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YuyoDrift

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Posts posted by YuyoDrift

  1. Posted

    Update after 2 weeks: 

    These are fucking amazing. 

    I don't even know where to begin describing how these babies sound. 

     

    Using audiophile jargon, if I were to compare them to the HD600s, I'd say they are less "bright", and more "full". Compared to my HD6XXs, it's definitely a more wild child as the upper mids are strong as hell, and let loose the more you drive them, probably due to the low impedance. It's got a fresh sound, with like a "grip" on the bass, and so it doesn't sound like it spills over. Defintely not as smooth as the HD650/HD6XX in terms of sound, as it's very lively, which is definitely good for rock music. I wish I had a pair of HD660S' to try out but I don't :( . I have heard that is sound just like it, and that the only major difference is that the HD660S is smoother and more true to sound.

     

    In any case, I'd definitely say I scored big time for these with the price of $150, and I even got a low serial number from the first production run lol.

     

    Zeus, Original Saku and yakihiko reacted to this

  2. Posted

    8 hours ago, Saishu said:

    I mean, Joker sounds like a bunch of other shuffle beat VK tracks, then straight up uses the riff from The Beautiful People. 

     

    And one of the vocal melodies sounds like this:

     

     

    Is that why I like it so much? lol

  9. Posted

    The fucking chord progression in NINTH  is unbelievable.

    Even though they didn't end up using a 7-string, you can tell they did their best to make it sound like there was one.

    Very cool.

  10. Posted

    I agree completely with your take on the sound production, and the efforts to use better sound equipment must have made that much more of a difference.

    I had a similar experience, as that itch for experimentation got the best of me, and I decided to listen to NINTH again and again, using 3 different types of headphones (open-back, closed-back, and noise-cancelling) with and without a DAC/Amplifier, as well as listening to it in the car (windows up and down), and even on the plane during my vacation trip haha.

     

    Ruki's recommendation to obtain better audio equipment in order to listen to their albums at their best is solid advice for sure.

    Guess it would be no surprise then to anyone that listened to NINTH through something similar to Apple earpods and complained about the sound, simply because of the frequencies that overlap entirely from it's production (could be that muddiness everyone is referring to). Even in my own search to find the right balance of equalization and driver amplification to make this album sound amazing, I could feel that GazettE standard being set higher and higher. Perhaps we have become a bit too jaded with past expectations from the GazettE to present new ideas, that now we even criticize the sound when it differs from what we are used to. Perhaps this issue with the sound production is the first of many complaints to come until fans actually take Ruki's advice. Just gotta wait and see.

     

    Here's my review on NINTH.

     

    Spoiler

    So after a couple weeks, and about 35+ listens through the album, I felt that I have spent enough time listening to NINTH. I am aware of the discontent regarding the sound production of the album, and while I would agree to an extent that it lacks control in a few tracks that need it (as far as separation of instruments go), I wouldn’t necessarily dismiss the songs themselves because of it. At least, I didn’t.

     

    1.      99.999

    I really wish this track didn’t start the way it does. Does anyone else’s ears hurt from that? Haha. This track is pretty cool as far as SEs go, and in an environment with a subwoofer/amp, the range in basslines can be filled with reverberation or resonance, which I thought was nice.

     

    2.      Falling

    It’s a great song, both lyrically and instrumentally. In comparison to the PV version, production on the album version has brought unison of both guitars, to which many have already voiced distaste for. This version is a great representation of the rest of the album, which I have no problems with personally.  I feel distortion and pain was the intent of “falling”, and they hit the mark. Bravo.

     

    3.      Ninth Odd Smell

    You can really tell the most notable change thus far in the album is the drumming. I’ve been saying this for almost 3 years now but Kai is doing a banging job in improving his versatility within the band. That opening was very reminiscent to something Dir En Grey has put together in the past. Even though I applaud the beginning, the most interesting part of the song is in the second half (around 1:48), because they’ve seamlessly slipped in DOGMA era into the mix, which caught me off guard. Since I’ve grown to appreciate DOGMA for what it is now, this nuance in sound felt fitting, like it was something they would do.

