Saishu

Huh. Utafumi single has English translations. I guess they're going back to those?

Well, I consider and Zero and Tefu Tefu as actual Arche tracks and not just leftovers. I get the feeling they just didn't want to overstuff Arche with 18 tracks at nearly 80 minutes. And Kiri to Mayu is a lot closer to the original than people think. It isn't immediately recognizable, but the more I listened the more it made sense. And even Tsumi to Batsu has moments where it really clicks. With that one its just the dramatically reduced tempo that messes with you.

Un deux A while back I was listening to samples or something like that, and the chorus of Un deux popped up. He said "Daddy that's the song from your car!" Which proves I listen to Arche a little too much while driving. Later I watched the Budokan performance of Un deux on my phone and he runs over and watches with me. I asked him if he liked that song and he said "YEAH!" So yesterday even though he didn't ask for it by name, I kind of knew what he meant the way he described it. So now I'm working on getting him to know band names.

My 4 year old son requested a Dir en grey song in the car today. Never been prouder.

"I don’t really understand music theory. I know almost nothing about chords and scales." This explains a lot.

Is it going to be an actual CD release or more bullshit like with Red or Maryam being on a USB drive?

Eww.

And yet they didn't write the band's name with the umlaut over the a? Or did the band stop using it? i just think it's weird, and it's not just Girugamesh that does it. The one that really got me was when people actually put the comma when writing Kagrra.

You're going to find that a lot of VK bands have songs that sound similar to Luna Sea. Also, the opening riff to Gazette's "Rage" sounds like Slipknot's "People = Shit".

So many people hate Shitataru Mourou.

I don't know, I liked the reimagined older tracks quite a bit. But there hasn't been a b-side that's actually an entirely original composition since... Fukai?

So while we all question the quality of Utafumi and the b-sides, the DVD that comes with it is pretty damn awesome! Like Arche Budokan quality. It's a smaller venue and Kyo gets super intimate during Rasetsukoku, actually jumping into the crowd.

Addendum: Diabolos totally should have been the demo version with that gorgeous solo incorporated into it. The heavy sections from the album version are not helped in any way by Shinya's rudimentary "blast beats". Yeah, album version of Hageshisa is poo. The punch from the guitars is totally gone. Single version of Lotus is also superior with better dynamics. Forgot to mention Soshaku. I mostly have just gotten really tired of the chorus.

Schwein no Isu is just typical squonky VK metal, German shouting and all.

Well, there's little to no chance I'll ever find myself in a situation where I'm at a DEG show in which they play Mask (especially since Kyo said he didn't enjoy the Mode of Gauze tour at all). So I guess it'll remain as a throwaway to me. I've certainly seen live performances of it. Still don't like it.

What part of Diabolos is recycled in Kaishun? I've never noticed. Also, I'll play along: MISSA: S, Erode, Byou Shin – all forgettable and boring. GAUZE: Mask – best part is the jam at the end. The rest is a mess. MACABRE: Hydra and Audrey – Hydra is fine as a live song, boring and repetitive on album. Audrey is the same, except probably not even better live. KISOU: Domestic Fucker Family, Pink Killer – some of the worst song writing from DEG. Best part of Pink Killer is the goofy ending. SIX UGLY: Children and Byou Shin – Children sounds like a really bad Chili Peppers cover, and Byou Shin didn't get any better. VULGAR: New Age Culture, R to the Core – boring filler tracks. WITHERING TO DEATH: Jesus Christ R'n'R, Machiavellism, Beautiful Dirt, Garbage – these are all hilariously goofy for different reasons. Garbage does some interesting things, but ultimately it's DEG doing heavy the wrong way. MARROW OF A BONE: The Deeper Vileness, Clever Sleazoid – rerecorded Sleazoid sounds terrible. UROBOROS: No real issue with this one, though I don't Iike how Toguro sounds on the remastered version, and Bugaboo Respira is bullshit no one needed to hear. DUM SPIRO SPERO: Decayed Crow – I'm okay with it now, but I REALLY hate the twangy/flange-y guitar parts. UNRAVELING: I guess that weird version of Unraveling? Maybe Unknown.Despair.Lost because they can't seem to play it live very well. ARCHE: Love this album, but for some reason I'm starting to get sick of Magayasou.

Yeah, Macabre is one of my favorites. It's what got me into DEG because it's so experimental and progressive. Not too fond of Audrey or Hydra, but they don't bring the album down at all. Withering and Marrow have plenty of great songs, but listening to them front to back is a chore. Which is odd considering they are two of DEG's shortest albums.

That first encore is mostly awful.

I don't know why, but the fact that they stylised the band members' names pissed me off. You really don't need to spell Ryo's name with a backwards R. Give me a break.

Withering and Marrow are the awkward sounding albums to me. They sound like a band trying to be heavy, but they aren't sure how to do it. There's so much weird shit on Withering.

Those are probably my least played albums.

Seems like you quoted me and then lumped in your responses to other forum members. Maybe fix that. If we're getting into semantics, fine, Berry's chorus isn't "soaring", but it is melodic and is a direct contrast to the rest of the song, much like Saku and Revelation. And that's kind of my point: growly, heavy/thrashy verses and soaring/melodic choruses has been a DEG staple for practically their entire career. It's a common practice in heavy music in general, so I'm not sure why it needs to be pointed out here. I get that Arche is supposed to be the "back to roots" album, but I'm not sure why that's an issue, as I've seen you post several times about how it's just rehashing old ideas. I thought it was the next natural step coming off of DSS and Unraveling. I guess they could have gone... heavier and built off DSS? Djent maybe? I don't know. All I know is Utafumi has me wondering again, because I wasn't excepting another 3 minute noise a la WtD/Marrow from these guys.

Does anyone expect any new sounds from a band that's been cranking along for 20 years? I think the important thing is that DEG is back to embracing their early material instead of trying in vain to disassociate themselves from it like they did for a few years. To be fair, soaring choruses in fast screamy thrashers goes back even before WtD. Berry, for example.

That ARCHEMI song sounds like something MUCC would have done 15 years ago.

I mean Utafumi is fine. It's the music equivalent of a big, dumb, summer blockbuster movie; all flash, little substance. I like the production for the most part, as that slightly annoying reverb effect on Unraveling and Arche seems to be gone. I don't hear any Vulgar influence at all. If anything this is some weird combination of Withering and Marrow, DEG's weakest era of you ask me. And back to Kuukoku, this really disappoints me. I think this was best as a live thing where the main draw was "holy shit Sugizo is up there doing his violin thing!" As a studio track though? Nah. Even more problematic is that Sugizo is pushed way up front in the mix, so he overpowers everything else. It makes it sound like exactly what it is: Sugizo playing violin along with an almost two year old track.