Dir en Grey: Withering to Death
J-rock has a reputation for producing some very unusual sounding bands to put it mildly. The likes of the Boredoms and more recently Melt-Banana have shown how raw noise can also be (usually) musical, while the Mad Capsule Markets and L’Arc en Ciel have taken the concept of heavy rock and fused it with other influences that work together in remarkably improbable combinations. Another name that often crops up is that of the Osaka outfit Dir en Grey, who have been recording together as a band with no change in line-up since 1997.
Their style has changed repeatedly over the past decade but the overall sound falls into the category of heavy rock: their roots can be found in Visual Kei but in recent years they have honed a more straight-up and hard-hitting approach that owes more to the Western definition of modern metal. For the most part the lyrics of Withering to Death are performed in their native Japanese but there is a definite hint of American and European influences in the musical style, with the distorted guitar riffs and catchy hooks.
The likes of Merciless Cult, C and Kodoku Ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku which open the album give a good idea of its intentions: pounding drum beats, distorted guitars and screaming, passionate vocals. Although they draw inspiration from mainstream ‘nu-metal’ Dir en Grey exhibit a refreshing degree of originality, which is in no small part down to the efforts of frontman Kyo. His vocals deliver the angst-ridden and double entendre-laden lyrics in a manner that varies from a soulful wail or quavering falsetto to blood-curdling howl and everything in between; how one man can produce such a wide variety of startling and sometimes inhuman sounds beggars belief.
Some songs on the album however are mellow ballads, such as the restrained and relatively tender Higeki Ha Mabuta Wo Oroshita Yasashiki Utsu, Spilt Milk and Itoshisa Ha Fuhai Nitsuki, which is reminiscent of INXS-inspired 80s stadium rock with distortion-free, jangling guitars and a solid bassline courtesy of four stringer Toshiya; others are death metal-esque sonic assaults such Saku and Beautiful Dirt whose relentless torrents of noise take no prisoners. The talents of drummer Shinya and the dual guitar section comprising of Die and Kaoru (all five band members use stage names, before you ask) deliver a complex and multi-layered sound whose intricacies and subtleties are not always apparent at first listen.
Although it is possible to draw comparisons (the elastic energy and tongue-in-cheek approach of Machiavellism is reminiscent of System of a Down for example), there is a distinct ’signature sound’ that gives Dir en Grey their identity. For instance, who else could create the gleeful mayhem of Garbage or Jesus Christ R’n'R? On the other hand, their long-standing pop sensibilities shine through on occasion: Dead Tree is surprisingly accessible, Kodou ends the record on a melodic note that packs a punch, and the HIM-style power ballad The Final has a radio-friendly quality but is nevertheless one of the album’s highlights.
In Summary
Fans of the heavier end of the musical spectrum ought to give Withering to Death a listen: it has all the hallmarks of a polished metal album but at the same time throws in a number of styles and approaches to lift it out of the goth-rock pigeonhole. Overall dark and bleak but nevertheless surprisingly varied, Dir en Grey’s fifth full-length effort is a refreshing change from the usual fare you read about in Kerrang! and Metal Hammer these days.
Tracklisting
- 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
- Spilt Milk
- Higeki Ha Mabuta Wo Oroshita Yasashiki Utsu
- Kodou
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