Withering to Death [Import]

1. Merciless Cult

2. C

3. Japanese Title

4. Japanese Title

5. Japanese Title

6. Jesus Christ R'n R

7. Garbage

8. Machiavellism

9. Dead Tree

10. Final

11. Beautiful Dirt

12. Spilled Milk

13. Japanese Title

14. Japanese Title

Tracks:

Merciless Cult
C
Saku
Kodoku Ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku
Itoshisa Ha Fuhai Nitsuki
Jesus Christ R'n R
Garbage
Machiavellism
Dead Tree
The Final
Beautiful Dirt
Spilled Milk
Higeki Ha Mabuta Wo Oroshita Yasashiki Utsu
Kodou

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:

The great Visual-kei/J-rock album.......2007-05-25

This one is for anyone who is tired of all folk-based domestic rock music. This comes with DVD that tells somewhat J-rock is about. I was not even a J-rock listener before I listened to this and it totaly changed me. This band is the leading position of the new movement that may change the surface of rock music in this country. This album is the good one to start to get on. If you are not old bags that can't understand new wave/ culture, get it and check it out.

Not a kid, just don't have my own Amazon account........2007-02-26

First off, I've heard people call Dir en grey metal, and I have to say something.

THEY. ARE. NOT. METAL. I'd like someone to actually tell me WHY they're metal without going "But THY R SO HEVY!11" Something can be heavy and NOT be metal.

And also don't think "BUT KYO SCREMS!1" Lyrics nor the way they are sung defines any genre. >. < I like this album, but it really upsets me when I hear someone calling a non-metal band metal. =| And also don't start thinking "BUT GENRES R JUT OPINONS AND I R TINK DEY R METUHLZ LOLZ" GENRES ARE NOT OPINIONS! THEY ARE A FACT!

That aside, it did take a lil while for me to get into this album. First time I listened through it, I actually forgot it was playing. But now that I've given it time, I really do like it quite a bit. Not enough to go "IF U DUN HAV IT GO BUYZ IT NOWZ!11" but if if you have the money, and are curious, then yes go ahead and buy it. =3 For this price, it really is a good j-rock album. xD

wow.......2007-02-10

one of the most diverse, innovative and damn right addictive hard rock albums i've heard in a long while. everything seems to come together perfectly on this album...it crushes you with it's heaviness but leaves you just enough breathing room to enjoy the beautiful melodies, weird/quirky rhythms, and beautiful/haunting vocals. don't let something stupid like a simple language barrier keep you from giving this album and this band a chance...simply put the music speaks for itself..and I believe Dir has tapped into something special. this album flows beautifully from one song to the next with not a single miss

oh and another thing GO SEE THIS BAND LIVE if you get a chance...they put on one hell of a live show and I think will convert anyone into an instant fan

Amazing...........2006-11-07

My friend lent me a dozen random cd's of artists that she likes...I didn't even know any of them. But Dir en grey was one of them, and when I popped the cd in, I thought "uh I don't speak japanese.." but MAN this cd is amazing. Amazing!! I'm not really even into rock anymore but this cd got me back into it. There's nice ballads, incredible beats, and some good screamo..never even knew screamo could sound good. Vocals are....amazing. I keep using that word..

Even if you don't think you'll be into this sort of music, give it a shot. Their songs are unique and even the styles and genres seem different within the cd, which means that it can satisfy many people.

My favorites: Itoshisa Ha Fuhai Nitsuki, KOUDOU!!, Higeki Ha Mabuta... , Merciless Cult, and The Final. But they're all pretty good. Just give it a shot.

"Suicide is the proof of life...".......2006-11-07

I first came across DIR EN GREY when an online friend linked me to a site called "Project-J," there I heard the song "Cage" I loved its creepy "music box" intro, later I saw the video and was even more entranced by their wierd "sci-fi S&M" outfits. This was the genre called "Visual Kei" (visual rock). I selectively downloaded more and more songs by this band, weeding out the one's I didn't like (the really heavy one's). I was more of a Gackt fan, so I liked the flashy androgenous look and "Neo-Classical" type sounds present in "AKURA NO OKA." Gradually I started giving more of their other stuff a listen, I fell in love with "SAKU" and "THE FINAL," waaaay before the album even came out in the States. Most albums have "filler" but ~Withering to Death~ is punch after punch, with no two songs sounding alike. To anyone NEW to DeG, I would recommend "WITHERING TO DEATH"... because their latest effort "Marrow of a Bone" is just waaaay too Metal with little to no expiramenting. Thankfully, Diru never make the same album twice, so I hope whatever comes after Marrow is as good as "Withering to Death." I __REALLY__ wish HOT TOPIC would carry DeG's older stuff (and for a US price, like say $14???), KISOU and VULGAR would fit nicely on HT's shelves. Or maybe even their Tour DVD's (~Code of Vulgarism~ rocks my eye-balls out). But it seems that J-Rock kids don't shop at Hot Topic, so they don't have much of a reason to carry anything more than ONE T-shirt and ONE cd...

