Moi dix Mois - DIXANADU
review by Kyuketsuki

Initial impression after listening to the entire cd once: Pretty damn good. Nothing outrightly special about it, but very good.

I'd also like to say that I noticed that Dixanadu was mixed at the same place LM was. I really did not approve of their handling of that single and begged mana to go back to their original studio. Like he'd listen to me though, right? XD They did, however, do a much better job on this cd. I've listened to it once on my stereo and am now listening to it on headphones (and the cd really is a 'headphones are a must' cd) to see if I can pick out anything drastically wrong with it. Another note is that I've switched my equalizer on iTunes to 'classical' which seems to give the sound more depth, so anyone who had any issues with the sound quality might want to try that.

Dispell Bound: I think this is my favorite song on the cd. The beginning is really, really nice, and everything seems balanced enough. The mix of muttering in the backgroud and guitar playing reflects really old-school VK to me, and the 'D-I-X DIX' thing made me giggle terribly. Just Mana being his normal cheesey self.
*I give this song: A

Angelica: I'm a huge fan of clearly defined guitar sound, and this just isn't cutting it for me. I blame the mixers. Ehhh...the guitar is just a tad bit too heavy for the sound Seth's putting out at around 1:50, as well. I think this song really carries elements from the NO cd in it, which is nice. It's kind of like incorporating past works into the new one. *listens on* Yeaaah, there are parts where the guitar just isn't fitting with seth's singing. Like he'll be singing rather soft, and then you hear this "GRAWR!!" and that's just not right, haha!
*I give this song: C+

Metaphysical: I love the orchestration. It sounds very much from 'Dialogue Symphonie', which I have absolutly no problem with since that's my favorite MdM song. Mana's on a roll with these song introductions, I really like them so far. The guitars are much clearer in this song, which is good. This song is almost like a mix of Dialogue symphonie and Deus ex Machina. Pretty nice rock out song. *listens closely* Y hallo ther, Mana.
*I give this song: B+

Exclude: I love electronic stuff. I really do, I adore it, so the intro to this song is great. GAHH! That guitar riff sounds like someone! Who is it?? D: At around :45. Hmmmm.... *continues* Seth's really doing a great job on this song, his voice fits really well, so kudos to him. OH! I figured out why that guitar movement sounds so familiar!! Gackt's 'White eyes' anyone? God, I'm glad I figured that out. I was honestly going to lose sleep over it if I didn't figure it out.
*I give this song: A

Last Temptation: My, my- remake #1. Now, when I first heard this song, I thought seth did a really awesome job at the begining. The speed really fit the song for that part, but when it got to the chorus, I fully expected it to speed up and rock out. No such luck. I'm kind of disappointed, but that's the way it goes. The gradual speeding up makes up for it a little bit, because the whole song in slow motion would have sucked. I don't particularly like the way the vocals are done in the chorus. I think it should have been seth belting it, and instead I get a choir. The man really needs to sing out. Especially on the 'sasayaku' at the end. This is where I'm starting to miss Juka.
*I give this song: B-

Immortal Madness: Yeah, go, guys, go!! \m/,
*I give this song: A

Neo Pessimiste: Nice guitar there at the begining. Very crisp sounding, if that can even be said. I'm sorry to say that things were really awesome until Seth started singing. XD He really, really needs to belt it. Really. Just sing out. Ah, okay, it's a little hard to hear him here at the chorus. I'd blame this on the mixing, but I think Mana was trying to go for a 'this is what it would be like at a live' atmosphere. Also, I'm not too keen on the everyone yelling at once thing in this song. Generally I like it, but it just doesn't seem to fit here. Nice vocal effect at 3:10. I really like that we can hear Hayato in this song as well.
*I give this song: B/B+ <---somewhere in the middle.

Xanadu: And we come to the title track. Nice organ. Ooh, go seth here at the begining. Ick, there's some mixing problems here. Once we hit the guitars, they have next to no depth to them. I blame this entirely on the mixers. You don't muffle the guitars in a rock band. Bastards. Anyway, Seth is doing a really awesome job on the verses. I'm just brought back to the same complaint of him not singing out at the chorus. He'll get a high note and just fade out. Now, that's understandable at a live, but this is the cd, make a little effort. XD I just want to smack him with a ruler every time he misses a spot to really make an impact in the song. Overall a good, moderately paced song.
*I give this song: B+

A Lapis Night's Dream: Phantom of the Opera, anyone? I can imagine Mana as that here. Cool. B-)
*I give this song: B+

Lamentful Miss: I can't really tell any difference from this and the single version. Maybe there isn't any difference. That's kind of a bad thing. The mixing is still horribly off on the song, especially at the begining and it's destracting. Actually, where ever that part at the begining repeats is annoying. You could have done better, Mana.
*I give this song: C-

Lilac of Damnation: Yay for cheesy synths there at the beginning. :B I like the group chanting or whatever it is, but it's hard there at first to tell what note seth is trying to sing because he WON'T SING OUT. He's getting covered up entirely by the instrumentals, which could be one of two things: 1) Mana trying to go for the 'this is what it'd be like at a live' feel, or 2) MIXERS. >_< I like the guitar work, however, and the instrumentals *are* really pretty. I liked the slowing down there for a few seconds in the middle. Signature changes are always fun and add dynamics to a piece.
*I give this song: B-

Sacred Lake: Whoa, key, there, Mana. Eh, I'm sure it's what he was going for, but it just sounds really out of place. The later octave adjustment helps somewhat. I like the marching drum pattern. Ah, at the bells at the end would have been extra cool had they actually sounded like a music box. Ah well.
*I give this song: B-

Overall Grade: B

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Conclusion: Seth is brilliant at the new songs, but should stay away from Juka's pieces. He's obviously not comfortable with them, and even said so once, even if it was in Madosho. He needs to SING OUT. I can't stress that enough. Make the song your own, man! You can do it! God gave you vocal chords!

The guitar work is nice in the cd, I really liked it, and I liked the addition of more electronic elements since it gives the songs more of an edge. All of it together is a nice job of everyone balancing together, and that's a big step for Moi dix Mois, so kudos to Mana for handing over the reigns there even if everything is his own.

A note about my review: I did this review while listening to the song at the same time. Anything I might've commented on happened in sequential order most likely. I also did this review without reading any of the other reviews submitted beforehand in the forums. I avoided them like the plague until my own cd got here and didn't want to be influenced at all so that I could give a purely objective review based on my own musical knowledge.

I really enjoy this cd so far, and fully expect to notice more things about it as I continue to listen to it.