Review J-Rock/Pop albums

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

Well, I'm an obsessive reviewer of things so I thought I'd make this thread. It's for posting reviews of your favorite (or otherwise) J-music albums and to share your thoughts with other members. Just remember people will be opinionated and may say not so very nice things about an album you love. But let's try and keep the flaming down if at all possible (is speaking to ownself just as much as anyone else...)

Yosh. I think I'll start with a review I wrote recently for "Ark" by L'Arc~en~Ciel.

You look a bit peaky
Review of "Ark" by L'arc~en~Ciel

I got "Ark" in the mail yesterday. So needless to say I ran up stairs and popped it into my stereo first thing. Overall I love the album, not only does it contain some of Laruku's most famous work ("forbidden lover", "HEAVEN'S DRIVE", "Driver's High", "DIVE TO BLUE" and "Pieces") but also some very wonderful and epic songs that I think should have been singles ("Cradle", "Butterfly's Sleep", and "Shinjitsu to Gensou"). This album is very diverse; it can go from heartbreaking, to happy, to cynical. Unfortunately this is a double-edged sword. Its diversity is both its strength and greatest weakness. Many songs don't mesh together, conflicting styles and moods make this album feel just the slightest bit bipolar. It's blotchy in crucial places and feels like they arranged the order of songs at random. However, I still really like this album because the individual pieces themselves are brilliant, each and every one of them.
And come to think of it, it probably did not help that I had heard over half this album through watching PVs of the singles long before buying the album. The fact that I am so familiar with certain tracks probably made them stand out more adding to the mismatched-ness.

TRACK BREAK DOWN:
forbidden lover 11/10 – words: Hyde, music: Ken. Definitely in my top five favorite songs on this album and probably also favorite songs ever. It takes guts to open an album with a song like this. The emotion is so raw it threatens to be too much to handle at once. This is probably one of the best arrangements Ken has ever done and Hyde's lyrics break my heart every time. Hyde's vocals on this are also flawless.
HEAVEN'S DRIVE 8/10 – words & music: Hyde. I am just the tiniest bit sick of this song. I had heard it about a gazillion times before buying this album and therefor nearly skipped it when it came on for more then one reason. There's the obvious 'fore mentioned reason as well as the fact that this song clashes with "forbidden lover" so much that it nearly made me laugh out loud. It destroys the mood that "forbidden lover" had set up for the album. Not cool.
Driver's High 9/10 – words: Hyde, music: Tetsu. This song goes really well with "HEAVEN'S DRIVE" and feels like a continuation of the song rather then a separate track. It's very bouncy and fun.
Cradle 10/10 – words: Hyde, music: Yukihiro. Yet another not so smooth transition. It's a major mood swing from the hyper-ness of "Driver's High" into a solemn, dark world. The mood jump aside this is another song that's in my top five off this album. The distorted guitar solo makes you feel like you're drowning. The melody is also beautiful as is Hyde's vocals (when is his singing never beautiful?).
DIVE TO BLUE 11/10 – words: Hyde, music: Tetsu. This song and "Cradle" work very well together in my opinion. When the last line of "Cradle" ("There is no meaning") faded out and the first chords of this song began I nearly cried right then and there. This song is one of my all time Laruku favorites. It's so bitter sweet, it both makes you want to smile and cry all at once. You really get a sense of what it must be like to fly/fall from this song.
Larva 9.5/10 – music: Yukihiro. This is a wonderful techno instrumental only piece by Yukihiro. But again it's a bit of a jump to go from "DIVE TO BLUE" to techno but it's not the worst one on the album so I let it slide.
Butterfly's Sleep 11/10 – words: Hyde, music: Ken. "Larva" leads straight into this song and I must say this track blew me away completely. If a movie of "Obsidian Butterfly" is ever made this song should be used for the ending theme. It keeps a slight techno feel from "Larva" but also has epic guitar parts and classical sections that Mana should take notice of. And again Hyde's vocals are fantastic.
Perfect Blue 9/10 – words & music: Tetsu. Whoever the hell thought to put these two songs back to back was on acid. By far the worst mood swing on the whole album. The song itself is fine but its placement is NOT by any stretch of the imagination. It has a great tropical feel to it and soft vocals but again its placement is all wrong.
Shinjitsu to Gensou 11/10 – words: Hyde, music: Ken. Not a very smooth transition into this song either but I can live with it. This track really reminds me of Rob Thomas' solo stuff just better. I love the chorus, it's elementary but undeniable.
What is Love 9/10 – words: Hyde, music: Tetsu. Again not the smoothest change in mood but it's not all that terribly bad. I really like the song especially when the music cuts out and Hyde says in his unbelievable higher register, "What is love?" And also the chorus is infectious, it's been stuck in my head for hours now. The repeating of lines just works beautifully.
Pieces 10/10 – words: Hyde, music: Tetsu. I like the version of this song that they play Live better but it's still a great ballad, one of my favorites. It also works nicely with "What is Love", thank you God! This song is so sweet and sad, it makes me cry almost always without fail. It's a wonderful song to end an album with.

So yes, a very blotchy almost to the point of being peaky album but somehow I still love it to death.

