Dir en grey

And as for the Sony thing, ah I suppose sooner or latter they'd encourage everyone to have a finger in their pie. Its not uncommon for distribution deals to be worked out with big companies and personally think it's a smart move - which is much better in my opinion that a deal with Yoshiki's label (which I don't think han't really been putting out anything good lately. Although I saw someone mention there were "other reasons" for why they stopped working with Yoshiki? I wonder what they could be? :? Whatever it is they seem to still have a great relationship with him? I mean he's been to a number of their US events but on the other hand he's been to some other Japanese artists events without them knowing so maybe it means nothing, however if I remember correctly he was definately backstage at the first US tour.

Saishu said:

It's hard to sing along to English lyrics in Diru songs and say the words properly; I always end up repeating them in Kyo's crazy jibberish style.

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Yeah! Me too!

I was singing Clever Sleazoid, but the problem was that the music goes on because he mispronounced words and drags them out. So I just say the word, and wait. Otherwise I mispronounce it too. But I love Kyo's english. It's so weird.

It's pretty easy to find parodies from Agitated Screams of Maggots, though.

Hide My Heart said:

Um, what? >:/

And as for the Sony thing, ah I suppose sooner or latter they'd encourage everyone to have a finger in their pie. Its not uncommon for distribution deals to be worked out with big companies and personally think it's a smart move - which is much better in my opinion that a deal with Yoshiki's label (which I don't think han't really been putting out anything good lately. Although I saw someone mention there were "other reasons" for why they stopped working with Yoshiki? I wonder what they could be? :? Whatever it is they seem to still have a great relationship with him? I mean he's been to a number of their US events but on the other hand he's been to some other Japanese artists events without them knowing so maybe it means nothing, however if I remember correctly he was definately backstage at the first US tour.

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well ya, looking at the situation now, sony owns yoshiki's extascy records...to be honest they never really signed anyone good. (i KNOW they "discovered" luna sea and glay, but both bands switched labels after they made it into the scene, thus i don't count them to be "under" extascy). the bunches of bands that were under extascy in the 90s weren't really good (i know they signed tokyo yankees, ladies room and such, but they ain't my type). the ones yoshiki signed after x japan broke up is not good either (honestly, have you ever heard anything about those bands??????). i honestly admire this man's talent, but sometimes it's just odd in terms of what he does. man, where's my Violet UK album.....endless waiting here...

i think i was the one who mentioned "other reasons", but it's becuz i forgot the reason really. it's been a while. maybe diru wanted a change. i forgot.

in regards of a "good relationship", i think yoshiki is still respected in the japanese rock scene..plus yoshiki helped diru in the beginning, so i guess the boys keep in touch with him here and there.

☝ Yeah that was my assumption as well.

Ah, this isn't a Yoshiki thread so I won't ramble but damn as time goes by I loose more and more respect for the man. He's just . . . I mean if you have one really really great thing under your belt and then dozens of failures and ho hums do you still deserve all the glitz? :/ No wonder Sony owns everything now! XD Even Yoshiki. Oh man that's so funny.

On another note . . .

I know there's been some discussion of this before but now I'd really like to hear what everyone thinks on the subject. Today I was up on Napster (japan version) looking at the top ten lists for downloads and I realized that its been, well, quite some time since I've SEEN diru on that list. Now I know this is just one example but recently I've seen a lot of signs that diru's popularity in Japan is dwindling (a void that if I HAD to speculate about I'd say will be one day filled by The gazettE). I know no band stays on top forever and Diru has had one hell of a run and I expect them to continue to do so for many years to come but there DOES come a point where a band is still popular and well respected but its like they've hit their limit. The limit being where they're still playing big concerts but it seems as if something fundamental in the band has just become tired and sooner or later the band or singer just starts repeating themselves adnausem and because the fan base is so loyal they keep buying albums which keeps things going longer then they should (ie Gackt).

Now, I don't think that will ever happen to that extent with diru since so far they've always managed to never disappoint with new things when it comes to their music, so it begs the question of what do you think will happen for the band several years from now. I don't see them as becoming the bloated greedy repetitive musician types but lets face it they aren't new to the scene.

