DIR EN GREY - DUM SPIRO SPERO

[Daisuke 20]

the more I listen to this, the more it almost feels like MACABRE PART II[/i]

You're the law

[nekkichi 6042]

I kinda got the macabre vibe on the 2nd /3rd listen too.

Too bad I hate 90 % of macabre, and this album has no kr cube of its own to stand out.

Really disappointed, there will be some tracks I'll leave in my playlist (all from 2nd part), but they probably won't stay there for too long.

it was the same with marrow of the bone, which I don't listen to anymore.

[Asakusa 95]

not doing a detailed review (weird since this is my fav-all-time-whore-for-this-band)

i didn't know wtf was happening the first time i listened to it but it was a chaotic mess that i loved

it totally blew me away, listened to it a lot of times more and it keeps doing that to me.

i loved every part of it. This totally became my fav album of them putting Kisou in 2nd place.

10/10

[Genryuu111 1]

for me, this album is like every album they made.

I have a weird thing with deg, I never liked ANY of their albums as a whole, but I absolutely love some songs, and this one is no exception.

in general, this album is a bit too prog for my ears, which is not my bread. but still, I can appreciate the effort.

-I loved different sense, still loving it.

-when amon was a single a few days ago I was like "meh", but now that I listened to it a few more times I really like it.

-dreambox is like red soil, it makes me laugh (in a positive way)

-lotus, I hated it as a single but...was that bass always there? that bass gave it 100 points to my ears.

-diabolos, vinushka part 2. a more interesting clean/calm part, a more boring heavy part. not bad, but I'm not a fan of long songs.

-hageshisa...what did they do to you? ;_; from the sample I was like "oh wow cool, they improved the growling in this one"...yes, they kinda did, but now everything just doesnt blend at all..the song was totally ruined.

-vanitas, nice ballad, but I liked a lot more ware, yami tote in uroboros. maybe it will grow more later.

-amon (symph) OMG probably my favourite in the album excluding different sense and the old hageshisa. I actually started loving the original amon after listening to this one. first time they dont destroy a song "unplugging" it. it's just the original with strings in the background. and it fucking works.they need to work more like this, I love it. sadly it's "just" a bonus track, and many of you wont even consider it in the album.

all the songs left out are songs that didnt stand out for me at the first 2-3 listens. maybe I'll start loving some of them later.

[Tony 1]

This album has grown on me after more listens, it definitely not something I could grasp in one listen or one day.

However, I don't think its one of their best releases. It has its shining moments, but its downfalls. I think its biggest downfall is that they have stopped using a chorus or hook or some sort in their song structure - in many songs, there's almost nothing to latch onto. Nothing to make you want to hit the repeat button. Another of its minuses is that it seems like, the skeleton of the album is similar to UROBOROS. We have the long, progressive-sounding tracks, coupled with the shorter bursts of chaos and softer, ballad-y tracks. It just feels like we've been though this kind of album before.

While the skeleton of UROBOROS is there, the albums sound almost nothing alike. UROBOROS felt more controlled, this album is chaos without restriction. I actually struggle to listen to the whole thing in one sit. You can tell they wanted to make an uncomfortable, long album, they did not want this to be easy listening.

This is why when you get to one of the 3 singles tracks, your ear breathes a sigh of relief.. catchy riffs and a chorus to sing along to! Once again, it feels like the band purposely did this. Dreambox and AMON are the two other easy-listening tracks here for me. A lot of people were quick to dismiss AMON as being crap and some have even said its the worst track on the album. But I think its actually one of the best, both the original and the symphonic version. And if you listen closely it actually has a chorus. The song is structured very similar to DIFFERENT SENSE, and they work very well together one-after-another. Dreambox is one of the better album tracks, seems like a fan favourite. And speaking of DIFFERENT SENSE, its the best track here by far.

Don't get the whingeing about the re-recorded single tracks. They both still sound good. Hageshisa's single version is better, packs a bit more punch, but I think the new version sounds better in the context of the album. The differences in LOTUS are too marginal, I loved the track as a single and I love it here. Makes you appreciate these kinds of tracks more as the band makes less and less mainstream-sounding songs.

They also seem to be cutting down on ballads, we only really get one here, VANITAS. Its pretty sounding, but nowhere near their best.

