1.Sa Bir
2.Vinushka
3.Red Soil
4.Repetition of Hatred
5.Stuck Man
6.Agitated Screams of Maggots
7.ObscurePerformed with different lyrics
8.Shokubeni
9.Bugaboo
10.Toguro
11.Glass Skin
12.Inconvenient Ideal
13.Dozing Green
14.Merciless Cult
15.Reiketsu Nariseba
Encore:
16.The Final
17.Kodou
18.Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro
It is with a heavy heart that I tell you all that today is the day Jasmine you’s remains are scheduled to be creamated. For those of you that haven’t heard, he passed away sometime before dawn on the ninth of august. This occured not long after he announced a leave of absence from versailles to contend with health problems. No specifics have been relesed as of yet, but I will be sure to tell you when they are.
Until then please think fondly of the fallen musician and appriciate the time he spent in this world.
My vacation was intense and I’ve been working basically since the moment I stepped off the plane. However, there are some things that you guys can look forward to in the near future. Such as concert reviews, and short articles about concert etiquette in Japan. So yeah. See you then!
so…I’m sorry for the long absence on my part….the intrawebs have not been agreeing with me…>_<
however…I have a few updates for you!
First off the “The Rose Trims Again” DVD comes out tomorrow…I’ll give a review after I get it.
I’m excited for it!
The next big news is my trip! I’m leaving for Tokyo, Japan on the 18th of may and will return the 7th of June.
I have 6 concerts lined up so far, they are;
5/22
平成維新 / Ap(r)il / 愛狂います。 / ALiBi / A＆D / キャンゼル/
5/24
5/25
ルーシー / Like absolute myself/ SwallowtaiL-スワロウテイル-/ ネガ/ Since1889/
5/27
DOGinTheパラレルワールドオーケストラ/ CELLT/ HERO/
5/28
sarino, Filter Fish, コタニキンヤ (kotani kinya)-> OLD /
5/30
エルム /メルバ/ R. / ハドラー親衛騎団/ WONDER☆LAND/ ORTH†ёЯGE(盛岡)/
6/3
there may be changes to that line up.
kk that’s all for now!!
<3
OMG…I know…finally right?
Okay…let’s get started shall we?
First off, here are the english translated lyrics as found in the lyric book. There will be underlining and note indicators but read through the song fully before you go to the notes. Also, keep in mind that this is my interpretation, I could be wrong. Feel free to input your opinion in the comments.
TOGURO (Coil)
“Killthe tounge”¹
“The Silence of the White“¹
“It bloats as words”¹
“Eagerness crawls near”¹
The crumbling temptation has a smiling face²
The blurred night bursts²
“Cover scars with scars”²
“Darkness, Doubt and Human Nature”²
“Crave each other like crazy”²
Shooting of the people that can adapt ◊
She picks the petals of the butterfly smilingly≡
Superiority≡
Scatter peacefully≡
Be broken so mount♣
Shut your eyes and yourself from reality³
The loser human drifts forever³*
It won’t be heard³
Shooting of the people that can adapt ◊
The demand and the gathering for the camouflage, the destruction of order in the lines ◊
Reality, entertainment, andthe nothingness opens up the wound³
You trace the answers with your finger♣
Dancing Slowly Forever Sick ³
¹: The underlined words in the first three lines indicate death. I included the fourth line because if the first three lines do indicate death then the fourth line could indicate maggots anddecay. In addition, all of these lines have something to do with words or speech. I take this verse to mean either the death of language, or more likely, of the freedom of speech.
²: This whole 2nd verse points toward sex. It’s darker lines suggest S&M. The coupling of the 3rd and 4th lines is quite poignant. It suggests that darkness and insecurity are intrinsically a part of us as human beings and that those sides of us cause an inhibited need for sexual contact. In addition, the use of the word “Crave” (at least to me) suggests an animilistic urgency. It may, however, have less to do with sex and more to do with a generalized downward slope of morality.
