Pretsy

Tousei might be much closer to achieving the finale-ier feeling than BaVI which just ends abruptly like almost any other ARCHE track. C'mon, it's basically Kodou revisited the more you listen to it. Not sure if @Seelentauis aware of it but there should be some bootleg recordings off early WtD tours ('04) floating around with prototype versions of Jesus Christ.. (funkier rendition),GARBAGE and such. It's such a blasphemy they are still not in the clear.

Myaku and [KR]Cube have extended intros/outros Child Prey's Vulgar Version has different EQ levels for guitars and Kyo screams "The reasons why one can't laugh..." part instead of speaking through walkie-talkie/megaphone filtering (single version) Embryo's single version has different lyrics Ryoujoku no Ame's single version feels much more one take-ier, has WtD mixing enabled and Kyo falsettoing during the climax part instead of mumbling (TMOAB version) Lotus' single version is much muddier and does not push Toshiya to the front.

^It's just a best-of album though? I don't think you cared much about DECADE albums before either, no? Remakes sucked, but certain remasters at least sounded better the more listens they were given. They will not replace the album playthroughs necessarily, but it's quite fascinating to see whether there's more to this than just another easy cashgrab. Who knows whether the next album is going to follow suit here and have a whole new approach in mixing and mastering, unlike DSS and ARCHE which had this muddy sound hindering the quality throughout. Did we also mention that Kyo seemed to revert back to his WtD-TMOAB half-screaming vocals?

Did MiA write each and every Mejibray song though? Are there any songwriting credits available?

We have to ask musicians first whether they feel that certain songs may cause the band some difficulties even to this day. For the record, there is a reason why the live VHS/DVD recording of Berry has never seen the light. Such a pain in the arse to play if you seek to nail all of it.

Pink Killer is basically the VK parody of St. Anger before St. Anger came into existence. I don't care whether the extreme level of obnoxiousness was intentional here but the aural offense that die-hard fans call "raw" will definitely piss off anyone who's at least a bit of legitly concerned fan of music or a self-respecting musician.

Give TMOAB another chance if you still happen to think of 'black wall of noise'. I understand people to whom this is not their cup of tea, but we cannot deny that instruments sound a lot punchier and "freer" here than elsewhere. To compare it to Kisou, however, is fascinating though. Kisou had quite shitty guitars and questionable EQ levels near the end which was not the thing on TMOAB - Pink Killer, to name one example. Experimentation or what people call "diversity", though, is not their forte and I fail to understand why people love MACABRE or UROBOROS so much. Especially the latter was not that novel of an approach from their usual delivery.

I don't know Japanese either but based on liner notes on my Gauze copy, they had a hefty lot of recording locations mentioned, and those studios were not just some random petty shacks but more or less VIP kind of spots - booked by Yoshiki himself of course. So it is easy to say that GAUZE is both their best-selling AND their most expensive album to date. On the other hand, MOAB seemed to be the album that had a very rapid process and only the band themselves involved instead of additional staff, since they were always on the road during their tours and had no time to find a staple spot with all the extras necessary. So is it safe to bet that MOAB might be their least expensive album due to aforementioned factors? MOAB is their cleanest production to date though - more than just a step up from what WtD was, and slightly better than what Uroboros was with its mushiness.

What happened to @Asakusaalso happened to me with older android speakers when they filtered out Die's harmonic flicka-flickas during certain Vulgar tracks, like Drain Away's bridge part. Die plays that guitar intro on THE IIID, which pretty much confirms my previous observations. I guess mixers intentionally put Die below the mid-range frequencies while handling his guitar parts, since this does not happen to Toshiya's basslines which are audible in both cases.

So how will these hired talents affect the sound in overall? It is odd to see Aie, Yuki and Sakura playing something so un-Aie-ish together with Asagi, so does their inclusion really matter? It might be still the same oriental D stuff he is doing with his main band, who knows.

Japanese Diru fans sharing our sentiments on single and album mixes? I could imagine there are like dozens of boards on Japanese internet like ours with similar, exquisite tastes. Do Japanese fans complain about mixing/mastering issues over there too?

Some days have passed by, and I still wonder why people jamming to new THE IIID pretend that the climax/bridge part in the middle is not awkward at all... I am seconding the comment on taking a break from severely dense production: why there's no raw, live MTV Unplugged-like release from these guys?

