Album of the week!

Alrighty, here's the deal - I was thinking about this earlier today. I figured each week, someone picks a D album they like/feel like discussing, and we talk about the relevant songs and PVs related to the album, as well as the songs on the CD (of course). So it'll basically be a themed album week thing that'll give us something to do to while away the time waiting for D's next big release.

Personally, I love me some Neo Culture. Someone described it as "D's most well-crafted album [to date])", and I wholeheartedly agree. Perhaps it's the idea that I love traveling myself... above all else, my biggest dream is to visit the pyramids of Egypt. ^^ But that aside, out of the two PVs that you can choose from I'm a bigger fan of Barairo no Hibi. The costumes, the song itself (my favorite of Ruiza's compositions), the atmosphere and the glossy lightheartedness made me squee when I first saw it. So while Tafel Anatomie remains my favorite album music-wise, concept-wise Neo Culture (Type A) sits at the top of my list.

Did anybody purchase the regular edition? Is it just a combination of the booklets from Types A and B, or does it have different pictures?

So far I've liked all of D's major releases, but each of the albums has a song or two I'll listen to once or twice and then skip over on subsequent play-throughs. Graveless and Marine Snow are pleasant songs in their own right but I can't find myself really liking them. On the other hand, Follow, Signal, Ouka, Glacial melt and Barairo are stellar. I feel like going on a road trip every time I listen to Signal. D's got the remarkable ability to create some very uplifting songs. ^^

Lastly, a bit random, but... I love the smell of Japanese printing presses. The booklet smells delicious. XD And it contains some gorgeous pictures. Also, how cool is it that a different part of the world is featured on the cover of each album type?

Okay so I have Neo culture A-type. Great album really.. I don't think there's any song I wouldn't like (surprise, duh), even though Marine snow and Glacial Melt haven't really got me yet.
If we're talking about the image of Neo culture's cd covers I like the most of the A-type's colour and after that, Regular edition's.. And the pictures in the booklet are gorgeous! so.. natural and simplified, you know... sunset, desert, sea and lonely road.. I really didn't expect those. And their own pictures. hawt!

Hm.. To be honest Bara iro no hibi is good video but not one of my favourites. I just like more those ones with darker mood.
But the feeling when I saw it first time on my computer, wide screen and high quality... THAT was awesome. :'''D

Gareki no Hana wrote:
Lastly, a bit random, but... I love the smell of Japanese printing presses. The booklet smells delicious. XD And it contains some gorgeous pictures. Also, how cool is it that a different part of the world is featured on the cover of each album type?

I know! XD
My step bro watched me like some lunatic when I got this cd. I opened it and after I stopped opening my mouth I just started to sniff it around like "omg I love this smell! aaa~ :'''3"

I have A as well. I think it's a great album and I really love most of the songs on it: Follow, Oukasaki, Schwarzschild, etc. The only two songs that are kind of meh for me are Glacial Melt and Marine Snow, though I do like them. They just don't stand out very much.

The PV for Barairo no Hibi is gorgeous, with the open blue sky it's very light and calming. And I love those outfits A LOT. Sort of simple in a way but at the same time they're very elegant and stand out. Kuon is great, too, though not as...exciting? I love the cinematography in that video, though. The stormy desert sky is a nice contrast to the clear, sunny sky in Barairo.

I've never seen scans of the regular edition so I'm interested to know what the booklet is like, too.

D brings with Neo Culture, an insight to the many wonders of our planet that can be experienced through the luminosity of the album. I myself have obtained all of the types this album was released under, and not only does each picture represent a difference, it holds the utter importance of culture and meaning in this existence that humanity dwells upon. My favorite and most adored song on this album is Kuon, specifically because of the immense research and devotion these men proved to place into the heart of the ballad, and composed a traditionally accurate atmosphere for the scene to take life. I enjoy this musical D encyclopedia to the fullest extent.

Malice, could you describe the regular edition booklet a little bit since you have all versions of the album? I'm ing, wondering how different it is from the other two, and I haven't seen scans of it anywhere.

It seems a lot of us share the same feelings about Marine Snow. It was a good idea and fit the theme of the album (especially after Glacial Melt), but it's really weird. O_o

I love Marine Snow, for it is always on replay in my head. Out of Neo Culture though, I love the diversity of instruments used to capture the essence of the culture they are trying to portray. As I have stated in some random thread, I love the sitar so the song Sora ni hana, mizu ni sumi chi ni yadoru definitely is a plus

Catharsis wrote:I love Marine Snow, for it is always on replay in my head. Out of Neo Culture though, I love the diversity of instruments used to capture the essence of the culture they are trying to portray. As I have stated in some random thread, I love the sitar so the song Sora ni hana, mizu ni sumi chi ni yadoru definitely is a plus

Ah track 9, my second favorite

Gareki no Hana wrote:Malice, could you describe the regular edition booklet a little bit since you have all versions of the album? I'm ing, wondering how different it is from the other two, and I haven't seen scans of it anywhere.

It seems a lot of us share the same feelings about Marine Snow. It was a good idea and fit the theme of the album (especially after Glacial Melt), but it's really weird. O_o

The scans are here. https://madteaparty.darkbb.com/scans-f5/neo-culture-scans-t58.htm#891

Let's move onto another album! Since nobody has brought one up, why don't we chat about what lots of people consider to be D's trademark release - The Name of the ROSE!

Before we talk about it, however, I wanted to mention something I picked up on not too long ago. A heavy contrast, to be more specific. While I never expected D to stick exclusively to their vampire theme, I was surprised at how much they've changed since 2003. At one point we were all expecting their new album to be fairy-tale themed but now it seems they're giving us something that appears to be a new chapter in their Neo Culture "story". Or it could be something radically different. "Genetic World" and "The Name of the ROSE" could be worlds apart in terms of vampires versus modern technology or simply two sides of the same coin if D still finds a way to connect the two. We won't know until we listen to the songs and study the lyrics.

Nevertheless, let's get back to their old premise. What we had in The name of the ROSE was basically a fresh, novel spin on a very old overdone idea. The songs were clear-cut, appealing, memorable, and had a distinct flavor that branded D with the sound everyone yearns to hear more of. What lots of folks were put off by, though, were the ballads. I took a liking to them right away. The songs that I'm still having trouble getting into are Hourglass, GOD'S CHILD, and Ever After. But with really great material like Sleeper, Yami yori, and Mayatsuki no Hitsugi, it still ends up being a very well-rounded album. And both the PVs are pretty awesome, imo. ^__^

The name of the ROSE is a great album. The songs that particularly stand out to me are Day Dream, Yami yori, Sleeper, and Mayutsuki. Day Dream is one of my favorite D songs because of it's haunting softness. For some reason I wasn't so keen on Akumu Kurai and Kuroi Hanazono at first but I've come to enjoy and appreciate them a lot.

I think Mayutsuki no Hitsugi was the first PV of theirs that I saw and I've always liked the vampire imagery. The guitar in that song is beyond amazing (Woo go Rui and Hizou!). But I have to say I prefer Sleeper, both the song and PV. It's such a catchy tune and they look pretty sharp in those suits.

The name of the ROSE is what I call a clean album. The lines, the sound, the arrangement, the songs themselves are truly admirable because D takes a small idea and turns it into an elegant piece of work. Being such an elegance freak, I got struck by this album's style.
There are so many tracks that will certainly remain alive as time passes by even if they don't really catch attention on the outside. I believe most of us listen to Akumu kurai and say "damn that chorus is neat" or get melancholic while Kuroi hanazono, daydream on Shiroi yoru and love on Art de la pista
The name of the ROSE is one of those albums you'd buy a hundred times if you could