Guess there's always EBAY.

Average customer rating:

Fell in love with Diru once more.
Not a bad CD
Great in the studio; BRILLIANT live.
Intense, Excellent Music
Dir en grey invades the U.S!

Withering to Death
Dir en Grey
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Japan | Far East & Asia | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

International | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Vulgar
Gauze
Kisou
Macabre
Six Ugly

ASIN: B00079FHT8
Release Date: 2005-03-21

Tracks:

Merciless Cult
C
Japanese Title
Japanese Title
Japanese Title
Jesus Christ R'n R
Garbage
Machiavellism
Dead Tree
Final
Beautiful Dirt
Spilled Milk
Japanese Title
Japanese Title

Customer Reviews:

Fell in love with Diru once more........2007-04-05

I'm retracting my vote for Kisou as the best Diru album (which I made back in 2004)... this beats it in my book. First Diru album I can actually listen all the way through and not want to skip a song... before, they weren't so good at song placement on their albums and often there would be major extremes in one song to the next. They have obviously gotten much better at this, everything compliments each other.

They played most of these songs when I saw them live in Chicago... I was very happy about that. I'm one of those people that is happy they've moved on from the Visual Kei stage... let them evolve, people! It's not selling out, it's growing up!

I'm not even going to write more because I know with the arrival of Marrow of a Bone, I'll have more to say.

Not a bad CD.......2006-08-29

Not one of my favorite CDs but it has a few songs that stand out and keep in my play list. I would buy another CD from this group.

Great in the studio; BRILLIANT live........2006-04-25

It took seeing these songs performed live before I fully understood how brilliant this album is. Or rather, how brilliant the songs that are recorded on this album are... you can turn up the volume all day, but you can't turn up the energy; and that is a shame. Their energy live is incredible. This album has ten times the emotional impact for me now that it did before, and I loved it before. It takes a few listens to appreciate some of the songs, and the screaming in some of them can be off-putting until you see it live and comprehend how it truly fits in and is part of the overwhelming emotion expressed in each song. Give it a long chance, generally starting with Kodou and THE FINAL; and if you ever have the opportunity, SEE THEM.

Intense, Excellent Music.......2006-04-03

If you want an album that ranges in styles from aggressive passionate songs, to slow songs guaranteed to pull at your heart such as Dead Tree with its anti-war message and gorgeous guitar lines and deep strong vocals, and the sublime soft lullaby like Higeki, to one of the best most powerful songs ever, Merciless Cult, which is fantastic live by the way.
Dir en grey has something for every listener. If you like hard core, they have songs with raging drums, guitars and vocals that will blow your mind! Whatever the style of rock, Dir en grey can play it and they can play it better than any band out there. Get this CD when it comes out in America and see what makes Dir en grey so special.

Dir en grey invades the U.S!.......2006-03-30

I have to admit, before their recent Showcase concert in NY, I never really spent much time listening to what this album had to offer. I was still mesmorized by my old favorites from "Gauze" and "Macabre." As much as I hate to admit it, the days of a Visual Kei Diru are long dead. However, their music has not suffered one ounce. On the contrary, I've rarely ever seen Kyo so passionate in his singing as I did at that concert (Which, for the most part, covered the album "Withering to Death."

The songs on this album aren't as experimental in their musical arrangement. In fact, I would call their style much more organized musically. While the solos and experimental qualities of the old songs defined their character, the organization and unification of the band helps define these songs and separates them from Dir en grey's older works. Every portion of the song blends in well, but it is Kyo's unique voice and vocal style that truely gives each song its soul and driving force.

And since I am more of a fan of Kyo's singing than his screaming, my personal recommendations on this album include some of the more 'mellow' songs on this album such as "Itoshisa ha Fuhai Nitsuki" and "Higeki ha Mabuta..." However, I feel it is almost a necessity to point out the sheer power of songs such as "The Final" and "Kodou."

Also, if given the opportunity, check out the translations to Kyo's lyrics. Not just on this album, but for every Dir en grey song you might stumble on. His writing never ceases to shock and amaze me (for better or worse, depending on the song) and is sometimes pure poetry. Especially something I noticed about the lyrics to the songs of the "Vulgar" and "Whithering to Death" eras... each song seems to tell a story of human failure and tragedy, with many vital elements of the story retained in the lyrics, but many purposely omitted or not included. Good stuff.