kuyashii

Was there any info on who was going to produce The Insulated World? I hope it isn't the same person who produced "Ningen" because that one sounds really bad, it's WAY TOO LOUD (specially the drums) and like Rosner said some of the drum samples are pretty grating. BTW were all of the songs remastered for Vestige of Scratches or just the earlier ones?

Changing the topic a bit, why are their mixes always so bad? I think Gauze might be their best-sounding album in terms of production. Macabre sounds fairly good too (even though I'm not really a fan of the music per se), but then everything between Kisou and Marrow sounds so thin and weak! I actually like the messy sound of the original Uroboros album but I agree it's not everyone's cup of tea. Dum Spiro Spero sounds fairly good, even though the music doesn't have much "depth", but then all of their post-Rinkaku releases sound so mechanical, specially the drums, which sound too triggered. Also, I still think all those "From Depression to" DVDs were absolutely pointless and all that touring didn't did anything other than delay the release of the album for a long time. I know they were aiming for something big for the 20th anniversary, but I think it would be much better if they remastered their earlier albums. There's so many great songs, it's a pity their production isn't always the best. Thankfully Vestige of Scratches corrected that issue for a couple of tracks, but a lot of my favorite songs from earlier relases weren't touched.

I can barely tell the SEs apart, I don't think the second one adds anything to the album (maybe they put it because they have to change instruments between Aijou no Tsuki and Ambitiosus Principles live or something?). I'm pretty disappointed they didn't use this one they used for this video with Sho going all Vitas, it sounded so cool! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCVTXLR4HFo

First listen thoughts: This was very different from what I was expecting, since I was guessing it would be heavy af from start to finish. Surprisingly the moments where they opt for a more progressive/atmospheric sound ("Hito to Katachi", "D. Hymnus", etc.) are much better than the ones where they go heavy. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a bit of pop sensibility that works well even when interspersed with the heavy elements (like on "Grotesque" for example). I was a bit disappointed by the heavy stuff since it didn't sound nowhere as interesting as the pre-released songs (I think "Mad [K]" might be my favorite track on the heavier side). I'm a tad disappointed but overall it's a pretty solid album and I think its short lenght was actually a good thing because nothing really overstays its welcome and the result doesn't really make you tired. I think it can have potential to grow on me with more listens. Funny how they pulled out a reverse Dir en Grey and released the best songs as singles BTW.

Were there any previews somewhere? I don't speak japanese, but judging from their site, apparently those are the places it's being sold online (?) "CD取扱店舗】 ・全国ヴィジュアル系専門店 (ZEAL LINK / ライカエジソン / little HEARTS. / ブランドエックス / 自主盤倶楽部など) ・タワーレコード ・HMV ・TSUTAYA ・VILLAGE VANGUARD ・Amazonなど" I hope one of the song is a long-ass Vinushka/Diabolos-esque song. I'm not really expecting DeG to do one of these anymore but it would be cool to hear Dimlim trying to do a long piece like that.

Your description makes me think of it as an emo rap song

What I meant is that it's less likely that we're gonna see any major improvement on his drumming from now on, since his problems are probably going to worsen with his aging. And I definitely agree he's way better at the groovy/proggy stuff than the metla stuff (even though I really like his drumwork on "Hageshisa" or the "Zan" remake). I'm not really excited about this album btw. Historically DeG is my favorite band since the time I found them (around September 2011) but I haven't been really a fan of the stuff they've been putting out recently. I know that roughly two new songs (plus one cover and four remakes) isn't really the biggest amount of material to create an impression of, I can't really say I'd consider anything more than just "listenable". And to be quite frank, the "live-friendlier" direction they started taking after "Sustain the Untruth" doesn't really appeal me that much as the kind of sound they had between Uroboros and The Unraveling EP, since i'm more into the hyperactive proggy ultraventilating metal stuff - maybe that's why I've been more anxious about Dimlim's album than this, since they're DSSing better than DeG nowadays

Haven't been this hyped for a release in a really long while. It's downright ridiculous how much they evolved in such a short timespan. Specially Sho, his early vocals were cringy af but now he's definitely one of the best vocalists from the current j-scene (I'm still not really a fan of all that inhaling since it's a quick trip to a wrecked voice but I can't deny he does it pretty well). As instrumentist they all had the technical chops since the beginning but good god the songwriting was laughable (though I'm aware Issei was their main composer before he left the band). It's pretty cool how they went from "this is so bad it's good" in Aharewata to "this is actually pretty cool" in Vanitas to "OMFG THIS IS AMAZING" in Shigarami. I still haven't really absorbed Aijou no Tsuki really well but that doesn't diminish my enthusiasm for the upcoming album.

It's pretty weird for me to see how much criticism Shinya's drumming gets because I always had him as one of my favorite drummers. Of course he doesn't really work as a "metal" drummer but his style is pretty unique, reminds me of Nick Mason from Pink Floyd with all the weird tom rolls and weird accents. When it comes to live performances I agree that he doesn't always replicate his drumlines perfectly, but on his defense he developed stress fracture of the ribs around 2011 from overtouring (they talk about that on one of the Age Quod Agis DVDs but I don't remember which one) and aparently never recovered from that (and well, he is on his 40s, he doesn't really has all the physic prowess he used to have when he was younger). I think he's like the drumming equivalent of Kyo in a sense: his studio work is really nuts but he's not the most technical musician live, so he goes over his limitations with a lot of determination and intensity (I don't really see that as positive though, in the end it only makes their conditions get worse )