Uroboros made.

I'm quite proud of myself. I finally decided to sort my Deg videos, which inevitably turned into a major catching-up, as I didn't have most of them. I came to about 45 PVs. I never even knew they had so many. Not that I even need them all in the first place, I probably won't even watch half of them anyway. Why do it then? Well, it's partly due to my OCD and partly because it's a band that makes music that that deserves to be stored and kept.

Dir en grey is a band than never quite made it into my favourites and I wouldn't dare to call myself a fan. Not because I don't want to, but rather because I feel I don't deserve the status. My favourite bands are chosen on the basis of ideology rather than music. Deg are way too disturbing and as much as I like the music, I never really made much of an effort to study their lyrics and concepts. With some songs I prefer not to know what they're about and just enjoy the raw sound. But then again, Kyo said:
"Even Japanese fans might not understand what I write. I want everyone in the whole world to feel the music on the same level, so it doesn't matter if you don't understand Japanese. It's just being able to understand music as a whole."

It's a bit strange, the way I only listen to about 1/3 of their songs, but those I listen to I like immensely. I never doubted Kyo's amazing screaming/shrilling/howling skills, but it's just not my cup of poison. It's like distilling. Last time with Marrow Of a Bone only 3 songs were qualified as listenable (that is - those that don't make my ears bleed), but those 3 I instantly fell in love with and they dwell in my player ever since. When I heard that Uroboros shall be "a progression into "heavier and darker" sounds than prior albums" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry and I didn't expect much, but this time I came to 6 tracks out of 13.

I really like Glass Skin. Even though the original Japanese verson sounds sharper, the English lyrics are good and I actually think they fit the song better, even though Kyo sounds like he sings with a mouthful of stones) It always amazed me how Japenese manage to write decent lyrics in English when they can't even put two words together if they try to talk.

But my favourite has to be Toguro. When I heard it I understood the meaning of this review: vocalist Kyo sets emphasis on "non-screaming vocals," accentuating softer composition.

Kyo is a separate case. At first I referred to him no other than "Little monster", but over the years my attitude has changed drastically. I'm attracted to things and people I don't understand, so he both fascinates and freaks the hell out of me. But that's a whole different story altogether.

I kinda miss the old times of VK and I just watched one of these old VCR-recorded really awkward shows where they had full gear and make-up and stuff and they had to introduce themselves and tell what their favourite season was and it was so ridiculous and lovely, but VK in its original meaning is dead and true artists have to reinvent themselves. Deg has come a long way and I think they know exactly how it's done.