I don't know how I would rank the album song to song, but The Blossoming Beelzebub is easily my favorite. Might even be my favorite Dir En Grey song overall.
I was actually trying to find you the other day to ask you what it is that you like about it so much. I mean, it's good stuff and everything, but there's hardly anything in it that screams Dir En Grey to me. There's really nothing else like it in their entire discog.
I just really love how the song keeps building and has all these moments where Kyo seems like he's gonna explode and go off the rails vocal-wise, but still sort of contains it. It's a pretty atmospheric song and while some might say it "meanders on" without reaching a climax, as an opener (not counting the intro) I love it, and when it finally leads into Different Sense, that's the payoff, when the album really kicks into high gear.
Also, there's a scream by Kyo towards the end of Beelzebub which just sends shivers down my spine. So epic.
Yeah, I definitely get that. I know exactly what scream you're talking about too. Definitely the highlight of the song. Kyo's just phenomenal as a whole.
So does anyone else listen to their earlier stuff? It's totally different from their more recent output, but I really love Gauze, and the EP Missa.
Ding ding. I've got all the studio albums (No Missa or Six Ugly I'm afraid), and I like them all to varying degrees. My album ranking would go somewhat like this:
1. Dum Spiro Spero
2. Uroboros
3. Gauze
4. The Marrow of a Bone
5. Macabre
6. Withering to Death
7. Kisou
8. Vulgar (No idea why, but I really haven't been able to get into this one as easily as the others)
But yeah, I definitely like most everything they've put out. A lot of the pre-Uroboros material has a fair amount of filler on it (with the exception of Gauze which is flawless from start to finish), but it's still some great stuff. I've been dying to talk to people about this band, so I'm excited the thread's finally gaining some steam.
Isn't the new EP mostly old music and live tracks?
Yeah, how much of the EP is new content?
The EP has one new track, 6 re-recordings of older songs in their new style (so, drastically different). One could quite easily enjoy them on their own, I would think. The bonus disc also comes with a 16 minute re-recording of Macabre, which is one of the most epic songs they've ever done. Seriously, it's ridiculous. I think most people are in agreement that the best way to experience Dir en Grey's discography is to start with Uroboros, DSS, and maybe Unraveling, and then go backwards from there. The early stuff really is frightfully different from their current output, but it's still great.