For two days the legendary Budokan has been taken over by DIR EN GREY. While 2014 is not even halfway through yet, the band has already had a productive year, releasing the single Sustain the UNtruth this January, completing an a knot-exclusive tour and heading over to Australia for the Soundwave Festival. Taking place on March 8th and 9th, their two consecutive shows at the Budokan are titled DUM SPIRO SPERO, after the album the band released in 2011.
Thousands of people slowly enter the building and find their spots while xylophone versions of DIR EN GREY songs play in the background. Blue lights cover the stage and more lights flash in the background as Kyoukotsu to nari starts to play. The words DUM SPIRO SPERO begin to appear on the screen in the background. The members walk onstage and get ready. Shinya starts Macabre off, and fans immediately start clapping along with the drums. Die switches between three different guitars during the song, two electric ones and one acoustic, in order to play all the parts to perfection. It’s a complicated song, with many different elements and the 2013 version has seen even more parts added in. It takes a lot of concentration, but the end result is a masterpiece.
Hageshisa to kono mune no naka de karamitsuita shakunetsu no yami gets the audience singing along, and with thousands of voices joined together, it makes a major impact. Kyo takes to his pedestal, grunts the lyrics and at a certain point discards the microphone, impressing the crowd by screaming the lyrics loud enough for everyone to hear.
The Budokan is a big venue with plenty of space for special effects, and DIR EN GREY make full use of it. During Jyuuyoku fire cannons are employed, and it’s a spectacular sight. Their videos show variation too, ranging from colorful images to deserted grey amusement parks to live material of the band members playing. Beautiful patterns are projected on the audience and the ceiling. They distract the audience for a bit, forcing them to scan the enormous arena before they focus on stage again.
Toshiya has the leading role for a bit in Bottom of the Death Valley. He strums his bass, playing a melody not related to the song before he kicks off with the characteristic bass line and the rest of the members join in. The song is originally from Kisou but the band did a remake for the mini-album The Unraveling. The same was done to Kasumi, but first they play a song that’s from the same album as Kasumi, Sajou no Uta. It’s one of the most surprising songs of the set. Die is enthusiastic from the start, playing his parts with tons of energy and headbanging along throughout the refrain. The crowd is ecstatic, loving the song choice.
Kyo has his inward scream between songs and doesn’t fail to immediately create an ominous ambience. The vocalist is surrounded by red and smoke, which sometimes cover him completely. The screams, grunts and other sounds he creates are echoing around the venue. He moves slowly but gracefully on the platform before kneeling down and lying back, still creating sounds. The inward scream flows into the symphonic version of THE BLOSSOMING BEELZEBUB and the vocalist twists himself into another position and continues singing with all his might.
As they play Unraveling the video clip is shown in the background. Only part of the video was released, so when it continues on to show new material the crowd cheers at the revelation. The members play their parts with passion, coming to the front of the stage to rile up the audience. After DIABOLOS they retreat backstage for a bit, getting ready for the encore.
The drums set up a distinct rhythm and the crowd soon realizes that DIR EN GREY have begun to play umbrella. The fans immediately put their hands in the air and shout “Hey!” along with the upbeat music. Kyo shouts “Budokan!” and the audience cheers. This up-tempo song has the crowd jumping up and singing along, getting louder and louder as Kyo encourages them. It's followed by Rasetsukoku, which sees Kaoru start headbanging right away, with the crowd quickly following his example. A song with fast-paced, distorted and mostly loud guitar parts, it always succeeds in making people go wild.
“Last song!” Kyo screams and they start playing the newest addition to their repertoire, Sustain the UNtruth. The audience is able to sing almost the entire refrain, and Kyo lets them. The parts he sings are impressive, switching from low to high notes with ease. Even though he shortens some of the long exclaims during the set, the audience is still amazed by his vocals. He twists and distorts his voice, grunts and uses every aspect of it to the fullest.
Even after leaving the stage, DIR EN GREY continue to surprise the audience by announcing that their new album will be released this November, in addition to a DVD of their Budokan shows. The crowd is overjoyed, but it’s not over yet. They also announce that they will head out on another tour in the summer, and it seems to be dedicated to their Gauze album, which was released back in 1999. Soon, the band returns to the stage, the members grab their instruments and begin the last song of the show: Saku. It’s a song everyone knows well and a good choice to end with.
The concert had a good balance between songs, plus a few that they rarely perform nowadays. They closed the second day of DUM SPIRO SPERO with an amazing show and great news for the future.
Zdroj:https://www.jame-world.com/en/article/126026-dir-en-grey-take-over-the-budokan-with-dum-spiro-spero.html?fbclid=IwAR2YUjmiAMdPzwzIHYFon7rMJi67ZLzYxiR_PfkfjKZ-IcvApxC4Elk7zeY
Žádné komentáře:
Okomentovat