Heavier than the previous albums, but...
arsenic45 | Jakarta Indonesia | 12/24/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Is it just me or is Dir en Grey going nu-metal!? I bought this album the first day it came out in Japan, hoping for some 'dir en grey-esque' rock formula; melodic, psychotic and unpredictable at the same time. To some extent I got what I want. Kyo's brutal yet melancholic vocal is still there, and the band's music is getting heavier to another level.This album also has its peak moments, especially towards the end. But I just can't ignore the cheesy Limp Bizkit-ish riffs being played here and there throughout the entire album. Dear God, what has happened to one of my favorite bands?
I'm not one of those Visual Kei fans who worship Kyo or Toshiya's looks on the newest cd. I listen to Dir en Grey because they're simply a good rock band with good concepts for their records. Their first two albums, Gauze and Macabre, are unpredictable journeys into DeG's world of posessive love, disturbed minds and dark humor, to name a few. In these albums, the band could play the most random styles of music and yet still able to give a distinctively 'Dir en Grey' touch within every single song. 'Vulgar', however, lacks the magic that the two previous albums own, since it sounds like Dir en Grey trying to be some other band. Whether dir en grey wanted to be hipper within the mainstream rock scene or just simply found a new favorable style is still a mistery to me."