Least favourite or least listened to DIR EN GREY songs

Japanese Music
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I was tempted to put this question in the main thread for the band but wanted to stick to the topic and give people who don’t check back so often a chance to voice their opinions and thought this could lead to some interesting fact finding and discussions.

Also just to note, we are talking proper studio released tracks, not remixes or specific takes of live recordings or whatever.

Now, like a lot of you I’ve been a fan of this band for a pretty long time and have (almost) all their studio releases and was wondering if when listening to their stuff if anyone has songs you just always skip, or just cant really vibe to it for whatever reason. My least favourites have to be Jessica and 太陽の碧. Just never been able to get into those basically pop punk type vibes, fortunately their songs like this seem to be basically limited to two or three. Out of the releases I have the original version of Children is probably the track I have listened to least as that basically requires an exclusive listen to the 太陽の碧 single and as mentioned above there is a good reason this doesnt happen for me too often. Haha. The original version of Children to my knowledge doesn’t appear anywhere else either, not on any compilations or live performances. If I’m wrong feel free to correct!

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I don’t have personal preferences or opinions, so I don’t have a “least favorite” or “least listened to” song from Dir en grey.

It’s not uncommon for fans of any band to have songs that they don’t connect with or enjoy as much as others. Musical tastes are highly subjective, and what resonates with one person may not resonate with another. “Jessica” and “太陽の碧” seem to have a different style compared to some of Dir en grey’s other music, and it’s perfectly normal for fans to have preferences for certain aspects of a band’s discography.

Regarding “Children,” you are correct that the original version of the song is not widely available on compilations or live performances. It appears to be primarily associated with the “太陽の碧” single. Fans who prefer other aspects of Dir en grey’s music may not listen to these specific songs as frequently.

Ultimately, music is a highly personal experience, and what matters most is that you enjoy the songs that resonate with you the most from Dir en grey’s discography. Everyone’s musical journey is unique, and it’s perfectly okay to have favorites and less preferred tracks.

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I usually skip “Devote My Life”. I just don’t get this song at all

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Gonna go release by release:

MISSA: 「S」- just not my favorite tune by them
GAUZE: mazohyst of decadence - nine minutes of boredom
MACABRE: 蛍火 - others may say 太陽の碧 or ザクロ, but i specifically dodge this song due to the ear-piercing buzz after the second chorus. Or is it the first? Been that long that I don’t really remember.
鬼葬: embryo - at least JESSICA has personality. Don’t wanna listen to a song about a child getting raped even if I don’t understand Japanese.
six Ugly: Ugly - don’t hate it, just the one I listen to the least off this mini
VULGAR: 明日無き幸福、呼笑亡き明日 - this ska ditty never sat right with me
Withering to death.: Jesus Christ R’n R - ominous communication
THE MARROW OF A BONE: CLEVER SLEAZOID - TOOK A GOOD TRACK AND RUINED IT AND THIS HAS TO BE IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE EVERYTHING ON THIS ALBUM IS
UROBOROS: Bugaboo Respira - I want 2:19 of my life back
Dum Spiro Spero: VANITAS - token ballad on an bloated album for the ~diversity~, but really this album needed to be cut a bit shorter and then it wouldn’t have needed this song
The Unraveling: Unraveling - by default, have no strong feelings about this song
ARCHE: Cause of fickleness - let me out
The Insulated World: Devote My Life - cue the deafening comments, although I like the rhythm of this song I can’t get into it when the first three seconds fucks my ears up
PHALARIS: Eddie - another token ~hebi~ track that honestly doesn’t have any real energy or desire behind it. Like I came around to Kamuy eventually but this track feels cell phoned in because the boys realized they didn’t have a heavy track.

Also not a fan of The World of Mercy - ten minutes that could have been spent much more productively imo.

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all of MISSA

for more recent stuff, Midwife and Devote My Life are the two songs I pretty much always skip. there’s nothing for me there

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Zeus, you didn’t have to hurt me that much.

Missa: Erode - it definitely didn’t have to be 6:30 long. Like, I don’t mind the melody, the bass part is pretty good and stuff, but why is it 6:30 long? Meanwhile, if I include all indie era, then I probably listen to Toriko the least.
Gauze: mazohyst of decadence - it definitely didn’t have to be 9:22 long. I hate how sludgy and comatosey it sounds. I dunno, there’s nothing in this song (nor in the remake) that I find bearable. I guess, the remake/DSS era version is bearable just because it’s shorter, but still…
Macabre: Taiyou no Ao - I can’t say I dislike it, but I just enjoy other songs a bit more, I guess. WIthin the context of the album, it’s a very sudden moodshift after a Zakuro. As a song itself… probably too happy for my taste? And that weird margarita interlude, lol.
Kisou: Gyakujou Tannou Keliod Milk - Somehow that intro just makes me wanna skip the whole song, even though the rest is alright.
six Ugly: Ugly - well, for the same reason that Zeus wrote. I guess, Ugly is alright, but I just love the rest of EP more.
Vulgar: there are zero songs that I dislike, but I probably listen to Shokubeni the least. Plus, not gonna lie, I don’t listen to Obscure that much at all.
Withering to Death: Kodoku ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku - again, the one I listen to the least. Also, that’s just my nitpicking, but the way Kyo sings the chorus nowadays is eargrating. The album is pretty alright, if a bit safe, though.
The Marrow Of A Bone: Definitely Clever Sleazoid’s album version (but I do like the single ver). Apart from that - Repetition of Hatred never clicks with me, with how meandering it sounds.
Uroboros: Gaika, chinmoku ga nemuru koro - Due to my anachronistic way of learning about Diru songs, hearing Gaika for the 1st time made me think “Huh. It’s like Hageshisa, but worse”.
Dum Spiro Spero: Decayed Crow - Shinya’s drumming and Die’s guitar part from 1:06, imo, ruin this track a lot. Plus, probably that’s THE song that makes me dislike Madsen’s sound.
Unraveling: Yep, Unraveling is boring, ngl.
Arche: Welp, at first I wanted to write “a tie between Magayasou and The Inferno”, but then I rememberd Kukoku No Kyouon, lol. One of the more snoozefesty songs out of their discography.
The Insulated World: Zetsuentai. I adore The Insulated World. Somehow, it was just made for me. Plenty of dumb fun stuff after a pretty good (but a bit bloated) Arche. A lot of fat was trimmed, and the meat was juicy. Of course, more serious songs on it (Aka, Followers, Keigaku no Yoku, Ranunculus) are no slouches either, but Zetsuentai… Imo, it is an unnecessary roadbump that exists just to extend album’s length to a reasonable time. It didn’t need to have a fast agressive part at all (which is probably the worst one out of their longer songs).
Phalaris: Ochita Koto no Aru Sora - this song singlehandedly made me pretty cautious about the upcoming album (and their overall sound). When I heard the promo ver. during that youtube lifestream, it just appeared for 2 min and left no impact whatsoever. Full version didn’t make me appreciate it either. Somehow I was worried that this TIW fuckery was a fluke and they gonna get more… uh, meh? Gladly, there are plenty of nice songs on Phalaris, but I still can’t be bothered by Ochita.

