DIR EN GREY - 19990120

Reviews
1

Thanks to the nice members of our society, I got to hear 19990120 on 20240116, and not on 20240117.

  • Yurameki - Piano intro doesn’t surprise me that much, since they did have a piano intro back in 2014. However, this kickstart when the other instruments join does feel more thoughtful. I don’t remember OG yurameki that much, but this one sounds much more subdued and… mature? Dunno, I definitely like this approach. Chainsaw guitar solo good. Appreciate that preparing for the 2nd chorus… and why does it sound like there are new lyrics? Maybe it’s because it was a long time since I’ve heard the OG one. And I do appreciate that string-esque outro Yurameki has on the background.
  • Zan - GODDAMN GOOSEBUMPS. That intro is probably a callback to the 2009 ver, I guess? Oh shit, some creepy electronic noises on the background, those do add to the atmosphere. Okay, it’s a “Kyo sings while still chewing his breakfast” kind of remake… They did change the lyrics for the chorus, right? Sounds a bit different from the both version. Well shit, this is definitely has elements from both previous versions. And honestly? I prefer gangvocals over Kyo in this one. But ey, an interesting take on the classic song.
  • Akuro no Oka - good for them to record the wind noises from Acro Hill, points for authenticity. What’s the point in having acoustic guitars if you can’t even them. But ey, at least this acoustic guitar sounds more varied, compared to the OG (the pre-verse part). Y’know what I would LOVE to see from them? To aknowledge Takumi properly and continue as a 6-man band. He makes this shit interesting. OKAY, the way those dual guitars kick in for the solo make it goosebumpy.

Opening today’s gig with new version of Zan should have been an experience. Smth like I’ll->Zan, but Zan1999 intro->Zan2024.

12 Likes
2

Papa Kaoru can do no wrong, Kyo just needs to pick up the slack occasionally.

Yurameki - I love the arrangement. It sounds fresh and overall is a solid remake. Oddly enough, I prefer Kyo’s vocals on the original just barely.

Zan - The definitive version. The band took what worked with the original and 2009 remake and fused them into a classic. I enjoyed the 2009 Zan at the time when it was released; but the structure struggled from being wayy too repetitive. Being a similar length as the 2009 version, this one is vastly superior.

Akuro no Oka - Much closer to the original, and also much improved. Across all three songs, the band is taking older material from 25 years ago and infusing them with their modern songwriting prowess. Dir en grey today are far better musicians and songwriters than they were 25 years ago, and these updated versions of their early classics are a testament to that fact.

Also, the single art is bangin’. The grain on the cover gives an old school feel to it and I’m less likely to feel embarrassed displaying the art on this vs. a dude’s ass on Different Sense, or the pink monkey man on Sustain the Untruth.

6 Likes
3

Haha thatd be great if they did a show where they play all three versions of Zan.

4

like that live from cali≠gari that played the same song three times

3 Likes
5

Die’s solo in Yurameki reminded me of Tefutefu, very interesting (in a good way)

6

Ngl, the lower tuning on Akuro no Oka really makes it feel like MUCC’s ballad on Kuchiki no Tou or something.

Also, ZAN is really the hybrid version like i said many times before, but it’s kinda underwhelming compared to the previous iteration imo.

Instrumentally it’s awesome, they were able to include parts from the 2009 version with the keys from the original version, like the intro and the little breakdown section towards the end. But vocally speaking, this is where Kyo kinda disappoints me a bit, as he decides to go for high screams instead of a cleaner but crazier vocals like original or deep growls like the second version. I really tried liking this remake but Kyo’s vocals in here really annoys me.

I personally not gonna loop this version as much the other two.

As for Yurameki, well i don’t know if it’s my bias or something, but aside from admittedly nice piano intro, i found very few things to like about this remake. The lower tuning, the production and more importantly (Again) Kyo’s approach to vocals and melody, all of this didn’t fit the song at all (this is despite me liking Akuro no Oka which features all of this things mentioned EXCEPT that Kyo’s vocals is alot more pleasant to listen to)

But all of this is better than the New Mazohyst of Decadence which loses all of it’s insanity and shock value. (which is imo, the main selling point of the original version) at least the new version of ZAN still mostly kept the insanity of the original 1999 version intact. (Just less impactful)
I know alot of you hate Kyo’s vocals on the original Mazohyst (and the extra 4 minutes) but that is the point of the song imo.

Also i’m curious if they going to rerecord the entirety of Gauze eventually but i doubt that they’ll do Raison D’etre, 304 goushitsu, Cage, and Yokan any justice, but also curious on how they would do Schwein on Isu, Mitsu to Tsuba and oddly, the SE. I knew that the SE sounds like a bait and switch, as there’s only a few songs that fit with the SE imo (Namely Schwein, Mitsu and Zan) maybe i just so happen to be one of few people that like -Mode of Adam- and -Mode of Eve-

2 Likes
7

They already did Tsumi to Batsu
Cage has a live-arranged version too, they could do that one like they did mazohyst and Byo""Shin.

