NationStates Jolt Archive

A death metal enthusiast friend of mine, (a real genius when it comes too the topic, really) and I have been in a tad bit of an argument lately, concerning the Japaneese based band, "Dir En Grey."

They are personally one of my favorite bands, and personally I have always considered them in the Death Metal sub genre. I have based this off many factors, including:

-A commandingly dark, Mutilative stage prescene

-Gritty commanding guitar riffs and bass chords, along with intense drum beats.

-Lyrical content covering suicide, lust for murder, sexual desire, and many other obscenities.

-Vocals sometimes indeciferable (or close to) in both japaneese and erm... "kyogrish".

Amoung other things. Heres some examples of Dir En Grey. *Warning, may be offensive too some audicienes. use discretion.*

-Clever Sleazoid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWZnisqC0uk)

-Child prey (http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf64FseBX0Y)

-Zan (http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqUbK_6bw8E)

-Obscure (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xknLWJhCRVE)

-Kodou (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgq4laQxW6w)

-Umbrella (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s5EsizFISw&feature=related)

-Marmalade Chainsaw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XRigs63yJU)

-Saku (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZsyWFCAWfE)

This band has had an impressive near 11 year legacy, and I firmly believe in the death metal label for them. it should be noted that thier somewhat stranger appearances are a result of thier own brand of "Visual Kai", a music and fashion set of trends in Japan. They have used Visual Kai in the past, darkening it too some degree with almost neo gothic undertones at times.

Please bear with the Japaneese lyrics, look them up if you wish. Base on sound and style. Now seeing all this, do you believe that this band deserbes the label of "death metal" as one of thier subgenres?

No, not at all.

They pretty much seem like a better, weirder, japanese version of nu-metal.

The use of the term "death metal" to describe their sound would be misleading, as the phrase usually conjures in the mind the sounds of Death, Cannibal Corpse, Nile, Origin (American style death metal) and Arch Enemy, At the Gates, early In Flames and Dark Tranquility (European style death metal).

Dir En Grey sounds very very little like what the term "death metal" is usually used to describe, pretty much the only similarity being occasionally raspy/grunted vocals and down-tuned guitar and bass. Musically they sound much closer to Mudvayne than to Hypocrisy.

It's not a matter of "deserving" anything. Sub-genres are just descriptive phrases used to summarize the basic sound of a band and relate them to other bands and sometimes the attitudes and subject matter used by similar groups (especially the case with black metal and power metal). It's not that they don't "deserve" to be called death metal, it's just that the term doesn't really describe their sound at all.

i don't see why not. the 2 songs i watched don't quite exactly fit the core of the genre, but its not a million miles away.

me no likey though. i still like some melody to my metal, and the (death/thrash/other) metal i like has melody.

but death metal isn't really my genre

Hmmm.



Seems kind of like panzy-ass death metal mixed with hardcore or something. Deathcore? I don't know. I couldn't stand listening to more than 1 song from this band...

Hmmm.



Seems kind of like panzy-ass death metal mixed with hardcore or something. Deathcore? I don't know. I couldn't stand listening to more than 1 song from this band...

I dont see anything really "pansy" about this band other than thier visual kai appreance at times. My refrence, obscure.

I definitely don't see much death metal to them. Some nu-metal (don't take it as an insult, not all nu-metal bands are bad, just the vast majority, the style actually can be done well) coupled with experimental and industrial influences. Most of the vocals are clean singing, too, not death grunts or rasps, which are kinda central to death metal (since without it, death metal is basically just down-tuned thrash).

They are inferior to these guys:

http://www.myspace.com/CannibalClitoris

Now THATS metal! \m/

-Clever Sleazoid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWZnisqC0uk)

-Child prey (http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf64FseBX0Y)

-Zan (http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqUbK_6bw8E)

-Obscure (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xknLWJhCRVE)

-Kodou (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgq4laQxW6w)

-Umbrella (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s5EsizFISw&feature=related)

-Marmalade Chainsaw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XRigs63yJU)

-Saku (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZsyWFCAWfE)
These guys would sound good and do decently (in the Midwest at least) if:
1 - the groove wasn't completely dead (maybe it isn't live?), and
2 - they didn't have horrid Japan-style clean vocals

edit - nope, it's worse live. There's so little pocket, it's like a reverse pocket.

Seems closer to an Asian revamp of thrash.... thrasian maybe? Whatever it is, it's metal, just not death metal.