God I hate that iTunes didn’t put Oboro in my album download of Phalaris because I already bought the single version. Now I have to actually open my laptop and manipulate shit.
5 Likes
I was not expecting Eddie to slap as hard as it does
this album fucks
8 Likes
I think I’m settling on this being my third favourite album, and wouldn’t be surprised if that placement rose one I have seen what it is like live.
4 Likes
I was only able to give it one full listen last night before I had to go to bed. So far there’s lots that I love, a few things that irk me, but hopefully those irks will go away as I get a little more used to the record on repeated listens.
One thing that’s really weird to me though is it’s clear that not every song was mixed by the same person, mostly noticeable in the drum tones. Some songs the drums are panned pretty hard audience perspective, and the hats have this nice trashy, mid-range focused sound. On some other tracks the panning doesn’t feel as hard, the hats are a bit brighter, and the toms start to feel like they’re floating in space a bit rather than glued into the drum kit. Then you have Oboro which is just… I love the song but I really really don’t like how bright the drum tones are, ESPECIALLY the cymbals and snare. God.
I think so far my favorite tracks are Mouai no Shosu, Utsutusu, 13, and Hibiki. But I definitely need repeat listens.
This happened to me with Eternal Blue by Spiritbox last year. I am not a fan of how that system works
2 Likes
Apparently alot of people on twitter say that Eddie is the best song on the album.
What do you guys think?
2 Likes
Sure, how could one not like it with elusive lyrics such as
What’s?
Give me answer
5 Likes
At 2:27 in, before that part hit like a train and really elevated the song, now its like they tried to compress poor shinya out of existence! I love the new ochita mix but that part ruins it for me!
Also, has anyone heard the new aint afraid to die?
1 Like
i feel it’s filler but i wouldn’t skip it
Kaoru
1 Like
Kaoru: Otogi
Die: 13
Both members had their highlights here in a long while.
But wait, no Toshiya/Shinya compositions? I would love another Akatsuki-like song from Toshiya for real.
Same… but is there any difference between the album version and the single version?
First Impressions
So much better than THE INSULATED WORLD.
Mixing is all over the place. This observation made perfect sense when I discovered there were three different mixers for this album. I can overlook it, although it’s a little jarring in places.
The album takes a few songs to find its stride. However, once 13 hits, from there to the end is nothing but bangers.
Since some are asking whether the singles are different on the album, the answer is yes.
Schadenfreude felt epic and bloated. Probably a song I will love with time.
The new splashy cymbals on Oboro’s chorus are weird.
The Perfume of Sins did absolutely nothing for me. Didn’t like the drumming at all.
Ochita’s rerecording sounds better than the single version.
Kamuy is amazing.
Several people said Eddie sucks, so I went in with low expectations. It’s like Keibetsu had a love child with R to the Core. Really violent and loud. I expect this one will be great fun live. What I like about this song is that it helps to break up the album, but it’s short so doesn’t overstay its welcome. A whole album of songs like this would be very fatiguing (basically TIW).
Some of the orchestral elements sound a bit fake/bottled. This is probably the way they’ve been programmed into the songs, as actual musicians are listed in the liner notes.
Reading through the lyrics, it strikes me that much of this album may have been written in response to the war in Ukraine.
Onto the new versions.
Mazohyst is very different. Definitely a remake rather than a re-recording. I’d very much like to see a translation of the new lyrics. It’s a bit short, but maybe the original one was too long, anyway.
Ain’t Afraid To Die… considering the original is possibly the greatest thing they’ve recorded to date (opinion), it’s going to be hard to top, and comparisons are inevitably going to be made. Unlike Mazohyst, this is a pretty straight re-recording with very little changed. I thought the piano by TAKUMI was much better here than the original. Guitars sound different but great.
Overall, I liked it aside from two things. Firstly, the children’s choir is sadly missing and (to me) its omission stands out like a sore thumb. And secondly, Kyo’s vocal here is just totally phoned in. I get that it’s over 20 years since the original was released, and his voice has changed with age (and surgeries). His connection with the song so far removed from the context of its conception must be quite changed. However, his performance here just doesn’t have the emotion it did for this song in 2001. I felt the same way with THE FINAL’s remake.
Conclusion: At first blush, this album is excellent. My complaints are minor. Couldn’t be happier!
2 Likes
The more i listen to it the more i love it, if classical / symphonic touch is a hint for the next i’am definitely in. I just hope it’s not the last.
But the way they teased it as a throwback is BULLshit (lel) imo, it’s more a “best of” of 2008-now. In the same way i read somewhere that they said it’s the harder they ever done, but for me it’s maybe their “softer”. Loud yes but the first half of TIW is harder than that.
Too bad they don’t put MVs on limited versions, do we know how they will release it ?
album reminds me more of dum spiro spero than anything else, and I can’t be mad at that. I’m a major moohead
7 Likes
I didn’t dig it at all. I found it boring and after a listen I got the same feeling that I did from Dum Spiro Spiro which was that it was a chore to listen to. I listened to nothing else but DSS for a couple months when it was released back in 2011 because I really wanted to like it and was hoping it would grow on me, but it didn’t. I could tell this new album is the same sort of album. Not a single song, or any parts in any of the songs grabbed me
Still waiting for DEG to record with an actual orchestra.
9 Likes
maybe they enjoy the C- tier string synths and have no interest in changing lmao
my first impressions, although I still feel digesting the album.
I’m liking it a lot.
Tracks like “Schadenfreude” and “The Perfume of Sins” have been difficult for me to understand, but after that I have felt very comfortable.
Schadenfreude seems to me a rather dense track to start the album, I would have left it for the middle or end of the album, but I understand the decision. In this sense, since you like to compare with TIW, I like the beginning of the previous one better. I love Keibetsu to Hajimari.
It has really fun tracks too, especially 13 and Mouai ni Shosu.
(This last one looking forward to seeing her performance live)
I expected bigger changes in Oboro. He still gets that weird mic noise when Kyo starts singing.
I liked Ochita Koto no aru Sora more than the single version but I would have liked them to remove all the sound distortion they put at the end of the track!
Eddie I think it’s the song I liked the least.
My favorite song I don’t know if it’s Kamuy or Otogi XD maybe both.
CD2, well, it happens to me like NowhereGirl, what happened to the children’s choirs of ain’t afraid to die! that pissed me off.
Besides, you know some that I love TIW, and it seems to me that Phalaris goes very well with the previous one. (I don’t find it burdensome, rather, I want a version with The World of Mercy included)
Another thing. It bothers me that we won’t be able to see the full Perfume of Sins MV for at least 4 years. They should end this bad habit of the Promotion edit.
2 Likes
I fucking love it, and as with all other Dir albums it’ll just grow on you the more you listen/don’t listen to it. Not to even mention the live performances.
Though as with TIW, I think the second half is much more cohesive.
Kamuy feels like a softer Vinushka, I adore it.
5 Likes
im on like 10+ listens now lmao its a certified classic, no bad tracks every single one is iconic
7 Likes