DIR EN GREY - Sustain the Untruth

January 22nd, 2014 marked the release date of DIR EN GREY’s twenty-ninth single, Sustain the Untruth.

Sustain the Untruth begins with an instrumental intro of guitar and percussion play followed by the intense interlude of Kyo’s reverberating vocals and growls. Suddenly, the song shifts into the chorus, and the melody takes us on just to be interrupted again by another choppy but delightful interlude and fulfilling guitar solo. This pattern continues a second time with an extended chorus and a strong instrumental closing with the whole band. This song, while brutally powerful, incorporates Kyo’s aggressive but melodic choruses along with an element of distortion and a very strong instrumental presence to create an attractive yet entirely unique sound.

There have been other versions of the second track on the single Ruten no Tou before this release, but this version stands out in its incorporating range of acoustic instruments alongside Kyo’s soft melodies. In comparison to the previous unplugged version from the second CD of Dum Spiro Spero, which relied heavily on piano and produced a very dark ambiance, this version has a soft crispness with a fusion of vocals, guitar, and percussion.

This melodic retreat after the title track is short-lived as the upcoming sample of Gaika, Chinmoku Ga Nemuru Koro, from their 2008 album Uroboros returns in live form. Performed at Yokohama Blitz on September 18th, 2013, the band does not sound like they were holding back. This performance is powerful enough to cause the listener to question whether or not it was actually recorded live. Kyo’s loose vocals at the end, accompanied by some crafty guitar work, however, remind us again of DIR EN GREY’s mastery of live performances.

While we do not yet have the release date for the upcoming album, Sustain the Untruth provides an exciting insight to the future of DIR EN GREY.