Uroboros (album)
| Uroboros | ||||
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| Studio album by Dir En Grey | ||||
| Released | November 11, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2007–2008 Studio Innig Sony Music Studios Sound Crew Studio Studio Fine Studio Sunshine Prime Sound Studio Form Wang GuangRecLabs Towerside Studio Somewhere Studio Kolkhoz |
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| Language | Japanese, English | |||
| Label | Firewall Div./SMEJ, The End, Gan-Shin | |||
| Producer | Dir En Grey | |||
| Dir En Grey chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Uroboros | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |    |
| Allmusic | |
| Kerrang! | (KKK) 2008 |
| Metal Hammer |   |
| NEO Magazine |
#53 |
| ReGen | |
| Revolver |
2008 |
| Rock Sound | |
Uroboros (stylized UROBOROS) is the seventh studio album by Japanese metal band Dir En Grey. It was released on November 11, 2008, in the United States by The End Records and, due to the time difference, November 12, 2008, in Japan through Firewall and European releases by Gan-Shin. A remastered and expanded edition was released in 2012, featuring new and reworked tracks. The album was remastered by Tue Madsen who also produced their following album Dum Spiro Spero.
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.
The album art, designed by the band's long-time artist Koji Yoda, was conceived with inspiration from King Crimson's 1970 album Lizard.
Following the finale of their 2007 touring, much of the song writing was completed on an individual basis in January and February 2008, without the members meeting to collaborate. The original announcement of recording was slated for the beginning of 2008, while it was later announced that the album began pre-production in March 2008. The members regrouped after two months of solitary work 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.
The band recorded with many new instruments, including mandolin,congas, electric sitar, and biwa to create a unique sound, and vocalist Kyo sets emphasis on "non-screaming vocals," accentuating softer composition, while still blending in his unique screams, screeches, and polished death metal growls. For the album, Kaoru and Die utilized several guitar models and techniques; an unconventional method, some of the guitars were recorded directly from amps.
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