The multifaceted entity known as Dir en Grey is back in action.
Having explored a wide range of styles from Visual Kei to the far reaches of Extreme Metal since its formation in 1997, the band led by Kyo (vocals, Petit Brabancon, Sukekiyo), Kaoru (guitar), Die (guitar), Toshiya (bass), and Shinya (drums) unveils its twelfth album, Mortal Downer, as it approaches its thirtieth anniversary.
The album opens with ISOLATION, a track added at the last minute that offers a progressive introduction, as if to let us acclimate to this new universe presented by the Japanese band with a controlled, unsettling touch that starts off quite melodic before veering into noisy industrial tones. The atmosphere grows heavier before Kaijin ni Kisu unveils a heavy, jagged sound where Kyo’s voice winds its way through the riffs, alternating between whispers, screams, and hypnotic clean vocals, following the tortured instrumental’s lead to join the chaotic EN’EN, an even more oppressive track that seems to blend the band’s latest prog influences with palpable violence. The track does, however, allow for a few moments of drifting before returning to its initial contrast, but we move fairly quickly to the modern tones of Discard, the next composition where we find the energy of the 2000s era amid screams and fairly raw sections, while retaining the refined elements, particularly in the dissonant solo. The band surprises with a very ethereal passage followed by an explosive outburst, before Bloodline brings its haunting, deceptively soothing darkness, allowing the rhythm section to develop an intoxicating groove that carries the various influences explored by the guitars—as predictable as they are unpredictable. Back to a sense of unease with There’s nothing else, a track where the vocalist once again showcases his madness but also his talent, while his bandmates accompany him with a heavy instrumental; yet we quickly return to a softer touch with Hizumi to Ame, a shifting track that grows darker by the second to become a true anthem of rage. Another striking contrast comes with The Devil In Me, a track already known from its promotional video nearly two years ago, which the band has significantly extended to make it even more suffocating and aggressive, though it calms down slightly in its final moments to lead into MOBS, where the intro lets us breathe again. Connoisseurs will recognize original Post-Rock touches that grow increasingly heavy, using the track’s six minutes to soar freely and open up to luminous elements before encountering the strange Void, a more surprising composition where the band once again plays on the complementarity of its influences, shifting naturally from one extreme to the other. The majestic sound gives way to a rather raw complexity in Demand, with its waves of aggression counterbalanced by highly polished passages, before returning to a Nu-Metal-oriented sound with Kusabi and its jarring bursts. The track is fairly short, much like those of the era, and will delight fans of the albums that helped forge the band’s current reputation; then we move on to Moumoku ga Yue ni, which returns to its controlled dissonance, allowing each member to follow their own instincts while maintaining impressive coherence. We reach, not without a touch of bitterness, No End,” the final track, which begins with a rather gentle melancholy that eventually becomes more striking during the imposing passages, reinforced by that screeching violin solo, and finally, silence.
Dir en Grey has always been a free spirit in music, blending contrasting, impressive, aggressive, and at times more ethereal elements to achieve its goals. While Mortal Downer is by far one of their least accessible albums, it knows how to captivate its audience and will surely lead to unforgettable performances.
85/100