Or they’re in their mid-40s and just don’t feel like it all the time. They certainly don’t have anything to prove at this point.
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Don’t they re-record most of their singles for the album, especially recently? Even some earlier tracks like embryo and Child Prey are different.
I feel like they’re usually just remixed to fit the album’s sound. Some tracks like embryo, Ryoujoku no Ame or Glass Skin clearly have different vocal recordings, but I feel like instrumentally it’s the same. At least, I’ve never really noticed anything different.
*not counting intro/outro stuff in the single versions
I mean new versions of old songs, like Wake etc.
The drum part in Ryoujoku (or sections of it) were re-recorded. Some of the guitars in Hageshisa are different too.
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I think they re-did the guitars entirely in Hageshisa, originally it was performed on 6-string guitars tuned hella low, and on the album version it was redone with 7-string guitars.
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Shame it sounds so much worse. But that’s Tue Madsen’s fault
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ya’ll got some crazy good ears
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Yeah there’s an openess and to the mix of the single version that’s missing on DSS 
I don’t mind this as long as they don’t completely butcher the songs. My reasoning is that they very rarely play old material live overseas except when those songs get a re-recording. I don’t think I’d ever have experienced Wake or Ash live if they weren’t remade.
Subjectively, TIW bonus disc was pretty awesome overall. Possibly Kigan was a bit crap. THE DEEPER VILENESS is insane, Wake is a great update, and the live tracks are all excellent.
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Bit of an extreme example that doesn’t really apply here.
It applies. They’re two examples of bands who rested on their laurels, didn’t release music for years, and produced (subjectively) mediocre albums. Possibly there are better examples out there.
The point I was making is that artists need to keep making art or they get rusty. TIW was already going down that path. It’s not horrible but definitely feels last-minute rushed and was a bit meh after such a relatively long wait.
Yoshiki has entered the chat
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When TIW released Kyo spoke about it being rushed and struggling with the deadline
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It doesn’t. This is why I said it was an extreme example, because you’re using artists who didn’t release material for 13+ years as a comparison to the length between Dir en grey albums which has yet to exceed 3 years 9 months.
I get the general sentiment you’re going for, that the lack of writing can lead to rusty artists, which I totally agree with; but your example does not apply.
And furthermore, there is 0 indication that Dir en grey are going through the specific conditions that Guns N’ Roses or Tool were going through in their respective examples.
Let’s just take Guns N’ Roses as an example. The issue with GNR wasn’t their lack of writing, in fact reports indicate a ton of writing was going on across those 15 years. Instead, it was internal issues and Axl Rose constantly changing the lineup which was largely at fault.
Not gonna lie, it’s kind of a curse. When I was younger, I didn’t really care too much about all the tiny details in music. I just liked music, and if the guitars and drums hit hard that’s all that really mattered (when it comes to rock/metal at least).
But once I started taking audio engineering and production seriously, and ESPECIALLY after I got out of audio engineering school and did some actual studio work and my ears got better at hearing all the small stuff, it’s made it WAY harder to appreciate music purely from a standpoint of “Do I like the song?”
Sure, whether or not the song is good is still important, but I’m entirely incapable caring ONLY about that. I get sucked in to listening to the production details and critiquing them and there’s a lot of stuff I can’t enjoy these days but if I had first heard it when I was younger, I’d absolutely love it.
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Okay. My point has been made twice and I’ve obviously hit a nerve, so I’ll shut up now.
“Hit a nerve”? I’m just disagreeing with you, don’t take it so personally.
It’s been three years since TiW, but that’s only a long time by VK standards. Western bands wait years between albums all the time and no one really bats an eye.
Tool is just a meme at this point.
