Saishu

Oh, yeah! My intention wasn’t to discredit the man’s work with such a sweeping generalization. He’s done some fantastic work in the past, but I’d say for nearly two decades now almost every Rick Rubin project is a wall of noise. Fuck, he even managed to make Billy Corgan’s recent acoustic solo album sound loud as hell. 

Blood Sugar Sex Magik sounds awesome. Californication does not. That was actually the first album where I noticed the loudness thing. 

Try turning the treble up a bit and the volume down. 

Honestly, it doesn’t sound great, but it doesn’t sound as bad as any rock album touched by Rick Rubin. Listen to the original mix of Metallica’s Death Magnetic for one of the worst example of brickwalling. 

We almost never focus on a band’s look around here. This is just a rare but fun moment. 

Looking awful has been Kyo’s thing for a few years. Remember he had a fucking bowl cut for the Ningen video. 

At the end of the day Die is basically a Cipher clone, but give me long black hair Die any day. 

42 minutes ago, EzraEroguro said:

I mean, Die has had the most flash for a while now.

But look at him in the latest photo. Nah. 

I feel like Shinya is going to try to hold on to his youth via walls of makeup for as long as he can. Him, Yoshiki, and Mana. 

Listen, Die’s hotness is purely based on the state of his hair, and right now it ain’t working for me. 

Shinya never changes his hair and honestly he’s starting to remind me of Yoshiki. 

Toshiya’s been killing it lately. 

10 minutes ago, Kelrya said:

I’m still holding out for a vinyl release

I know a lot of people hate the artwork on this but I like it a lot which makes me want it more. I think it conveys the feeling of loneliness and being an outsider without being generic faux-goth like WtD or something.

If you want it for the artwork that’s fine, but most modern vinyl releases are kind of pointless since the music is recorded digitally and mastered for digital platforms. 

43 minutes ago, blacktooth said:

I need a detailed review of the CD packaging on my desk by the end of the day!

Best part is the text on the spine is in shiny purple foil lettering. 

Know what sucks?

My car doesn’t have a CD player. Like, this is becoming a thing now. 

Devote My Life in particular pulls no punches. Basically says it’s not his parents’ fault he’s miserable, but he shouldn’t have been born to begin with. I just... don’t understand why those lyrics are in a song so fucking chaotic and abrasive. 

Jesus Christ these lyrics are bleak as fuck, but then Ranunculus ends with “Scream alive, I am alive” so maybe he’s cool. 

35 minutes ago, geist said:

Mine arrived an hour ago. It breezed through customs in less than a day. Is your copy still en route?

Got it ten minutes ago!

4 hours ago, geist said:

Just got notification that my copy of the album is arriving today, so anyone else still waiting for their orders, have hope!

Same here. 

Toshiya has been the hot one for quite a while now. 

I uh... dare I say this is the first time DEG has truly sounded heavy without sounding like they’re struggling? Like, seriously, that sludgy riff in Keigaku no Yoku is fucking HEAVY. 

13 minutes ago, Ozileras10 said:

The album is great but it’s having the same 2 issues as Gazette’s Ninth did. The mix is not so great(even worse than ninth), and there are no standout tracks on the album. I’ve come to enjoy Ningen wo Kaburu and Ranunculus even though I didn’t like them at first. These are my favorites so far

Followers,

Aka,

Zetsuentai,

Keigaku no yoku

 

I’ve discovered that both Ninth and The Insulated World sound best in my car, but I’m general you should try boosting the treble a bit, it brightens things up. 

TIW really starts to open after several listens. Initially the first six tracks sort of bleed together, but eventually it meant to be just an energetic “Side A” (with Aka) closing it out). There’s really strong songwriting here, and I think all the talk of it being more simplified and direct was misleading. Given that the common theme in the lyrics is that Kyo just wants to fucking die, the almost suffocating and claustrophobic mix seems fitting. It’s like you’re locked in a tight room with Kyo’s mind and it’s uncomfortable as fuck. 

I’d place it somewhere in the bottom of my top 5 DEG albums right now. 

1 hour ago, Seelentau said:

 Why would a Japanese band use Chinese characters in the first place, anyway?

 

What? Kanji ARE Chinese characters. 

3 minutes ago, Ro plz said:

 

Can i go one week on here without having to say the following again?

 

Turn on your location. I just wanna talk.

 

We not bout to disrespect one of holiest DIR EN GREY songs to date here

Let’s be Inferno bros

And there it is, Values of Madness in the encore. 

Wait wait... know what “Values of Madness” reminds me of?

“The Cry Against Me” by Merry. 

Ibitsuna kimi INSAIDOMIND

ibitsumakkana biiiiii BLECH!

Keibetsu to Hajimari, you pleb! Turn in your fan card!

Devote My Life is growing on me, but that siren-like riff drives me batty. Maybe if it wasn’t so prominent in the mix. It’s supposedly dedicated to Kyo’s parents, which is kind of odd in terms of how it sounds musically. 

30 minutes ago, geist said:

 

That’s like taking Michelangelo’s Last Judgement and saying the models are too buff so you re-draw them all with slender physiques. 

 

At some point the total package is truly no longer their own. 

Seriously? 

I’m changing the track list for myself. Shifting some files around on my laptop isn’t going to alter the experience for anybody else. The original body of work is still out there for hundreds of thousands of people to enjoy, including myself. It’s just a fun little experiment. I did the same thing with Arche.