Dir en grey has come a long way since their major debut album Gauze in 1999. While Gauze had a polished and clean feel to it with some songs straddling the pop-rock boundary, their later albums, Macabre and 鬼葬, are harsher and harder in sound, almost as if they were moving towards metal. (Their latest mini-album, Six Ugly, however, was more punk-rockish than metal.) The main songwriter of the band is leader and guitarist, Kaoru, with the other guitarist, Die, writing most of the rest of the songs, and the other three members making up the rest. As a songwriter, Kaoru's style varies, penning fast hard rock songs like ZAN, soothing ballads like Akuro no Oka and what I tend to think of as "Kaoru-epics", such as mazohyst of decadence. Vocalist Kyo writes the lyrics to the songs, and his lyrics tend to be graphic, violent and disturbing at the very least.

As a vocalist, Kyo's not musically impressive like Gackt or Hyde is. As Gerald has commented before, Kyo's tone and range is weak, but he does make up for it with the "effects" he does with his voice. Kyo's voice, as well as the combination of Shinya's drums and Toshiya's bass, makes their songs unique and distinctive.

And the following songs are a few of my favourites. Though I must warn that if you can't take Kyo's voice, most of these songs are not going to be the ones that will warm you up to them. If you're looking for some songs to start on, do try Yokan, I'll, and Cage.

mazohyst of decadence (Gauze: track 8)
(Music: 薫 [Kaoru]; lyrics: 京 [Kyo])

Most people I talk to don't like this song. It's not an easy song to listen to, I must admit. Lasting 9 minutes and 17 seconds, this song is what I consider Kaoru-epic style. The song starts off with guitar and the sound of a baby gurgling happily before Shinya's drums joins in. The moment Kyo's voice enters, the guitars are relegated to mainly effects while Kyo's voice, dark and sorrowful, carries the tune. Towards the climax of the song, Kyo's screams hoarsely, makes choking sounds while the guitars' volume builds up. Then if breaks off and at what is probably the bridge of the song, a dialogue between Kyo's and a woman that I found disturbing is played. More baby sounds, crying this time, before Kyo enters again, screaming and wailing. Then he breaks off and speaks softly while the guitars take over the tune he was carrying earlier on. As the drums and bass break off, the guitars carry on with the melody they started out with until they too, fade away. Not a song to listen to if you don't want to feel depressed, but nevertheless, this song is beautiful. Twisted, but haunting beautiful.

Berry (Macabre: track 8)
(Music: 薫 [Kaoru]; lyrics: 京 [Kyo])

This song starts out with an innocent child voice pleading to be forgiven, then in the same voice, eerily saying. "I'm gonna blow your head off like raspberry jam." Probably the fastest Dir en grey song, berry is maniacally addictive. You feel like bopping along with it, especially the chorus part, where the melody is happy (well, for them, it is happy) and almost like one of the songs children sing. Then it breaks off, and in the bridge, you hear a child calling for her parents, and the parents scolding with a dog barking in the background, all in English. The way it was done, you would almost think the dog is the one being scolded, which was probably what the effect they wanted. Then the happy, maniac melody returns and in the sudden silence when every single instrument breaks off, the sound of a bullet being fired. Chilling, but fitting finish to a song about child abuse.

ZAN- (Gauze: track 11; also released as a single in January 1999)
(Music: 薫 [Kaoru]; Lyrics: 京 [Kyo])

One of the five songs Yoshiki produced way back in 1998 - 1999, this song starts off with heavy breathing and the sound of Kyo gasping for breath and chilling laughter against pounding drums and some effects. Kyo then trails off into a half-scream, half-wail and Die's guitar carries on the wail until the rest join in loud. This song is loud, loud and loud, yet not total headbang material like The Domestic Fucker Family is, with Kyo alternating between singing and rasping/growling/screaming hoarsely, with the other guys joining in to chant "Psycho." (On the Music Station live, it was Die and Kaoru) Laughter seems to be a main focus of this song, with Kyo laughing evilly most of the time he's not singing. The song ends with Kyo saying a few words slowly against what sounded like a news report on crackling radio.