 

[R e i - R e i]

It's a Good idea.
Nice review very well done.,
I don't own any J rokc CD's But I will when I get to go to Music Asia next week.
Can't wait<3333

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

Yeah, I hope the idea works though.
And thank you!
I'm excited for you. Nothing compairs to the first time you bring home a J-Rock CD *gets all misty eyed*

 

[R e i - R e i]

It should.<3
I'm excited too.
I only have 140 Canadian Dollars,So I can't buy every album.
It's going to be hard to choose though.
xDDDMistyeyed.Lol.

 

[Kinsao]

Good idea Hyde!
I don't know the album you reviewed,though...
I did a review of Clever Sleazoid, but I think I already posted it in in the Clever Sleazoid thread.

 

[-rika- shinya`]

Nothing compairs to the first time you bring home a J-Rock CD *gets all misty eyed*

HAI HAI!!!! I felt the same way when i bought Withering to death. Not one of my friends could understand(stupid them) y i held that CD case like it was frailer than glass all the way home and keep staring at it with quibbly eyes even now i i'm afraid to touch it for fear of..fingerprints and wraps the case with the plastic that came with it (and also because it has the stickers)

and another thing about it is that u feel really warm and happy inside that you get to support your favourite artist/band.

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

I import most of mine so I always hold the CD cases forever thinking, "Just days ago this CD case was in...JAPAN!!!" lol I held Gackt's "Rebirth" like a baby for hours. I think I nearly passed out when I actually got to play the album, I couldn't believe I was actually listening to The Camui Gakuto. lol

Okay, here's another review I wrote but this one's several months old. It's for Laruku's "Awake". This is an old review so it doesn't quite show my CURRENT feelings about "Awake" and it's also not as in depth as my review for "Ark" was. But I hope you like it anyway. Douzo.

L'ARC~EN~CIEL'S CD "AWAKE" CAME IN YESTERDAY!!!! Oh, my God it's SO goooooooooooooood! I swear, when I heard "Smile" I was like, "It can't get any better then this!" Well, obviously, it can. "Awake" is unbelievable! It has a rich and epic feel and sound to it that's just awesome.

TRACK BREAKDOWN:
New World 10/10--words: Yukihiro, music: Yukihiro and Hyde. Yukihiro should write more of their lyrics and music (though Hyde co-wrote the music on this one). He puts out great songs every time. This song has a beautiful 'break free' feel.
LOST HEAVEN 10/10--words: Hyde, music: Ken. Ex, ex, ex. This song has my exboyfriend and myself writen ALL OVER it. "We'll say goodbye, Lost Heaven. How we longed for Heaven. We're letting go of something we never had. Time goes so fast, Lost Heaven." See what I mean? I cried when I first heard the song. "I wish you good luck. I still remember every day." *sniffles*
JoJoushi (Poem) 10/10--words: Hyde, music: Ken. A beautiful song. And I do mean, BEAUTIFUL.
TRUST 8/10--words: Hyde, music: Tetsu. AGH!!! POPSVILLE!!! This song sounds like a rip-off of Tetsu's solo stuff. Too pop and slightly Westernized. Not cool.
Killing Me 9.5/10--words & music: Hyde. The first of five songs on this album both writen and compossed by Hyde. It's definitly him. My favorite part is when he replaces "Killing me" with "Kiss Me". This song gives me the same feeling as "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence for some odd reason.
AS ONE 11/10--words & music: Hyde. LARUKU GOES POLITICAL!!! This song is so pissed sounding, you can hear how fed up Hyde is with humanity.
My Dear 10/10--words & music: Hyde. Again I cried a river the first time I heard this. The melody coupled with the lyrics is just emotionally devestating. "Real love, my dear, is not for sale. ... Real faith, my dear, is far too fake"
EXISTENCE 10/10--words: Hyde, music: Ken. O.O scary, scary, SCARY SONG!!! The female voice scares me so BADLY. Last night I couldn't sleep so I kept hearing "You will not be able to sleep. You will not be able to sleep. So why don't you...just...stay awake?" over and over in my head. O.O
Jiyuu eno Shoutai (Invitation to Freedom) 10/10--words: Hyde, music: Tetsu. I love this song, though I think the Live I have of it is better. But it's still great. You wanna bounce around to it.
Ophelia 11/10--words & music: Hyde. All Hyde once again on this one. My God, I cried so badly the first time I heard this song. And yes, it is about Ophelia as in from Hamlet as far as I can tell.
Hoshizora (Stars)--words & music: Hyde. Heart renching. That's all I can say about it. It's one of those songs that is so emotional you can't cry.
twinkle, twinkle 8/10--words & music: Ken. IT'S ALL KEN'S FAULT!!! Finally, I can say it's all Ken's fault and it be true! And dammit, Toto, we're back in Popsville. This song is too bouncy to put after "Hoshizora", I'm sorry I just doesn't work.

