estranhos sonhos

Kyo: As someone who has semi-chronic respiratory issues, it was rather painful to me that the MOBS PV cut to live footage from Downer Absolutely No One in which Kyo sounds the most out of breath that I've probably ever heard him be. I feel like the cut should have been a bit earlier, before the PV jumps to the end of the song, so that the live footage would have been longer and would have probably shown Kyo less out of breath at some point.

It's all very "atmospheric" songs dripping in something ominous in general. I mean, how many of Dir en grey's songs don't fit in that category... Anyway.  

What I don't remember is the footage of RED SOIL from the European tour being so low-quality on the BluRay that I got...

Going from Keibetsu to Hajimari to the poppy slow-paced Rotting Root is a weird choice hah. It's much less expected than the transition from Reiketsu Nariseba to Kuukoku no Kyouon.

A lot of footage from the 2024 European tour and Tour25 Enen. Can't blame him, his looks were sick.

Die: Ruten no tou is a great song to start a playlist with, but ouch, Die chose the one filmed performance in which Kyo clearly forgot a ton of lyrics. It wasn't just a matter of asking the crowd to sing and that the fans didn't deliver, because the footage intentionally avoided showing Kyo during that minute.

Die's setlist was rather intense in energy until Aka, but even for a ballad, it is rather fast-paced. It does allow for a seamless transition into Phenomenon and Glass Skin, whose pace is definitely slower. I'm surprised that we even got such a long stretch of "calm" songs.

Most of the songs feature some cool sounds or obvious Die-leaning guitar, but Glass Skin actually has Kaoru doing the main guitar sounds.

There was literally no other sensible way to go into Downfall than right after the previous song. Die really seems to be a master in transition, if he had any say in the video editing.

un deux signals the ending of the setlist for sure. Surprised that they used what's supposed to be a knot-exclusive footage. Same with all the mode-of stuff, I guess...

Die's actual faking of an end and use of the encore call is genius hah. But he was also such a tease because, by using footage from the same show as the video of un deux, fans know exactly what was played first at that show's encore: Sangeki no Yoru. But then it merges into a completely different day, year and song hahah.

Him keeping all the MCs too, lovely. He was in the live chat but that was his way to engage with the audience, to pierce the screen.

Oh, I'm disappointed that he didn't commit to using footage exclusively from actual encores that they've played. They definitely performed songs like Child Prey at the end of shows that came out on DVD.

Ending with Ware, yami tote... is surprising, but its lyrics do ask for something, it's not just a statement of pain without engagement.

Die completely ignored the band's latest material in Mortal Downer, woah... I don't know, that seems like a hell of a message, even if it's an unconscious one. Is it just because there is no footage of it except the couple of songs that were in Tour25 Enen? But that didn't stop Kyo from using a still picture of the album while the song played.

Toshiya: It's really abrupt that we start with the solo angle of Kyo, as well as with Utafumi of all songs. So far, there really seems to be a theme that each weekly setlist starts with something that kinda pokes fun at Kyo for one reason or another, or at least that can't leave him indifferent. That might be a better way to word it.

The transition to Garbage is rather seamless: from one Adidas suit to another hah. Man, Toshiya really doesn't let up with the intensity from the start, with The IIID Empire afterward, followed by C etc. etc.

Of course Toshiya chooses a solo angle of himself in a show where he wore the most majestic outfit hah.

Lie Buried With A Vengeance is a bit slower-paced, but still rather intense.

It feels like Toshiya is the only one who selected footage from shows that were obviously silent. Kyo took the Phenomenon performance from the first Phalaris tour, but since Phenomenon doesn't demand vocal interaction from the audience, it wasn't nearly as obvious.

Woah, one MC! So far, up until Lie Buried With A Vengeance, the songs had succeeded each other without delay. And the metronome drumming from Shinya served as the perfect transition to Machiavellism because it was the same rhythm.

Of fuck yeah! I mean, I think that they always select songs in which Shinya shines for his solo angles, but Magayasou is definitely an A1 choice. So nice that Toshiya put the spotlight on his rhythm section mate in an Arche song.

The Pledge is the first real "break" in physical intensity that we get. Man, that paired with embryo, good thing that the sad stint stopped there.

Of course Die during Rinkaku!

Toshiya is overwhelmingly favouring Withering to death. for some reason. And from that, he chose footage mostly from the European show in 2024. But I guess that you'd be limited in which years those songs were played if you focus so much on the same album hah.

Hm, I can't believe that there wasn't a smoother way to transition into Vinushka, from those crowd cheers. They just cut them short.

Fuck, Kodou right after Vinushka?

Another really unnecessarily abrupt cut to the claps, silence for a couple of seconds, then a random encore call promptly interrupted by the last noise of an Inward Scream before And Zero? I'm glad And Zero gets some love, but I'm just still perturbed by that awful transition that came right before the song.

Agitated Screams of Maggots! Toshiya is the one who picked the most songs from The Marrow Of A Bone, and it's nice to see that mode-of more.

Eddie and Rasetsukoku for the end, Toshiya knows how to close a show!

Oh shit, footage from before 2016?! They were allowed hah?