Rosner

Really? I think it sounds way better than on 'Utafumi' and 'Nigen...'. Of course it's no (lets say...) 'Ænima'-quality drum tone, but I think it sounds way better than on 'Ningen...'. The toms re now bearable and controlled, the bass drum has more body and less click and the snare sounds more 'inside the mix' than before. It's a vast improvement for me. Also, the overall improved sound of the band (less muddy and bass-driven guitars, for example), really help the mix. BUT I agree that the mixing could be this album's downfall: I have the feeling that either a) the whole album was remixed to have cohesion and uniformity or that b) the album is going to be a 'Frankenstein', with each song having a complete different mixing and then an overall mastering that tries to glue 'em all together.  Here's hoping for a... but if it is b, then I'll be punching my speakers too!!!
 
The overall rhythm guitar tone in 'Ranunculus' sounds way more satisfactory than on 'Utafumi' and 'Ningen...'. It seems they finally got rid of the 'mid scooped' sound with boosted bass and now they are letting the guitars shine like they are supossed to. Also, the way the bass is mixed really helps: I'm really digging it this way because, while you can perfectly  hear it, it does not have the same mid-range presence as on previous records. It also does not seem to clash with the bass drum, which is the ideal thing for me!
 
Regarding the question, I'm no expert (hope to be some day!), but I'll try to answer. Honestly, I can't tell which part(s) Kaoru is playing, but I just can tell you this: for metal music, when you have wide guitar panning, there's a lot of things you have to do in order to make them sound right. Most of the times (on modern metal, of course), you have the same amp sound double tracked (or even quadtracked) and hard panned: you obtain the sense of stereo wideness thanks to the millisecond differences between each take. So, there's the possibility that both Kaoru and Die used the same amp settings (hell, the same vst or amp modelers surely!) when recording their takes.
 
Also, the guitars used during the recording affect the sound too: maybe they both used the same guitar, maybe not. Keep in mind that going into the studio has a really different approach than playing live for most bands. They could, for example, be endorsed by ESP and play with those guitars live, but on studio they may be recording with, I don't know... Let's say a Les Paul Custom '86 (Boris! Haha) for the rhythm parts, an old Telecaster for the cleans, a Jackson for the solos, some acoustic guitars... Today, I think the band sounds way better live than on studio, which is oddly amusing!
 
There's other possibility: when a band has a guitar player that's clearly best than the other when it comes to rhythm guitar playing, a lot of producers and engineers make that guitar player record every take in order to avoid  slopiness. For me, both Kaoru and Die are great and have different styles, but I would say Die is a tighter player (and you have to consider Kaoru's recent problems with his hand here; what if he wasn't fully healed when recording?) . So, let's say the engineer or producer, or maybe even the band was aware of that, and decided that Die must record all of the rhythm guitar parts. I highly doubt this happened, because the way Die and Kaoru play different things on each side is one of the main traits of the band's music for me (but well, I bet Die could learn Kaoru's lines quickly), but it's also an option -although a far-fetched one considering Kaoru is the leader here-.
 
Then there's one other possible scenario: what if they used different amps for the rhythm guitars? Or different amp/vst/modeler/etc. settings? If that's the case, then they are harder to work with than when the guitars are recorded with the same amps. Of course it's not impossible to make them work, its just harder. For the 'Dum Spiro Spero' sound, it is clear they were using the same settings on each side. I like that guitar sound for that style of music (let's say 'deathcore'), but I think it wouldn't work on a song like 'Ranunculus'. Just check out 'Lotus' single version and then compare it with the album version: the guitars lose a lot brightness. 'Ranunculus' hasn't metal riffs or chugging: it's mainly centered on the 'clean' leads (which, by the way, sound great!) and on the distorted chord progressions in the choruses. There's just one kind of riff at 01:26-01:28 and it sounds like shit (maybe it's intentional).  

