geist

Anyone else think moving to Japan to be closer to the band is super cringey even for a Visual Kei forum?

It’s definitely in 4/4. The rhythm is in triplets so the guitars gives the illusion of 3/4 or 6/8; but the drums make it clear it’s still 4/4 It’s incredibly boring, especially that awful Unraveling remake.

Fedora Kei

I’m loving the 3rd disc performance of Different Sense. Is it just me or has Toshiya’s screams in that song improved greatly? Also sounds like he’s doing more screaming and less shouting/growling. I have only one complaint for this album besides Values of Madness: I wish Papa Kaoru was louder. Fuck, just give me his isolated guitar track and I’ll go celibate. I think the album length is great because it’s easy to actively listen in one sitting without feeling tired. The idea of having a bunch of songs being no longer than 3 and a half minutes worried me at first; but a lot of these songs greatly benefit from it. I can’t imagine an extra minute of songs like Keibetsu to Hajimari or Devote My Life.

Great news!

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

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

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.

But that was the artistic intention of the band. Kyo specifically wanted that song first because of the lyrical content fitting thematically with the development of the album. Seems strange you’d want to alter that.

I don't know which is my favorite yet because I've only had 3 full listens; but the one thing I can say is Values of Madness is my absolute least favorite on this album -- without question. I hate that hard rock inspired main riff, and it's so stale it sounds like something the GazettE would do. For all this talk about Rubbish Heap being the obvious GazettE-inspired song, nah, it's Values of Madness. That's the same kind of pop-infused garbage that bothered me about NINTH.

This tbh

I ordered EMS, mine also shipped yesterday, and the last update is that it arrived at the Tokyo outward office today. It’s probably on a plane right now and will arrive in NYC (east coast here) in the next day, and take an additional 2 days to be delivered. I’m expecting it on Saturday, is my best guess.

Sounds less like bad digital clipping and more like an effect is being layered over the vocals -- which the band has done several times before. I don't think that is quite "clipping" in the recording sense, though I could be entirely mistaken, recording input levels is something rather new to me.

Please elaborate, because "clipping" is "distortion" in a general sense. Are you referring to digital clipping? Because if so, I heard no such cases on the album. Do you have any specific parts you can point to?

Wait, is all this stuff new to you guys? Dir en grey has never had great production. Back in 2008 Kerrang wrote a review of Uroboros and stated that due to the mixing the album lacked "punch". Complaining about loudness reminds me of baby boomers remembering the "good ol' days". This is an album you're supposed to play loud, and under such circumstances it sounds great. Also keep in mind depending on the speakers you're listening to the album with -- yes, even headphones -- you're bound to get a difference experience. At one point last night I listened to a part of the album through one of those bluetooth speakers and the sound quality, of course, was "bad". For some reason the speaker was focusing on Shinya's tom's more than anything. It was really weird; but going back and listening in other formats (nice Sony speakers, studio monitoring headphones, etc.) I think the album sounds "fine". Then again, I generally don't subscribe to this audiophilia stuff because I tend to focus on the compositions more than anything else. and I often listen to really bad quality Aud recordings of bands, so there's that.

Man, this album is great. After a few listens have your thoughts changed or updated? After two full listens and relistens to several tracks, I’m obsessed with it. There is still so much to process; but overall I’ve been tremendously pleased and can’t wait to hear those re-recordings on disc 2.

That fucking riff. The whole song is a major highlight for me.

This whole album is a massive kick in the balls. And I like it.

God, yes. With Arche there were sections of the album I wanted to skip from day 1, I don't feel the same way here.

I'm not so sure about rearranging any tracks because the contrast feels deliberate. It's no surprise that the album starts with the heaviest tracks and ends with the softest. Perhaps a tease? A hint as to their direction as a band going forward? idk.

Kinda makes me wonder what they could have done if they had more time to write and produce. I'm really liking this album; but it's very rough around the edges.

If I ever see them perform it live, I'll make sure to sing along.

What else was added to Ranunculus? It's over 30 seconds longer than the promotional edit so it seems like there's a bit more than just one line of vocals missing.

On first listen it sounds like they drastically increased the volume of Kyo's vocals, so maybe that has something to do with it? I'm not sure; but I wouldn't rush to judgement until physical copies start arriving. Everyone here complained about the mixing on GazettE's NINTH when it was ripped from iTunes; but once everyone got their physical copies they gave glowing reviews. Not to say this is a "bad rip"; but I highly doubt you can maintain perfect sound quality ripping and then uploading on the Internet.

The band remixed the vocals for Ningen, clearly. I don't think they're re-recorded; but there are several parts that are far more prominent in the album mix than the single.