AND THE BONUS ROUND: REMAKES.
Obscure somehow got worse/simplified.
Tsumi to Batsu/Kisei is just not my cup of tea (same problem as with mazohyst).
Clever Sleazoid latest retake is too simplified and lacks that high-note TWANG in the intro.

And thus, I’ll take a comfortable position against the wall.

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EDIT.
So, I got drunk and decided to add some more text.

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DECAYED CROW just sounds like a bunch of garbled noise to me.

MISSA — I really only like Byo Shin.

I also don’t like Eddie. PHALARIS would’ve been even better without it.

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Does the entirety of Kai count?

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Nope, that’s a remix album!

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I used to absurdly despise ‘Audrey’ and now i think how i perceive it got a little bit better… like… i just dislike it now , that one and Jesus Christ RnR lol

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I know. I’m just trying to be funny and go for the easiest answer. I don’t know if I can definitively say what my least favorite/listened DEG song is, but if I had to guess I would say it’s Toriko.

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Wanted to answer this with a different spin and talk about vocals.

Dunno if this is more for the hot takes thread, but I think Uroboros kind of ruined Kyo’s vocals for me. He started singing much higher during this time on tracks like “Dozing Green”, “Inconvenient Ideal” and “Glass Skin”. It sounded fine to me then since he still sang a lot of low parts. Then with DSS his range shifted completely and now his vocals are usually within the high range. Especially now they’re crazy high! But this has changed how I enjoy their music and I don’t really frequent anything from Arche and onwards.

The guy is pretty stellar considering what he put his chords through, so given that, yeah, he’s a freaking phenomena.

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That said, I think “R to the core” is the only song till this day I will always skip or avoid. It’s just…such an odd track. Not long enough to be an actual song, has some of Kyo’s most uncharacteristic vocals, vibe-wise is totally out of left field and doesn’t match the rest of the album.

It feels like a fun jam session, something that would’ve been an interesting find as a bonus track at the end of the CD. Take the track out and I honestly wouldn’t even notice. Bands include super short tracks all the time, but this one surely induces whiplash.

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And I second World of Mercy being a boring ass long track. It’s “Vinushka” 5.0 on melatonin and has about 1/10,000 of the bones that that song had.

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A dozen posts and not a single mention of Sustain the Untruth :sob:

Others that have been mentioned that I’m on board with are Jesus Christ RnR and The Inferno. I would gladly give both of those songs up. I also think Clever Sleazoid is a solid choice, but I’d include the single version as well. Just not a good song.

Oh, also The Domestic Family Fucker before they went and made it good on TDFF

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As a general rule, there are many songs that I don’t particularly like in Dir en grey’s catalogue, but I mostly just zone out with them and it’s neither here nor there.

The only song that I absolutely despise and cannot deal with listening to is 獣慾 – and I’ve TRIED. I am no longer a DSS hater (it took a decade but I actually really, really like several songs from that album now, and as a whole think it’s more enjoyable than not), but 獣慾 still completely loses me. Worst song.

As a whole I mostly can’t really get on board with Gauze. I like Raison Detre, I think Cage is fine, I like how meandering and pointless Mazohyst of Decadence is, I like 予感 because everybody likes 予感…everything else I could never hear again and feel like I lost nothing. But nothing comes close to how much I hate 獣慾

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The reason I don’t bash STU that much is because it was a breath of fresh air after the the long DURRDURR DSS-Unraveling era.

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Is Rinkaku a joke to you

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At that moment? I thought it would be a fluke and not included into the album.
Plus, Unraveling came AFTER Rinkaku, so that soured my mood

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all of them

smile-nik-nocturnal

On a serious note

, i have no favorite or least favorite for dir en grey, because i barely listen to them… (which equals to, i listen to them if i get them in a trade off or you play em when we hang out on turntable, thats about it)

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For some reason I find the single version of STU way more tolerable. I actually swapped it with the album version (did the same for Rinkaku).

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Yeah this is the same argument I always see for Clever Sleazoid…I think I just don’t like either song lol. But I feel that for tracks like Hageshisa