nullmoon

The only entertaining thing I hear here is SPANK AND SPANK

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.
 

I refuse to accept the existence of THE IIID EMPIRE's remake.
Two songs it is.

You know damn well the fans voted for Garden, but DEG was like “LOL”

Utafumi was a better Beautiful Dirt re-recording. 

iiid empire @02:03 - is this a joke?
 
all three remakes are downgrading from originals in every aspect, and beautiful dirt is so close to original, yet still sounding worse; it doesn't make any sense to put this garbage on the CD.
 
why not make a 2CD self-cover album with a "live concert e•mo•tion" idea behind it if the bar for retakes on their old songs is now set this low; at least more attempts at retaking would mean slightly more chances at covering something inventively by accident.

I just heard some previews and I was actually pretty impressed by the revamps of some of their old old songs! It's like my tiny old VK heart has closure now hahaha

Not feeling the new Fukai, personally.
 
It reminds me of the Obscure remake, in that the vocal melodies are so meandering and unsatisfying. Why take a concise, catchy vocal line and change it just to change it? 

from https://yridenergyridenergy.tumblr.com/post/169250059834/phy-vol-11-dir-en-grey-interviews
 
Edit: Okay maybe new Fukai isn't that good. There are lots of weird random noises all over the song, I think? And it could've used some more power. Hmmmm... I wonder how the other songs sound...

go back 2 vulgar guitar tuning already ffs
 
I can't stand kyo's current voice
idk if this is the way he ~envisioned~ his singing development or it's years of depression meds fucking with his vocal chords this much, but I dropped this two minutes in
unravelling on 3x studio processing realness

Oh, I remember that now. I thought they did some full acoustic version of it, but I guess not.
 
2013 Karasu is real cool. I like the ramping up throughout the song, but the beginning sounds too much like Knight Rider.

i don't care much about re-recs bc their live dvds fix the production disasters (basically i get to actually hear toshiya), i.e. the new kickass version of audience killer loop. i also like the live touches they put on their older tracks (toshiya changes up some basslines, clearer guitar sounds/changes in tuning), plus some frills like the segway between undecided --> higeki on the rose trims is to die for.
 
+1 on hearing them rework zakuro, its one of my favs (it made me pick up bass) but the lyrics are kind of cringe now and if they're still down with the prog train it'd make for an awesome new version

I think their best unplugged re-recorded tracks are between Dozing Green and Hageshisa... They did a great job keeping the original feel and structure of the song while pushing it in a new direction with their current sound at the time. It's like they deconstructed the songs and put them back together with attention to detail while replacing only the parts that needed it.
 
From Lotus and onwards it feels like their re-recordings were more about updating the sound rather than enhancing what was there before. As a result, you get sloppy and unsatisfying products like "Obscure", "Kiri to Mayu", and a majority of songs off The Unraveling. It's like they used a DSS "fast and heavy" template on songs they weren't sure how to re-record and so they all end up sounding the same.

Wow thanks, now I feel old and shit.
 
Great list.

If there was a single year I am most nostaligic for in Jrock, I think it would have to be 2007. D'espairsRay, Girugamesh, and Rentrer en Soi sit at the top of this list for me. That said, I think there are a few albums that I still look back at fondly that didn't make it on to the list:
 
Abingdon Boys School - Self Titled
I played the shit out of this release. I was always a fan of Takanori Nishikawa, but never really got in to TM's style. But in catchy alt rock with lots of electronics...oh man.
 
Lynch. - The Avoided Sun
I'm not sure this will ever go down as the best lynch album, but in 2007 their formula wasn't even close to feeling stale yet. I still really enjoy this album, even if it does have some stinker tracks on it (I'm looking at you, "the Universe.")
 
D - Neo Culture: Beyond the World
This would mark the last D album that I really enjoyed.
 
Blood Stain Child - Mozaiq
Man, I don't feel like this album holds up to time at all, but that euro-trance metal was something that was really enjoyable at the time.
 
Dir en Grey - The Marrow of a Bone
This album felt like a dud to me at the time, and marked the full on shift in Diru's style. That said, I still found myself still really getting pumped up by some of the tracks (Grief being the main one here)
 
The Marrow of a Bone - Bu-ikikaesu
When I think of MtH, this is the album I think of. I'll admit though, I don't think I listened to this on in 2007 though.
 
Kagrra, - shizuku
Far from Kagrra,'s strongest work, but there formula was so lovely and I couldn't help but enjoy their more laid back approach they were taking. That and I think what Kagrra, was doing has never really been replicated.
 
 

the remastered idea was nice,but i'd rather much another re recorded tracks mini album like THE UNRAVELING  than a best album remastered,
with the tracklist below:
1.MASK
2.【KR】 cube
3. PINK KILLER
4. ASH
5 CHILD PREY
6.  -SAKU-
7. EMBRYO
 

I for one have never liked the newer lyrics of Fukai. They should've just left it as it is. Their whole 2002-2004 era was really my favorite of theirs and seeing them ruin any songs from the singles then along with any songs from Vulgar really upset me.
 
I just hope they never touch their magnus opus six Ugly.

Yeah, that's a good idea. A few years ago, I worked in the postal service around Xmas to get a bit of extra money for the holidays. Big mistake. It was such a nightmare, I vowed to never sign up for it again. Now I buy my gifts in November to prevent damage.
 
This is the first DEG CD I've skipped in ages. Maybe since DECADE. Just doesn't seem worth my money when I have everything already bar those three remakes.

Out of interest, is anyone remotely excited about this compilation? I have all the albums so far but can't see much merit in this, especially when the Decade releases are still relatively recent. It probably would have made more sense to do a new CD covering the last three albums and then tack on the re-recorded songs to the end as bonuses (if you can call them that). 

What was edited on the Decade comps? Only thing that stands out to me is they used the single versions of Embryo and Child Prey, and Jealous -reverse- was a cool bonus. The remastering wasn’t that great, more like “let’s jack the volume up so these won’t sound like (complete) shit when you compress them into MP3 files for your iPod!”
 
Decade also had weird choices like, most of the Marrow tracks they went with. 
 
And still no Garden, lol. 

I'm interested in hearing the re-recorded songs, but otherwise, absolutely not! If it wasn't for the re-recordings, I wouldn't pay this comp any attention at all. I think this one will feel most 'bootleg-y' to me, with the stupid title and the poor tracklist. With the DECADE series, at least they remastered (nearly) everything, and did some edits to a few songs, instead of just copy/pasting everything.
 
If they were gonna re-record every song in the tracklist pre-2007, I think I'd be more interested.

Something about the Decade releases is very bootleg-y to me, right down to the awful artwork. I’m hoping the remastering in Vestige is decent, but I’m not holding out hope. So if anything I’m excited to have a best collection that seems a bit more focused and professional. 

That indeed is an odd opinion, even more so because as far as I know people tend to ignore FILTH or find it to be about average for a DeG song.
I do not mind Beautiful Dirt but WTD has way better songs that are more deserving of a re-recording.
 
How come you place Kisou dead last, though?

There was a period of time where I considered Kisou the holy grail of DEG recordings, but then one day it came across as too bloated. And as much as I criticize DEG’s production in recent albums, Kisou might be the absolute worst. Listening to it feels like chewing on tin foil. Songs like Zomboid and Pink Killer are such are garbled mess of static it’s hard to believe the guitars are actually playing notes.