8

No, I mean a new version closer to the original like what they did to ZAN, the 2011 version will always be Tsumi no Kisei for me. (They did play the original version on Psychonnect 14)

9

I’m a guitar guy so the tuning comment had me go relisten and watch the vid to make sure lol. Yurameki wasn’t in a lower tuning. It was in Standard E tuning and both Kaoru and Die are playing with 6 strings. But given how the mixing is similar to the other 2 songs, i can see why you’d say so.

10

I love how straight they played these remakes

yurameki and akuro no oka are pure upgrades but I’m not sure how I feel about zan. it’s tough to recapture the magic of zan

1 Like
11

Well somehow DIR EN GREY did something unexpected in my time of listening to em. And that’s drop 2 bad releases in a row. I loathed PHALARIS and now this.

Yurameki-There isn’t much to say here about this one. Its just a lifeless and flat redo of the OG version. I got more life out of the PSYCHONNECT live and the mixing wasn’t the best on that either. OG version all the way.

0/10

ZAN-This is on the mount Rushmore of Remakes. Both versions are ballin in their own right and represent 2 focal eras of the band. Blending them together in this manner is the best of both worlds. The questionable mix works here because this sounds like it was a tightly rehearsed shot in one take (or this edible is kickin too hard). The double edged sword here is that (i can tell) Kaoru and Die recorded with 6 strings and used the OG standard E tuning. Great cuz both elements are key to the formation of Zan.

Downside? 6 strings. And DIR mainly plays with 7 Strings. I can’t see this being a staple outside of a GAUZE tour. I’m hoping we get a live recording of this soon, But that will probably be it? Its too convenient to play the 2011 version since that is also played on a 7 string.

10/10

Akuro- This would be another 10/10 song but that stupid ass riff in between parts is so fucking cheesy. It ruins a song that i other wise didn’t think Id want a remake for but (WOULD) greatly appreciate.

2/10

I love Kaoru but someone should’ve slapped that nigga on the side of his head.

If you JUST gave me Zan and or even threw in an instrumental of Zan as the single, this is 10 out of 5 hands down. Id say this is the second best single of modern DEG since RINKAKU.

This as a whole?
1.5/5

5 Likes
12

Akuro no oka was amazing to me, one of the best re-recordings I’ve heard

2 Likes
13

Honestly I thought all three songs were worse than the originals, but then again I haven’t liked any of their rerecordings since 2018.
I’d much prefer new music

4 Likes
14

I actually think this is the first batch of totally successful re-recordings. None stray too far from their original counterparts and embrace what made those songs good.

I like the piano opening to Yurameki. Gives it some flavor and distinguishes it from it’s Gauze counterpart. I wasn’t sure if Kyo could still hit the notes so I’m glad to see he can. If they can still play Yurameki after all this time, perhaps there’s hope for some more of their deep cuts to see the light of day live.

For being the second reinterpretation of this song, Zan is good because they embraced the insanity of the original. I’m glad Kyo doesn’t use his gutturals until the end - this type of delivery is about as close as we’re going to get to him using his middle range. Some people call it a fusion of old and new Zan but that would be 85/15 at best IMO. They really stuck to the original formula here and it paid off!

Akuro no Oka is lovely if not a bit too long (still). In breaking with the previous two tracks, I think I prefer the remake to the original. I could not sit through the original before getting bored. The extra string embellishments and the acoustic guitar before the solo help flesh out the song and turn the boring parts into something slightly less boring. Did he add new lyrics to this song?

I’m gonna hold all future re-recordings to this standard. Don’t try to metal up perfectly good tracks that don’t need it.

6 Likes
15

Yurameki is fine, I guess. Not better than the original, but also not significantly worse. New melodic guitar solo is nice.

Zan is the best thing here. Melds elements of the original and the 2009 remake to great effect. I also like Toshiya’s overdriven and punky approach to the quick little bass break.

Akuro no Oka has more variety than the original while still somehow sounding underdeveloped. The half time acoustic section in particular just sounds like a placeholder. And holy crap Shinya is loud here. It’s especially apparent during the aforementioned acoustic part where his snare is just ringing out like cannon shots.

Overall it’s… fine. I personally prefer remakes over rerecordings.

1 Like
16

let’s deal with this beast

YURAMEKI - The original is one of my favorites of theirs, and an absolute classic in the visual kei canon, so it was an hard task to work with this one. The previews deceived me hard, at first I claimed this was “just og yurameki with an worse mix”, but I was very wrong. It’s not their most imaginative remake admittedly, but the changes and additions make this an more mature take of the song. If this is an good thing, it’s upon the ears of the beholder.

ZAN - I’m gonna say it: I used to despise the original ZAN. And didn’t much cared for the dum-spiro-sperofied version of the song, I think it’s better than the original, but if I wanted brutality, they have better songs that offer this. But I learned to appreciate their value with time. ZAN - part 3 - Electric Boogabo is the version of the song that made me like ZAN, actually like. I will listen to this, so like, congrats guys, you made me like ZAN. It’s the definitive version, period.

