Uroboros (album)

Infobox Album
Name = Uroboros
Type = studio
Artist = Dir en grey


Released = November 11, 2008
Recorded = 2008 at the Sony Building in Tokyo, Japan
Genre = Metalcite web| title = Gansonaki Kaoru-ya| journal = Haiiro no Ginka| volume = 39| date = 2008]
Length =
Genre =
Language = English,cite web
url = http://direngrey.co.jp/english/e-information.html
title = English Uroboros information
accessdate = 2008-09-19
language = English] Japanese
Label = The End
Producer = Dir en grey
Reviews =
Last album = "The Marrow of a Bone"
(2007)
This album = "Uroboros" (2008)
Next album =
Misc = Singles
Name = Uroboros
Type = studio
Single 1 = Dozing Green
Single 1 date = October 24, 2007
Single 2 = Glass Skin
Single 2 date = September 10, 2008

"Uroboros" is the seventh studio album by Japanese rock band Dir en grey. It is scheduled for release as early as November 11, 2008 in the United States by The End Records, and will be followed on November 12 by a Japan release through Firewallcite web|url= http://direngrey.co.jp/english/e-uroboros.html|title= Dir en grey Uroboros announcement|accessdate= 2008-07-31|format= Database|work= direngrey.co.jp|publisher= Sun Krad Co. Ltd.|pages= 1|language= English/Japanese] and European releases by Gan-Shin.cite web|url= http://www2.kerrang.com/2008/08/dir_en_grey_new_album_exclusiv.html|title= Dir en grey new album exclusive!|accessdate= 2008-08-05|author= Dan|date= 2008-08-04|format= News update|work= kerrang.com|publisher= Bauer Performance|pages= 1|language= English|quote= Uroboros will be the band's first album to receive a simultaneous worldwide release.] cite web|url= http://www.jame-world.com/us/news.php?archive=08/2008#34352|title= European Release of Dir en grey's UROBOROS|accessdate= 2008-08-06|author= Finja|date= 2008-08-06|format= News archive|work= jame-world.com|publisher= Asian Music Entertainment|pages= 1|language= English|quote= Gan-Shin will release Dir en grey's new album, UROBOROS, in Europe. Starting with France and several countries on the same day as the Japanese version, the release will hit shelves in other countries shortly after.] The album is named after the Ouroboros symbol, which is a dragon or snake figure depicted in full circle consuming itself. This represents continuity and the cycle of power, emphasizing the theme of reincarnation, an idea propagated heavily by the band during promotion.cite web|url= http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/grapes/-/archives/2008_08_08_dir_en_grey|title= Dir en grey - Uroboros CDJapan Articles Archive|accessdate= 2008-08-08|date= 2008-08-08|format= Article|work= cdjapan.co.jp|publisher= Neowing|pages= 1|language= English]

Background and production

Following the finale of their 2007 touring, much of the song writing was completed on an individual basis in January and February of 2008, without the members meeting to collaborate.Citation| title = Gansonaki Kaoru-ya| journal = Haiiro no Ginka| volume = 39| date = 2008] The original announcement of recording was slated for the beginning of 2008,cite web|url= http://www.planet-loud.com/v6/interview.php?interview_id=1078|title= Planet Loud interviews Dir En Grey|accessdate= 2008-07-05|last= Hemy|first= Dominic|date= 2007-11-02|format= Interview|work= planet-loud.com|publisher= Planet-Loud.Com|pages= 1|language= English] while it was later announced that the album began pre-production in March 2008.cite web|url= http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=96488|title= DIR EN GREY Begins Work On New Album|accessdate= 2008-07-05|date= 2008-05-07|format= News archive|work= roadrunnerrecords.com|pages= 1|language= English] The members regrouped after two months of solitary working and shared their independently developed tracks, with guitarist Kaoru saying the intent was to show "I'm making this song right now," with the intent of producing a larger variety of songs. Recording of the first tracks then began in the spring in the Sony Building in Tokyo. Dir en grey later returned to the pre-production phase for the remaining tracks of the album.

Musical style

"Uroboros" will be "stuffed with themes of 'guilt and reincarnation' as well as 'the past, present and future of Dir en grey,'" as guitarist Kaoru stated in a press release. This was later echoed in CDJapan's album overview, calling the album "a sort of return for the band, revisiting the pre-"Withering to Death." era." Kaoru also included that the album would again be a progression into "heavier and darker" sounds than prior albums, as well as an "oriental and religious mood." The band has been recording with many new instruments, including mandolin, to create a unique sound.Citation| journal = Haiiro no Ginka| volume = 39| pages = 16-19| date = 2008] Vocalist Kyo will set emphasis on "non-screaming vocals," accentuating softer composition.

