Dir en Grey is the most versatile and great band of all time.

My opponent begins by saying that an argument for a 'best' band is entirely subjective; though she uses evidence similar to mine to negate my resolution? Every debate is subjective in its own way. Some more than others, but does this mean we should just leave it at that? Should we not debate gay marriage, flag burning, best ideology, favorite movie, or any subject that is largely twisted by personal opinion stemming from religion, patriotism, etc. ? I challenge my opponent to lay forth an advocacy. Instead, it seems she chose to dodge the main point of the argument, and then, after criticizing my advocacy for its subjective matter, responded with appeals to popularity and the same subjectivity that apparently invalidated all of my arguments. Now to address my opponent's criticisms of my assertions: Con states that all bands are able to be identified by at least two different genres. But, very few can claim that they are able to diversify themselves among genres such as Death Metal, Shock Pop, Visual Kei, Melodic, Progressive Metal, and many other genres that are on such opposite ends. Dir En Grey has achieved this, hence it has earned its right to be considered superbly versatile. Hence, this leads me to say that they transcend genre. Next she undermines Kyo's (Lead singer of Diru) vocal range by using Robert Palmer as a counter vocalist that challenges the Kyo's vocal range. Although my opponent lists a great many genres, these genres require only a soft tempo and volume. Can a singer such as Robert Palmer boast to being able to growl, scream, expressing true emotion through rage based sound, and manipulate his voice so greatly as to transition from extreme hardcore screaming, seamlessly, to soft, melodic singing? I understand that a singer is not the only individual in a band that gives the band quality. Dir En Grey's guitarists Die and Kaoru are able to keep up with the band's diversity in styles of play. Con then proceeds to say that lyrical content has no merit in a debate about the 'best' band. How can this be true? Most bands at this time have lyrics in their music, while there are some that do not, and are still great (i. e. 65 Days of Static). So bands should be critiqued on what their music attempts to convey. Yes, it's true that people will sometimes not care what the band is talking about, judging from what's popular now a days; though, this really doesn't matter in the scheme of things. People are touched by lyrics as much as they are by a melody of a guitar, maybe even more so. If a band can produce meaning to their existence as artists, they prove that they are able to embody what makes music art. This is done through having lyrics that mean something, as well as having a sound that opens up an individual to be able to hear, physically and mentally. Con, after assuming my advocacy was dismembered, hypocritically argues The Beatles to be the best band. My opponent admits the fallacy in using popularity as evidence for talent, but then says such things as "The Beatles released 40+ number one singles, EPs and albums in the UK. DEG has failed to achieve such prestige". Prestige in this case means popularity, since that's what determines if a song becomes a 'number one'. Next Con uses the opinion of "experts" to advocate The Beatles being the greatest band of all time. Appeal to authority. I could produce many "experts" who praise Dir En Grey for their ability to break language barriers, delve into numberless genres, and redefine genres altogether; this doesn't make Dir En Grey any more 'great' in a debate. Though The Beatles were undeniably influential in the development of the international music industry, they were actually incredibly formulaic in the process, and didn't really branch out creatively until the Vietnam Era. So, not only are The Beatles a questionable competing "great" band, but they are also a band whose innovative time has ended. Since Dir En Grey is innovating currently, and since I've proven their exceptional merit across industry standards of artistry & creativity, their potential has yet to be fully realized.