Hide My Heart said:

☝ Yeah that was my assumption as well.
Ah, this isn't a Yoshiki thread so I won't ramble but damn as time goes by I loose more and more respect for the man. He's just . . . I mean if you have one really really great thing under your belt and then dozens of failures and ho hums do you still deserve all the glitz? :/ No wonder Sony owns everything now! XD Even Yoshiki. Oh man that's so funny.
On another note . . .
I know there's been some discussion of this before but now I'd really like to hear what everyone thinks on the subject. Today I was up on Napster (japan version) looking at the top ten lists for downloads and I realized that its been, well, quite some time since I've SEEN diru on that list. Now I know this is just one example but recently I've seen a lot of signs that diru's popularity in Japan is dwindling (a void that if I HAD to speculate about I'd say will be one day filled by The gazettE). I know no band stays on top forever and Diru has had one hell of a run and I expect them to continue to do so for many years to come but there DOES come a point where a band is still popular and well respected but its like they've hit their limit. The limit being where they're still playing big concerts but it seems as if something fundamental in the band has just become tired and sooner or later the band or singer just starts repeating themselves adnausem and because the fan base is so loyal they keep buying albums which keeps things going longer then they should (ie Gackt).
Now, I don't think that will ever happen to that extent with diru since so far they've always managed to never disappoint with new things when it comes to their music, so it begs the question of what do you think will happen for the band several years from now. I don't see them as becoming the bloated greedy repetitive musician types but lets face it they aren't new to the scene.

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well i still think yoshiki deserves the respect. afterall, all his questionable moves could be categorized as "business failures" instead of "musical failures". so i think as long as he keeps it up with his music it's alright. that's how i see it.

regarding the popularity of diru in japan, i never really had a good idea of how they're doing back home. when i visited japan i never really saw anything about them, or met anyone who like them. but i guess it's a fact the general public is more into pop music. but diru is nothing related to pop. anything like that has had a history of struggling to fight into the big scene. X Japan/Luna sea reached their success because they ain't as hard rock as diru, so it's easier for the general public to gain acceptance. that's why Gackt is hot while i don't see anything too special about the man. you gotta be pop to be successful, sad fact.
for the next fews years, i think diru will stay as diru and come up with cool things, but for the past year or two they seem more focused on the foreign market. but maybe cut down the screaming a bit? i don't know, but sometimes i think older diru songs are cooler. as you said, Gazette has been red hot lately, and no dobut they're gonna grab fans along (i as one, consider them as an up and coming band if they come up with good stuff consistently).

Ok so here is my response to the different things.

1. I prefer to order off of CD Japan, because Yes Asia doesn't give you the freebies like posters and stuff. How do I know? Because I ordered RnA with them and I didn't recieve my poster like everyone who ordered from HMV or CDJapan did. Instead they sold them extra for $8. I only order PhotoBooks from Yes Asia.

2. Dir en grey's popularity- well in Japan the Inward Scream tour they are doing now...not all of the venues have sold out. And you can buy FC tickets off of Yahoo Auctions for like $50 when about 3 years ago the went for like $100+ only a few venues sold out.

AlSO the U.S leg of the tour is struggling as well. They haven't sold out any of the venues yet. And some venues they have only sold like 200 tickets. And Most of the venues they are playing holds 1000+ so thats not good at all.

Haiko said:

I really don't know If I can trust in those places. I haven't ordered anything from anywhere yet, so... Is it secure?

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I've ordered from both yesasia and cdjapan their both trustworthy and secure. I order all of my jrock stuff from cdjapan except once when I bought the hide perfect box set from yesasia.

With the Diru tour in Feb I think they booked too many venues and some are too close together. They have the colorado and arizona which both border utah and new mexico it doesn't cost alot to go from arizona to colorado and visa versa they should of booked a venue that meets in the middle of those two states. An example somewhere in new mexico or utah (I wouldn't blame them for never coming to utah XD). 16 shows may not seem like alot, but it actually is. Also with the states that have 2 shows why don't they just have one instead for the florida and texas shows I wouldn't mind driving 4 hours from Houston to Dallas to see Diru or visa versa.

Aoi
I wouldn't want them to come to Utah there aren't enough Diru fans here plus they'd probably never be allowed to come back because the mormon church would be offended by kyo hurting himself.

hide_my_heart
with the tickets selling on yahoo for $50 a peace people won't buy those ones yet someone will sell them on ebay for $150+ and someone will buy the tickets XD.

Since I was scanning stuff I decided I'd share the pictures I scanned of Diru. The pictures are from 1998 also

Ever wondered how Dir en grey has ranked in Japan? Or what their highest selling singles or albums are? Well her you go DIR EN GREY That page has all that information. You can click on the single/album title and it will take you to a page where it has how many copies it sold and what it debuted @ on the Oricon charts.

Dir en greys Album Rankings in order of the best to least selling.

1) Gauze
2) Macabre
3) Kisou
4) Withering to Death
5) Vulger
6) Six Ugly
7) Kai
8) Missa

WOW the Japanese fans must have really hated Vulger because it sold less than WTD. In my Opinion Vulger > WTD.

Guess they went a little bit ahead of themselves.
I just wanted to post this link for a great diru fanart:
diru.ru
This girl does some amazing art!