Overall this is a damn near perfect album! My God, I love it to death! "Smile" is FINALLY getting the boot outta my CD player. The only thing that can kick Laruku outta my CD player is MORE Laruku! ^-^

 

[-rika- shinya`]

ahh you feel like that too! my dir en grey cds were japan presses too and it was imported to the shop here so i was also thinking, damn even my CDs has been in japan before!! yes, i realize myself that i have a major problem for..being jealous of a cd(X.X i thought a day like that would never come which i have to admit that the world. what would ppl think of me now..

speaking of rebirth..i sadly didn't feel a thing for it when i first bought it even tho its my first jrock & first Gackt becoz i didn't realize its importance before..i liked it but now until the extend of being obsessive,i even chucked it in the corner with some old anime cds and forgot all about jrock(i should be burned and condemned to hell for that >.<!!) But after about a year,my feelings for j-rock resurfaced again and that's when i finally realized its importance in my life, love it to bits and it's my most played CD until today.happy ending

anyway that's a good review for Awake.. i've been thinking of writing a review for it too, but since you've already done it, i don't see the point of writing it anymore. my absolute favs on that album are my dear and hoshizora..hyde's voice in the chorus of hoshizora..WOWWW..even my bro said he sounds like he's..crying..[though i think what he meant can't be that good since he doesn't like jrock(or any japanese for that matter) *strangles my bro*]

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

You should see Hyde perform "Hoshizora" live. He almost always cries near the end. *huggles Hyde protectivly*
And you can write a review for "Awake" if you want to. That review I wrote is old and crappy anyway.

 

[-rika- shinya`]

i'll do it sometime tomorrow, but just be warned,i suck at writing reviews.

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

You can't be much worse then moi so it's all good.

 

[Kinsao]

I remember my first j-rock cd was 'withering to death'... and my ex had brought it back with me from Japan... <-- happy tears

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

My first J-Rock CD was "Rebirth" by Gackt. Cost me nearly $50. But it was worth it. *gets all misty eyed again*

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

Review for "Real"
By L'Arc~en~Ciel

"Real" came in the mail yesterday so of course I popped it into my portable CD player and listened to it on the way to my Acting School. I LOVE IT!!! I had heard that this CD was blotchy so I was like "Uh-oh, not another "Ark"" but in fact this album is one of the more cohesive by L'Arc~en~Ciel and has one of the most clear directions as well. This album starts in one place and seamlessly changes into a completely different one and by the end of it, it has taken you on a complete emotional journey. I think this album may have bumped "Awake" from my number one spot.

get out from the shell ~asian version~ 10/10 - words: Hyde, music: Yukihiro. I first heard "get out from the shell" Live and I must say I didn't like it much. But when I heard it on this album I was like "My God, it's awesome!" which shows that, brilliant song it may be but it doesn's perform well. The version on this album is also in all English, which I think, works better for some reason. Well, except for the "dream is still a dream that never changes" section which is better in Japanese. This song is great, it's wonderfully dark and very rock too.
THE NEPENTHES 11/10 - words: Hyde, music: Ken. Well, Hyde's finally done it, he's written a song that's about as perverse as "Vanilla" by Gackt, I'm so proud! This song gets the most repeat time for sure, I love it. Besides Hyde's mispronunciation of the title (it SHOULD be said, "nee-pen-thees") his English is very good on this track. The backup singer on the chorus sounds like Gwen Stefani O.O But anyway, this is a another rock song and "get out from the shell" leads straight into it which is cool.
NEO UNIVERSE 10/10 - words: Hyde, music: Ken. This is, by far, the most infectious song that I have EVER heard by ANY Artist. I get this song stuck in my head for ungodly amounts of time. I love the chorus and the high note on the hook.
bravery 8/10 - words & music: Tetsu. This song is not bad but not great, it feels a bit uninspired and drags a bit. All it's really good for is a bridge between "NEO UNIVERSE" and "Love Flies" but we won't tell Tetsu that.
LOVE FLIES 9.5/10 - words: Hyde, music: Ken. This song has one of my favorite J-Rock English lines ever which is, "The color of singing" anyone who knows anything about Hyde knows the meaning and importance of this line. This isn't my favorite arrangement by Ken however, I love Hyde's lyrics but the music just doesn't stand out to me. Sorry, Ken.
finale 12/10 - words: Hyde, music: Tetsu. I first heard this song through the movie "Ringu 0 'Birthday'" and instantly fell in love with it. It's one of the those songs that's hard to cry while listening to because there's just too much there to cry. Tetsu's arrangement is also back up to par after the dullness of "bravery" which is great for both him and the listener. Because this song deserves a mind-blowing arrangement which is exactly what we get. Hyde's lyrics are so heartbreaking, you can seriously feel pain in your chest when you hear this song. This is definitely up there with "Hoshizora" on the "Most Emotionally Devastating" list.
STAY AWAY 11/10 - words: Hyde, music: Tetsu. "finale" into "STAY AWAY" is a bit of an emotion jump but there's enough of a pause between tracks to keep it from being a repeat of "Ark." This song has always been one of my favorites, it performs well, the PV's great, and it's an awesome song. This also officially shows that Tetsu just had a momentary lack of inspiration because this arrangement is fantastic! This song is definitely on of my Laruku theme songs. "Maybe happy, maybe happy. I dare say I'm happy."
ROUTE 666 10/10 - words & music: Hyde. Heheh, I love this song, it makes me of "Lost Highway" for some reason. Hyde didn't do as much arranging before Laruku's hiatus so it always makes me smile when I see that he did an arrangement on an earlier album. I also love the 80% English chorus and I also love that Hyde makes it "Route six sixty-six" instead of "Route six, six, six" I think that's brilliant.
TIME SLIP 9/10 - words: Hyde, music: Ken. This arrangement from Ken is kind of "Serendipity" soundtrack-ish but that's okay 'cause that's a great soundtrack. I love the hook to the chorus, "Passing by, passing by" it's all the in the repeating of lines. This isn's my favorite song but it's still a solid track.
a silent letter 10/10 - words: Hyde, music: Ken. Somehow I get the unshakable feeling that this song is like a Prelude to Hyde's solo song "Secret Letters." This song makes me cry just about every time I hear it, I can really relate to it. Hyde's vocals are perfect as always but there's just something...extra to the way he sings this song. I can't say what it is in words yet I know exactly what it is in my head.
ALL YEAR AROUND FALLING IN LOVE 10/10 - words & music: Hyde. This song is great to end an album like this with, it keeps it a bit mellow but on the brighter side. And yeay, it's another one completely by Hyde! I really like this song, it captures so many emotions.