Gyakujou Tannou Keloid Milk (鬼葬 [Kisou]: track 8)
(Music: 薫 [Kaoru]; Lyrics: 京 [Kyo])

Kyo starts off this song with a faseltto against a guitar (I’m assuming here) that sounds suspiciously like an Indian instrument and light drumbeat. Then the other instruments with the guitars seemingly following the drum's beat. After a short instrumental part, Kyo sings normally, almost 2 octaves lower, with just Shinya's drum and a single guitar playing the same few notes over and over again until the chorus part. The main focus of the song seems to be Shinya's drums and the guitar that sounds like an Indian instrument with Kyo's voice switching from high faseltto to the low octaves, which I found strangely appealing.

Just when you thought we'd forgotten about it...here is the third part of the famed PATA PAN saga. Starring the familiar cast of Parts I and II, so if you haven't read them, go to Part I here and Part II here.

And now...READ PART III!

Punk-metal jrock band The Mad Capsule Markets will be touring in the states from November 14-20. Read the article about it here. The tour schedule is as follows:

• Thurs Nov 14: San Francisco, CA [Slim's]
• Fri Nov 15th: Los Angeles, CA [Whiskey a Go Go]
• Tues Nov 19: New York, NY [Don Hill's]
• Wed Nov 20: Brooklyn, NY [North 6]

La'Cryma Christi is one of those bands that everyone has heard of but few people have actually gone and actually gotten to know. That's really a shame, because out of the many bands in the jrock scene today, they have one of the most unique approaches to their music that I've heard in a while.

Meaning "tears of Christ," La'Cryma Christi's lineup consists of Taka on vocal, Hiro and Koji on guitar, Shuse on bass, and Levin on drums. A few of the odd facts that you might have heard around are that Taka is good friends with Gackt and that Levin is one of the shortest jrockers (measuring in at around 4'11") but odd facts aside, La'Cryma Christi is a solid band with a good-sized fanbase, and it's no surprise: they've been around since 1994. In the online jrock fandom, they're usually lumped together with Janne da Arc, Lucifer, The Brilliant Green, and other bands into the "I like what I've heard but I really haven't gone out and looked for other songs" category. That is a shame, because La'Cryma has a lot to offer if you know where to look.

La'Cryma Christi's music style borders more on pop-rock than hardcore rock, but don't let that scare you off. All of their songs are absolutely solid while keeping an air of mytique and spirituality about them. Perhaps the most unique thing about La'Cryma is Taka's voice. Thin, with a slight edge and a wide vibrato, he reminds some people of Luna Sea's Ryuichi. However, his range is much larger than Ryuichi's and he also uses his voice to a greater effect with falsetto and dramaticism than Ryuichi ever did. In fact, Taka cites Ryuichi as a big influence on his musical career, and Luna Sea and La'Cryma Christi are known to be friends. He DOES sometimes go flat, especially on higher notes, but you get used to it after a while (and that hasn't stopped Glay fans from liking Teru!)

Taka writes most of the lyrics and is probably most responsible for that "mystical air" that seems to permeate La'Cryma's song titles, as he is a big fan of anything to do with Tibet and India as well as astrology and dreams. Song titles like "Ivory Trees," "Lhasa," "Sanskrit Shower," and "Siam's Eye," just to name a few, showcase the feeling that La'cryma seeks to put into their songs. Other high points about La'cryma's music are their guitars. Unlike X or Janne da Arc or Siam Shade, Hiro and Koji don't focus on the show element of guitar as much as a strong, presentable guitar line. This works to full effect, with the steady rhythm of the guitars balancing out Taka's thinner, wavier voice. Hiro and Koji themselves complement each other well. La'Cryma has no designated lead guitarist, and the two of them trade off often.

As one of the most talented bands out there today, La'Cryma Christi definitely deserves more recognition than they've received. Their most recent album, &U, is more poppish than the rest of their repetoire but still a good listen. For a sample of their poppy side, try Sanskrit Shower, Siam's Eye, or In Forest. For more rock, sample Down to Earth or Screaming (my personal favorite track from &U and which actually reminds me a lot of Janne da Arc's Gaia.) And of course who can forget the gorgeous Lhasa (unplugged), a beautiful song which incorporates all of La'cryma Christi's mysticism into one musical accomplishment, complete with Asian instrumentation? If you want information on the band, In Forest is the largest (and only?) English La'cryma Christi fansite out there. There's tons of information and goodies to be had there - a must visit.

Try La'Cryma Christi today...I guarantee you won't be disappointed. ^_^ And remember to support the artists by buying their works!