They look kinda... different. Why is Shinya all the way in the back of the group shot =O

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WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SHINYA ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Dude piss off I think he looks hot.

And I don't even go for skinny japanese guys.

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New album and release date announced!

The album will be titled "Uroboros" and releases on November 12th in Japan with releases in other countries slightly thereafter. (No dates have been announced for countries other than Japan.)

There will be 3 different versions of the disc, but god knows if any but the standard edition will make it outside of Japan.

For more in-depth info, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uroboros_(album)

This particular quote struck me as interesting:

"In an interview in the band's regular fan-club magazine, Haiiro no Ginka, interviewer You Masuda described the style in comparison with The Marrow of a Bone (2007):[6]

“ 'I’m actually starting to feel troubled. I don’t know how I could describe your music in words. For example, Marrow of a Bone is a work that has elements of metal, but the songs I just heard now are difficult to describe. If I were to express these songs, it would be something close to being acoustic. If you put it in a strange way, it’s close to something like, 'What happens if Thom Yorke does metal?' "

Thom Yorke? Metal? This should be interesting.

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Thom Yorke? Metal? This should be interesting.

lol

It also says they've been recording with more instruments too. Crazy stuff.

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I'm pumped. Sounds like they're moving in a good direction. While I liked Marrow, I don't think the metal sound really fits them.

They've always been more of an atmospheric hard rock band, if that makes any sense to anyone.

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Marrow made me =(

I'm not into Dir en grey like I used to be. But I'm gonna make sure to give this a listen to when it comes out.

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Nic should like the album title.

I'm pumped. Sounds like they're moving in a good direction. While I liked Marrow, I don't think the metal sound really fits them.

They've always been more of an atmospheric hard rock band, if that makes any sense to anyone.

Not to mention it builds up a crappy American fanbase. Honestly, I'd like to see another album like Gauze.

Anyway, I'm not feeling much of the new look at all. The more I look at Shinya I start liking him, and Kyo is just, well, Kyo. Not much change at all. Die and Kaoru is going to take some getting used to. Oh, and Toshiya actually doesn't look that bad, either.

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I'm pumped. Sounds like they're moving in a good direction. While I liked Marrow, I don't think the metal sound really fits them.

They've always been more of an atmospheric hard rock band, if that makes any sense to anyone.

Honestly, I'd like to see another album like Gauze.

lol But seriously though... Gauze? Really? If they should be aping any of their previous albums it should definitely be Kisou/VULGAR.

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I'd love to see another Vulgar or Kisou as much as the next guy, but another complete turn from hard rock and metal would separate the metal posers from the hardcore fans because, to be honest, Gauze is such an underestimated album. Call it as poppy if you want, but it really showed the range of Diru's abilities as a band, not to mention it gave us three or four really good songs.

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Gauze is not their best album and its certainly not underrated.

That isn't to say its awful, but I think it would be a regression in their abilities if they went back to this style, because to be frank, Gauze sounds like a CD that any Vkei band could've put out.

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yeah seriously gauze is pretty awful

if you want to hear music that sounds like it, go listen to any indie vkei band

Not saying it's their best, just that it gets disregarded way too much, mainstream visual kei influences or not. Songs like Cage and Jealous I think are much better than most any other sound that comes from visual kei bands.

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Songs like Cage and Jealous I think are much better than most any other sound that comes from visual kei bands.

This is true, but they've evolved from that sound and influenced an entire musical movement in the process.

They aren't going back to Gauze, they aren't going back to anything they've previously done. That's what I love about Dir en grey, they are not afraid to do something different, even if it means leaving behind some of their fans.

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Songs like Cage and Jealous I think are much better than most any other sound that comes from visual kei bands.

This is true, but they've evolved from that sound and influenced an entire musical movement in the process.

They aren't going back to Gauze, they aren't going back to anything they've previously done. That's what I love about Dir en grey, they are not afraid to do something different, even if it means leaving behind some of their fans.

Like releasing two somewhat above-mediocre metal albums? I suppose if it keeps you making music and you have fun doing it...if that's the case, that's actually pretty admirable. That would mean they never intend on selling out to any one group.

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I dunno, I hated Withering and Marrow, but they grew on me a lot as I listened to them.

Songs like Cage and Jealous I think are much better than most any other sound that comes from visual kei bands.

