nullmoon

I swear y'all have the same conversation every single time an official video for an album or Budokan release drops....How is MH not used to these promo edits by now?

Ironic that the only thing I understood in that post was “iketeru”

I want a jumpscare teaser where there's just a screen with some japanese text and then out of nowhere some really heavy stuff and Kyo screeching at the top of his lungs (think of the "Reiketsu Nariseba" ending) starts playing with the album cover flashing on the screen (come on, it's pretty freaky, it could work well)

Each to their own I guess; I find Beautiful Deformity to be the real snoozefest. 

Maybe it's just my choice of bands, but I see more Japanese bassists using the slap/pop style than finger plucking style. In some cases, it really fits, like Ue-chan in MTH. Others make it work, like Koga in Gacharic Spin or Kiyoshi with Marty Friendman. Sometimes, it's a WTF situation, like Silent Siren, whose bassist uses it a lot and they are pop. I'll defer to VK fans for how often it is used in that genre.
 
In the US there are only two prominent rock bassists who slap, Les Claypool (Primus) and Flea (RHCP). It's popular in funk and jazz, though.
 
So where is this influence coming from?

Super hyped to see them live this year, the times they've been here before never worked out for me. I listened to their whole discography again and felt like writing down my thoughts!
 
I can't seem to get into "Macabre" at all, it has some great songs, but overall it feels a bit random to me. Guess I need to give it some more listens.
 
"Cage" is an amazing song.
 
Weirdly enough, I really like "TMOAB" by now, Kyo has huge moments here and especially the calmer songs are among the best material Diru has put out if you ask me.
 
I like "Arche" a bit more now, but I feel like it is the first album that doesn't really push any boundaries, it almost seems like they tried to achieve something similar to sukekiyo, but didn't quite succeed.  Also, Kyo's high notes really don't have the old strength anymore (live he sounds incredible though).
 
I enjoy everything they've shown after "Arche" more than that album, I suppose I just like my Dir En Grey catchy haha
 
 

It reminded me of the end of Hakudaku too.
 
If you want this then just listen to sukekiyo.

What do you expect when you drop four paragraphs of pretentious interpretations, then insert an edit insulting everyone for not discussing an album cover more seriously? 

I like how the alternate version is “guy looks right instead of left”.

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. 

Forget the hair, they didn't even iron the shelf folds out of the shirts they bought an hour before the photo.

Only by looking at the hairstyles I think music is going to be meeeeh.

D'espairsRay and 12012 being dated my lord what time period am I in. 
 
I haven't even begun listening to the album yet. Too scared to find out what horrors await. They should've done something like Inugami Circus Dan and created an alter ego band to go with a different style (how's that for another dated reference). Or maybe start a side project? I'm glad there was a heartfelt reason for this style change according to Chiaki, but he knew there would be consequences. Now, I know going down these routes isn't as simple as "if I can think it, I can do it", but it just sucks to lose another band to itchin-for-a-change-in-direction-itis.
 
P.S. I fully stan heavy comeback 12012! 

While writing this review, it came to my attention by other ORZ members that some of my references are rather dated, and that I can't assume everyone knows what I mean when I reference certain things. Thus, I wrote this section as an extra bit to explain those references in detail, since I think it's important and gives my review and misgivings additional context. What follows is purely my opinion.
 
It all starts with this sentence.
 
 
To give you a quick history lesson for context: 12012 started out as a hard rock band. Vocalist Wataru ended up getting too drunk one night and beating up a female acquaintance of his, and for that they were dragged through the mud by the media. This was shortly after the release of their second album DIAMOND. As a response to his bad behavior the entire band switched directions completely and released MAR MAROON, a pop album, which I guess was supposed to serve was some sort of public apology and repentance. This marked the point the band would forever change their sound, drop their theme and concept, and not go back to hard rock. For a band whose name is a reference to "kyouki shouji", or illegal possession of a firearm, MAR MAROON flies in the face of that concept. There was a very violent backlash - similar to what's happening with DEZERT right now - and MAR MAROON was not received very well. 12012 backslid into their earlier style a bit with future releases such as SEVEN before going full metalcore with 12012, but they never truly returned to their old style. Eventually the band broke up because they lost their identity, their main composer, and couldn't get enough new fans to make future activities worth it. 
 