So all 'n all I luffles this album and I don't know what people are talking about when they say it's patchy, I think it is a solid album (and one of the most solid by Laruku that I've heard thus far).

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

My long overdue review of "Ray"
By L'Arc~en~Ciel

Yes, my friends, we have crossed over to the dark side with this album and I love it! It's not that L'Arc~en~Ciel writes only happy music (Lord, no!) but they've always tried to keep things...perky, even when speaking of lost love, rejection, emotional devastation, or, ya know, just angst in general. But on this album (for the most part) they drop the "look on the Bright Side" attitude and delve into the macabre and the truly ugly side of humanity. This is also one of those rare albums whose second half is the best. Normally I like the beginning of an album best but not this one. It starts good and grows until by the end it's BRILLIANT.

Shi no Hai 10/10--words: Hyde, music: Tetsu. It takes some seriously guts to open an album with a song whose title literally translates to "Ashes of Death." This song uses wonderful imagery and the last line is haunting and bone chilling, "saigo ni warau no wa dare ka." So let's hear it for Sinicism.
It's the End 9/10--words: Hyde, music: Ken. Next to "I'm so Happy" this is the ultimate break up song. 'Cept unlike "I'm so Happy" this is not from the POV of the one being kicked out but rather the one doing the kicking out. My one complaint: Hyde's Engrish is in full swing on this one, "it's the end" comes out as "ichi en" I almost think it's on purpose. Maybe Hyde's pulling a Gackt and playing with language. Let's hope so 'cause otherwise...:eek2:
HONEY 10/10--words & music: Hyde. This song is probably the closest to up-lifting that this album ever gets which is brilliant 'cause it's not THAT up-lifting. This is also one of Laruku's most famous songs. It's like a virus, it infects your brain and never leaves.
Sell My Soul 8/10--words & music: Hyde. This song feels like it's the older sister to "Ophelia" off "Awake" just not as good. It leans a bit on the boring side, sorry Hyde. Although the lyrics are wonderfully dark this song just doesn't do it for me.
snow drop 9.5/10--words: Hyde, music: Tetsu. F**king depressing song. It SOUNDS all happy and s**t but it is depressing as f**k. It's the tense changes between present and past that makes it depressing. But the music is where my "for the most part" in the very first paragraph of this review comes into play. It would appear that Tetsu can't get through an album without writing something that at least SOUNDS happy.
L'heure 10/10--words & music: Yukihiro. I love this song, it's like watching an old Nior Film. Hyde is nowhere to be found on this track, alas, but the spoken French is lovely.
KASOU 11/10--words: Hyde, music: Ken. I FINALLY KNOW WHAT THE HELL THE TITLE MEANS!!! It's a type of burial involving flowers I do believe. This is one of the most morbid yet beautiful songs in existence. And even though I've heard Hyde's voice go WAY HIGHER somehow the range needed on this song always floors me.
Shinshoku ~Lose Control~ 12/10--words: Hyde, music: Ken. Well, good morning to you too (lol). This song brings to mind my new phrase for the month, "morbid diathesis." This is, by far, the most evil, sinister, enraged, and just plane FRIGHTENING song that Laruku has ever done. This is a song that makes you look over your shoulder to make sure eye-brow-less Hyde isn't standing behind you giving you that look that you only see in horror movies right before the Slasher hacks a teenaged girl to bits. And also recently I realized why when I "first" heard this song that I thought, "this sounds familiar" that's because it was used in a Godzilla movie I watched. I remember thinking even then that it was a f**king AWESOME song and that I most get the soundtrack. It's so odd, I had heard Laruku so long ago and hadn't known it.
trick 11/10--words & music: Yukihiro. You just can't help but crank up the volume on this song (no matter how loud it may have been to begin with). The lyrics also make one think, "Yuuuuuuki, hooooooney, is there something you need to tell us?" I mean, seriously. "No sympathy, boys test you. No sympathy, boys trick you. No sympathy, boys watch you. No sympathy, boys wake up." Honestly, how can you not wonder about that? But in all serious-ness this is a brilliant song and Hyde's English (ON THE RECORDING) is really good.
Ibara no Namida 11/10--words & music: Hyde. This is another song that falls into the morbid yet beautiful category. I think this is one of my favorite arrangements by Hyde. I love the opening, and the chorus just blows me away, there's such raw emotion and power. And somehow when I hear this song in my mind I see streams of red, flowing red much like silk. It's poetic and yet still morbid.
The Silver Shining 11/10--words: Hyde, music: Ken. This is THE most beautiful song ever written, EVER. Despite Hyde's horrid Engrish (silver sounds like sherbert, I swear) this song is so moving and just beautiful, there is no other word for it but beautiful. I tear up every time I hear it. "There is nothing I want, I stay with you. I lose all. Stand still." And the high notes alone make up for the God-awful Engrish.