The long, proggy part of the album is hit and miss. Worked so well on UROBOROS with Vinuskha, but DIABOLOS falls well short. Its boring, plods along too slow and feels like a 20 minute song rather than a 9 minute one. The Blossoming Beelzebub is amazing though, a spotlight for Kyo's wide vocal range.

There seems to be a bunch of "OK" tracks that aren't bad but aren't highlights either and don't have much of an impact. 獣慾, 滴る朦朧 & 暁 fall into that category for me.

Then we have the downright bad... DECAYED CROW. >_< At least the album ends on a high with 流転の塔, the melodic sections are amazing and Kyo's vocals are outstanding.

Best tracks: The Blossoming Beelzebub, DIFFERENT SENSE, AMON, Dreambox, Lotus, Hageshisa

Worst track: DECAYED CROW

7/10

[Tokage 5930]

Am I the only one here who thinks Shitataru Mourou is the weakest track on the album? I only liked the chanty parts that kick in after the halfway point

[mopkins 42]

I don't think shitataru mourou is the weakest track, but it's definitely near the bottom of the list for me

I do love the part at 1:30 where Kyo starts communicating with dolphins

[nekkichi 6042]

Am I the only one here who thinks Shitataru Mourou is the weakest track on the album? I only liked the chanty parts that kick in after the halfway point

there're plenty sucky tracks to pick from on this album imho, and they're almost equally bad.

[gyakutai 12]

Uhm... I just wonder: how many people who likes Diru listen to western metal? Because many other bands have that vibe/sound, so I don't think it's that great and original/unique, personally. Well, my favourite Deg's album is GAUZE and also VULGAR, so... But still, I think they experimented too much and ended up doing almost just heavy songs. But... how will they sound live? I guess they will be worse... as majority of metal bands isn't that awesome live. Hope someone will post a proper live report! ^^' I don't know which rate to give because I enjoy metal, but this is not my cup of tea. I will be always a fan of old DEG, and not for the visual/look, but for the music ; ) (no drama. I just wrote what I thought XD)

[Pretsy 1343]

EDIT: check the first comment of mine

[Velovelo 18]

When it comes to this album, I'm rather sad considering the final product.

There are so many good parts that sound just like they weren't finished at all.

I wasn't expecting that much. I've been listening to it two times by now, and I have to say, it's a lot more tolerable to my ears now. Still, it's nothing I'd listen to on a casual basis. Seriously, I can't put it anywhere. It's so hard to rate it.

When it comes to my personal preferences and opinion, I gotta say it's just way too chaotic, and almost devoid of any hooks. To me, it sounds like a huge mess of... SOMETHING.

Kyo seems to ruin a number of songs with his out-of-context vocal lines. Instrumentally, to be honest, it's pretty good. But sadly, the only song I could rather get attached to is VANITAS for its conventionality and good execution. But, I have to admit, at least they tried to experiment... Though I can't really say that they succeeded in my ears.

If they did away with all these wannabe-hard-chaotic-whatever-parts, the album would be shorter by a good deal. And seriously, I'd appreciate that. It's just too long. Too much noise, a ton of disharmonies that just hurt my ears. I am sure that it would be better if they cut out all these random parts! Seriously, most songs have nice parts. But they are just being ruined by "bad-ass" parts that don't really make any sense.

I'm rather happy though, that this album is a lot more inventive and interesting than MoAB, which I found to be incredibly annoying.

So, what kind of rating should I give? I seriously don't know. This album is just SO DAMN WEIRD and inconventional that I can't really put a finger on it.

But taking my personal feelings into account, it'd probably get a 4/10.

It's not thorougly horrible, and it's not thorougly good. But these random shred parts really turn me off.

But obviously everybody gets a different notion from listening to it, so I advise people to actually do the exact same thing. Maybe they like it a lot more than I do, and maybe they dislike it a lot more than I do. In the end it's a matter of taste.

I gotta say though, the bass lines are really good, as well as the production/mixing. The arrangement is just not my cup of tea, sadly. But I'm sure this album is gonna polarise like hell.

[xxzer0xx 7]

BEST FUCKIN ALBUM OF THE FUCKIN YEAR/?

[sugibo 403]

after about 20 times of listen, i have to say i love this album so much.

it's probably their best album to me.

i am not a fanboy and i dont like UROBOROS much.

but this album is just my tatse.

i will put this on the 1st place and MOAB on the 2nd.

all tracks in the album are very interesting!!!

great job!!

