Review by sally USA

Oh wow. This is a beautiful collection of ballads, all re-recorded by the GazettE with a crisp, clean, updated sound. The limited edition contains 12 tracks, the bonus songs are Ito from 2003, and Taion--for Taion alone, the limited edition is a must. My favorites are DLN, with it's lovely, mournful acoustic opening; Cassis with very nice piano, and the always beautiful Untitled. The band was very young when they first released many of these tracks, and the mature sound from all of them now really shows. Ruki's vocals are smooth as silk, the drums are easily heard and poignantly understated on many tracks. Both guitarists shine and Reita has a beautiful interlude with Kai in DLN. This collection is a breather of sorts after the rage and power of Dogma...except for Taion. I was wondering how they would soften this track, and they didn't. It's unbelievably chilling. Traces vol 2 is a winner; well done to the GazettE and their entire team.

Let me start off by saying this does not include the promotional video for the song Utafumi, but it's a very nice set just the same. For the price, you get Disc one, with the new song Utafumi, which is a solid rock song with elements that remind me a bit of Different Sense; a remix of Revelation of Mankind that has a techno sound; and a version of Kuukoku no kyouon with Sugizo playing violin; very emotional. Disc two has forty-five minutes of songs from an A knot only performance, for this alone, buy the premium addition. These are really energetic songs and a killer show, with a few surprising moments :). There is also about fifteen minutes of members behind the scenes recording for Utafumi, no subtitles though there is a bit of Japanese text. Included also is a small twenty page booklet with lyrics to Utafumi and Kuukoku no kyouon in Japanese and English, plus black and white photography of the members in their video attire. Six card stock photocards are also included, plus a poster of the terrific cover art. Hopefully we'll see the complete video for Utafumi someday, on another Average- compilation.

This actually has 4 discs: there is a documentary that is on Disc 3 that is a long interview of all the members; entertaining, but there are no subtitles. Also on that disc, are 4 multi angle split screen songs, and single angle songs for each member. Disc 4 is the content listed here for disc 3. The very last song is an absolutely beautiful live rendition of Ain't Afraid to Die. It's like a gift, really, to have that as the ending song :). Disc 1 and 2 are the full concerts from Budokan February 5&6, 2016. The shows are fabulous and have terrific stage production, costumes, light show and on stage backing videos. This set is well worth the money as you get 5-6 hours worth of listening material easily. The box itself has beautiful binding and artwork (even inside; use a flashlight to see!!). If you are a fan of Dir en grey you will greatly enjoy this concert DVD. It is region 2, but my laptop in the USA plays it just fine using VLC media player.

This cd contains Undying (I reviewed it already on the limited edition if you want to read about it), Mallum, and Vacant. For B-sides, these are top notch songs. The first word that comes to mind for Mallum is 'sinister': it's hard, driving with a heavy bottom sound, lots of growled vocals, and power chords. Reita wrote this track I believe, what's really cool is the way the guitar's follow after his bassline. Kai is just drop jaw incredible here, fast as lightening and precise! You can distinctly hear all of his beats. Vacant is a calmer opposite, the first word I thought of was'smooth'. I believe Aoi wrote this. Lots of clean, crooning vocals, Ruki using his higher range very effectively. A jazzy-night club sounding, noir guitar solo, really nice. This is a slower song but not a ballad, very mature sounding for lack of a better word. Rock lovers will appreciate this 'single' of three songs by GazettE!

Wow. Just blown away by this single. Undying is a heavy, ear-bleeding track mixed with melodious parts so please, please listen several times to get the real feeling of the song. Ruki's vocals have expanded in range, or else he's just using his entire range in this song, and the effect is beautiful. Everyone is great artistically; guitars, bass, and Kai in particular is just shredding away at the drums. The video; you have to see for yourself. I won't spoil anything, just that it, like the song, weaves in portions of lyrics and pv's from the main album, Dogma. It's classy, surreal and stunning. There is a making-of portion also, in which the band members are seen taking part in the formation of the clip just as they did in Ugly. This video closes the circle on the message and world of Project Dark Age, in a poignant arc of storytelling. The concept behind this whole, massive undertaking by the GazettE and their creative team has been executed with precises attention to detail and it's paid off. Well done, and thank you :). I played this on my laptop in the USA (optical drive DVD Super-multi); just changed the setting to region 2 as all I play are GazettE and Dir en grey CD's. Through VLC media player it looks and sounds great. I'll review the second track, Mallum, on the regular edition as I bought that one too.