     

    4.      Gush

    This track has a composition similar to rock bands here in the USA. I spent a bit of time trying to identify the band they took notes from (never figured it out). I figure it’s just a spin on various ideas since the song itself changes tempo at different points, yet feels solid as a whole. It will take time for it to grow on me.

     

    5.      The Mortal

    Not sure why, but I felt we took a trip back to DIM territory (if DIM era gazette still existed in 2018, and electronic influences were finally accepted). Basslines are reminiscent to that era up until 2:01, where the chorus takes off amazingly! I’m slightly reminded of that intensity from “goddess” that brings much more impact to the influence this track holds. Basslines from song are stronger within the midrange, and become too much if used with headphones with priority to the lows. Unfortunately if you want to appreciate this track you may need headphone amplification.

     

    Note: I want to believe that the “muddiness” is actually intentional (especially after translating the lyrics on some of the songs). Wouldn’t it be funny if they trolled us hard with the sound production?

     

    6.      虚 蜩

    First word I thought of was “Damn”. Talk about a style of the GazettE I haven’t heard in a long fucking time. When this song started, I was completely thrown off by the instrumental that I assumed was another ballad, to a switch up of tempo to something so great, the only thing I could do was sit back in my chair and just, listen to that damn guitar being bled dry in bliss. This song flows so damn well I can hardly believe that this song is in this album. This is like anime OP levels of great haha and it even sounds like one too.

     

    7.      その声は脆

    A ballad with a familiar composition, but upon execution became a ballad like none before it. Moderate volume, well-paced, leaving nearly zero faults to this song. The soundstage/imaging becomes wider with an open-back set of headphones, and so I would recommend people who want to experience what I mean to use heaphones if they have some.

     

    8.      Babylon’s Taboo

    With a style that I could compare very easily to Marilyn Manson and Nine inch nails (I’m definitely on board with this) there was once again, a unique change of pace to the rest of the album, feeling like something left over from Beautiful Deformity. This song is definitely inspired by the likes of those of us in the western side of the world. While slightly off putting, I’d be a liar to say that I was not interested in what something like this would sound like haha.

     

    9.      裏切る舌

    If you can look past the electronic bits, there are remnants of NIL in this track, as the improvisation of Ruki’s singing and guitar strings are present here, and yet there is a dash of DOGMA thrown in this. I simply can’t dislike this song for that reason alone.

     

    10.  Two of a kind

    There’s a refinement to this track that almost feels like something from DOGMA, but at the same time seems like a mash up of DIM and TOXIC. I’d say this is probably the only track I would consider generic GazettE thus far. With that said, I just want to take a moment to point out that impressive guitar play at around the 2-minute mark. Nice to know they still like to throw in a couple curveballs here and there.

     

    11.  Abhor god

    To tell you the truth, I don’t know how to begin describing this track. If I had to pick a word, it would be versatile, and that’s because pacing on this track is all over the place which in this case is welcomed. Kai has vastly improved in the last couple albums, and Abhor God definitely showcases those efforts without a doubt. I bet this will sound amazing live.

     

    12.  Unfinished

    I don’t know why (seriously, I don’t know why) but even though this song has no similarity in sound, I feel that UNFINISHED will soon become the next “tomorrow never dies” or (dare I say it) “未成年(Miseinen)”.  I could hear slight influences from Toxic, and for some brief moments, everything NIL/Disorder/and Stacked Rubbish were known for. Ruki actually went all out on this one, the son of a bitch. In fact, they all did! With the intensity of the track, Ruki sounding like he’s gonna pass out after that yell at 2:37, and my headphones cranked at max volume, I thought I was gonna have a nosebleed haha. Definitely a song to remember, and an appropriate closing track to an incredible album.

     

    With that said,

     

    :_9/10_: | An album that GazettE fans have been waiting years for.

     

    What I felt I listened to in NINTH was what a lot of us were truly waiting for. Something that kind of stopped with TOXIC, and DOGMA was the complete opposite of. It’s weird, but this feels like a GazettE album. There exist tracks that can be rightfully placed into the hall of Gaze-favorites. The sound is reminiscent to their days of spontaneity, where they just went at it with a collection of ideas, and in this case those ideas became NINTH. Is this is rival to DIM? I’d say no, and that’s because it is too sporadic in sound and execution to be heralded as one (too mashup-y in simple words). I can comfortably say that NINTH is a rightful successor, as it checks all the boxes that I feel made me a fan all those years ago, and even has the potential to be an album in 2018 that you can easily recommend to new fans of the scene. I think most would agree that if the album still holds its appeal even after as many listens as I have gone through, then it will most likely stay that way.