[finnthesubhuman 26]

Observations (as a review is not meant to be completely opinion):

01 狂骨の鳴り: The violin here is amazingly thought out and contrasts with the guitar very well. My main issue is that Diru’s intros rarely meld into the first track, and it loses impact over those few seconds (sue me if you think otherwise).

02 THE BLOSSOMING BEELZEBUB: Not deathcore. This is basically a fusion between progressive, death, metalcore and sludge, which means it is very sloooow but not exactly a breakdown. Riff at about 2:50-ish is awesome. If the violins were used more often during heavy bits this album would have been intense*. Due to lack of chorus or verse, it feels more like a journey than a song. Kyo’s goin’ mayud.

Oh yeah, I was writing a “review”. Love the drum and bass at the end, but why didn’t they tack that to the start of Different Sense? xD

03 DIFFERENT SENSE: Excellent contrast between the deathcore-influenced verses and the soft sections. A little bit of everything they’ve done before. The chorus is a real breather after the verses.

04 AMON: At the start of this song, I get that “I can’t be fucked” vibe, but when the “chorus” finally kicks in I remember this song is not shit and that’s just me being over the sludge by this track. The bass is amazing.

05「欲巣にDREAMBOX」あるいは成熟の理念と冷たい雨: The bass and chuggy riff is very MOAB but a lot more interesting. As usual, they like tricking the listener with multiple section switches. That is a good breakdown around the 2 minute mark. Vocal freakout is nice.

06 獣慾: I don’t hear any BMTH in this, maybe because this is actually interesting. It has a lot more thrash/metalcore influence, but Kyo’s still doing his weird vocal tricks. You guys need to stop listening to metalcore and accept Dir en grey absorbs bits of whatever’s in the spotlight.

07 滴る朦朧: The most Uroboros-sy one so far, clean vocals are effective. Chanting is awesome xD Ooo-awwh.

08 LOTUS: Oh, hello. This song sounds so much better here than it did on the fail-single, but what the hell happened to it being the “softest” on the album? Vanitas is definitely softer. Awesome chorus, strange intro, peaceful verses, abrupt finish. Left feeling “oh yeah”.

09 DIABOLOS: Here is where the album starts to pick up. I wouldn’t have minded if this took up the first slot instead of Beelzebub, but here works too. Another journey-type song, and the time passes very quickly when you just sit down to listen. Great solo(s) there, and that simple riff underneath has a great build up. I’m really enjoying the oriental piano and synths at around 5 minutes and at 9:20ish.*

10 暁: The new Nariseba? The bass shines here. Kyo’s doin’ his falsettos and it’s entertaining xD Some hard rock fills like 2:28ish. The distorted solo is interesting, and sets this song a recogniseable feature.

11 DECAYED CROW: No, this has to be the new Nariseba. Strange time signatures, a blast verse, Kyo’s developed gutturals-with-pursed-lips, weird panning throughout. Some cool chanting in there too. This is where I notice the guitar playing is very tight, both guys are playing almost perfectly together. I’ve lost the bass, apart from a few funky bends.

12 激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇: My god that riff did not translate well with the new guitars/mixing. Either than means the song needs some more notes in that riff, or the guy who mixed the single obscured the guitars that much, and changed the entire riff himself. The bass sounds a lot better, no more stupid panning on some of the screams, vocals sound much more mixed and reverb-y. I feel it lost a lot of impact where it had impact before, and the intro sounds like a very off cover. Shame. 2:40-ish riff isn’t as breathtakingly suffocating as the old mix.

13 VANITAS: Quite sure this is softer than LOTUS. Amazing buildup. I enjoyed it too much that I forgot I was writing a “review” again.

14 流転の塔: This comes off as an impressive summary of everything the album covered, with an amazingly heavy and epic riff+vocal combo at 1:30, and a catchy as chorus. This song is definitely the highlight, very Uroboros-on-crack-ish.

And to finish it off, I won’t review the bonus tracks as part of the album, since I can’t afford the version that has them on it, if I understand the editions. The Amon-Symphonic version is impressive though* and I wish they’d used that version instead of the other one.

I kinda miss the more structurised layout of the Uroboros tracks, but since the band admitted this album was done without concept and flow in mind, I guess it’s pretty acceptable in its chaotic feel. Certainly comes off as Uroboros’ evil cousin. Not as good, but only because it hasn’t had as much time to sink in. I’m sure that’s the point, anyway. Definitely in the top, though, even though it's confusing and broad.