I've seen the same thing happen with D'espairsRay and REDEEMER. The change wasn't as drastic, but going from the pioneers of the dark and heavy goth sound in visual kei to a slightly heavier L'arc~en~ciel didn't sit well with fans. REDEEMER is by far their weakest album, redeeming absolutely nothing about their sound, and even when they backslid into their earlier sound a bit with MONSTERS, it wasn't a convincing effort. There was more going on under the surface with this band as well, with rumored label debts and Hizumi's illness sealing the deal on this band's legacy.
 
I've also seen the same thing happen with Dir en grey, except these guys went in the opposite direction. It's a long time ago, but I do remember a time in the scene when going dark and heavy was seen as "American metal" and "selling out". Hard to think that was ever the case, eh? But yet again, there was more going on under the surface with Dir en grey that prompted them to switch styles with six Ugly and chase a more mainstream crowd: this time being the American metal scene. They themselves said that they thought they reached the pinnacle of their sound with Kisou, and that there was nowhere left for them to go, and that if they didn't find a way to grow they would have disbanded in a year or two. There was a fissure so loud in the scene that you could hear it crack all the way over here in America, with some fans embracing the change and many other fans denouncing the band and swearing them off entirely. Dir en grey also backslid a bit into their earlier style with single cuts such as OBSCURE and DRAIN AWAY designed to appeal to both the old and new crowds entirely, but once they abandoned their visual gimmicks and visual style after Kisou, they never really went back.
 
I'm sure there are countless other bands that also are great examples of what I'm explaining here, but the point remains. When a band changes their style this drastically at the tip of the hat, there are things bubbling under the surface we can only speculate about, but past bands have shown that when they take this step, it's usually the beginning of the end. Dir en grey is the only exception to this rule AFAIK. That's why I end the review with this snippet:
 

I'm basically saying without saying that I expect disbandment sooner rather than later.

I think the concept of this album is Internet, complete with mouse clicking and dial up sounds.

(Hi there, I've lurked on this board for like, 6 years)
The new clip is really promising! A friend of mine in JP said that this isn't Ranunculus but it sounds like it's going to be a good one too! I get why people hear the Sukekiyo vibe. I heard it when I first woke up and I thought, "Oh, kinda like DeG guitar and vocals from jyunboku, muku de arouga"
It makes sense though. While some people on this board have floated the idea of Sukekiyo being Kyo's main deal and him not caring about DEG, that's just not how artists typically work. Artists make side projects to explore different sounds and grow in their art form. Arche definitely showed that Kyo learned new sounds from his time in Sukekiyo, and I think that will continue as he creates. Same goes for any of the other band's side projects, it will influence who they are as an artist, because they can't really compartmentalize their different sounds, even if they try to. It's all going to bleed together.
But I'm stoked anyway! Gonna be a great album and amazing tour!

It means 喜(Che, pleasure)怒(do, anger)哀(a, griefs)楽(ra, joy) in Japanese which describes four basic human emotions.

Any chance of an upload please now that you've awoken my musical boner?

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.

Distorted water sounds is the best I can come up with when it comes to a common concept.

Vanitas and the track w/ the sombrero PV are the best songs on the album in my opinion. GROTESQUE, D. Hymnus and the final track are great too, the other stuff isn't doing very much for me yet after a first listen, but those 5 alone would be enough for EP of the year if they'd been bundled as one package.
 
Always unfortunate when a band decides to waste a track on a rather mediocre S.E. though, leave that stuff for live shows

you mean both of their major albums on universal
 
 
I wonder what's their next album is going to be called, I suggest "NOT TODAY".

remember when 12012 did the exact same thing with that one album?
 
also, goddamn, those obligatory heavy tracks they put on to still somewhat reel the old fanbase back in sound like hot garbage production-wise lmao

That whole song was on point, and I loved that chorus.
When you can sound like a whistling kettle for 20 seconds and work it in your song, tastefully, is an achievement.