, and uninspired beginning, this album really starts to flourish and settle in to a pattern of solid songwriting and catchiness. Creativity and experimentation are a bit low, however.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.direngrey.co.jp/

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Dir en grey - Gauze [1999]

They are certainly trying to spread their wings a bit with the more unconventional approach to rock. There's a bit more malice in the vocals. Things calm down considerably with "ゆらめき"; good and catchy, though. Most of this album has the air of Rentrer en Soi about it... certainly not a bad thing. Then, without warning, things suddenly change drastically with "蜜と唾" and then again with "Mazohyst of Decadence". Then, right back in to Progressive Pop with "予感"... boredom is obviously impossible on this album. It's the best of all styles. Much of it doesn't really stick in my mind, and the parts that are supposed to be stronger and more chaotic feel a bit weak compared to bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan. However, it's a great all-around-er and damn effective with all of the other styles that they experiment with. Certainly, it's an album-experience that is unique.

Rating: 8

http://www.direngrey.co.jp/

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Dir en grey - Missa [1997]

The production quality lacks quite a bit of punch and is quite "dead", but it's pretty clear. "霧と繭" sounds stock from the perspective of the vocals, but the frantic thrash breaks with tradition just a bit. It is fairly repetitive, though. "｢S｣" has a few screams and feels a little more dark. You can tell that they want to move away from the stock J-Rock template that was set before them, but they don't seem to know quite how to do it. They use odd chord structures and the rhythms border on progressive at times. It doesn't do much to draw me in to the music and there's very little in the way of catchiness, but I do applaud the effort to not sound like everyone else.

Rating: 5.5

http://www.direngrey.co.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.