≡: These lines are the few that overtly contradict themselves. The three lines suggest the torture of something smaller than yourself. The word “petals” is obviously meant to be wings. However, the fact that “she” is smiling during the act of wounding an exceptionally beautiful creature suggests either severe sadism, or, more likely as the word “Superiority” suggests, a need to display superiority. The addition of the third line suggest a calmness surrounding the violent act that has just occurred, which is quite contradictory.
³ : These lines, when looked at together suggest that one of the dark sides of culture today is the intentional separationof ourselves from reality. It suggests that, although we do this to numb ourselves from the pains that reality will inevitably cause, in the long run we are hurt by it. It causes a sickness within us, as well as an inability to connect with other human beings. Leaving us essentially alone and unheard, drifting in our own world.
◊: Theses lines, contrary to the rest of the song clearly include an uprising within society. They elude to the upheavalof what is considered the norm, or what is culturally acceptable. When considered with the rest of the messages contained within this song, these lines could portray the overthrowingof a centralized government. In this context, the girl with the butterfly would be a power hungry government who mistreats its people.
♣: I’m honestly not sure how these lines tie in withthe song. All I could imagine the first one to mean is an attempt at overcoming. You are broken but you should still try to overcome this? The second line is difficult because the question that is to be answered is not clear. I don’t know, Suggestions would be appreciated!
*: The original Japanese text says something about saying good bye, so the english translation may not reflect the orginal japanese text accurately, however, as my Kanji skills are limited, I cannot do any better, therefore, we must live with it. Y_Y
In summary, the song (possibly…@_@) begins with the death of free speech, one of our most basic rights. This coupled with a decline in morality and power hungry governments cause people to retreat into their own minds. Although this causes temporary relief, in the long run, it damns us to solitude. And in the end this condition becomes a disease that we blind ourselves to. The title ties in too in that the word “coil” is synonymous with the word spiral and this songs seems to depict a downward spiral of sorts.
As a side note, I’m looking at this song from a worldly point of view, however, it can be directly applied to Japanese culture. Between overall discontent with their government to their reliance on portable forms of entertainment, this song paint a fairly accurate picture of the more negative side of modern Japanese culture.
The End
Comments/CONSTRUCTIVE input is encouraged!
<3
So…I went to the Dir show in Sauget illinois as well as the one in chicago..and since Miki already has the Chicago one covered…her’s my say on the Sauget show.
It was Ballin’!!! The venue was really small and in a bad part of town so only like 200-250 people showed up. I got to be front row again. This time, I was in front of Kyo. Closer to Kaoru and Toshiya than Die. Because I wanted this show to be etched into my memory, I stood still alot…This made Kyo, Kaoru, and Toshiya stare at me alot. It was neat!
All of them were REALLY into the show. The two that came out afterwards were Shinya and Toshiya. I epic high-fived Toshiya and shook hands with shinya. I went through the line twice. One time was for me and once was for Amber (my totally omg bff!!! lolololol) and toshiya looked at me in way that may have gotten me preggers…that sly dog! LOL It was fun times…I’ll post more of a review when I have time. Set List later too….sry…I’m busy right now…but be prepared ’cause my Song reviews are gonna be epic in content…I’m even doing lyric analysies…so yeah.
bai bai for now.+
Is Toguro
蜷局
(track 5)
I’ve decided to take this review thing one song at a time ’cause the album is that epic.
However, I’m not quite sure in what order to review the songs because (even though it may be the easiest way to do it) I don’t really want to do it in sequential order. This only causes a problem because doing it out of order will make it harder to understand the flow of the album. To remedy this, I have decided to post an overall review first, which will NOT be all-inclusive but will serve to help me to explain the flow of the album. After which I will post reviews for the individual songs…starting with Toguro because I like it the best. I’m turning this into a bigger project than it has to be but I’m doing it mostly for myself (sry gaise) as it will help me to better understand and appriciate the album.
