Saishu

I generally don't like SE's, or I just kind of ignore them. One of my favorite instrumentals is baroque's "Red Bird" though. 
 
 

Absolutely.  Also those mid-tempo jams like Toguro and Dozing Green. When he's actually given a chance to groove he sounds great. Stuff like the remake of Kiri to Mayu? Well... the studio version is fine, but first time I heard it I knew it was going to be a disaster live. 

Feel the speed as Shinya's limbs become entangled in his attempts to deliver brutal double bass passages and blast beats. 

Absolutely.  Also those mid-tempo jams like Toguro and Dozing Green. When he's actually given a chance to groove he sounds great. Stuff like the remake of Kiri to Mayu? Well... the studio version is fine, but first time I heard it I knew it was going to be a disaster live. 

Interesting review of lyrics/music combo!
 
I want to post my thoughts soon too.
For now though,  
Polished and nice sounding, but boring and all over the place.
Pretty accurate track listing though, by the 3rd song I'm checked out.

Feel the speed as Shinya's limbs become entangled in his attempts to deliver brutal double bass passages and blast beats. 

Feel the speed as Shinya's limbs become entangled in his attempts to deliver brutal double bass passages and blast beats. 

Feel the speed as Shinya's limbs become entangled in his attempts to deliver brutal double bass passages and blast beats. 

Feel the speed as Shinya's limbs become entangled in his attempts to deliver brutal double bass passages and blast beats. 

Feel the speed as Shinya's limbs become entangled in his attempts to deliver brutal double bass passages and blast beats. 

Feel the speed as Shinya's limbs become entangled in his attempts to deliver brutal double bass passages and blast beats. 

Feel the speed as Shinya's limbs become entangled in his attempts to deliver brutal double bass passages and blast beats. 

Maybe this album is really just a cry for help.
 
"Many of Japan's vkei artists have been hit with severe cases of musician's block, so they keep releasing subpar material. We are raising awareness for this epidemic with the release of our new album "Pandemic".  We feel that the title and music will strongly communicate our message (especially the music). Please help us raise money to find a cure by buying our album.  Thank you, Mao & Mizuki of Th13teen"

My wife and I often refer to him as the angry imp. 

A few thoughts for now (imposing high standards is not cool but they HAVE lots of potential with particular points of improvement here:
 
Pros:
 
+ Ruki's gutturals and screams improved a lot (both A-side and this first B-side prove that). At this point they could utilize his improvement to the very extent in their later efforts.
+ Kai sounds less boring/bored (or both actually, haha). I am pretty sure he got a hint from foreign fans and/or metalheads when it comes to his earlier, sloppy playing in heavier tracks.
 
In the middle:
 
x Very clean production values. Not sure what I should think about them when...
 
Cons:
 
- ...Aoi and Uruha mix still makes no sense. You have two guitarists - why do guitars here sound like as  if you double-tracked them instead of having 2 axemen cooperating "naturally"?
- Reita is as interesting as Paul Gray, oops.
- they could just throw out those (rehashed) melodic passages if they obviously served no particular purpose in the song (MALUM). UNDYING could do much better in the melodic department as well - and preferably without random 0-3-0-1-0-0-3 passages disrupting the build.

I CANT WATCH THOSE IN AMERICA

Man, and you know what? I watched the Persuasio Blu-ray last night and Sukekiyo is SUCH a tight band. Even when Kyo's voice occasionally falters during all his vocal acrobatics, the guys behind him are just super tight and on point, and that's really not something I could say for Dir en grey. The key here is Yuuchi and Mika; those dudes are LOCKED into that groove and they're both superb musicians. Mika is probably one of my top 10 favorite drummers ever. 
 
So that also plays into my frustrations with properly obtaining Sukekiyo material. I want it all in the best quality possible while simultaneously supporting these guys, but I also understand Kyo isn't particularly interested in worldwide recognition. At least not anymore. 
 
Oh well. 

I linked to a YouTube video elsewhere on the forum (DEG thread?) where a woman suggested it was supposed to be a clever play on "suge Kyo", or "awesome Kyo."

Man, and you know what? I watched the Persuasio Blu-ray last night and Sukekiyo is SUCH a tight band. Even when Kyo's voice occasionally falters during all his vocal acrobatics, the guys behind him are just super tight and on point, and that's really not something I could say for Dir en grey. The key here is Yuuchi and Mika; those dudes are LOCKED into that groove and they're both superb musicians. Mika is probably one of my top 10 favorite drummers ever. 
 
So that also plays into my frustrations with properly obtaining Sukekiyo material. I want it all in the best quality possible while simultaneously supporting these guys, but I also understand Kyo isn't particularly interested in worldwide recognition. At least not anymore. 
 
Oh well. 

My wife and I often refer to him as the angry imp. 

That price is bullshit too. 
 
Japan is on crack. 

Arche is stellar. It's everything I've ever loved about DEG wrapped up in one album. In an alternate reality, Arche was the evolution of the band after Vulgar.

I absolutely love Sukekiyo, but the music is so heavy in terms of mood that it can be difficult to listen to. Especially Immortalis, which is damn near 80 minutes. I often find myself stopping it after Daemon's Cutlery and either taking a break and coming back or just not finishing it altogether. Vitium is a much easier listen though. One of my favorite releases from last year. 

YOU'RE SNOOZEFEST MATERIAL FIGHT ME BRO!!!