Dum Spiro Spero (Firewall/Sony/SMEJ)

As has occasionally been detailed here on Metal Army it is impossible to talk about the history of rock and metal without giving bands from Japan their due. Even before KISS went over in the 1970s and brought American cock rock with them, Japan has been a hotbed of creativity and talent in music. Going back through my life there have been countless cool bands some underground and some very popular worth your time and and ear- respect. Bands like glam kings LOUDNESS, the legendary epic metal of X-JAPAN, BUCK-TICK and more recently groups such as BORIS and SIGH have gotten me excited. Another band making waves is DIR EIN GREY which incorporates some of the best of elements of their forerunners blended with their own unique perspective and feel. I really loved their last record Uroborus and this new one is a complete step up from that work. The album sounds very triumphant and considering that the band recently went through a lot following the recent earthquake/nuclear power plant incident this past March. They openly discussed their feelings on the matter which you can read here. Life is often much bigger than a metal album and whether it is good or not and I think this is especially apparent in the artistry of the band.

After the introduction of “ Kyoukotsu No Nari” which sounds like the eerie exposition of a horror movie. The music paints the picture in your mind as if the monster is about to hatch and kill you in the next second. The first full song “The Blossoming Beelzebub” starts with tribal drums and enchanting Gothic female singing and chants. The song builds slowly as each instrument stirs awake as if a terrible and great epic is unraveling. When the main riff kicks in it is a wash of squealed death vocals, harmonized guitars and thick bass lines. The song is very sinister sounding with vocalist Kyo unfolding his magnificent five-octave singing range. “Different Sense” begins like the most brutal tech death assault you can imagine couched with a modern sensibility as if CRYPTOPSY, DYING FETUS and SLIPKNOT got together for punch and pie and a jam session broke out. When the chorus shakes things up significantly with a goth rock sound that wouldn’t be out of place on a HIM album. A thrashy a prog metal middle section, complete with shredding guitar solos sends the track into the stratosphere. Kyo can do nearly anything with his malleable vocal chords from guttural growls, pig squeals and power metal singing. The rhythm section of Toshiya on bass and Shinya on drums sounds amazingly tight and grooving at all times. “Amon” is another evil sounding dirge. Starting off with a bit of sea-sick rhythms boiling over in to some good old fashioned progressive death metal. Again Toshiya’s bass is just popping and about as good as he has ever sounding. Arabic influenced scales mark the guitar work of Kaoru and Die and they just kill it dead with their chops. Some of the melodic harmonies in the second half of the song will call to mind ICX Vortex’s symphonic qualities in his work in DIMMU BORGIR. “Dreambox” follows next and is more like a active rock and metal power ballad. Collectively they have a terrific pop sense about them as heard on the beautiful “Vanats”. I can’t speak Japanese, but you can’t help but feel the emotional pull of the lyrics and vocal performances in every song. The title of the album, Dum Spiro Spero is Latin for “While I breathe, I hope” which again considering everything is a pretty remarkable concept. Some more of the female vocals again chirp in as they do through out the album to add color. Later in the song we get a cross between KORN (the bands first American benefactor) and steely grindcore. Each distinct part is well written and precise, always sounding organic and not like forced genre mash. “Jukoyu” or translated as “Animal Lust” is another one of Kyo’s darkly sexual tales of depravity. The song itself is a prog/funk/thrash and metalcore workout and once again you have a band that has no ceiling on what they won’t try. Other top songs include “Lotus”, “Diabolus” and “Decayed Crow”.

DIR EN GREY: Fearless, limitless.

GRADE: A

By Keith (Keefy) Chachkes