Riyko said:

Aoi
I wouldn't want them to come to Utah there aren't enough Diru fans here plus they'd probably never be allowed to come back because the mormon church would be offended by kyo hurting himself.

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Would Kyo be offended by America then?

Thank you for the site, Rancid_!

Hide My Heart said:

lol Vulgar = WTD

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My favorite album [not like anyone cares. XD] would have to be Gauze and Vulgar. Really liked the Withering to Death one though. I don't think they've gotten any worse, without the visual look. In my opinion, if the "fans" dropped Dir en Grey because they didn't do VK anymore, then they went for looks, not music.

Does anyone else think this way, or am I just making a fool out of myself? ☝

Nana007 said:

Ever wondered how Dir en grey has ranked in Japan? Or what their highest selling singles or albums are? Well her you go DIR EN GREY That page has all that information. You can click on the single/album title and it will take you to a page where it has how many copies it sold and what it debuted @ on the Oricon charts.
Dir en greys Album Rankings in order of the best to least selling.
1) Gauze
2) Macabre
3) Kisou
4) Withering to Death
5) Vulger
6) Six Ugly
7) Kai
8) Missa
WOW the Japanese fans must have really hated Vulger because it sold less than WTD. In my Opinion Vulger > WTD.

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i think vulgar is alot better than WTD. i used to not like the heavy style of diru too, but it's vulgar that got me addicted. the album has a more complete feel to it than wtd. wtd is good here and there, but if u listen to vulgar start to end it blows your mind.

Hide My Heart said:

lol Vulgar = WTD
And *no* tickets AREN'T selling on ebay either. The only one that is doing well at all is the west coast show, you'll notice that the House of Blues tickets aren't even selling for 30. I think overestimation played a big part in the US tour failure (might as well call it what it looks like sales wise) as well. Plus I think that the venues were planned in the most random places. I mean no offense to some of the people living in those areas but who the hell would want to go and see diru in some of those places, I doubt international bands that have achieved some fame such as Ramstein would have a little trouble selling out that many tours. It also couldn't hurt diru to give themselves a little advertising here and there. I think the fact that in the past their mini tours have sold out via word of mouth affected their decisions.
Orecooooooon! Shin can predict it apparently. ; - ; Diru's got to stay in biz till he turns 30 so we can wrench all of his lil secrets out no? XD I imagine there's quite a story building.

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i agree. they should've maybe just do bigger cities for now and smaller venues as well. i don't think they can draw 2000 ppl at fort lauderdale (no offence). more so i odn't even think they can draw 2000 in toronto, NY, etc. a little bit too ambitious

Yeah, true, true.. Though I did like their visual kei look better though XD XD

But I think their music still rocks XP

Also the tracklist for the new CD.

1. CONCEIVED SORROW
2. LIE BURIED WITH A VENGANCE
3. THE FATAL BELIEVER
4. Agitated Screams of Maggots
5. GRIEF
6. 凌辱の雨
7. DISABLED COMPLEXES
8. ROTTING ROOT
9. 艶かしき安息、躊躇いに微笑み (Tsuya ka shiki ansoku, tamerai ni hohoemi)
10. THE PLEDGE
11. REPETITION OF HATRED
12. THE DEEPER VILENESS
13. CLEVER SLEAZOID

I love those song titles.

They're closing the new album with Clever Sleazoid? I wonder how different the re-recorded version is, cos at this point Clever Sleazoid isn't exactly a good song to end an album with.

I liked Clever Sleazoid, but it's so hard to sing it, because of the English lyrics/the tune of the song. I always end up slurring some of the words of just humming.

; wow.. i haven't been on here in a long time..... <.<; no internet.... v.v;

hide_my_heart said:

Um, what? >:/

Um, I'm sorry but this just seem like bragging. Why are you asking a forum full of Kyo fans? You obviously know what reaction you'll get. Why not ask people close to you that were there who would know the situation or know your own personal feelings?

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that was rude. i'm sure she wasn't trying to sound like she was bragging. she was just asking for outside opinions. i mean, asking those that -are- close to herself would have only gotten bs answers. they would have said what they think she wanted to hear.

daki said:

the ones yoshiki signed after x japan broke up is not good either (honestly, have you ever heard anything about those bands??????)

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you DO realize he was the one who "discovered" Dir en grey, right? I've heard quite a bit about them. or did you forget that fact? sorry for my suddenly cruel dimeaner, but the last time i was on here, everyone was kind to one another, including the newcomers, and they weren't bashing other bands, and/or (ex)members of other bands. so, you guys want to be cruel in your posts, i'll play that game, too, except, i'll take the side of the ones being kicked.