It would say live sound engineering is a different and even a more complex job! Say you have been working with the band for years: you know what instruments they use, what amps they use, how their setup works, what levels should the vocals have, etc. You also know the songs very well, so you know how to work around the faders. And you also have the backing tracks, which the band uses a lot (synths, additional instruments, samples, etc.). Ok, let's say you have a setup ready for all of that and during rehearses it works marvelously...
 
But then you got to the venue, and you have never ever been in that place. Your setup does not work!!! So you need to improvise, you need to soundcheck with just a couple of songs, you need to do some technical and mathematical stuff that scares me, you need to adjust your settings, you need to accomodate to the venue dimensions and you need to have in mind how the natural reverb and echo of the place affect the sound... AND THAT HAPPENS EVERY SINGLE NIGHT WHEN TOURING! 
 
A studio engineer has a more relaxed job: if he/she records in an studio he/she owns and also uses his/her own equipment for mixing/mastering/etc., then he/she's going to have an easier ride than a live sound engineer. Even when changing studios or gear, there's still less stress than a live engineer, who has to do things hastily and with no room for big mistakes. Also, if the studio engineer has experience and if the band has a big budget (which means they have a lot of time to expend), then surely it's going to be a pleasurable experience.
 
I'm sure the band's current sound engineer for live shows has been working with them for years. He/She knows the band, knows the songs and also knows the venues: if the band played a lot of shows on the same places and he/she was in charge of their sound during those shows, then surely he/she knows what to do beforehand!!!
 
I remembered when Dir en grey came to my country (Argentina) a few years ago (2011): most foreign bands that come here to play and are not big stadium bands have most of the times really bad sounding shows. That's either a) because the promoters for the tours don't have the money to pay for the 'full experiencie', so the bands came to play without their own engineer (leaving the one in the venue in charge, which really is bad idea), or b) the band doesn't have a live engineer or does not bother to tour with the engineer outside of their country or continent. 
 
So far, I can only thing of six small-venue shows that sounded AMAZING during the whole show: Opeth, Katatonia, Gojira, Alcest, Dead Can Dance and of course, Dir en grey. Opeth, Katatonia, Gojira and Alcest toured with their sound engineers: this was confirmed to me by one of the organizers of the show (an acquaintance of mine). Dead Can Dance is a really important and big band for music overall; they played a small venue because people here are very ignorant, but they are really professional, so I'm sure they brought their own egineer. Regarding Dir en grey, I just can only theorize they brought their own engineer too, because it was one of the best shows I've even seen (and heard): perfect sound since the first minute (sadly, the audience was one of the worst I've ever seen in a concert EVER, and while I tried not to pay attention to them, it was a really sad experience...). 

I don't know for sure yet, but I'm going to say Die is the one doing the flanger pedal arpeggios. During the chorus I have no idea at all because they're just playing counterpoint to each other. And yeah, that bridge riff at 1:26 is a real non-sequitur.
 
I can't agree with you more on how their lives sound much better than the album recordings these days. Whoever the band's sound engineer is has some serious talent. @Rosner, would you say live sound engineer technique carries over into the studio for recording? 

Really? I think it sounds way better than on 'Utafumi' and 'Nigen...'. Of course it's no (lets say...) 'Ænima'-quality drum tone, but I think it sounds way better than on 'Ningen...'. The toms re now bearable and controlled, the bass drum has more body and less click and the snare sounds more 'inside the mix' than before. It's a vast improvement for me. Also, the overall improved sound of the band (less muddy and bass-driven guitars, for example), really help the mix. BUT I agree that the mixing could be this album's downfall: I have the feeling that either a) the whole album was remixed to have cohesion and uniformity or that b) the album is going to be a 'Frankenstein', with each song having a complete different mixing and then an overall mastering that tries to glue 'em all together.  Here's hoping for a... but if it is b, then I'll be punching my speakers too!!!
 
