DIR EN GREY Tier list/Ranking

[Zetsu]

First, this is based completely in my personal and emotional taste. Next, comments about it:
TMB is good when I’m angry, other than that I just check the slow songs.
Six Ugly well… It’s fun I guess??
The Unraveling is really cool but I don’t think a remake EP deserves a higher position, even when I really like some of them

MISSA is pure 90’s vkei greatness
My problem with DSS and Arche is the same, the albums’ length.
But I like more the DSS songs, sorry Arche fans

Next row is pure greatness, I could do a solo post with each album. ANd I love TIW sorry not sorry.

About the top tier I’ll just explain why Macabre:
I think is Dir en grey at their purest form: random with an unique aura.
Gauze felt like they were trying to hard to be trendy, popular. Macabre on the other hand feels like a bunch of random ideas put together and I love that!!! Kisou it’s like that too, but I think I have more feelings for Macabre since I have a psychical copy lol

That’s it, maybe one day I’ll go album per album, but I don’t have time right now.
How about you? post your own Dir en grey’s tier list

Create a DIR EN GREY Albums & EPs Tier List

[Total_Saikou]

Ooh, this looks like fun! I’m gonna warn y’all, my takes are kinda hot but this is just my personal opinion after all.

Old skewl Diru was amazing. Need I say more? Peeps say that Kisou sucks but I will defend it with my last breath. The Domestic Fucker Family is my jam. The transition period albums like WtD and MoB are also really good. Arche hit a sweet spot for me.

If TIW were mastered better, then it would be higher on the list, but oh my God their engineer made a huge oopsie on that one. Regarding Macabre… Yeah, I dunno, I like it but I also don’t like it… It’s complicated.

And yes, I’m open with the fact that I could never get through DSS or Uroboros without falling asleep or quitting. I tried to like them but man, I don’t get it… In all honesty, they’ve left a seriously sour taste in my mouth because they were my first exposure to the band which caused me to sleep on Diru for years.

[NowhereGirl]

Everything’s in S-tier because it’s all excellent. I know I’m a dumb fangirl. I just prefer some albums more than others (the order may change depending on how I feel).

Yes, Gauze is fourth from the bottom and MISSA is dead last.
Kisou is #1. I would fuck this album.

• Kisou, VULGAR, UROBOROS, Withering, and ARCHE are all perfect.
• MARROW, MACABRE, DSS are fantastic but all have a song that makes the album drag.
• six Ugly is wonderful but too short.
• GAUZE was before they found their voice (same with MISSA). Some songs are a bit saggy, despite the classics.
• The Unraveling has some misses but when it hits, it hits hard (MACABRE remake especially).
• TIW was the first release that really made me question the direction the band was taking. It feels lazy in many regards, from the songwriting to the brutal sequencing. It also sounds like shit. I’ve spoken about this before at length.
• MISSA sounds so dated, it’s sad. This is when they were still trying to copy other artists to fit into the VK scene, and it shows. It’s not bad, it’s just not my thing unless I’m in the mood.

[shinganmousou]

Uroboros: Every song has a piece of the past, a few new risks that really pay off, and every member’s full performance. I like this album’s overall mood more than anything, and every song sounds just unique enough to hold it all together.

WTD/Vulgar/Gauze: There are so many hits across these three albums. Plenty of songs you’d think to introduce someone to the band with. Some bad or unoriginal sections from these, but nothing too bad.

Kisou/Macabre/Six Ugly/DSS: In all these, the band really bends a few different styles to their shape
(Alternative, Progressive, Heavy Metal and Metalcore). I think they do it well in each one. Some songs in them that I’ll always skip but never delete.

Unraveling/MOAB/TIW/Arche: In these I hear a few good songs, and many interesting parts of songs, but never anything special. They sound good enough to listen all the way through, but I don’t usually. These all had to grow on me.

Missa: Same issue as the last group, but some of the songs sound underwritten, hard to grasp, or flat to me. I like plenty of things about the sound they had here, but I prefer one half of the songs to the other.

[noseonme]

@NowhereGirl

Kisou is #1. I would fuck this album.