AKURO NO OKA - I like almost all of Darren gray long boys, but I must join the choir: the original Akuro no Oka is too long. I think it’s in parts an great song, Kyo’s cleans sound gorgeous on the og, the instrumentals are beautiful. But it’s also meandering and repetitive. And the remake suffers from the same sins of it’s father. They missed an perfect good chance to distillate what makes the good parts of the original in an focused 5 minutes ballad. The remake keeps the same review of the original: “Yeah, it’s fine, I guess, but why 8 minutes?”

I like what I hear, it isn’t mind-blowing, and we know what an bad diru remake sounds like. We not only dodged a bullet, but also hit an perfectly good target. It’s an good songwriting flex to take these old songs and make them mature versions of themselves, like this always was what they were supposed to sound like

Shinya was so happy they were going back to 1999, that he made himself two times louder in the mix so he can takatakataka his way back in time to avoid Marrow of a Bone to ever happen

5 Likes
17

There’s something about the Yurameki remake that hits me in a really intimate spot. I spent the first few minutes of it kind of bored but then near the back half, right after the solo, it all sorta coalesced and I almost started crying. I felt a tangible pang of longing and loss in my chest and in my throat. I could feel the emotional arc of the song

Whatever issues I may have with this release, this recording of Yurameki elicited a strong emotional reaction in me, and because of that alone I have to call this a success, at least as far as I’m concerned

6 Likes
18

I also wrote this in the DeG thread but I think the old recordings are better, lol.
This would have been better as some part of a bonus cd when they release another album or something, these weak re-recordings don’t work as a standalone single. Are they… lazy? Because now they can be quiet for another 6 months again without fans asking for another single… Disappointed.

19

tbh, I really enjoy these three tracks and the rework of Zan didn’t let me down. I know many people prefer the old one released back in the days, but I’m a metalhead so I choose 2009 re-recorded version, and this 2024 re-recorded version. both are awesome beyond my imagination.
as for other tracks, well, just other masterpieces by DeG, what else to say and what else will you ask for?
they need to release an album full of re-recorded tracks like D.I.D. ever did with the “album” “Paranoid Personality”.
10/10, feel free to call me a fanboy of DeG, cuz we’re all fanboys and fangirls. what? you’re a critic? okay, I’ll take a coke and shrug.

6 Likes
20

Bit late to this party due to international shipping. Here’s my knee-jerk reaction after one listen.

Yurameki sounds wonderful at the beginning. I love the piano so much… then the full band comes in, and this is where the problems start.
Actually, they start before that. Kyo’s vocals over this whole single are crushed and boxy. So overly compressed. Weirdly, Kyo is absolutely drowned in Zan. He’s mixed too low. Crushed yet quiet. Compare the start of Yurameki to when he starts singing in Zan. Doesn’t sound great. I miss the unrestrained insanity of the original.
Akuro no Oka is better. The strings are nice. It suffers from the same issues as the rest. I always adored this song, so have a bit of a soft spot for it.

To get to the point, the real issue is Shinya. He sucks. Not even sorry; he’s objectively bad here. He does seem to actually play some of the fills and so on, but the main body of it is all programmed, which sticks out tremendously alongside the rest of the live instruments. I do like programmed electronic music… however, in this setting, it’s so lifeless when the songs crave vitality. Also: WHY? A good drummer can perform a take in the same time-frame as the song itself. But programming drums takes bloody hours, and it never sounds as good. So why the heck he wants to go this route, who the hell knows. Maybe… maybe he’s just bad? But I’ve seen them live a few times, and he’s fine there. I don’t understand this decision at all.
The rest of the band sounds okay. A bit sloppy in places, and the guitar tones are kinda blah, but it’s all right.

Here’s the other main issue. It feels very much like each part was recorded in isolation. Even though each band member has energy (except Shinya), they don’t quite gel together. I’ve been saying this for ages now: they need to start recording their albums live. Practice a ton, get the songs how they want them, bang them out in the studio, select the best takes, and clean them up in post. A great example of this is X.Y.U. by Smashing Pumpkins. That song was recorded live in studio, and it shows. Full of vitriol, piss, and vinegar. I’ve heard that song hundreds of times and it still puts me on the edge of my seat. Goosebumps and all. This sterile precious prissy crap DEG is putting out nowadays has none of that. It’s not dangerous, it’s not exciting, and goddamn it, even if the songs are great, they’re neutered by the band’s terrible recording practices; they’re simply not allowed to spread their wings. Case in point: the live performances of TIW compared to the studio versions. Night and day.

Overall: Yeah, this was disappointing. DEG needs a new producer; someone who isn’t afraid to say “no”, someone who not only understands the band but also can drag them kicking and screaming out of this little box they built. They need to trust someone other than themselves. I hope very much that this was just them clocking in for the 25th. At least they did something.

I have a feeling the best of this single is on the Blu-ray… gotta find time to watch that.

4 Likes