Dum Spiro Spero [2CD+DVD+2LP] [Limited Edition]

Dum Spiro Spero is not only a world class metal album, but the heaviest material Dir en grey has ever released. I'll start by saying; this is the best production Dir en grey has ever released. Everything is perfectly mixed, nothing too high or too low. Every pick, wack, crash, scream, shriek, growl, falsetto, slap, etc. etc. can be heard with ease. I'm glad they took their time to get it right. But the most important thing is the performance. Everyone is five stars here. The solo by Karou in Different Sense and the solo by Die in Vanitas are their greatest solo's ever. They are perfectly perfomed and complex. These are not the mini solos we heard on earlier releases. These are full blown solos with much character and emotion. The bass is so well played. Toshiya does everything he is known for and more. Amon is definitely not the weakest song on the album. There are none. But the bass playing on Amon is why he's my favorite bass player. The drums are so well mixed that this is the best Shinya has ever sounded. Especially listening with headphones his kit sounds monsterous. You can clearly hear his stirkes in one ear and strikes in the other. He's very intense on this album. But the highlight, as always is Kyo. His growls are deeper, his screams higher, his singing cleaner. Kyo now perfectly holds his screams and growls with ease. There's also some choir-esque vocals unheard before, especially on Ruten. As for the bonus material, it's plenty. A great Re-work of Rase, now sounding more live than ever. The symphony over Amon makes it sound beautifully brutal. The unplugged Ruten is very haunting. The demo's are great, especially Kyo's different vocal performance on Akatsuki. And the remixes are very interesting and of high quality. Karou's remix sounds like an outer space version of a Gaga song on shrooms and Kyo's remix sounds like a Mayan human sacrifice. The DVD is great with six music videos in widescreen and interview and in studio-footage. Just wish there were subtitles. The booklet is great with more poems by Kyo and huge two-page layouts of every band memeber. The only reason this record is slightly second to Uroboros is the suprise factor. No one thought after Marrow they would write their masterpiece but they did. With that aside, this album is on even playing field with Uroboros. Dir en grey is writing their best material ever and never disappoint.

I wouldn't even know how to describe this item. It's been well over a month since I ordered it, and still it has yet to arrive. Extremely disappointed with the customer service here.

its so fantasical!the songs are all amazing . dir en grey never disappoints and they sign the lp case :) the extras are so cute interviews and you get to see a recoding session blip . highly recommended.