Review Summary: A power driven album that proves to be an instant classic.
Oh what a trip its been. From Missa all the way to The Marrow of a Bone, Dir en grey has flowed effortlessly into the realm of stardom. Spanning from Japan to America, and Brazil to Finland, it seems that Dir en grey is everywhere. How does a bands career come to this? I find it obviously simple: Spit out a classic album and never look back. Five Japanese bar performers have infamously made it, and can they credit Gauze? Maybe, but I'm getting carried away.
Here we have Gauze, the first installment of Dir en grey(if you don't count Missa). Talk about packing a powerful punch, this album is so good I don't know where to begin as a reviewer.
When I first listen to Gauze, I truly get goosebumps. The introduction gets your hair raised, and they never go back down. From song to song, we hear what truly makes a great album. Many bands can produce a great first album that's memorable, but can a band really spit out an album that's both memorable and has memorable songs? Dir en grey proves they can at least, and that is why they set themselves up with such high standards. Why do you think some people hate their newer albums? Because Gauze was so great and so vast, they believe that all of Dir en grey's following albums should have sounded exactly the same, but that's not the case is it? That one factor is what makes this great. The standards were set so high with this album, that people expected no less, which is pretty damn hard.
When listening to Gauze as a whole, it should be put into a different perspective. A song by song review of this album is not enough. You can't really find a word, or sentence that describes this album, because that would be truly impossible. Why don't we all accept the fact that this album is unique. So unique in a way that it measures up with only the best.
Along with Gauze comes a number of pop songs. These songs make the album what it is, and that is why Gauze is unlike Vulgar, Withering, and Marrow. Gauze can't be described by "western standards".
The ballads on this album are memorable. With songs ranging from Yurameki to Yokan, Raison Detre to Akuro no Oka, and Mask to Mazohyst of Decadence, we see why this album is slotted so high.
To add to this album, Die and Kaoru play wonderfully throughout this album as they duel their guitars, and Kyo's vocals are no doubt near-perfect. Toshiya plays magnifcantly on bass, and Shinya's drumming is as great as it will ever be.
If you want to be introduced to Dir en grey, I think Gauze would be perfect. Even if you arn't a listener of Japanese Rock, or if you can't understand the lyrics, try listening to this. The music will truly blow you away.
