Album Review

Dir En Grey – Uroboros At Nippon Bodokan

• 22nd Jun 2010

When I was asked to review this Live album from this Japanese outfit, I didn’t hesitate. Dir En Grey have always been a major curiosity to me. I’d never heard a full album of material from them in the past and wanted to really see if I could get into it. Now, I’ve never been a big fan of live albums – I find them usually to be blatant money spinners, with the heart and soul of the live experience mixed out of them. What this release did interest me with is a live set on both CD and DVD, instantly proving to me that the least I would get is value for money. Packaging looks inviting too.

I’ll start with the CD. Pretty much what one would expect in a well mixed and well played 15 song set. This definitely impressed me enough to put it in my car and give it a really good listen. I now feel by listening to this CD that I want to listen to the whole back catalogue. They might even have made a fan out of me.

The real value in this package is with the DVD however. Right from the off the viewer is presented with a beautiful menu screen and the content is well filmed in the huge Nippon Budokan in Japan. The crowd treat the band like gods and it’s obvious that Dir En Grey are a huge band in their native country. The set is well choreographed and there’s some nice stage design with graphic projection and backdrops. The band themselves look great onstage and play the set tightly.

The idea of a bonus DVD with album releases is not uncommon these days but Dir En Grey deserve major credit for the effort that has gone into both the production values and value for money. I highly recommend this release for both major fans of the band and newcomers to them too.