Ordered this via EMS and it arrived to my home in the USA in 6 days in perfect condition. The box is slim with black-grey-white images plus quotes of the lyrics in English. Inside you get 12 very nice full color postcard/photos of the band; 2 of each member and 2 group shots. The USB stick is inside a keychain of the band logo, a pretty neat touch. Plugged it into my laptop (Windows 7), the drivers self-installed and I had music in less than 10 seconds. You get 7 tracks, 3 music videos, and 43 slideshow images of the band performing at a live,these look great and you get to see each member in detail. Secret Mode, the band's single released as a PV on iTunes is fast, catchy and will get your whole body moving. It features beautiful dual vocals,a lightening fast guitar solo, and great electronic elements. The other tracks take on a more indie vibe; with elements of shoe-gazing, haunting, melancholy melodies and just beautiful vocal harmonies. My favorite tracks are Secret Mode, Beautiful, and my number one, Red Tide: Haunting; the vocals are incredible here, smooth as silk while combined with distorted instrumentation. Very nice guitar work and percussion. Videos: Secret Mode--Sleek and fast, beautifully saturated colors giving it a night-club like feel. This will get your body moving; I would love to experience this live. Beautiful--Dreamy, light and airy with a shoe-gazing vibe; combined with visuals of nature this IS a beautiful track. Scenes of the band in candid moments after and during a live. Yusuke does the main vocals. Nova Spiral--Very catchy tune, nice refrain, great vocals by Die, Chidony and G. Live footage of the band performing. I like the indie vibe with clean visuals combined with the melodious, danceable track. Fans of an indie sound who love dance music with a catchy, upbeat vibe will love this band. This is of course a side project of Die from Dir en grey but each member is a known artist as well. This is NOT DEG sounding music at all so don't expect a heavy or even rock sound.

Surprised to see no one has reviewed Film Bug III yet. I bought mine withing the last few weeks, it arrived safely to the USA with fedex international shipping without a scratch. Plays well on my laptop with VLC media player. These are eleven slick, strong videos that have the trademark GazettE polish, Pledge being the only ballad unless you count To Dazzling Darkness as one. Derangement is probably the standout of the set; just a fantastic song with strong performances from all of them and a movie quality video (adult content, be warned). I bought this however for Inside Beast, a pop-y but still rocking track from Beautiful Deformity. The visuals are 10 times better than watching it on youtube, so please support the band and purchase this collection. To Dazzling Darkness deserves it's own write up, it's a masterpiece song, gorgeous video concept and all the members sound and look beautiful. Ruki's vocals are smooth as silk and full of emotion here. I would have loved to see Last Heaven included, maybe someday it too will be released.

Arrived to my home in the USA within 4 business days in excellent condition. The cover art is gothic/horror/beautiful, in keeping with the entire theme of project Dark Age. Small leaflet included with lyrics mostly in Japanese, the credits are in English. Two discs are included, disc 1 is black with red lettering and has Ugly and Depravity. Ugly is just a killer, headbanging track with a melodic interlude which leads to an insanely gorgeous solo by Uruha and Kai, 'shredding' on the drums (no lie). Depravity sounds similar to Ugly so that you can keep on headbanging, but has discordant elements like a previous GazettE song,Derangement.In both tracks, Reita's powerful bassline leads the way. Aoi lends his solid guitar prowess to each track as well. Ruki's vocals are flawless whether he is growling or singing smoothly. Disc 2 is red with black lettering; a DVD with the music PV for Ugly and a making of segment. The GazettE have a complete hand in directing and creating the video. I applaud them for inviting fans to participate as the audience. There are elements of anger and implied gore in the storyline. The members all look great and put their heart and soul into the production. This played perfectly on my laptop with Windows VLC media player, though both discs are region 2. I highly recommend this as an addition to any hard rock lover's music collection.

