I should probably start off by saying that although I'm a huge jrock fan, I never really got into Dir en Grey. I realize that makes me something of an exception, but most of their music just doesn't overwhelm me. Furthermore, I thought their old music was much more interesting since it was so strange (Mazohyst of Decadence and Berry being my two favourites). That said, I'm anxious to review this latest single since it is such a departure from everything they've done previously.

1. Kasumi (Mist)
This song opens with some hard but pretty conventional guitarwork. It caught my attention immediately, which is a good thing. Kyo begins singing pretty quietly with less howling and growling than I'm used to. The melody is quite nice without being overwhelming, and keeps the tone quite dark. The chorus gives Kyo a chance to show off his range and reminds me oddly of a Pierrot song. The percussion is also very good, but again is nothing tremendous. The section at the end is probably my favourite part, because it is even darker and Kyo does that wonderful moaning thing with his voice. You know what I mean. I actually like this song, and it definitely is a new sound for Dir en Grey.
Rating: 8.5

2. Fuhai Umi (Decaying Sea)
This is the kind of title I expect from a Dir en Grey song. It opens with some nice, crunchy guitars, then the percussion explodes. The overall tone is kinda creepy, and very loud. Kyo again is pretty restrained, and sings almost completely in his lower range. Then there is a spoken part that adds to the creepiness factor. In the bridge Kyo starts low and quiet and crescendoes to the chorus. That is probably the best part of the song. The chorus is nice and loud and Kyo's voice has definitely improved; he handles the jumps quite elegantly. This reminds me more of an old DEG song than 'Kasumi.' Again, I'm surprised how well I like this song. It hasn't converted me into a DEG fan, but I would listen to it again.
Rating: 8.5

3. umbrella (live)
Sadly, I can't compare this to the original since I've never heard the song before. However, I can tell you that it starts with some very nice percussion and dark guitarwork. (Hmm, can't you say that about most DEG songs?) Then Kyo screams, and raps more than sings. There is also some shouting reminiscent of an X Japan song! This is a really odd piece of work from DEG. For a live, the performance is above average, but I really can't decide if I like the shouted parts. Other than being a good head-banging song, this really isn't anything special. I would have preferred another new song.
Rating: 7

Overall Rating: 8 out of 10