DIR EN GREY - Uroboros

Album: UROBOROS
Artist: Dir en grey
Label: GAN-SHIN

Rating: ★★★★★

With the promise of an album which guitarist and band leader Kaoru heralded to be 'heavier, crazier and harder' than the last release 'THE MARROW OF A BONE'; UROBOROS doesn't disappoint. Two minutes of gut-wrenching instrumental effectively introduces this metal based album, smoothly followed then, by 10 minute masterpiece 'VINUSHKA'. Dir en grey though are not new to musical epics of this magnitude, they previously brought us another such 10 minute beauty with 'MACABRE' on the same titled album in 2000. This track similarly offers an amalgamation of beauty, turmoil and an aura of danger that one might expect to find on the soundtrack to popular video game 'Silent Hill'. The album consists of heavy headbangable songs with deep grunts, groans, growls and screams, everything you could possibly need from a metal album to make you feel well and truly pumped and downright dirty (in a good way!). Notable mention goes to track 5 'TOGURO' which is certainly a highlight of the album. A tune that summons you down into the depths of something dark and forboding with riffs verging on violation of your body and soul, yet with a symphonic voice to be your light in the dark tunnel. On that note, some 55 minutes after Uroboros thrusts into life, the final track smoothes over your ears in the form of sublime, rich, melodic ballad 'Inconvenient Ideal'. Showing the other end of Dir en grey's spectrum with this rhythmic song that could charm even the most determined haters of metalcore.

This is a beautifully crafted pleasantry for the ears from a band who are persistently evolving. The metal God's of Japan are quickly taking the U.K by storm, and we can see why, as vocalist Kyo's astonishingly broad range of vocal talents accentuates UROBOROS flawlessly on this fantastically put together 7th full length album.
Over the sea of 60 minutes of undefinable music genius, you quickly realise just how rare it is to find an album with such a multitude of explosive and spine-chilling tracks, to a blend of powerful yet sorrowful harmonies steeped with emotion. Interestingly, the album also includes two previous singles re-written purely in english in the forms of 'DOZING GREEN' and 'GLASS SKIN'.

Dir en grey present themselves with a dilema following the release of UROBOROS - Can they produce an album that can surpass this brilliance? Only one thing's for sure, we at primalnoise along with an evergrowing legion of rabid fans, can't wait to see what this relentless quintet will come up with next.

TRACK LISTING:

• 1. Sa Bir
• 2. Vinushka
• 3. Red Soil
• 4. Doukoku To Sarinu
• 5. Toguro
• 6. Glass Skin
• 7. Stuck Man
• 8. Reiketsu Nariseba
• 9. Ware Yami Tote...
• 10. Bugaboo
• 11. Gaika, Chinmoku Ga Nemuru Koro
• 12. Dozing Green
• 13. Inconvenient Ideal