All 'n all I L.O.V.E THIS ALBUM!!! I've always had a thing for anything Gothic so it's a duh that I luffles this CD. Overall it's a very solid release and something very different from the "Normal Laruku."

 

[lastmagi]

Coincidentally, I have been thinking for a while (since before December) of putting together a huge review of some of my various J-Rock/J-Pop/J-Etc albums (120+ albums). I've been slacking on it, unfortunately. Added to the fact that I've had to delete a lot of albums out of utter disgust (and economical prudence, in terms of memory) from my harddrive, though, so the entirety of the reviews as it stands now would have been more on the favorable side, relatively speaking.

(Ironically, most of the albums I deleted had been kept only for review purposes)

edit:
....Mm, just finished writing one review. Took me forever.

I'd do reviews of L'arc en Ciel's CDs, but since they're popular anyway, I figured I'd leave them alone.

There is, however, one song that I absolutely, positively loathe by L'arc en Ciel: hoshizora. I can usually see the good in L'arc en Ciel's songs, even though I wouldn't prefer it myself, but this song in particular just irritates me. It probably wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for ANIS (Hyde's English lyrics "helper")'s meddling. His damage to Hyde's 666 album was enough already (I'll concede he had his good moments there and here in AWAKE, though), but they had to bring him back?

The lyrics "Nobody knows, nobody cares, I have lost everything to bombs" is probably the worst insult to lyricists everywhere (well, I exaggerate-- that honor could very well fall on a lot of other lesser artists that I've listened to). It attempts to evoke feeling, but fails by being too blatantly transparent to the critical listener, particularly with that last line. The lack of tact in that last line especially seems to expect the listener to lack sophistication. While I do sense the feeling within Hyde's own voice as he sings the majority of the song, I think emotion should be carried by the song as a whole, not the vocalist himself.

Not only that, but the lack of melodic emphasis while he says "bombs" makes the strength of the lyrics significantly weaker and ridiculous. Therefore only a complete rewrite of the lyrics would save it. ANIS has long irked me for his hand in a lot of songs with simplistic lyrics, so I can only hope he won't be there for Hyde's next album, friend or no friend.

 

[Kinsao]

Thank you for the reviews/opinions, Hyde and Lastmagi!
I've reviewed 2 albums recently - Gazette, NIL and 12012, PlayDOLLs, but I posted the reviews in the threads for those bands. I can reup them here if you think that would be a good idea?

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

I will say that "I have lost everything to bombs" at first bothered me very much. But then I started really listening to the song, really thinking about it. And then the simplicity of it began to make sense. Great power can be held in "simple" when used correctly.
Although, I do not agree with Hyde having ANIS "translate" for him, nothing was wrong with the English lyrics Hyde wrote before so WHY does he need a "translator"??? Look at "Get out from the shell (asian ver.)", pronunciation aside, the actual lyrics make sense (might be missing an "and" or "the" here and there but other then that they're fine). His English vocab is not as bad as he thinks. And it somehow takes away from the valid-ness of his lyrics 'cause every time he says something in English I think, "He didn't write that, ANIS did. Hyde didn't write it, he didn't write it, didn't write it!" and it can ruin the enjoyment of a song.

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

Review of HYDE's album "666"

"666" is Hyde's second solo album and as the title would imply we are in for one wild ride. This album, in stark contrast with "Roentgen", is a rock album. With hard driving punk guitar riffs, edgy vocals and lyrics this album drives its points home with force unlike "Roentgen" which lulled one into seeing things differently.
The one thing about "666" that bothers me, however, is that Hyde used translators for the English lyrics on this album and since this album is split 60/40 with the English and Japanese lyrics that is rather disturbing. Also, the CD booklet does not handle this fact well. It says, and I quote, "all songs written by HYDE (Except Tr. 3, 7, 8, 9 Lyrics by HYDE/Anis, Tr. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 10 Lyrics by HYDE/Lynne Hobday)" 1. This does not make it clear that Anis and Lynne are merely translators (as an aside: Lynne's the better translator in my opinion, she stays truer to who Hyde is and what he's trying to say). 2. The word "except" is misused. If you read it carefully they list EVERY track as an "exception." That's not an exception that's every f**king track! But these glitches aside, this is a solid as stone album and I love it!