The overall rhythm guitar tone in 'Ranunculus' sounds way more satisfactory than on 'Utafumi' and 'Ningen...'. It seems they finally got rid of the 'mid scooped' sound with boosted bass and now they are letting the guitars shine like they are supossed to. Also, the way the bass is mixed really helps: I'm really digging it this way because, while you can perfectly  hear it, it does not have the same mid-range presence as on previous records. It also does not seem to clash with the bass drum, which is the ideal thing for me!
 
Regarding the question, I'm no expert (hope to be some day!), but I'll try to answer. Honestly, I can't tell which part(s) Kaoru is playing, but I just can tell you this: for metal music, when you have wide guitar panning, there's a lot of things you have to do in order to make them sound right. Most of the times (on modern metal, of course), you have the same amp sound double tracked (or even quadtracked) and hard panned: you obtain the sense of stereo wideness thanks to the millisecond differences between each take. So, there's the possibility that both Kaoru and Die used the same amp settings (hell, the same vst or amp modelers surely!) when recording their takes.
 
Also, the guitars used during the recording affect the sound too: maybe they both used the same guitar, maybe not. Keep in mind that going into the studio has a really different approach than playing live for most bands. They could, for example, be endorsed by ESP and play with those guitars live, but on studio they may be recording with, I don't know... Let's say a Les Paul Custom '86 (Boris! Haha) for the rhythm parts, an old Telecaster for the cleans, a Jackson for the solos, some acoustic guitars... Today, I think the band sounds way better live than on studio, which is oddly amusing!
 
There's other possibility: when a band has a guitar player that's clearly best than the other when it comes to rhythm guitar playing, a lot of producers and engineers make that guitar player record every take in order to avoid  slopiness. For me, both Kaoru and Die are great and have different styles, but I would say Die is a tighter player (and you have to consider Kaoru's recent problems with his hand here; what if he wasn't fully healed when recording?) . So, let's say the engineer or producer, or maybe even the band was aware of that, and decided that Die must record all of the rhythm guitar parts. I highly doubt this happened, because the way Die and Kaoru play different things on each side is one of the main traits of the band's music for me (but well, I bet Die could learn Kaoru's lines quickly), but it's also an option -although a far-fetched one considering Kaoru is the leader here-.
 
Then there's one other possible scenario: what if they used different amps for the rhythm guitars? Or different amp/vst/modeler/etc. settings? If that's the case, then they are harder to work with than when the guitars are recorded with the same amps. Of course it's not impossible to make them work, its just harder. For the 'Dum Spiro Spero' sound, it is clear they were using the same settings on each side. I like that guitar sound for that style of music (let's say 'deathcore'), but I think it wouldn't work on a song like 'Ranunculus'. Just check out 'Lotus' single version and then compare it with the album version: the guitars lose a lot brightness. 'Ranunculus' hasn't metal riffs or chugging: it's mainly centered on the 'clean' leads (which, by the way, sound great!) and on the distorted chord progressions in the choruses. There's just one kind of riff at 01:26-01:28 and it sounds like shit (maybe it's intentional).  

In the DSS era Kaoru was the spearhead of the chugfest guitar tone, so yes he's certainly changed it up. I'd say it's a return to form for him actually.

I've noticed a dramatic shift in Kaoru's guitar tone. Compare Different Sense with Ningen or the end of Ranunculus. My ear and terminology is not great for these things; but I've read your insights on mixing so I'm curious as to your thoughts. 
 
Quick question: is it that Kaoru has switched to a more mids focused tone? I wanted to know your thoughts on Kaoru's guitar tone if you had any good insight from experience or your studies!
 
Anyone else can answer this, of course.
 
 

Came here to see people complain about a beautiful new song, never disappointed.

looking forward to the new Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows record x

Kind of sounds like something Luna Sea would have done towards the end of their first run. I assume it’s not just a dime-a-dozen VK ballad in 6/8, though. 
 
It does sound like an album closer. So good on them

The mixing sounds better than some of Arche to me honestly. I do wish they'd produce more in the vein of Dum Spiro Spero though.

