Music

Album Review: Dir En Grey ‘Dum Spiro Spero’

Published

13 years ago

July 16, 2011

With their eighth studio album, Dum Spiro Spero, Dir en grey are preparing to hit the music world like never before. Word is that there will be a massive American blitz to introduce those who were unlucky enough to never have heard of these guys before to the aural insanity that Dir en grey puts forth. Having seen these guys at the Family Values tour in 2006, I can safely say that they put on one of the most intense shows I’ve ever seen. But has that insanity held and intensity held strong through the years and made it onto Dum Spiro Spero? Find out after the jump!

The first several minutes of the album are incredibly creepy and unsettling, using dissonant piano chords and droning guitars to create a miasma of suspense and dread. What follows, and makes up the rest of the album, is a cacophony of punishing metal, terrifying vocals and amazing production.

‘Akatsuki‘ is, in many ways, a perfect example of how intense and complex the band is. The rhythm guitars chug along with dissonant consistency while the bass alternates between foundation notes and some awesome slapping-popping. The lead guitar comes up with a vast amount of different sounds, from clean effected passages to a solo sound that sounds like the fuzzy lovechild of Jimi Hendrix and Justin Chancellor to a funk-wah passage, which just might be one of the most unexpected yet awesome parts of the song. The drums are mixed and panned beautifully, creating a dizzying effect when the toms are played, jumping from the left field to the right to the left to the center and even more. Finally, Kyo’s vocals traverse his full range, from death growls to soaring, almost piercing heights.

There are many other standout tracks, such as ‘Different Sense‘, which alternates between punishing riffs and yearning, aching melodies. ‘Lotus‘, used as the second single [thanks Abhorson] for the album, is the most accessible track without question, but is still incredibly strong and powerful. But perhaps the most standout aspect of this album is Kyo’s vocal work. His versatility and range are utterly mind-boggling and I’m convinced that he is one of the most diverse singers in the metal genre if not the entire music scene.

The Final Word: Dir en grey have in Dum Spiro Spero a diverse, brutal, terrifying album that needs to be heard and spread. I wholeheartedly recommend this album.

Make sure to check out Kyo’s Top 10 Horror Movies.

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

1 week ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…