Absolutely the best album I’ve ever listen to. I repeated all Kisou’s songs several times.

[Total_Saikou]

I am totally here for the fellow Kisou love in this thread, it was unfairly labelled as poo-poo on MH. Glad to see this forum’s culture embracing this classic

[Zetsu]

Let’s make a party only with Kisou songs

[zeus]

This is really hard. Ask me on a different day and my answers might change. In fact, I might come back later and redo the list when I’m not so tired.

Now before I get flayed, lemme explain why I put 鬼葬 in last place.

• There are four pretty weak instrumentals to hide the fact that they couldn’t organize the track list in a coherent manner. Sonic whiplash is the best way to describe 鬼葬.
• “24個シリンダー” and “逆上堪能ケロイドミルク” are recycled B-sides and they’re among the best tracks on the album.
• Not a fan of any of the singles except “FILTH”. “embryo” is legit hard to listen to.
• “T.D.F.F.” is a classic, but it’s not that great of a song.
• “ZOMBOID” and “Pink Killer” can go.
• No “Ain’t Afraid to Die”, but we found room for “JESSICA”.

Seriously the second half of the CD is carried by “undecided” and “蟲 -mushi-”. Album should end at “蟲 -mushi-”. 鬼葬 has the highest amount of tracks that I consider filler, and if I cut it down to just the essentials I find it works much better as a mini. And just so y’all know, I’m writing this while listening to 鬼葬, and my thoughts haven’t changed any.

Enough ranting about 鬼葬. I ranked TMOAB down there with it because it’s a very one-note album, despite the three slow songs being the apex of the listening experience. The rest is just metalcore that blends together rather forgetfully. Even so, I think TMOAB has less “throwaway tracks” than 鬼葬.

DSS and Arche are two halves of the same coin to me, each as uninteresting as the other. I’d probably rate DSS > Arche, because at least when DSS came out it was new. ARCHE feels like a retreading of the same ideas. I agree with the earlier consensus about Missa feeling a little underdeveloped, but it’s their first release so they’re allowed to sound that way.

Everything in the B-tier is approaching stuff I listen to once in a blue moon. I would have ranked TIW lower had I not had the pleasure of seeing Dir en grey live, which gave me a new appreciation for the album. I probably listen to the re-recordings on THE UNRAVELING the least out of all the albums listed in B-tier, but I’d be lying if I said MACABRE rerec wasn’t god tier. I like six Ugly a lot and think it’s smack in the middle of all of their albums, but I do remember when it came out it was hated specifically because it wasn’t 鬼葬. Probably the only album here I wouldn’t change in any capacity. Withering to death. is a good album where the middle is the most disappointing part. We could honestly do without “Jesus Christ R’ n R” and “GARBAGE”.

VULGAR and GAUZE are classics in their own right. GAUZE in particular is a bit long in the tooth with the instrumentals, “MASK”, and “Mazohyst of Decadence”, which I always skip because who voluntarily invites depression into their life? VULGAR has “明日無き幸福、呼笑亡き明日” which I skip over each time, but honestly it’s not that bad of a track. Both of these are peak Diru at different stages in their career, and used to be a great introduction to the band. Probably still is, but doesn’t reflect their current sound much.

MACABRE and UROBOROS are where it’s at for me, although these albums are not without fault either. I just categorize them as albums I enjoy the most. I have the unpopular opinion that MACABRE should end with the title track, the last two tracks can be chopped off, and “羅刹国” and “audrey” can be reshuffled into the track list somehow. As far as UROBOROS goes, I barely listen to “我、闇とて･･･” and the English versions of “Dozing Green” and “Glass Skin”, and I think the remaster is horrible sounding, but the rest of it is surprisingly solid.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[nomemomemon]

Mostly decided off of albums I found to be most impactful. Some of these might change based on the day.