This is true, but they've evolved from that sound and influenced an entire musical movement in the process.

They aren't going back to Gauze, they aren't going back to anything they've previously done. That's what I love about Dir en grey, they are not afraid to do something different, even if it means leaving behind some of their fans.

Like releasing two somewhat above-mediocre metal albums? I suppose if it keeps you making music and you have fun doing it...if that's the case, that's actually pretty admirable. That would mean they never intend on selling out to any one group.

Dir en grey is an international phenomenon, for lack of a better term.

Their albums are successful in countries throughout the world despite the glaring language barrier. My point is, people are buying their albums because the music is good. They're going to their shows because they are entertaining to watch perform and they do so in a way that no other rock/metal/whatever band does these days. Even throughout all of their radical changes and reinventions of their sound their fanbase has mostly stayed loyal to them and adopted the changes. Granted, there are snobs who act like elitists because they were fans before Dir went huge (AKA Gauze/Vkei era lovers -- No offense to you though, you aren't that bad about it lol), but these fans stopped caring about the band ages ago so they really don't matter anymore anyway.

I think Dir en grey has made it clear that they are a career band, meaning they aren't trying to capitalize on any one musical trend or fad -- they carve their own path, and if people decide they like it and to follow along, well hey that's great, but I don't think they really care either way. They've made that apparent between all of their album releases. They're Dir en grey, and they'll do what they do best: make music that is controversial.

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Can't say I'm that excited for this album, but I am still interested to see how it turns out!

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can we all agree die looks like the tool that he is now

hahaha

I like Die though. Though his comment that you always bring up was a really ignorant thing to say. :\

Die: "I hate goth"

Uhhhh....

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I was perfectly fine with Wtd, Marrow just didn't sit well with me.

Gauze has a couple good songs, yeah, but that's why nobody thinks it's awesome. A cd needs to be full of good songs to be awesome.

I want more songs like macabre. Macabre is the carp, easily my favorite Dir en grey song. If the new cd is a lot like marrow, I'll be pretty disappointed. I haven't listened to dir en grey since high school, and Marrow is one of the biggest reasons why.

I'd like more Vulgar type stuff, but it would be ridiculous to think that they'd go back to that style.

I'm honestly expecting the disc to be 40% Hydra666, 40% marrow and 20% marrow unplugged disc.

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I'm honestly expecting the disc to be 40% Hydra666, 40% marrow and 20% marrow unplugged disc.

Honestly I think its going to be more along the lines of what you were asking for, a more Macabre-style sound.

They're bringing in mandolins and all kinds of other crazy instruments, so I think this is going to be a very experimental release for them. Given the title of the album, I think its pretty clear that they are reaching for more serious themes this time around. Uroboros is inherently a religious sort of symbol, and they have stated in interviews that they are incorporating religious themes and imagery, so I think it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

I like pretty much every CD Dir en grey has put out so I'm willing to bet I'll like this one as well, and if not at first it will likely grow on me after repeated listens like Withering and Marrow have.

Also, lets not forget about the release of the new single, "Glass Skin" next month. I'm sure this will be an indication of the sound that will be present on the album. There's also "DOZING GREEN", which is a great track that hearkens back to the "Kisou" style of experimental rock. Personally, I can't wait for this. lol

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Nic should like the album title.

Very definitely. Sadly, this will probably not release locally and will be a pain in the carp to buy.

Anyway, I'm not feeling much of the new look at all. The more I look at Shinya I start liking him, and Kyo is just, well, Kyo. Not much change at all. Die and Kaoru is going to take some getting used to. Oh, and Toshiya actually doesn't look that bad, either.

I miss their visual kei days.

Not saying it's their best, just that it gets disregarded way too much, mainstream visual kei influences or not. Songs like Cage and Jealous I think are much better than most any other sound that comes from visual kei bands.

Cage is my favourite out of ALL their songs. What really annoys me about them is how they lost some of their melodic qualities in their earlier releases.

Also, lets not forget about the release of the new single, "Glass Skin" next month. I'm sure this will be an indication of the sound that will be present on the album.

I'm very definitely going to be previewing it on youtube long before I bother to approach any of the new releases, just in case.

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A 15 second sample of "GLASS SKIN" has been released:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9O_C45QUNI

Sounds pretty interesting.

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Sounds good to me, we'll see what the full version is like when its released though.

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