A 60 second teaser clip of Ranunculus has been revealed.
 
 

https://vk.com/video-558881_456239646
 
lunatic fest. 2018 live
 
oh hey, another sustain the untruth

'Conceived Sorrow' is one of my favourite opening tracks ever, and one of my favourites by the band. I really love the piano, the smooth bassline and the dramatism. 'Ware, Yami Tote...' is like 'Conceived Sorrow' but on stereoids! I like the drumming and the crescendo in Kyo's performance (those screams at 05:20 - 05:26 are soul crushing).
 
I enjoy 'Vanitas' a lot too. The guitar solo is one of Kaoru and Die's finest moment, especially the tremolo harmonies and everything that follows that section. A moment of calmness amidst Dum Spiro Spero's bipolar violence. Regarding 'ARCHE', I love 'Kukoku no Kyon', possibly my favourite track on the whole album. They really nailed the acoustic guitar sound, and that synth (or is it an e-bowed guitar?!) creates a really melancholic atmosphere. The Utafumi version with Sugizo on violin takes the song to a whole other level: the chorus hits really hard.
 
Seelentau, could you describe Ranunculus? I imagine it as a mix of the dark and gloomy vibe of 'Conceived Sorrow' with the piano driven and ethereal beauty of 'Rinkaku' (without the doom and technical riffing, of course).

Official artworks unveiled, one for each edition:
 

 
Wasn't expecting this... I thought they were going for a different art style, similar to the one hinted at the lastest promotional band photoshoot (white, pure and kind of ethereal, with some sort of a 'traditional asian' vibe -at least that was what Kaoru, Toshiya and Die's clothes seemed to hint for me). This looks like a mix between Tool and Björk. I really like it, but it seems weird! I give a lot of importance to an album's artwork, and it changes how I perceive its music. The only thing I do not like is the deathcore-ish font. On a second thought, it looks like a similar font to In Flames' 'A Sense of Purpose'...
 

I absolutely despise StU. It's the most overplayed, yet most boring song in their entire catalogue and for reasons beyond my understanding, they feel the need to include it on nearly every release.
It's three times on ANDROGYNOS, once on ARCHE, three times on ARCHE AT NIPPON BUDOKAN, twice on DSS AT NIPPON BUDOKAN, once on the MTV live, once on the SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH single, once on TOUR14, once on TOUR16-17 TMOAB, of course once on VESTIGE OF SCRATCHES and again on ARCHE as a remix.
I have it 15 times in my discography and 200 scrobbles on last.fm .__.
But apparently they've performed it only ~172 times, which is nothing compared to the ~535 times OBSCURE was performed.

Lol I can see how someone might not like Midwife but it’s actually one of my favorite songs of theirs post-DSS. I like how the first half is clean vocals and the second is harsh vocals, but it doesn’t feel disjointed. I like the mathcore-ish dissonant chords that give it that sense of anxiety. It sounds like a way better version of what they tried to do on some WTD tracks.

Hmm, I can try. This is from their live at 川崎CLUB CITTA' in November 2016:
It starts very quiet, with ambient sounds (Glockenspiel or something like that?). They sounds are coming in one by one until ~0:37, when the actual band starts to play.
The song starts off rather hard until at ~01:07, it calms down and vocals begin at ~01:24.
At 01:43, there's a shift in the music and at ~01:55 something like a high-point begins that goes on until ~02:20.
Then another verse with mellow, slower music until ~02:45, where the same shift from 01:43 is repeated (same lyrics "sono toki..." - "watashi no kokoro o").
Unlike at 01:55, this time, the ambient sounds appear again in the form of a piano/keyboard(?), or at least that's what it sounds like. A piano key again and again, like "dun dundun dundun dundun".
Then at ~03:10 "Ranunculus... Ranunculus...". Still ambient and piano thingy, very very mellow, reminds me of Kukoku no Kyoon.
At ~03:29, the ~01:55 part is repeated again, with the last verse following and some more "Ranunculus". It clocks in at ~05:00 total.
 