[Tanishi]

Uroborus is the only one I enjoy all the way through but Macabre would be the same tier too if it ended at the title track. My enjoyment of the rest of their discography varies but most their stuff has at least a few killer tracks

Edit: it looks like I like Marrow of a Bone more than most here

[EvilHippy]

Missa: I can’t get into it. Maybe tolerable to S (since I was listening to it back in 2009), but I try not to touch Missa at all. Maybe they should re-write this whole EP someday.
DSS: It is very suffocating for me to listen to it through. There are some songs that I genuinely like (especially Rasetsukoku, haha), but listening to the whole album straight? No. Maybe, if I was much older I would appreciate it. But, at the age of 16, DSS felt too much for me.
Macabre: 73 minutes, really? But, to be honest… The only way I would listen to this album is by watching Mode of Macabre. Dislike how Kyo sounds, how some songs are too weird and quirky, can’t get into original Rasetsukoku, and holy shit too many long songs for my taste. Still, KR Cube is fun, Egnirys is pretty unique, and… Wake is nice to listen to? Still, it’s not what I would listen to regularly.
Gauze: Oh no, vk territory. Yeah, I’m not into their VK stuff. Can listen to Schwein no Isu and Tsumi to Batsu, but I can’t listen to Yokan/Cage and others unironically. I actively try to avoid Mazohyst of Decadence, it makes me uneasy with this creepy intro and sludgy tone (throw Tsumi to Kisei in and burn them together).
Unraveling: So. After DSS suffocated me and Rinkaku gave some breathing room, I was cautiously optimistic for their new stuff. Aha, “new”. That’s when I started hating Tue Madsen’s mixing, honestly. Something about these drums bugs me a lot. And EP… Well, couldn’t get into the titular Unraveling while re-takes were either in-between “alright” and “it’s not the same song”. Would highlight Kasumi for new details (like the vocal intro and that beautiful solo), and Macabre’s remake is something else…
WtD: So, when I only started listening to Diru, I was downloading random songs from 1 Russian website with pirated music. And somehow I managed to get whole WtD, bit by bit. Good blend of catchy songs, ballads and sprinkled heaviness. Nowadays I only listen to VoS version of Beautiful Dirt (for some reason, original just throws me off. Especially during the chorus, where I think that Kyo screams at a different pace than instruments). Also, Kodoku ni Shisu was ruined by live takes… Hm, probably should have put it higher, but I don’t feel like I love WtD that much.
Arche: At first I LOVED this album. Felt like a fresh air after three years of suffocation. However, this freshness faded away too quick. This album has too fillers for my taste. Tefu Tefu should be on a Disk 1. Magayasou should go away. And there are too many formulaic songs (like they took STU as a blueprint and made almost whole album by this blueprint). Still, Arche has some favourites of mine like Cause of Fickleness (YES, SOME FUN STUFF AFTER TOO SERIOUS OOGA-BOOGA), Midwife, Kaishun (just gorgeous), Tefu Tefu… and I like some Uroko and Phenomenon. But they put Un Deux and Revelation of Mankind on VoS and I don’t get that.
Uroboros: Yeah, I don’t like it that much. I didn’t heard it on release (I think I only started listening to Diru in 2008?), and later… Well, I heard Hageshisa before Gaika, so I wrote Gaika-off as a beta version of Hageshisa. I prefer Before Construction Ver. of Dozing Green. Stuck Man is not my thing. Still, this album has a lot of gems for which I can respect this album (Toguro and Doukoku to Sarinu FTW). And I remember I acapella’ed english Glass Skin in school for a grade (because I forgot to put it on my flash drive).
Kisou: 24ko Cylinder, Embryo, Kigan, Zomboid, The Domestic Fucker Family, Undecided, Mushi (one of first 2 Diru songs I have ever heard). Re-record Pink Killer and I’ll be alright with these songs. Burn Gyakujo. I hate Gyakujo.
TMOAB: I guess I’m a dumb bitch, but I like this metalcore sound, huh. Guitars sounds nice to my ear, Kyo’s extreme vocals are unprofessional AF, but are more aggressive and punch-y, imo. Shouldn’t have re-recorded Clever Sleazoid, though. Also, should highlight Grief (second of first 2 Diru songs I have ever heard), it made my jaw drop back back then.
Vulgar: Oh yeah, baby. Perfect balance of heavy (but not too heavy) and fun stuff. Guitars are juicy, drums aren’t annoying af… My only gripe would be that despite Obscure being popular by its PV, I don’t like the song that much (still better than 2011 ver. though).
Six Ugly: Dumb fun without anything dragging it down. Kinda like a short, dumb action movie that is all flashy, but has no deep meaning. Would be awesome to hear this EP live.
TIW: I prefer this mastering over whatever Tue Madsen has done, bite me. Even if I don’t like Celebrate Empty Howls and Zetsuentai, I’m still in love with this album. This love is on the irrational side, but with TIW I have so much fun. Overall, this album cycle experience reminded me of rollercoaster a bit. Got hyped by Utafumi, then was mildly disappointed by Ningen (felt rehashed), more or less liked Ranunculus, but then Aka leaked and it was something else. And then I got GIGAHYPED after listening to Values of Madness.
Like, I also like 2nd half of the album (Followers is perfect for these melancholic evenings, Keigaku no Yoku knows when it’s time to stop being brutal and Ranunculus is a nice lullaby after this madness), but I’m glad they wrote so many heavy songs for this album. Keibetsu is a pure banger, Devote puts me in some psychotic trance, Ningen was fixed (BLESSING TO LOSE HEART got much more oomph), and Rubbish Heap… oh, Rubbish Heap. 10 sec teaser of RH just subverted my expectations. And then this teaser part appeared at the perfect moment possible.