I purchased this for Goddess, which is not included on the limited edition. As I have reviewed Ugly and Depravity already (I bought both additions, so see that review if you are really interested), I'll concentrate on the final song. This CD has three songs. The disc is black with red lettering. It has the same gothic/horror cover art as the limited with a small fold out leaflet with primarily Japanese lyrics. Credits are again in English. Goddess is simply a beautiful song, I believe Aoi wrote it. It sounds like his soulful guitar work. It is a nice, more melodic breather after the intensity of Ugly and Depravity, but I wouldn't call it a ballad. Ruki's vocals are beautiful and smooth without any growling, though he does a spoken voice over a few times. This song is similar to the soulful portion of In Blossom in some ways, which is an Aoi song from Beautiful Deformity. Goddess alone is worth buying this single. Again, the CD plays perfectly on my laptop with Windows VLC media player, though I am in the USA, and the discs are region 2.

Limited edition is definitely worth the price. The box is BIG; but it's a work of art in black, slate grey and tints of gold. You get the CD with 14 solid new songs; a DVD of the music video Dogma; a DVD of portions of the 13th anniversary concert--this is awesome and looks like it was a first-class production--videos for Deux, Ominous, making of Dogma video, and two trailers(no English subs);lyric booklet(mostly Japanese text);two large books: a 40 page full color photobook with tons of pictures of each member, these are gorgeous and well worth the price; a book with member comments on each song and individual member interviews (again Japanese text). I set my laptop for region 2 and the DVDs played just fine. The songs:This is solid, hard rock. Down tuned, dark, aggressive, with a minimum of electronic elements (mostly in NIHIL, the intro track), and only a bit of backing female vocals. These men have always been talented, but here, they have all evolved and improved in their skills dramatically. Ruki sounds fantastic,smooth as silk and growling like a demon all in one song.Reita is fast and has all kinds of new runs I've never heard him play before. Kai is phenomenal;his drum lines are like a machine gun, so many new phrases, rolls and his precision is perfect.He was always great but now he's unbelievable. Saved the best for last: The guitarists are showcased on this CD and they sound like they've finally been able to play like they want to. Nothing is held back. They are a seamless duo, tight and 100% rocking. Some of the best riffs, crunching power chords, runs and solos along with beautiful melodies.It's about time they were allowed to play like this, too. Favorite tracks:Dogma,Dawn(listen to that intro!),Wasteland (my number 1),Deux,Ominous. I can't imagine how this CD is going to sound in concert, it ought to be the show of a lifetime. tldr:The Limited Edition is worth the money;lots of extras, solid 14 new songs, every song is great!!--Sally (USA

Really nice addition to any collection, the artwork and booklet are sleek and beautiful and the choice of songs very good. Several of the videos rely heavily on concert footage--Obscure (I had never seen this version), Mr Newsman of course, and Machiavellism. The booklet has lyrics in English and Japanese. There are making of segments for Child Prey, Drain Away, The Final, Saku, Kodou and Kasumi. These segments are short but still a nice behind the scenes glimpse. I bought this as I am having a hard time finding a copy of Vulgar and Six Ugly so I'm glad to have some of the songs I love, particularly Saku, to listen to. As always, the DVD came well packaged and in perfect condition. Fedex international shipping was worth the price and had it to my door in the USA in about 4 days. Thank you, CDJapan, and of course, Dir en grey :).

This is a great DVD with old favorites and new, including three killer videos from the newest Dir en grey cd, Arche. With Fed Ex international shipping it arrived to my home in the US in 3 days, well worth the price. The making of videos are a nice bonus as always. My favorite videos are Different Sense, Unraveling and Uroko. I was so happy to see that finally Unraveling was being released!

This review is late, sorry! This is the two cd set, including a postcard with a photo of all the members, and a booklet with lyrics in English and Japanese. I really love this band and their music, they are all so talented and have a great chemistry together. The first cd has 9 new tracks, with the crystal clear sound Sukekiyo is famous for. Leather Field, Celeste and Focus are my favorites but every song is great. The second cd has two duets, and two remixes from songs from Immortalis. I really liked hearing Kyo with another singer and would love to hear more again. This cd has even more experimentation than Immortalis did and will delight and surprise you but you must listen to it many times to absorb the feeling. If you are a lover of alternative sound, progressive and unique music and just five truly excellent musicians, please give Vitium and Sukekiyo a try!