*chelly~panda* said:

{sorry} I know this is kind of rude butting in the middle of your conversation but..
because everyone on here knows so much about diru...i was singin machivallism {sp?} one day on kareoke and like 20 people said i sound\look just like kyo. {look as in some alternate reality he was a girl}is that a complement or an insult concidering im a girl. i took it as a coplement. but is that saying i sing/look like a man?
i wont interupt anymore -__-

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honestly, you should take that whatever way you think is best. the fact that you are a girl shouldn't be the only factor that makes that statement into an insult. I mean, if just because you are a girl you can't take comparison with such a great singer, and better person to be a compliment, then i truly grieve for you. please, don't take that the wrong way. what i mean is, if you would take that to be a compliment under the circumstances that you were a guy, then why -can't- you take it as a compliment as a girl? your personality is no different, and would be no different if you were a guy, so why should your gender/sex make a difference to how you should take that? i'm sure they weren't meaning to insult you.
btw: the song is "mechaivellism".

I like Clever Sleazoid, it just doesn't seem like something you end an album with. It would be more fitting towards the beginning of the album. But, then again, they said they recorded a new version so maybe it fits at the end now.

haha, exactly how i feel too, clever sleazoid would better fit as a beginning track, they did it at their it withers and withers tour.

anyways, for those in US/CAN who've ordered the new album from CDjapan, how much's the shipping for you?

dirus_ninjou said:

that was rude. i'm sure she wasn't trying to sound like she was bragging. she was just asking for outside opinions. i mean, asking those that -are- close to herself would have only gotten bs answers. they would have said what they think she wanted to hear.

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Welcome back, I can't remember seeing you though? :? But to address your statement. . . I wasn't being rude I was being a lot nicer than I should have. It wasn't bragging maybe but *attention getting* at best. Why else wouldn't she just go to her lj or whatever and say hey I was compared to a guy but this guy is really handsomely feminine and can sing well, I don't think I should take offense to it but not sure cause I couldn't get a feel for the situation. If you come on a thread where you know FANS of that singer are no one is going to say "OMG like that s such a rude comment cause kyo iz shoo ugly and now u r t2!!! ha ha! "And yeah jref maybe isn't as nice as it used to be because honestly everyone's loosing there patience now a days because of certain things being said that are so off topic, blatantly obvious, and repetitive. I apologize if what I said earlier upset you but I'm so tired of coming on here and finding weeboish comments. Someone came here and posted something to the effect of "how weird is it that girls can cross dress and guys cant a hyuk hyuk". Like what? I think if you're on a thread for a band that has a history of cross dressing then its safe to assume that the others around you already have made note of the fact that they to realize this, know its strange and have therefore gathered on a thread to talk with people who are like minded. There have also been a number of posts about things that could have been resolved if people took 3 fing second to click on a website, or a number of posts coming on just to inform everyone else that they have nothing to contribute to the conversation. what? If you dont have anything to say dont come on here to tell us that! Yeah the thread used to be a lot happier when people had something fun to say and had things they wanted to share with the other members. Even when it was off topic it was still coming from the hearts of people who had an honest interest in the band and not from a bunch of 15 year olds who thought the members were soooo hot or how wacky it is that the world has double standards or "ooh my gosh u guyz! i was compaired to a hot guy, how should i take this????".

And boobiebutt if you'll remember we were freaking out about the LA concert - none of the others. And if I remember correctly you said that worry about the LA concert was a bit justified yourself so *shhhh*. BUt yeah we did freak out a little more than necissary no?
And as for the music stuff (which is what were all here to discuss), I agree with Saishu. It doesn't seem like a song that brings a feeling of a sure ending to an album. Then again I don't have the album in my hands at the moment so its hard to say what the new feel i , maybe that idea of leaving you reaching for something in their music is something they want to play with. The new lyrics seem to evoke a feeling of emptyness so I think ending with an unfinished last sound might be something thats interesting to experiment with. Obviousley the placement of tracks on an album is an art unto its self (look at Gauze) so I trust that somehow it fits into the bigger picturem keeping in mind that innitially I think albums are supposed to be viewed the first time as a complete work of art, a magnum opus of the band from first to last wthout interruption to really get a feel for it, so track placement can really move or slow down a listening and muddle the message of the album. We'll just have to wait and see.

Dir en grey is releasing a New Album titled Marrow of the bone. You can preorder it now. Release is on Feb. 7.

Karmik translated an interesting Dir en grey interview from a Finnish magazine:
the riot of colour turned to grey [finnish→english]

journalist said:

We have a very peculiar lot here

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^

XD Thanks so much Kinsao!

Welcome to our new member IkaruJaki!

HAHA great interview. I love the how the interviewer describes each band member. Very funny. He seems really confused. I loved it. Thanks for sharing!!!

I don't really know if I will be getting this cd. I wasn't too impressed by Agitated Screams of Maggots. ;/