SWEET VANILLA 9.5/10 - music and lyrics: HYDE, English translation: Lynne Hobday, Arrangement: HYDE, KAZ. Ah, yes, the song that makes fangirls everywhere squeal with yaoi delight. Because "666" was released right after Hyde and Gackt worked on "Moon Child" many fans connect this song with Gackt's smash hit "Vanilla." Whether there is any real connection or not, we'll never know, but one must admit it is interesting. All that aside, I think this is a brave track to open an album with because it has the feel of a song one would typically find near the middle of an album. You're being thrown into the album with no formal introduction or anything. It's a risky move that could have really backfired but I think it works fantastically and it gives the album the feel of a Live Show.
HELLO (album mix) 10.5/10 - music and lyrics: HYDE, English translation: Lynne Hobday, Arrangement: HYDE, KAZ. Out of the two singles from the album, this one is my favorite. It's insanely catchy but still undeniably rock.
WORDS OF LOVE - 9.5/10 music and lyrics: HYDE, English translation: Anis, Arrangement: HYDE, KAZ. Probably the best translating job that Anis does on the whole album (which isn't saying much), I don't find myself cringing at lines that are cumbersome or un-Hyde-ish in this one (with the exception of the whole "I want to be a stimulator" section, it both sounds odd and not like something Hyde would say). But this comes at the price of over-simplified lyrics that are far too direct. But if you ignore that fact, this song is both sexy and deep, just what we'd expect from Hyde. This is also the only song on the album that references the album's title, "Let's play SIX SIX SIX"
HORIZON 10/10 - music and lyrics: HYDE, English translation: Lynne Hobday, Arrangement: HYDE, KAZ. Once again Lynne proves that less is more with subtle translations that don't jar you and again it's Hyde-esque which is what you want in a translator. This song is melodic and beautiful; it's a brief break, a breather if you will. It's a beautiful song and very heartfelt (it was also the second single from "666").
PRAYER 11/10 - music and lyrics: HYDE, English translation: Lynne Hobday, Arrangement: HYDE, KAZ. This is one of my absolute favorites from the album. It has a strong point and delivers its listener a hard blow across the chest and the conscience. It shows that murder in the name of God is still murder, Holy wars are still wars. This song is entirely in English but I never once find myself thinking, "oh, this was translated" because AGAIN Lynne has shown her brilliance in keeping this song so like Hyde that it never registers that she translated it, it feels as though what you're hearing is exactly what Hyde wrote originally.
MASQUERADE 12/10 - music and lyrics: HYDE, English translation: Lynne Hobday, Arrangement: HYDE, KAZ. My complete and total favorite from the album. This song is all about Hyde's issues with religion and asks some difficult questions that could shake anyone's faith. He's not pulling any punches on this one, instead of attacking believers he's directly attacking the one they believe in. "So Lord, why do you watch from the sidelines? War, it's being fought on the frontlines. Say, what is your final intention? Lord, I've kinda lost my conviction" The only thing that irks me about this track is that Anis is featured on it but other then that this is, hands down, my favorite song off this album.
MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION 9.5/10 - music and lyrics: HYDE, English translation: Anis, Arrangement: HYDE, KAZ. Good God, you can really hear the Marilyn Manson influence on this track. This song is dark and sinister but the chorus suffers from overly simple wording (yes, Anis, I am looking at you ).
SHINING OVER YOU 10/10 - music and lyrics: HYDE, English translation: Anis, Arrangement: HYDE, KAZ. I cried the first time I heard this song. It's the only song on the album that I word classify as a ballad (although it still has a slight edge to it). It's heartbreaking and just beautiful. But the English (you already know what I'm going to say) is too simple, it doesn't do the Japanese verses justice at all.
FRUITS OF CHAOS 9/10 - music and lyrics: HYDE, English translation: Anis, Arrangement: HYDE, KAZ. I don't hate any song off of "666" but this song is my least favorite. I don't dislike it, it's just not fantastic, it just didn't blow me away...and the fact that it too suffers from uber simple English lyrics doesn't help much. But it's still a good song just not as solid as the others.
HIDEAWAY 10/10 - music and lyrics: HYDE, English translation: Lynne Hobday, Arrangement: HYDE, KAZ. This song uses the most ingenious blend of Japanese and English that I have ever heard. The verses alternate between the two languages from line to line, using the difference in speech to get the point across. This song has some strong Avril Lavigne and Good Charlotte influence resulting in a rock song that you just wanna ran down the street yelling at the top of your lungs. It's one of those "break away and be who you are" songs which are always empowering to listen to. The way this song ends adds to the Live feel of the album and is simply perfect.

So all 'n all this is a solid and strong album with a few pitfalls concerning lyric translations. But those aside, this album is fantastic! And thankfully, I don't believe Anis is going to be popping up ANYWHERE on Hyde's up-coming album "Faith", thank you Kami-sama!

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

Review of Dir en grey's "Vulgar"
(*gasp* Me? Reviewing something OTHER then Laruku or HYDE??? Ya better believe it! )

Okay, first thing's first, I find it highly offensive that many Dir en grey "fans" call this album a "departure" or "a westernization of a once great band." Dir en grey has said themselves that they aren't trying to be "western" or anything other than who they are. And frankly, I don't find this album a departure from their sound at all, I think this album simply continues down the path "Kisou" laid out for the band. It takes the ideas and concepts of "Kisou" much further, true, but it does not deviate from them.

This album is very dark and gritty but not "gothic" as some people like to classify it. "Vulgar" is raw and it is in-your-face. This sound suits both the band and its message but if you have an aversion to metal music in general then stay away 'cause Dir en grey certainly is metal (now anyway). "Vulgar" is a bit of a concept album and can be abstract and hard to understand on first listen but it is a true gem.