For 17 bucks it’s well worth a purchase from me. Wish I had enough to get the whole thing though, but 170-200 is extravagant for any band.

Actually, looking it up, apparently the digipak version has the bonus tracks. I hate digipaks. I may end up sticking with the CD jewel case version. I’ll think it over until release-day.

* I can definitely see them doing a symphonic metal album next.

[Genryuu111 1]

* I can definitely see them doing a symphonic metal album next.

I came

[Spectralion 394]

I don't know why, this album don't come to my ear.... It's just everything are forgetable...

[ShanethVarosa 1209]

A slightly more in depth review than "It's great!" now that I've listened to it a bunch more.

1. Kyouketsu no Nari - Great intro, but an intro nonetheless.

2. The Blossoming Beelzebub - Didn't really do a lot for me, dragged on a bit for me without many "oh my God!" moments. 7/10

3. Different Sense - Loved the single, in the album it's also great. 10/10

4. Amon - Didn't care for it at all at first, but it grew on me 100%, but the symphonic version I liked just a little more 9/10

5. Dream Box - I. LOVE. THIS. SONG. Might be my favorite song, next to Decaying Crow. I love the Red Soil-ish bits. 10/10

6. Juuyoku - Fantastic song that I could listen to on repeat, but I often get this and 7 confused 10/10

7. Shitataru Mourou - See above review 10/10

8. Lotus - Good single was good, album version was better, but it still fell flat just a bit. 8/10

9. Diabolos - This one really kept me interested throughout the whole thing. Perfect arrangement 10/10

10. Akatsuki - Really loved this one too. About now is when I noticed the lack of variation, but not in a bad way. 10/10

11. Decaying Crow - Favorite song on the album, I could listen to it on repeat for hours. 10/10

12. Hageshisa - Loved the single, album version didn't impress me much with the new arrangement, but I still loved it just the same. 10/10

13. Vanitas - One of the better ballads they've done. I did like it a lot more than Inconvenient Ideal as it had more power. 10/10

14. Ruten no Tou - A perfect album closer, imho. It had the softer parts, the harder parts, the screams, the singing... It had it all! 10/10

BONUS.

15. Rasetsukoku - Great bonus track, but I can see why it didn't get included with the main songs. It just seemed excessive. 9/10

16. Amon Symphony version - This one seemed more complete than the original version, more melody less noise. 10/10

[evilcoconut 109]

Probably one of their worst albums. But I enjoyed VANITAS and LOTUS a lot, with 滴る朦朧, 暁, DIABOLOS and 流転の塔 getting honorable mentions. I'm a little, no, a LOT puzzled by Kyo's ridiculous dying animal sounds. It's clear he can still sing (somewhat), as evidenced on VANITAS in particular. So what is with the rabid chipmunk business? Of course the unnecessary muddy layers in most of the songs was also ridiculous, but I was so distracted by Kyo's garbled gurgling to be as annoyed with those as I could have been.

[Velovelo 18]

Probably one of their worst albums. But I enjoyed VANITAS and LOTUS a lot, with 滴る朦朧, 暁, DIABOLOS and 流転の塔 getting honorable mentions. I'm a little, no, a LOT puzzled by Kyo's ridiculous dying animal sounds. It's clear he can still sing (somewhat), as evidenced on VANITAS in particular. So what is with the rabid chipmunk business? Of course the unnecessary muddy layers in most of the songs was also ridiculous, but I was so distracted by Kyo's garbled gurgling to be as annoyed with those as I could have been.

Seriously, I just HAVE to ditto that. Guess we're not made for that kind of stuff.

[Bonki 0]

All the songs sounds very boring for me. Also screaming is annoying!

It seems that they're appealing to the kids.

Dir en Grey is a thing in the past now for me. But I still listen to their old songs.

[relentless 254]

I can finally do a detailed review!

