Album Rating: 4.5

We aren't starting this again hahaha.

BigMen

Digging: The Foreshadowing - Days Of Nothing

Album Rating: 4.5

Nothing on 'The Insulated World' even came close to the quality of the tracks on this album. In my opinion, this album is the perfect 'Dir en Grey' record (although not my favourite), in that in perfectly mixes the variety of musical directions explored throughout the bands entire history, and creates something truly awe-inspiring. What TIW got wrong (other than the production) was that it had no clear direction and just felt a bit inconsistent and all over the place at times. While I enjoyed the album, the highs on that album don't even come close to the lows on this album (well, maybe sustain the untruth, but that's about it). That's not to discredit TIW though, since its shining moments are still pretty great, such as Aka.

Album Rating: 4.5

^ I pretty much echo your sentiments.

Album Rating: 5.0

"What TIW got wrong (other than the production) was that it had no clear direction"



Despite my criticisms of the album, I can't agree with this because the lyrics made the whole album tie together uniformly and the album musically was a more modern Marrow of a Bone. Not angsty like Marrow but it feels generally suicidal and manic, which is my fav part of the album. However regarding Arche I agree, represents the band so well.

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

My issue with this album is that it is a chore to listen to from front to back despite having some amazing songs. There are too many filler tracks like Soshaku (boring verses but good chorus) and Magayasou (song just drags with a completely unmemorable chorus imo) and STU is a very uninspired single. My biggest problem with it is that vocally Kyo hadn’t yet learned how to distinguish between his two projects and some songs like Phenomenon sounded more like sukekiyo songs than DEG ones. Kyo himself later said he regretted not using more harsh vocals on Arche. Besides that cool droning section KnK is nowhere near as good a ballad as something like Invonvenient Ideal. I really don’t get why people act like they dumbed down their sound on their newest album but praise this one when the songwriting is just as simple here, especially compared to the previous two albums which are my two favorite. That being said there are a lot of really strong tracks like Uroko, Tousei, Rinkaku, Midwife, Behind a vacant image, The inferno, and Revelation of mankind.

Album Rating: 5.0

^That's funny because yesterday I listened to it front to back and I'm still convinced that it's one of the most entertaining over-1-hour listening experiences there is.



I agree that this one's sound is close to Sukekiyo in parts, but I don't see why that's a problem.



Comparing this one's song-writing to that of the new one is also quite ridiculous. There are so many genius transitions and little details that do so much for the feeling of each song. If I had to list all the amazing moments on here that are better than everything on TIW, I'd be here till tomorrow morning. (The Klangfarbenmelodie in Phenomenon is the most striking example).



The only problem of this album (and probably the reason why I prefer DSS nowadays) is some of the heavy songs interrupting the misty feeling of the album overall, and they tend to be not as strong as the softer/more dynamic ones (Inferno comes to mind).

Album Rating: 5.0

"There are too many filler tracks like Soshaku (boring verses but good chorus) and Magayasou (song just drags with a completely unmemorable chorus imo) and STU is a very uninspired single."



Soshaku's verses have a level of brooding tension that is rare in a song so compact, Magayasou's reverb-laden atmosphere in studio/crushing uncomfortable heaviness live is bliss and STU has one of their most catchy and inspired choruses which still hits hard even though the band has done the song to death.



"My biggest problem with it is that vocally Kyo hadn’t yet learned how to distinguish between his two projects and some songs like Phenomenon sounded more like sukekiyo songs than DEG ones"



I don't see how this is a negative. Nothing in their career sounds like Phenomenon and it's a breath of fresh air even in an album full of great tracks. Some of Kyo's most unique vocals are in that song.



"Kyo himself later said he regretted not using more harsh vocals on Arche."



And again, this is for the better. The generally more atmospheric and lighter mood of this did them wonders since it made their heavier parts hit more due to being spiced with melody and they still can write incredible ballads whilst they're past their prime for heavier tracks.



"Besides that cool droning section KnK is nowhere near as good a ballad as something like Invonvenient Ideal."



KnK is in my top 5 Dir tracks and the best on here so...yeah I disagree, to say the least.

Album Rating: 5.0

"I really don’t get why people act like they dumbed down their sound on their newest album but praise this one when the songwriting is just as simple here"



I won't speak for other people but for me, there are three separate problems.



1. The loss of flair and melodic touches. Yes, the songwriting is for the most part just as simple here in terms of structure as TIW. The difference is that Arche is so much more enriching due to many moments and ideas which makes the album more than the sum of its parts. The slick guitar wahs and bass licks in Tousei, the droning in KnK, how the main melody compliments Shinya's standard drum beat on Revelation, the rumbling bass of Phenomenon, the sweeping wall of sound Rinkaku has, the bass groove that drives Magayasou along with Kyo's vocals...countless little touches which makes this album great which TIW doesn't have. One of TIW's best two tracks, Aka is as good as it is because it has those same strengths. The superb drumwork focusing on cymbals more than Shinya's usual drumming, the stunning guitar work at the start, the implementation of the acoustic guitar...just better taste than most of TIW's soup of slightly high tempo guitar grooves.



2. Despite me liking the songs of TIW themselves a good amount, there are more flaws in songwriting than usual for them. The utter filler groove of Values of Madness' mid way point slows the song down to a crawl, Downfall is the new Pain Killer (despite the ending being stunning), Ranunculus being too short and undeveloped due to abput transition to a tacky bridge which should be built to instead of appearing so early, the lack of cohesiveness and central songwriting theme to Celebrate Empty Howls...yeah. Lots of tracks have many moments I love next to parts I'm eh on.