TRACK LIST BREAKDOWN:

Audience Killer Loop 10/10 - This is an extremely strong way to open an album. It hits you in the gut, and hits you HARD, right from the word go.
The Third Empire 9.5/10 - This song has a lot to say especially in this day and age. This is a hard driving song that could start riots if blared in a busy street. You just can't help but get a little pissed while listening to this song and pumping your fist in the air as you yell, "SPARK AND SPARK!" along with Kyo.
Increase Blue 10/10 - This song is so friggin catchy. This is a song that one simply MUST move to and sing along with. Excellent use of all the weird quirks of Kyo's voice as well. Kyo said he views this song as his "own little horror movie." As always, he's reaching for extreme and disturbing imagery mixed in with a little sex for good measure. Love it.
Shokubeni 11/10 - This is one of my favorites off the album. Kyo has an odd talent for writing from the point of view of/about women and young girls. Even without the lyrics, the music of this song gives you a sense of claustrophobia and being trapped. This is one of many songs by Dir en grey that you can blast out of your speakers when angry or depressed.
Saijou no Uta 7/10 - Must admit, this is one of the low points on the album, it feels as though they're dropping the energy. It has lovely, pain-filled lyrics but the song itself drags. I find myself more often then not resisting the urge to skip this track in order to get to the rest of the good stuff.
Red...[em] 11/10 - Despite the damn near Nirvana rip-off guitar riff this song is one of my all time Dir en grey favorites. It's mostly the lyrics that I love, anti-religion is always good in my book. These lyrics point a very direct, and very sad, finger at the church. The lines that always break my heart are, "Shinjirusha dake ga suwareru no? Baka ni shiteru!" and "Why can't we be perfect?" Those lines are simply divesting. As a person who was greatly hurt by religion I can really relate with what Kyo's saying.
Asunaki Koufuku, Koenaki Asu 9.5/10 - Another very catchy song with a fantastic bass line from dear Toshiya. This song always gets the Bass Boost whenever I listen to it on headphones.
Marmalade Chainsaw 11/10 - A song about "A Clockwork Orange" and Kyo losing it on stage? Brilliant! This song is so abstract and confusing when you first hear it but after awhile it starts making sense. Also, Kyo's wonderfully haunting falsetto makes an appearance in this song. This track's also bizarrely catchy, it will get stuck in one's head for days and days, and it's yet another great angst anthem.
Kasumi 8.5/10 - Not a bad nor a great song, the beginning rather reminds me of "Eien" by L'Arc~en~Ciel to tell you the truth :eek2:. The lyrics are completely devastating though, this is a song I will listen to simply for the words spilling from Kyo's mouth. This song brings the tone down without dropping intensity like "Saijou no Uta" which is nice. And I must say the last few bars of this song are my favorite, wish the whole song was arranged like that.
R to the Core 11/10 - Kyo's big "f**k you all!" song. Don't really know what else to say about it other then it's amazing, I love it, and am constantly putting it on repeat for whole hours at a time.
Drain Away 9/10 - There's nothing all that outstanding about this song, it痴 not bad though. And it's yet another good one for Bass Boost.
New Age Culture 8/10 - By this point in the album I'm all but screaming, "JUST HURRY UP AND GET TO "OBSCURE" ALREADY!!!" So this song, unfortunately, often gets skipped over. It's not a horrible song but because it's right before "Obscure" (which IS my ultimate favorite off this album) I lose patience with it and just skip it. Sorry.
Obscure 100/10 - I consider this song to be one of Dir en grey's masterpieces. I can't really put into words just how f**king amazing this song is. It's like a lullaby gone HORRIBLY wrong and the high notes just kill me (how does Kyo do that???). This is the perfect song in my opinion. It is dark, morbid, sick, twisted, and perverse...in other words, Dir en grey at their best.
Child Prey 10/10 - This song is very dear to my heart because it was the very first EVER Dir en grey song that I heard and I still love it just as much now as I did then. My favorite part of the song is at about 2 minutes and 15 seconds in when the melody calms down for a bit and Kyo's voice gets this eerie and utterly haunting quality to it. Love it, love it. And I honestly don't think Kyo's English is THAT terrible people, sure it is terrible but it痴 not THAT terrible. And because I haven't been giving them much love (sorry), Kaoru, Die and Shinya all do fantastically on this track and every other for the matter of that.
Amber 10/10 - This is a great track to end the album with, it has a finality to it. I love the vibrato that Kyo employs on this track. Again, lots of pain and angst (of course, it is Dir en grey we're talking about here). This song brings to mind the image of a curtain closing to me and that's very much what it is.

All 'n' all this is a bloody fantastic album and I LOVE it to death. Keep rocking on guys!

 

[Hyde_is_my_anti-drug]

Review of Dir en grey's "Withering to Death"

I own four Dir en grey albums ("Withering to Death", "Vulgar", "Kisou" and "Gauze") and out of the four I must say that "Withering to Death" is the best. This album truly feels like one whole piece of art instead of 14 mini-works of art but without the songs all sounding alike. It's diverse without straying from it's theme: emotional decay (hence the album title).

Also, I would like to rebuttal the statement that this album is 80% screaming and noise. Kyo screams much less on this album then, say, "Vulgar" or "Six Ugly" only about 10-20% of it is screaming all the rest is pure singing (with about 5% speaking). And this album holds some of the most melodic songs to ever come from Dir en grey (examples: "Itoshisa wa Fuhai Nitsuki", "Dead Tree", "Higeki wa Mabuta wo Oroshita Yasashiki Utsu" and "Kodou") so how someone can say it's all noise I will never know.

