o hai guyz did i miss nething
OK, so I avoided coming anywhere near this thread until I had the CD in my hands,
and that day has finally come. Mwahaha! I couldn't resist listening to the whole thing even though the only sound system at my disposal is real crap. Because these speakers suck and because I had to play it rather quietly, I'm not going to give an in-depth review, just my overall first impression.
I don't know about anybody else, but this album legitimately
shocked me--I don't consider this their best album by any means, but there is awesomeness aplenty and this clearly represents a big step forward for Moi dix Mois' production and sound.
The first thing that's apparent to me is that Mana has been listening studiously to classical music, particularly late Classical religious works from the likes of Mozart (such as his most famous Requiem mass which includes, among other movements, its own Dies Irae and Agnus Dei, go figure). The result is some renewed imagination and a much tighter, more polished sound that sounds much more truly "symphonic" than anything else Mana has done previously.
The second thing--which is related to the first thing--that is apparent to me, is an attempt on Mana's part to really bring Moi dix Mois' talent to the next level. There are solos on here that have heretofore been completely unheard of for Mana and, even though they risk giving the impression that he's a HIZAKI understudy or something, I'm still fucking
proud of Mana that he managed to step up his game so
late in the game. Like they say, you only get old once you stop learning, and Mana seems to be forever young. Another thing that risks sounding like Versailles is the English-speaking narrator--but I still support the effort to be more accurate and polished, especially since (what the
fuck!) I can actually comprehend Seth
clearly in Dead Scape!
I feel that this album has fewer shining stars than, say, DIXANADU, and a relatively weak tracklist, but some of the songs that stood out to me my first time listening to it were:
- In Paradisum
Divine Place
Pendulum
Dead Scape (shit, Mana’s been practicing!)
I have mixed feelings over Ange D-side and I was actually disappointed when I heard Agnus Dei for reasons I'll get into in a later review.
Until then, I'll just say that this album was pleasantly surprising in multiple ways and has renewed my interest in Moi dix Mois--it doesn't sound like a masterpiece, but still an intriguing development.
And now I get to read all 17 pages of this thread!