SO…off we go? (@_<)
Sa Bir:
Groaning intro song. It is obviously remeniscent of Macabre’s ‘Diety’ with the exception of pronounced vocals. Kyo makes some screaming and groaning/chocking noises through most of it. The string instrument in the song plays oriental music. Perhaps chinese? I’m not one-hundred percent on this yet though.
Vinushka:
Very long song running at 9:37. Almost as long as Macabre – Sanagi No Yume Wa Ageha No Hane. This is their second longest song to date. Much like Macabre, it uses alot of drum solos and groaning guitar riffs (groaning is the best way I can describe it). Kyo’s voice really gets to me in this song. It is heartbreaking at points, very quiet and beautiful. It starts out slow then after a while it picks up then slows back down. Most of the song is in flux. All in all it’s a very impressive, progressive rock type song. Most of the influence here sounds indian. Also, Kyo says ‘Vinshuka’ not ‘vinushka’…fail?
Red Soil:
This song was initially my favorite. The beggining guitar riff and vocala really got me into it. The cultural infuence behing this song is hard for me to to pin, but if I had to choose, I would say most likley india…..perhaps. Kyo’s vocals and shinya’s drumming REALLY make this song for me. The only bit that was a bit off-putting was a bit where kyo is making jibberish noises. It takes you out of the song a little.
Dokoku to Sarinu
慟哭と去りぬ:
This song starts out intense with a heavy drum and base. The bass actually really stands out in this song. The vocals are great but not the best part of the song. Alot of it is fast-paced and intense. The bridge is very good and the layering of the guitar was executed perfectly. It’s a very well-made song. It effectivley blends the angsty and rage-filled sides of dir.
Toguro
蜷局:
As I said before this is my personal favorite. It starts with a guitar riff (I believe it’s Die actually…will check to make sure though) before Kyo starts singing. This song defenitely has Indian influence. Kyo’s vocals are remeniscent of traditional Indian songs. It gives him room to show off hiss full range of notes. Toshiya does well in this song as well, as well as Shinya. They both help bring out that dark rich texture to this song like they did with Macabre. In addition, Kaoru and Die both shine in this song. Kaoru even gets to whip out his citar! That’s actually probably why I love this song so much, it really displays all of the band members’ strengths. It ends quietly though.
Glass Skin:
Full review (albeit a bit flawed by a crappy computer) can be found here
the only thing is that the album version is in english…very…incoherent english…(>_<)
Stuck Man:
I believe this was a live only track origionally. The album version is very cool. It makes you want to dance a little. The only upbeat-ish song on the album, it helps break the monotony of the album. It’s very different form the Macabre theme as well. It really reminds me of Vulgar. Kyo uses his death metal growl alot in this song. The base is amazing. The drums are jazzy. This song belongs to shinya and toshiya. It ends with much screaming.
Reiketsu Nariseba
冷血なりせば:
Another screaming start to a song. This one sounds a little russian or something. It makes me thing of the poverty stricken Jews in russia (Think ‘Fiddler on the Roof’) but it mixes that kind of music with straight out metal. After about 1min 30 sec the song turns slow and instrumental then kyo comes in with that traditionally oriental singing. The song goes back to being hardcore and ends that way.
Ware, Yami to te . . .
我、闇とて･･･:
This song starts slow and somewhat abruptly. The guitar sounds acoustic and kyo’s voice is soft for quite a bit of it. The drimming in this song reminds me of Macabre and the bass is a bit sporadic, but in a good way. This song is one of the ballads. Kyo’s vocals are remeniscent of glass skin. The guitar riffs are lite and remind me a bit of Mushi. It is a very good song. It evokes emotions easily with it’s desparing tones.
Bugaboo:
This song starts ominously. Kind of scary, but when you thinks it’s going to get loud, it doesn’t. Kyo’s voice is silet in the intro. The song finally picks up about 40 seconds in but not nearly as violently as you excpect it to. The song goes back to being beautiful with kyo’s despairing screams. Kyo’s voice is not at the forefront of this song for the whole of it. Alot of the focus in this song is directed toward the guitar. The guitar in this song has that twangy oriental sound to it some of the time. I think that Kaoru and Die probably had fun with this one. Also, there is alot of the deathmetal groan in this song. the song ends like it began.
Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro
凱歌、沈黙が眠る頃:
Review can be found on this page.
Dozing Green:
I’m gonna keep this short ’cause if you’re a fan, you’ve heard this alot. But this song is great. Strong guitar, strong bass, strong drums, and strong vocals. The guitar in this song holds true to the rest of the album and it is (like Glass Skin) entirely in english. It’s a bit more understandable than Glass Skin though.
Inconvenient Ideal:
This is the ballad of the Album. And, like all of Dir’s ballads, it’s amazing. However, it is not passive as some of there others have been. That is to say it has its intense moments. Every part of it has you shivering. It is a beautifully sad song. Sometimes kyo sounds like a siren in this song. Kaoru and Die’s guitars sing with each other and Shinya and Toshiya bring depth to it. The ending is a fade into silence, the perfect ending for an album like this.
Okay…that’s all for now. Sorry if the spacing is a little whacky…but i’m too sleepy to fix it right now and I have to work tomorrow so Imma go to bed.
Also, if someone has a problem with my reviews, chill, nothing you say matters to me so what I say shouldn’t upset you either. That’s really just a blanket statement for the intrawebs in general.So yeah. night night…I leave you with random Miyavi!
Pictures were obtained from his blog archives which can be accessed through www.o-re-sa-ma.com.
They changed their name to Clush ベリイ(clush berry). In addition to the new official band page they have new pictures which I can’t post because they made their site a flash site. On the site they named the bassist that filled in for the one that left. His name is PIRO and they have no picture of him. Also they are signed to Rizu Music Inc. [RIZUxMUSIC]. Their new email is clush_berry@yahoo.co.jp .
The change happened sometime this month…they don’t give a specific date on the site, they just say october of 2008. They are playing 6 shows next month, the second of which looks like it might be a oneman but I’ll have to look into that more before I can say for sure.
I leave you with their new ameblog photos!
憂 （yu）Vo.
JUN Gt.
なお道 (naomichi) Dr.
They even have the same costumes as before. All of them have longer hair now too! ^_^
kk that’s all for today folks!
<3
まる
SOoOoOoOoOoOo~~~
It’s official…I’m retarded and am going to both Illinois shows for Dir…=_=
The second one is in St. Louis so I think Imma stay with one of my family members that lives in the area if I can…..
god….sometimes I amaze myself..I bought these tickes before requesting the time off OR even thinking about attempting to find a place to stay….and I sure as hell can’t afford to pay for a hotel room…lol…I fail…but w/e…..
I loveses the Dir en greys?
>_<
anyways~~ I really could use some cheering up now….SUUSAMA!!! I CHOOSE YOU!!!!
SUUSAMA!!!!! USE ADORABLE ATTACK!!!!
KO!
SUUSAMA GAINED 156EXP!!!
kk
bai bai!!!
<3
Marun!!!
ps…pic is from suusama’s blog at http://blog.livedoor.jp/suusama/.
EDIT!!!!
AMEBLOG IS DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TT_TT
SO yeah…H.Naoto put together a concert thing…they even made a myspace for it…and less than a week later…all of the info on the thing is GONE…
Like srsly WTF?!?!
What reason could they have to make it go bye bye?
Im speculating that it’s the same situation as when Mana was gonna come and ppl announced it too early and then he didn’t come…or maybe they were just messing with us to begin with…I don’t know but I’m upset.
to lift the mood I will now post a sideways picture from Suusama’s blog!!!!
Yay AibeLL!!!!!
also…just to be pc about all this…suusama’s blog can be reached via www.aibell.jp and the dissapearance of the h.naoto concert info was discovered yesterday and could’ve potentially changed since then…@_@
<3<3<3<3<3
Maru~~~