TRACK BREAK DOWN:

Merciless Cult 11/10 - One of my favorite songs off "Withering to Death", and just one of my favorite songs period, this an extremely strong and hit-'em-where-it-hurts opening for the album. It's vengeful and raw and yet has a heartbreaking hook line, "Ai shite kudasai (Please, love me)" that always chokes me up.
C 10/10 - Again, love the hook on this one, "Dead freedom." This song deals with loneliness and feelings of worthlessness and also, I believe, has some prostitution undertones ("You buy love for me on my birthday").
SAKU 11/10 - "Enraged" is pretty much the only word that comes to mind here. As always Kyo's going for some pretty extreme and disturbing imagery using that haunting upper register of his to send chills running down your spine. His upper register sounds so angelic even though what's coming out of his mouth is nothing short of demonic, it's that contrast that is so bone-chilling and shiver inducing.
KODOKU NI SHISU, YUENI KODOKU 10/10 - Can you say, "teen angst"? I think every teen溶o, every person揺as felt this way at some point. It's that faceless crowd that does us all in. This song is like a cry for help in certain ways as if to say, "Look what you致e done to me! Fix it!"
ITOSHISA WA FUHAI NITSUKI 10/10 - Bass line, bass line, bass line. All about the bass line. This has the best bass line, it's simple but amazing. The lyrics to this song are beyond haunting, I always get this image of a girl in a blood stained white dress dancing slowly in a circle. I think this song is about innocence lost and what evil comes from that (both losing and taking innocence).
Jesus Christ R 'n R 12/10 - A bit of a throwback to Dir en grey's older days, it has that easily danceable beat and guitar riffs along with mostly straight singing from Kyo. And the lyrics are fantastic! Religious blasphemy at its best along with that wonderful upper register (which makes quite a lot of appearances on this album actually).
GARBAGE 9/10 - My least favorite on the album. It feels just a tiny bit like a filler track but it's not a bad song and I do like it just not as much as the others. Good lyrics though.
Machiavellism 11/10 - Ah, yes, another song about cutting from dear Kyo. I really love these songs, they're always so honest and they make me want to hug him so badly. That aside, musically this song is completely brilliant and I love the repeating of words in the chorus (and how Kyo says, "ignorance"). This song is another slight throwback to earlier Diru as well.
dead tree 100/10 - Dir en grey has written quite a few masterpieces in their time and this is one of them. It's like three songs in one: a ballad, an enraged heavy metal song, and a melodic poem. It is so moving it's almost impossible to cry, there's simply too much emotional there for mere tears. It is truly life altering and should go down in history as one of the greatest songs of our time.
THE FINAL 12/10 - This was one of the very first Dir en grey songs that I heard and it blew me away then and still does now. This is what you blast from your stereo as you cry, scream, and beat the ground. The utter disappear portrayed here is beyond words. This song is moving because through the whole thing you think the character is really going to die, truly going to kill himself, but then in the very last line you discover he doesn稚 and then you hear Kyo inhale. This is important because an exhale is death but an inhale is life. So there's a small glimmer of hope at the very end.
Beautiful Dirt 10/10 - Ever wanted to just rip someone limb from limb? I know I have and this song is all about that. Just pure, unadulterated, fury and destruction.
Spilled Milk 10/10 - When a song begins with a line like, "So I want you for me to die" you know you're in for an interesting ride. It's about a woman who wants so desperately to have a child that she's destroying the one person who truly cares for her. It leads one to wonder how a person can be so blind and stupid and it's sad because you know it really does happen.
HIGEKI WA MABUTA WO OROSHITA YASAHIKI 11/10 - One of the most beautiful songs ever written by Dir en grey or anyone. When people say "Withering to Death" is just noise I have to wonder if they've even listened to the album because songs like this CANNOT be called just worthless noise. The lyrics to this song are slightly disjointed and hard to completely understand but they are deep and express a universal pain; the feeling of being too far gone to love or be loved and feeling like an ocean divides you from the world.
KODOU 12/10 - Excepting pain and excepting that there is nothing to be done about it. Two very hard things to do but that's exactly what Kyo's saying to do. Although it deals with the inevitability of pain there is also a strange comfort to be found in this song. This is also a perfect song to end the album with.

All 'n all a friggin AMAZING album! Life altering!

Now a little complaint about the US release of this album: THE F**k IS WITH THE TRANSLATONS??? The stanzas aren't in order, which makes it very difficult to figure songs out. I, luckily, have enough knowledge of Japanese to muddle through without them or to figure out what goes where but this is supposed to be the US release of the album meaning they shouldn't be making their English speaking fans jump through hoops to understand the translations. And they don't clearly state anywhere that what you're reading are translations of Japanese, which is bound to be confusing for new fans of the band who don't know who they are or where they're from. Also, they left Kyo and Kaoru's names in Japanese meaning someone who's not already a fan of the band or can't read Japanese isn't going to know what their names are. I know Kyo and Kaoru spell their names that way and the other members romanize theirs but come on! They could have left them in Japanese but put the romaji in parentheses or something. Oh, well. And last, but NOT least, in the song titles they literally translate the kana so that the particle "wa" is written as "ha" which is VERY ANNOYING. So, good album BAD packaging.

 

[Kinsao]

Hi, I don't think I've posted on this thread before! :joyful:

Thankyou everyone for your interesting reads!

I make reviews, all of them are on this site.
I have made in the English and the French section (but not in the Spanish or Italian ;_; ).
I reviewed so far NIL, PlayDOLLs, 6, Loki n' Roll, and RENTRER EN SOI (under 'reviews' then 'CD') and made a writeup of MUCC's live in Munich. ^^ I have posted all my review in the relevant band threads here at some time, but in any case, I thought to make a link to the site here anyway, in case anyone wants to look around it.

I like writing reviews!