Review: Dir en grey - Glass Skin

I just realized that I haven't listened to a lot of Dir en grey lately, and I haven't reviewed anything in almost a month. With them being my favorite band and the main reason why I fell into Japanese Rock in the first place, I need to review something by them. Now. Something recent as well, since everyone that knows that Kisou exists has their own thoughts on it and those that are oblivious to it's existence won't go download it because it doesn't sound like Withering to death.. I have to review those two albums back to back one day, but for now I'm going to review Glass Skin because that's what happens to be playing at the moment.

01. Glass Skin
02. undecided
03. AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS -Unplugged-
04. Ryoujoku no Ame (LIVE take at YOKOHAMA BLITZ on May 23.2008)

My life will be so much easier when I get around to reviewing Uroboros....

GLASS SKIN	It’s a ballad. The mere saying might make you giggle but they haven’t released a ballad single since Kasumi. What makes this even better is that it’s actually good. It incorporates an unusual instrument in Dir en grey recordings – a piano – and that is the defining element in this song. Toshiya’s loud bass lines return in triumphant glory and mix well with the guitarists to create an audible yet intangible atmosphere. Kyo’s vocals aren’t what they used to be but they are no less brilliant. He can calm down the track with quiet vocals one second and louder ones the next. He’s even got a portion where he mutters words in English! A definite listen, although I find the music video bland and boring.	8/10
Undecided	I much prefer the re-recording B-sides to the lives, even though HYDRA -666- was br00tal to the point of deafness. When I first saw the tracklist, I was looking forward to seeing how this would come out. When I heard it I realized I didn’t remember what the original sounded like. Needless to say that upon comparison this version is better. It features a better balance of acoustics with bass and even carries a bit of Hispanic influence. Die also keeps his solo in this version so Die fans unite! In the way of lyrics, there happen to be a few new additions here and there but if you haven’t heard the original from Kisou you won’t know where they are. Just beautiful, and I happen to like this song more than Glass Skin.	10/10
AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS –Unplugged-	What did you expect, Joyful Shouts of Butterflies? This track is in no way accessible and is the epitome of what most people think when they hear the words “rock music”. Fear it. Fear it hard. Its unintelligible, digitally altered screaming is backed by a piano and it sounds like it came straight out of a B-movie. It’s only Kyo and Tadasuke here; none of the other members were insane enough to try to touch an acoustic guitar or a percussion set. If you like avant-garde music or tracks that just don’t sound like “mainstream music” because you’re too “hardcore” for some Hannah Montana I dare you to try this track. Otherwise, stay far, far away or risk your eardrums. Underneath all of this chaos, there’s something to it but it’s so obscure and muddy it’s not worth fishing out unless you’re a hardcore Diru fan. If you’ve never heard of Dir en grey before don’t even think of turning this on.	4/10
凌辱の雨 (LIVE take at YOKOHAMA BLITZ on May 23.2008)	Unlike its counterpart B-side live AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS on the Dozing Green single, it doesn’t carry any extra frills to differentiate it from the studio version. This leads me to wonder why this song is even included to begin with. It’s not an overlooked album “filler” that could be given a second chance, it’s the exact same version as the album, and it’s a crappier version of a single some of us own twice. It’s a nice addition and the recording is superb considering it’s a live recording and Dir en grey has put out worse, but it simply isn’t needed.	6/10

Ryoujoku no Ame's only on the limited edition version, so logic may tell you to get the regular edition. Then again, logic would have told you that the limited edition is "limited" and you might not be able to get your hands on it either way. I'm going to tell you that the first three tracks are included on the limited edition of Uroboros so it's either go limited or go home. Is it worth it? Debateable. Numerically, the single gets 70% but I believe the first two tracks are so good if you can't find that specific edition of Uroboros the single is worth buying. It all depends on what's available to you.