So, yeah. Inadequate Tier List, but I’m not planning to dethrone TIW yet.

[nekkichi]

there’s an added layer to their 1999-2005 span (that vaguely ended after clever sleazoid): their production values for the entire package that combined visuals, videography, music and pushing the VK canon in terms of conceptuality of it all really were on top of the entire scene at the time.

there will be no other Japanese band putting as much work into delivering something creative and cohesive exceeding over their own achievement the entire time.
while there’s no shortage of good musicians, interesting vocal approaches, great attire makers, talnted stylists, there’s a glaring problem with VK video makers doing the bare minimum on the piss poor budget they are handed over. Deg at their prime did not have that problem.

other popular acts of the time sometimes had money to afford a nice location and a couple prop actors, but it amounted to a decade of flashy forgettable mediocrity with pre-botoxed Gackt staring on camera deer eyed, and fresh faced Hyde convincing himself he could act.

Gazette can wreck a car to sell an album once now, but Deg filmed embryo back when good sisters were still a nasty thought in Tomomi Ozaki’s back of the mouth, and it still holds up better.

otherwise I can’t say much regarding their music I haven’t already said on MH; the ranking thing was fun, I have listened to total of maybe 12 deg songs off their vestige of screeching bundle over past 2 years, and gave ochita a spin or two.

their next album will likely fall next to arche in my personal rankings.

I appreciate every person who discovered them during the era when they temporarily dropped the visual scene chasing the fat guy dollar confiding in us btw - this is really the most bizzarely fascinating read I can only imagine seeing how I’m largely detached from other music scenes, and really don’t know what the real music enjoyers get off to. I didn’t know I needed this sort of an external pespective on what we VK peasants either stanned hard, or collectively ignored entirely past a certain point.

[soinatos]

Here’s the correct opinion!

[blacktooth]

I was about to grace your presence with an incoherent tier list, but then I got distracted by the opportunity to make something even more unhinged.

[wing]

kisou is fav, vulgar is probably what I’ve played most over the years, and I’m rlllly into arche.

sixugly gets its placement exclusively because of how much i love ugly. all the other songs on it i’m not into at all.

d tier should have been a lower letter, i rly hate those two albums and there’s a huge gulf between tier c which im not hugely into but can still really enjoy, and which have some songs i love individually, and d, which i hate.

[EvilHippy]

Unraveling at the top? Now that’s something new

[pingpongdream]

I’m not a big fan of THE UNRAVELING but MACABRE-remake- is a masterpiece.

[soinatos]

I don’t get why, Karma, Bottom of the death valley, Karasu, Macabre remakes are all fucking amazing, easily some of their best work.

[EXCEDRIN]

Facts are facts

[soinatos]

Man, I can never get how people rank Vulgar and Kisou so high.