UPDATED (More Tech Info Added) :Dum Spiro Spero ≠ Dum Spiro Spero

     This week, I left my house in the early morning and commuted from the suburbs of Minneapolis on Tuesday, to get my favorite band’s, that is, Dir en Grey’s, new album Dum Spiro Spero and share it with my friend on my high-grade audio equipment as we always do. Picked it up, popped it in the car player and remarked to my girlfriend, “Geez, listen to Toshiya and Shinya. That bass drum and guitar, they are something else.” She then reached to dial down the bass.
     When I put the album on at home, it was a similar reaction. My friend was tied up at his church, helping out a children’s camp, so I simply picked up where I left off in the car. “激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇” came on, probably my favorite single from the album, something I had bought from Japan, along with “Lotus” and “Different Sense”. And hearing simply the first two seconds I said, “No, I think I was right”. So, let me tell you the point before I go further: the version of Dum Spiro Spero released in the United States and North America by The END Records is an altered version of the actual album you and I know as Dum Spiro Spero. I realize it takes proof, so let me list the equipment I tested it with before I continue.

HEADPHONES TESTED:
-Pioneer 1970s Studio Monitor Headphones (Large Jack for Older Devices)
-Sony MDR-NC7 Noise-Cancelling, Battery Additional Powered Headphones
-An additional adapter jack was used with the older receiver to make these compatible.
-Apple iPhone Headphones included with Package
-Phillips Gummi Headphone Color Lines (the white color, for what it matters)
RECIEVERS:
-Sansui High-Fidelity 1972 Quartz Tuned Reciever
-This device was sent to Tokyo and rebuilt in 2010.
-Sony Home Theatre System
OTHER DEVICES:
-iPod Classic, 160GB
-All Headphones tested
-iMac, Intel Dual Core
-Mid-Range Price Altec Lansing Speakers
-All Headphones Tested
-Playstation 3
-HDMI cord is gold plated, also tested with digital output

Outcome
APPEND :: Anon pointed it out, the singles were remastered for the Japanese album too, but, the Japanese version was also listened to, and the bass was not as present in the Japanese copy. Nor was the diminishing of other sounds.
     It was undeniable to me, who has taken college courses on spot listening, in which you identify a piece of music, or all of its aspects in a setting where you have never heard it before, that the album was altered. For other validity purposes, my school took second place in the regional competition for the standardized test. After listening to the singles and the album, it was altered to have a higher bass output. However, such a slipshod job was done that it affects other parts.
     I checked a review on iTunes, and someone said that the voice sounds like they used too big of a room. For those who do not know what that is reference to, I will use an example. U2, the famous Irish rock band, worked together with producers Steve Lillywhite and Brian Eno to achieve an open-air sound by renting out a large house, so that it mirrored the open expanse of the American West they were channeling.
     Dir en Grey was not using an open room, however. If you watch the “Making Of” on “Different Sense” ‘s bonus DVD, you will see that they used a small, typical recording space.
     As someone who knows people running record labels, has mastered CDs myself, and composed music for an independent game, I truly can say that the American version of Dum Spiro Spero is not equivalent to the Japanese version of Dum Spiro Spero.
     If anyone has further questions about how I achieved this conclusion, please contact my e-mail I use for the video countdown vkhcountdown@gmail.com. Please simply credit our blog and me as writer (if you want ;) ). Everyone, please spread this around, as this is upsetting to me that liberty was taken with a piece of art.

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