     

    Nagisa, Komorebi, nullmoon and 4 others reacted to this

  11. Posted

    1 hour ago, Nagisa said:

    My CD finally came today. I'll write a review later but overall I was kind of disappointed. I didn't really understand what people meant by recycled riffs before but this time I was able to recognize some. I thought it would be like BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY which I enjoyed but there wasn't as much variety as I imagined. There also weren't any stand-out tracks like DOGMA had, although The Mortal and Babylon's Taboo had some good parts. I'm not sure what to think of Unfinished since it seems like GazettE albums usually with a really strong track but while kind of different, Unfinished didn't really grab my attention.

    I would give it a few more listens. 

    I've grown to enjoy the album quite a bit, as you become familiar with it (and pick out your favorites). Definitely easier to swallow than DOGMA by a mile.

    Still working on my review, but it's positive for sure.

     

    Nagisa and Elazmus reacted to this

  13. Posted · Edited by YuyoDrift
    Update

    I’m going to have to listen to the iTunes version now, thanks guys. Lol.

     

    I might be in the minority, but I feel the MV version was a tad too “flat” for my tastes. 

     

    Not too sure where the words muddy came from haha. Maybe if I was listening through Apple earbuds lol but as far as I can tell (I have the CD) the album version has a higher gain, and so there’s more clarity in the drumming and while the instruments could be a bit in sync, I wouldn’t necessarily call that a bad thing.

     

    I’ll listen to the AAC version and update post.

     

    Edit: Sounds exactly the same for iTunes version. Production is the same at least.

    Ozileras10 reacted to this

  14. Posted

    30 minutes ago, TheZigzagoon said:

    Hopefully it's just been because of the moving of the warehouse, it's still unfair to treat loyal customers this way with minimal explanations 

    Didn't know about the warehouse change.

    Well anyways, I actually got mine in the evening yesterday from CDJapan.

    TheZigzagoon reacted to this

  19. Posted

    On 4/15/2018 at 8:06 AM, Kaye said:

    Honestly, I saw the comments before I watched the episode and after watching it I just want to slap them all on the head. Sure, I got annoyed as well but imo it all fits their story and current life/convictions. We can only wait and see what they'll do with it.

    I didn't even realize the amount of youtube vids trying to explain the hate for ichigo lol

    So excited for tomorrow!

    Kaye reacted to this

  21. Posted

    5 hours ago, SakuraFox512 said:

    Most of my preferred bands hail from the 80s and 90s (Kuroyume, BUCK-TICK, D'ERLANGER, Plastic Tree, PIERROT, Janne Da Arc...)

    Mmm hmm, we are gonna get along just fine hehe.

     

    Welcome to the forum!

    It's great to hear that you've come out of lurking. Fans of the scene are always welcome, especially 90's Visual Kei Oficionados such as ourselves (we're starting to thrive again it seems lol). I can't wait to hear all the kinds of wisdom/knowledge you have to offer here on MH.

    Oh and also,  it's never too late to say hi.

    Just message any of the Admins/Mods on the website (Red/Blue) when you have any questions.

     

    Talk to you soon!

     

     

    DavidB.Rockin, Laurence02 and SakuraFox512 reacted to this

  25. Posted

    Saw A Quiet Place last night. My thoughts on the film have me torn.

    The film itself, and what was shown to us, was well executed. Actors are great (especially Blunt), and the scenes that were to keep you well planted in your seats delivered on their impact. 

    It's what you don't see in the film, and begin to think about after its over, that starts to give the film an over all "meh" rating.

    There are reviews out there that mention that this information was left out as it was irrelevant,  a wise decision in fact. My question is: to who?

    The film felt as if the additional information would have reinforced and extended the plot in a healthy way, addressing some of the questions asked by the audience as the film went along. Instead, we have to look online for answers.

    Sure enough, I haven't found shit in my attempt.

     

     

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