The version from April 2018 is a little different. Same ambient intro, but vocals start at ~00:35, the band joins him at ~01:00.
"Watashi no kokoro o" at ~01:07, followed by the high-point. Second verse at ~01:35, "watashi no kokoro o" at 02:07.
Ambient sounds again with "Ranunculus... Ranunculus...". The rest is the same as the other version, but they shortened the song by almost one minute, I think. But I can't pinpoint exactly what is missing or has changed, really.
I think it can be described as a ballad, but it's actually more of ballad-rock-ballad-rock. Nothing over-the-top like DECAYED CROW, but as I said, it kinda reminds me of Kukoku no Kyoon.
Or something like that.

i cant believe kyo went as hard as he did during the freakout section
 
mode of ___ is the best deg footage ever, there's no way they'll out-do the emotion, live sound, and visuals of the series. I wish they could re-do gauze and not look like they were in pain the whole time.

@Rosner I really like drum panning too! DSS does that specially well, you can actually "set up" the drums in your head (as if you were sitting on the stool) from the sound of each individual piece of the kit. I think my description doesn't make much sense though :P. I don't recall that effect on Arche tough, but I haven't listened to that album in a good while, even less while wearing headphones.

I agree! I remembered about this:
 
 
Personally I wouldn't do it (for me, reverb on distorted guitars is a no-no, excpet when working on black metal or shoegaze), but every producer has it's own style and sometimes their unorthodox methods surprisingly work. When it comes to music and mixing, there are no writteng rules (except for a couple of obvious ones). 
 
By the way, I just noticed Arche was mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen! Wouldn't have guessed it: it sounds over-processed but has an unpolished sound that I've never heard on any of Tue Madsen most recent works.
 
I also checked out who mixed/mastered the 'Utafumi' and 'Ningen...' singles out of curiosity: it coul give a hint on the sound 'The Insulated World' may have. 'Utafumi' was mixed by Madsen, but it was mastered by Tsubasa Yamazaki (seems like a frequent collaborator of the band, mostly on live releases). Can't find any good info on 'Ningen...', though its Japanese wikipedia entry seems to have some interesting info about it's composition. Too bad Google translate is not very good... but for what I understand, it was mixed either by Dan Lancaster or Jay Ruston and mastered by Brian Gardner (interesting choice!).

@Rosner back in April there was a Yahoo.jp article that's since been taken down, but here's a snippet:
 

Reading all your posts about the original UROBOROS, I really, really need to throw that thing on again. I haven't listened to it since the remaster.
 
One thing about Tue Madsen's mixing that hasn't been mentioned is that he seems to love throwing reverb over absolutely everything. That may contribute to the 'muddy' mix people are talking about. UROBOROS Remastered, DSS, and THE UNRAVELING all suffer from this. It does add to the depth of the music but it all just ends up sounding very similar as a result (at least, in my opinion).

I haven’t listened to the original mix of Uroboros in years, and I’m doing that right now. I can say that what Tue Madsen seemed to concentrate on was pushing Kyo more to the front, but he also removed a lot of the low end of everything else. He kind of nerfed Toshiya’s bass tone, and the hard planning of Kaoru’s and Die’s guitars seems to be less prominent. In the end he somehow managed to make a cleaner mix that sounds messier. Props for bringing out that extra percussion in Ware, Yami Tote though?
 
But fuck that  snare sound in the original mix of Red Soil. Sounds like Shinya is smacking tin foil. 

I think the track that suffered the most with the remaster was "Stuck Man". I'm suspicious to say that because I actually like the original mix, but the messy sound and the St. Anger snare actually work pretty well on that one and it helps achieving that weird Mr. Bungle/Fantômas-ish sound.

Idk egnirys has always been one of my least favorite songs of theirs. It just sounds kinda goofy and awkward. I don’t dislike it but they have way more memorable songs that are still experimental. I like the mode of macabre performance though.