Withering to Death

Withering to Death
Studio album by
Released9 March 2005 (2005-03-09)
RecordedStudio Inning, Studio Fine, On Air Azabu, Studio Greenbird, Sony Music Studios
Genre
Length51:14
LanguageJapanese, English
LabelFree-Will/Sony Music Entertainment Japan (JP)
Gan-Shin (EU)
Warcon (US)
ProducerDir En Grey, Yoshinori Abe
Dir En Grey chronology
Vulgar
(2003)
Withering to Death
(2005)
The Marrow of a Bone
(2007)
Alternative cover
Singles from Withering to Death
  1. "The Final"
    Released: March 17, 2004
  2. "Saku"
    Released: July 14, 2004
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
IGN(8.1/10)[2]
metal.de(9/10)[3]
Ultimate Guitar(9.2/10)[4]

Withering to Death (stylized as Withering to death.) is the fifth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Dir En Grey. Initially published in Japan on March 9, 2005, it was the band's first album to be officially released in Europe, North America and South Korea. In June 2006, Withering to Death reached number 42 on Billboard's "Top Heatseekers" chart.[5] Amazon.com included Withering to Death in its listing of "Top 10 Hard Rock & Metal albums of 2006".[6] In September 2007, Rolling Stone Japan rated it number 34 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time".[7]

In Japan, a first press limited edition with a tannish cover in digi-pack and slipcase form with a red booklet was released, while the standard version has a black cover and a purple booklet. The American and European releases received the black cover and contained an additional DVD with the video of either -Saku- (United States/United Kingdom), "Dead Tree" (Germany), "Kodō" (France) or "The Final" (South Korea); along with live compilations of "Merciless Cult" and "Machiavellism", and selected footage from Tour04 The Code of Vulgar[ism]. A live version of the song "Merciless Cult" is on the Family Values Tour 2006 CD compilation.

  1. ^ a b c Allmusic review
  2. ^ Nielson-Buckholdt, Christian (May 16, 2006). "Dir en grey - Withering To Death".
  3. ^ "Dir en Grey - Withering to Death Review • metal.de".
  4. ^ "Withering To Death Review". Ultimate Guitar. Ultimate-Guitar.com. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Top Heatseekers". Billboard. June 3, 2006.
  6. ^ "Dir En Grey at the Mitch Schneider Organization". msopr.com. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
  7. ^ "Finally! "The 100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time" Listed". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 6, 2018.