Dive - Behind The Sun

Yes, it's different than his previous releases. And though I love his older works, the sound could have become a bit worn out 5 years later, leaving people to bitch about Dive standing still. This is some nice development we see here and in my opinion Dirk definitely left his trademark on it.
The typical Dive-esque patterns are still there and so are his voice and lyrics. Though it may be less noisy, it is by no means soft. There's are lot of anger going on underneath the surface, just maybe in a more grown-up way. Actually, this could well be more aggressive than everything else before this release.
This is the 21st century after all and seriously, Dirk Ivens isn't getting any younger. I guess it was about time for an album like this; he made loud and harsh music for more than twenty years.
And if anything, it was Dirk influencing modern Metropolis-type acts long time ago.

I seriously disagree. While this is definitely a good release in and of itself, it is simply NOT the Dirk Ivens that we all know and love. It seems as though he has gone soft with this album allowing the influence of modern Metropolis-type acts to seep into his trademark sounds. Gone are the sensuous grooves and the deep bass and the hard-hitting angry vocals; in their place, monotone repetetiveness and an overall weakness. Dirk has failed to meet or beat his previous endeavours, and moreover failed my expectations. Bottom line: Only get this release if you are a die-hard collector or happen to be a fan of all the Metropolis nonsense that is being released nowadays and want something slightly fresher.

Wow! I'm very happily pleased at first listen: As this was done in collaboration with the guy who is GEISTFORM, I expected ESPLENDOR-style analogue rhythm tracks, something like DIVE moving closer to the SONAR sound, but instead this is quite multi-facetted and atmospheric in the way of his, to my opinion, strongest album CONCRETE JUNGLE. The only thing I can criticise about tis is the cover.
In it's 16th year, Dirk's DIVE project is still going strong!