Thanks guys for putting in your recommendations. Oddisee in particular sounds nice and I will make sure to check him out. The same could be said about Glover's moniker although I often forget to give him a chance when looking for similar stuff. I am not saying that the artists I requested *should not* have any kind of racial lens at all. Just something more than just that, since as @patientZEROsaid it already, constant N-bombing, excessive bragging and agitation of substance apologists (lean, xans etc.) have been a huge no-no to me and alike despite us enjoying a few things from here and there in hip-hop/rap music. People gotta understand that this genre in particular comes with a good load of messages everyone needs to heed at some point, and making it completely exclusive to others via antagonizing rhyme delivery, insider lingo and anything cliquey is not helping at all. That is also why I wish to see similar beacons of hope who would shed light on hip hop being a legit form of art, rather than a style that perpetuates blind frenzy and violence without any chances given for deeper thoughts, understanding ourselves and what we could do to cope together.

Didn't they promise to revert back to the usage of standard tuning (6-string) at some point too? At least that is what I remember Die saying on DSS pivoting from their usual drop C# to A-string drop D and standard 7-string D#. But that would be as likely as to quote fellow a few posts above me about Diru being Opeth and opting better practices in mixing, mastering, AND probably deciding to stop doing metal for a change. NOT saying that opting standard is "less" metal but for these guys it might be the case.

I really wish I could see more talented practitioners of flows and bars with the kind of content people of any ethnicity and background could legitly enjoy. I am not white nor black but man, sometimes I wish to hear less N-bombing and adlibbing thrown inbetween. Instead, I would like to see more hot, non-exclusive themes without enforced racial lens. The latter might be often opted due to current minority issues but there are also problems that concern everyone in all honesty. Hip-hop as of today might not be the best place to look for such content, but with stellar samples, beats and that shit - who could blame most of us for being curious? So do such releases even exist today?

Guess we may never find out whether the next album will remain as heavy or become heavier than ARCHE or not. Utafumi might be as well an ARCHE leftover so we need another single ASAP. Enough with these remakes.

Before Construction version was recorded around the time they've almost finished with MOAB too, right?

They did not write DSS songs with live performances in their minds though, no? If we were to believe in 2010 being their most asocial songwriting phase ever.

I wonder whether these rerecordings are legit one-takes with some post-processing instead. There is no other way since they let those off-key falsettos pass on THE IIID EMPIRE...

Now we have reached the point where Kyopera is off-key EVEN IN THE STUDIO! This is the musical definition of Kyo "Spank and Spank"-ing the monkey for sure. This is nothing more but an unnecessary wank. Kaisan please.

Sucks to see how dry these arrangements sound when they filter that good ol' grittiness away from VULGAR/WtD guitars. Why are we discussing Opeth here though? Kaoru did mention them as his favorites but that doesn't make them a plausible example on how Dir should master/remaster their repertoire. Apples and oranges, tbqh. We should also throw in Alice in Chains as a reference too, no? Dirsters love grunge, and grungy approach easily triumphs over something you call "prog" anyday.

Off-topic but do other lynch members play other instruments than their own? Anyone could go for vocal duties but I don't remember anyone else than Asanao for instance being capable of drumming. Add Despa to your list since they did that often too.

Why are ppl so sour over someone committing a mistake that did no ACTUAL harm (physical or psychological) to people around them? This is not 12012's chokeslamming Wataru - and lest we forget that MH used to endorse him (!). Puritans and J-rock fans altogether makes a very fascinating, albeit really conflicting combination. For the record, there's still a huge number of acts you are stanning for that also practice this stuff, albeit less recklessly than Akinori did. They cherish their friendship and that is damn good. Says a lot about the band.

Oh hai Radwimps

Not sure how "The Marrow of a Bone" can be a sore release compared to other 2007 releases when that album is basically Other than that, 1) Tokyo Jihen - Variety For the same reasons as stated by OP. 2) LTS - Inspiration is DEAD For the same reasons... 3) L'Arc~en~Ciel - KISS The best post-2000s album by them - consistent delivery, less fillers, and so on. 4) Coaltar of the Deepers - Yukari Telepath "This is basically a Deftones album with stronger melody writing, lyrics, and variety of sound..." 5) Susumu Hirasawa - Paprika OST Kaleidoscopic ear candy. 6) Cornelius - Sensuous Not the first Cornelius album I would mention, but still an ear candy! 7) Midori - Second "There are moments when the piano rams into hipswinging lockstep with the guitars as the vocals find the right balance of seduction and sneer and then you have to dance like an idiot while watering the lawn with your right shoulder to the place where sunset will be and a vague unease sitting light and sour on your nerves..." 8 ) Kashiwa Daisuke - Program Music I Elegant electroclassical glitch record by the big man himself. 9) Melt-Banana - Bambi's Dilemma Just another good ol' MB album with the same kind of personality as with Cell-Scape or Fetch 10) Boom Boom Satellites - Exposed One of the most unique genre-hybrid albums