Kyoukotsu No Nari: Great intro! Intros are supposed to do what Kyoukotsu does, and that's set the mood and create a vibe that will be consistent throughout the album. 10/10

THE BLOSSOMING BEEZLEBUB: It goes somewhere...but at the same time it doesn't. It's very true to its name in the sense that it just blossoms and progresses in a very subtle way. Despite those subtle off-timings and transitions though, the song just sits there and shuffles along. Though the musicianship and performance by Kyo are great! 8/10

DIFFERENT SENSE: Damn. One of the strongest tracks on the album! What more is there to say about such an iconic song in the bands career? 10/10

AMON: Really cool, but the guitars are completely underpowered. There could have been more power and more kick to this song, but there wasn't. What the hell happened? 7.5/10

Yokusou Ni Dreambox" Aruiwa Seijuku No Rinen To Tsumetai Ame: Didn't know I was actually going to like this song, but it realllyyyy surprised me! The intro is great! 9/10

Juuyoku: The progression, the break down, the harmonies...oh my god. 9.5/10

Shitataru Mourou: Pretty cool rock-like progression that grooves along. The song is saved from its stagnant progression though once a break down comes in and ends on a completely different note than the rest of the song. Variation! 7.5/10

LOTUS: MUCH better production than the single, and with that...a lot more enjoyable to listen to especially within the context of the album. 9/10

DIABOLOS: Though set up sort of like Vinushka (the thrashy riff is sort of similar), it conveys a strong image and emotion a lot better than Vinushka. The changes in tempo are a lot more subtle than in Vinushka -- it all blends well together! 9.5/10

Akatsuki: A very very very odd song that goes through many different genre shifts and just goes all over the place. It's unpredictable and a really good example at that "free form" sound the band was describing. But under review I feel like it doesn't really fit...but to say that is really unfair. 7/10

DECAYED CROW: Dir en grey's most brutal song, and they do a damn good job at it! Seeing this performed live is going to be quite the treat. 10/10

Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami: guitar parts changed, more sludgy, and a lot more bass. The song feels very constricted but is still a great track! 9/10

VANITAS: damn! One of their best ballads. Thoroughly impressed, and one of their only ballads that I listen to by choice. 9.5/10

Ruten no Tou: Dir en grey's best closing track. Hands down. Everything about this song is just above and beyond their previous work. 10/10

Overall (Average): 9/10

Overall (Impression): 10/10 (This is Dir en greys best work, and the fact they were able to come up with such an incredible sound and put together the best album of 2011 so far is entirely admirable)

[Asakusa 95]

It seems that they're appealing to the kids.

[Zeus 7997]

Of course the unnecessary muddy layers in most of the songs was also ridiculous

Just want to throw out there that this album was mastered in analog so that may have something to do with it.

All the songs sounds very boring for me. Also screaming is annoying!

It seems that they're appealing to the kids.

Dir en Grey is a thing in the past now for me. But I still listen to their old songs.

a) It's not screaming it's guttural growling and pig squeals. Kyo did screaming on TMOAB and he fucked up his vocal cords and before then he did fail-screaming which didn't sound like screaming at all and more like him just gerbiling over the music.

But anyway, for someone saying that they appeal only to the kids you seem to forget what the entire visual kei movement is - grown men scantily dressing to attract young women because it's appealing to the kids. For goodness sake's, their entire visual era was them appealing to the kids! Your statement makes no sense, especially within the context of this specific album. DSS is one of their more original records and this and Uroboros sees them play with energy that you don't hear anywhere else in their discography. Whether or not it clicks with you is a separate issue but at least this isn't standard American metalcore (TMOAB), LUNA SEA covers (Missa) or Yoshiki-fied typical late 90's visual kei (Gauze).

c) Boringness is a personal thing. Can't comment on that.

[finnthesubhuman 26]

Agree heavily^

Dir en grey has always done what's popular in whichever scene they were introduced to. This album is a lot more intricate than "let's all growl indecipherably over riffs too progressive for the little kiddies cuz that's what's in now".

And it is much less "posery" than MOAB.

There is no pig squealing on this album, though. They are just very formed gutterals. With the technique Kyo chose to use, adding "oi" to the end will cover what would usually be an abrupt trail off. Sounds a lot more powerful ending them that way. He's not using his lips as much as he did on Uroboros, mainly because he's adapted to the new style of harsh vocals now than he was in 2008.

[relentless 254]

Kyo did whispered growls back in 2008. Watch The Rose Trims Again and it's very clear. His growls suckedddddd. Now they're great! And they're different at the same time because of how full and "wet" they are, they possess the same technique as pig squeals but aren't quite there yet. It's a cool combination.