3. The general idea of both albums. Arche focuses on their more melodic side whilst TIW focuses on pure aggression and disenfranchised terror, the former has a higher chance of producing quality material since the band has passed their peak for heavier material and that's what ended up happening. Moments like the forced heavy section of Keigaku no Yoku and the boring ass heavy section Zetsuentai with no sense of groove and lack of intensity due to the tempo and production are caused by this direction. It highlights the faults the band has rather than their numerous positives which the band can still deliver.



Of course things outside of the songwriting flaws such as how squashed the album feels, the deadlines they were under, the context it has following the combination of arguably their whole career influence the album's perception to a large degree, but those are separate points altogether.

Album Rating: 5.0

The album will be much better with a crowd going mental and if the band's performance is on point like lots of their old material, so I hope this album gets that treatment.

Album Rating: 4.5

"There are too many filler tracks like Soshaku..." … Soshaku is one my favourite tracks on this album, and the live performances of it have been incredible, so I disagree on it being a 'filler track'.

Album Rating: 4.5

amenzing album

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

I guess I just prefer heavy DEG to ballad-y DEG most of the time. Obviously I still love this album but it just doesn’t feel like a DEG album in a lot of ways with the super clean production and so many mid-tempo songs, and the problem with Kyo using his sukekiyo-esque vocals on here so much is that when I want to hear that I can just listen to sukekiyo. I don’t think the new album is perfect by any means but it has the energy that I missed from Arche. Besides the production my only real problem with the new album is that it retained the simplified songwriting from this album.

Album Rating: 5.0

Doesn't "so many mid tempo" songs apply to Gauze though minus Zan? To me at least, the moment that symbolises what Dir means to me is the last chorus of Beyond a Vacant Image. It's the album I think about when someone mentions their name, however, that's also due to it being the album that got me into them. If you like the new album more than this, all the power to you. I enjoy the energy from the new album too, hell I think Keibetsu to Hajimari is one of their most solid and vicious tracks to date and the lyrics are superb this time around but so many elements around it (the production especially) really bring it down.

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

Yes it does apply to Guaze too and I have it at the same rating as this. I’m probably coming at this from a different perspective than you since the first thing I heard from this band was Vulgar in like 2003 when a friend of mine who was a huge otaku introduced them to me lol. I was in middle school at the time though and wasn’t into anything heavier than Linkin Park, so I didn’t listen to this band much after that until 2011 when DSS turned me into a huge fan. So I really had two introductions to this band eight years apart. The first song I heard from Vulgar was Obscure and the first song I heard from DSS was Different Sense. Kyo’s crazy vocal range from death growls to shouts to cleans is what I first think of when I hear this band’s name, probably because those songs embody that side of this band. Had Arche been my first album of theirs I may have an entirely different idea of what defines their sound for me, but Arche was initially disappointing because it felt so much calmer then what I was used to from them. But I definitely think it’s a great album and have come to appreciate it for what it is, which is a mature and atmospheric, proggy yet stripped down metal album. It just lacks that aggressive craziness and experimentation that my favorite (DSS and Uroboros) or most nostalgic (Vulgar) albums of their have. My ratings for them are not really about what is better but what I enjoy more (although I should check what I rated some of their older albums because it’s been a long time since I rated them probably). I don’t think the new album is better than this one, it just has a sound that is closer to what I look from this band which is unrelentingly dark and heavy songs like Keibetsu to Hajimari and Devote My Life juxtaposed by beautiful ones like Aka and Ranunculus. That contrast is to me what makes this band special, especially vocally. There are people like myself who can sing somewhat competently but their real strength is harsh vocals. and others who can scream if needed but are mainly singers. But Kyo doesn’t fit either of those sides, he feels equally proficient at clean vocals and harsh vocals and I felt like Arche was 90% clean vocals which is fine in sukekiyo because they are a whole different entity, but TIW he really uses every tool at his disposal. Every member of DEG is great but if we’re being honest Kyo is the standout and I like when he goes all out and shows us everything he can do. On the other side of the spectrum TMOAB suffered because he used the same vocal style too much. I hope I am making sense because at this point in my rant I have pretty much forgotten what my point was lol. But yeah basically I don’t disagree with you, I just have a different perspective I think.

Album Rating: 5.0

@aubergine I love Kyo as a clean singer, so the idea of a Damnation-like album from them appeals to me a lot, especially since they seem to have largely lost the ability to write good riffs like those in Vinushka. TIW is heavier than this for sure, but that doesn't have much to do with quality.



Regarding simplicity, again, that and quality are not that related. There's a lot of simplicity here, but simplicity in a well-performed rock ballad is very different from simplicity in a bad attempt at metal with no good riffs. Ranunculus also sounds pretty lame compared to the ballads on Arche, though it's not much simpler per se.



More Kyo freakouts over good riffs would be good, but those good riffs aren't there anymore.

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

Well that’s understandable, I guess it just doesn’t bother me that much because if I want more mellow and melodic Kyo I’ll just listen to sukekiyo. I agree some riffs on TIW are uninspired like most of Utafumi for expample. But I love the riffs on other songs like Keibetsu to Hajimari. And Aka is basically Rinkaku part 2.

Album Rating: 5.0

@aubergine Aka is a highlight on TIW. The album's not totally without merit, but the bad outweighs the good for me.

Album Rating: 4.5

Crazy how much better this is than TIW :[

Album Rating: 4.0

Love how every comment on every DIG thread is shitting on TIW.