In an interview in the band's regular fan-club magazine, "Haiiro no Ginka", interviewer You Masuda described the style in comparison with the band's preceding album, "The Marrow of a Bone":

With the announcement of an American release date, guitarist Kaoru expressed further opinion on the album's style, saying the album would experiment with oriental sounds, and the "hard and heavy" atmosphere found on "The Marrow of a Bone" would be absent, instead favoring more elegant instrumentation and "something that lets you visualize several scenes".cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Exclusive - Interview with Dir En Grey About New Record, Uroboros, New Record Deal with The End
format = E-mail interview
work = headbangersblog.mtv.com
publisher = MTV
date = 2008-09-15
url = http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/2008/09/15/dir-en-grey-signs-to-the-end-for-new-record-uroboros
accessdate = 2008-09-15]

Release

A first time for the band, the album will debut in the United States, being released in four editions. . The album will be available via digital download, a standard CD, a deluxe limited edition release packaged in a digipak case with both a CD and DVD, and finally in a twelve-inch LP with a card to download the digital release. The CD and DVD edition will come with a series of live videos on the DVD, rather than that making-of footage from the Japanese release. The live footage includes "Repetition of Hatred", "Agitated Screams of Maggots", and "Hydra -666-" from the band's Zepp Tokyo concert from 22 December 2007, "Dead Tree" from Wacken Open Air 2007, and "Dozing Green" from a show on Tour 07 The Marrow of a Bone; tracks one through five were all previously included on "In Weal or Woe".

The album will be released in three editions in Japan; a standard edition, a limited edition and a deluxe edition. The standard edition will include no more than the main album,cite web|url= http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=SFCD-58|title= Dir en grey / Uroboros [Limited Edition, 2CD + 1DVD + 2LP (subject to change)] |accessdate= 2008-08-01|date= 2008-08-01|format= Catalogue|work= cdjapan.co.jp|publisher= Neowing|pages= 1|language= English] while the limited edition will include a bonus disc with unplugged tracks and internationally exclusive tracks. The deluxe edition will contain both discs packaged with the limited edition, as well as a bonus DVD containing a documentary of the album's conception, and two LPs.cite web
url= http://www.yesasia.com/global/uroboros-album-dvd-lp-first-press-limited-edition-japan-version/1011473272-0-0-0-en/info.html
title= Uroboros (Jacket A)(ALBUM+DVD+LP)(First Press Limited Edition)(Japan Version)
accessdate= 2008-08-01
date= 2008-08-01
format= Catalogue
work= yesasia.com
publisher= YESASIA.COM LTD.
pages= 1
language= English] cite web
url= http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/grapes/-/cdjblog/2008_08_08_dir_en_gazette
title= Regarding the Gazette and Dir en grey
accessdate= 2008-08-08
date= 2008-08-08
format= Corporate blog
work= cdjapan.co.jp
publisher= Neowing
pages= 1
language= English]

The original intent of the band's record label was to press an approximate amount of deluxe editions, however, due to to extremely rapid sales and high demand, the edition was opened to a pre-order limit of August 16, after which no more copies will be pressed and only leftover pressings will be available.

The European release, handled by Gan-Shin, will begin in France on November 12, simultaneously with the Japanese release, and will then be released across Europe in the following days. No information is given about multiple editions or track listings.

Track listing

# "Sa Bir"
# "Vinushka"
# "Red Soil"
# "Doukoku to Sarinu" (nihongo2|慟哭と去りぬ)
# "Toguro" (nihongo2|蜷局)
# "Glass Skin"
# "Stuck Man"
# "Reiketsu Nariseba" (nihongo2|冷血なりせば)
# "Ware, Yami Tote..." (nihongo2|我、闇とて･･･)
# "Bugaboo"
# "Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro" (nihongo2|凱歌、沈黙が眠る頃)
# "Dozing Green"
# "Inconvenient Ideal"
# "Dozing Green" (Japan Version) (American edition bonus track)
# "Glass Skin" (Japan Version)/"Undecided" (American limited/vinyl editions, respectively)

; American limited edition bonus DVD
# "Repetition of Hatred"
# "Agitated Screams of Maggots"
# "Hydra -666-"
# "Dead Tree"
# "Dozing Green"

Release history

References

External links

* [http://direngrey.co.jp/uroboros.html "Uroboros" announcement page]