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If the release of a DVD makes sense with only 2 albums under the belt is questionable, especially as it's not the first DVD of D'espairs Ray, but D'espairs Ray are one of the leading bands in Japan and their extraordinary stage design is a good reason to record. Beside that the band couldn't bring this stage design on tour everywhere. And so it's a nice treat for their fans around the world to see them playing at Shibuya.
When you start playing the DVD of D'espairs Ray you first see some off stage footage... The band waiting in the dark before entering the stage - all that in b/w. You can hear the audience scream. Then they enter the stage of Shibuya hall in Tokyo and you get the first real impression of the outstanding stage design with it's spiral light rig which covers the stage from back to front. The guys kick off with Damned. The focus of that tour was their current release Mirror, offers some others, too. The quartet rocked the house with their melange of metal, Nu metal, alternative and industrial rock. They are part of the Visual Kei scene and so their stage outfit and make-up is almost as important for the show as the music. Before they start Sixty oo Nine the band waited til the audience got almost silent, just to crash in again. The stage was flooded in different colors and at shoots from the distance the light show could fully shine. At the close ups of the band members the ankle is sometimes a bit awkward... Nice are the shoots done from within the audience which give you the impression to be among them.
The quality of the recording is top, but it's mainly the concert and for my surprise the encores are filed under 'special content'! The encores are split up in 3 chapters and feature 5 songs. Usually the encores are part of the regular concert part and not special content. This is a bit strange... Beside that there are about 6 minutes of off stage footage which shows the set up of the stage with the spiral light rig as well as the band arriving at the venue in an SUV, a piece of the sound check, fans waiting in front of the hall and other stuff like that. But no interviews or video clips, etc.
For die-hard fans this is a must-have, but everybody else should ask oneself "Do I really need this concert DVD?" If you want to revive your live experience then this is a good way. But I hope that next time they have more to offer then a simple concert shooting!
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