November racking up some good gigs. Pitchshifter already on for late in the month, now Cradle of Filth for early in the month too. My ears are going to get a workout. I've not seen the former in six years; the latter in seven.
The new-look Delain just announced a tour for the same month too but sadly not in any convenient locations for me, as seems to be their new habit...
The Castle Rat album does have its moments though I don't know if I dig them overall as much as a number of the other retro doom/heavy bands. Of course those don't have the major Red Sonja thing going for them.
I'm pretty sure I'm the only audiophile-type listener on here, but I thought I'd post anyways. Spoilered because I'm sure many of you don't care and I don't want to clutter your screen if you don't.
I stumbled upon a vinyl-rip of the original pressing of Deathrow's Deception Ignored (which happens to be my all-time favorite metal record), and I was stunned by how good it sounded. I've listened to two versions before: the original CD and the 2018 remaster. I prefer the original, despite it sounding a little sterile, because it has more dynamic range than the remaster. However, this vinyl rip has so much more life to it... which is odd since the original CD was presumably created using the same mix+master as the vinyl. After a bit more exploring I have determined that many of those original Harris Johns CD's from the 80's suffer from the same problem when compared to the original vinyl: the bass has noticeably less depth and the instruments just don't blend as well together. His studio must have had some sub-optimal analogue-to-digital converters or something during those first few years of CD's. I've looked into some other 80's CD's in my collection that have always sounded slightly lacking, so this phenomenon doesn't only effect Johns's records, although those do all seem to be effected to some degree. It varies record by record though.
The releases I've found where the original vinyl-rip has superior audio the original CD are: HelloweenHelloween HelloweenWalls of Jericho DestructionEternal Devastation KreatorPleasure to Kill TankardZombie Attack VoivodRRROOOAAARRR BathoryUnder the Sign of the Black Mark KreatorTerrible Certainty Running WildUnder Jolly Roger SodomExpurse of Sodomy SodomPersecution Mania TankardChemical Invasion VoivodKilling Technology PestilenceMalleus Maleficarum TankardThe Morning After Dark AngelLeave Scars DeathrowDeception Ignored WatchtowerControl and Resistance
Anyways, I'm sure most people are fine with the remastered editions of all of these, but I hate sacrificing dynamic range so I'm not. Maybe, now that streaming services are normalizing loudness which should end the Loudness War (emphasis added for my learned fatalism), we'll start getting more full-dynamic range remasters and none of this will matter anymore. But who knows.
All these folks trying to be the Hiroo Onoda of the Loudness War...
It's not hard to believe. I have the CDs for the Voivod and Pestilence albums on your list and all of them feel like they suffered from the transition to the media. Like they desperately needed something that was left out in the process.
I really do suspect it was just due to the good equipment being hard to come by at the time (since digital audio was so new). There are CD's from the era that sound amazing. Slayer's Reign in Blood comes to mind. That original Def Jam CD would probably get my vote for best sounding metal CD ever.
All these folks trying to be the Hiroo Onoda of the Loudness War...
Yeah, Rick Rubin recorded one hell of a clean album. I have the first pressing of the CD and a remastered version of it and the remastered is basically the same except louder.
We gotta get Steven Wilson to start doing his thing with some classic metal records. The work he's done cleaning up classic prog records from Jethro Tull, Yes, King Crimson, etc. has been great.
All these folks trying to be the Hiroo Onoda of the Loudness War...
Leave Scars just sounds bad on almost every medium I've ever heard it, even the remixed one. I love the album musically, but the production does it no favors.
Been digging on this band lately, it's basically just a Spanish version of Entombed circa 1990-1993, or maybe closer to their side band Death Breath. The latest album was about 5 years ago.
Sounds like Sabaton and Powerwolf just had their love child with the industrial/EBM/Goth genre. Be warned, this is one hilarious rabbit hole if you check out the other videos too!
When I saw Lord of the Lost last year, not knowing anything besides their Eurovision performance beforehand, "completely up their own ass" was pretty much the opposite of the vibe I got from them in a live setting. In a full concert (albeit a support-slot length) I got more of the feeling that they were very much in on the joke. They were good fun and they've got some good tunes. Even my dad, who was at the show with me, ended up unexpectedly enjoying them too!
When I saw Lord of the Lost last year, not knowing anything besides their Eurovision performance beforehand, "completely up their own ass" was pretty much the opposite of the vibe I got from them in a live setting. In a full concert (albeit a support-slot length) I got more of the feeling that they were very much in on the joke. They were good fun and they've got some good tunes.
I'm only really familiar with their first couple of albums and never have seen any clips of them live, so will admit to a fairly small sample size on my part. Will dig a little deeper when I can, as I do love Chris's voice.
BlackDragon480 on
No matter where you go...there you are. ~ Buckaroo Banzai
When I saw Lord of the Lost last year, not knowing anything besides their Eurovision performance beforehand, "completely up their own ass" was pretty much the opposite of the vibe I got from them in a live setting. In a full concert (albeit a support-slot length) I got more of the feeling that they were very much in on the joke. They were good fun and they've got some good tunes.
I'm only really familiar with their first couple of l albums and never have seen any clips of them live, so will admit to a fairly small sample size on my part. Will dig a little deeper when I can, as I do love Chris's voice.
And make sure to go and see them if they happen to turn up in your neck of the woods. 👍
When I saw Lord of the Lost last year, not knowing anything besides their Eurovision performance beforehand, "completely up their own ass" was pretty much the opposite of the vibe I got from them in a live setting. In a full concert (albeit a support-slot length) I got more of the feeling that they were very much in on the joke. They were good fun and they've got some good tunes.
I'm only really familiar with their first couple of l albums and never have seen any clips of them live, so will admit to a fairly small sample size on my part. Will dig a little deeper when I can, as I do love Chris's voice.
And make sure to go and see them if they happen to turn up in your neck of the woods. 👍
Will do. That brand of goth leaning show tends to have a better than usual M/F ratio 😉
No matter where you go...there you are. ~ Buckaroo Banzai
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
Dark Tranquillity and Amorphis just announced a US tour this Fall.
Two shows relatively near me! The last time I got to see both bands was in Los Angeles, and I had to leave 3 songs into Amorphis's set because I had a nasty headache.
Never heard Fires in the Distance before now, but they don't seem objectionable based on what I am listening to right now.
When I saw Lord of the Lost last year, not knowing anything besides their Eurovision performance beforehand, "completely up their own ass" was pretty much the opposite of the vibe I got from them in a live setting. In a full concert (albeit a support-slot length) I got more of the feeling that they were very much in on the joke. They were good fun and they've got some good tunes.
I'm only really familiar with their first couple of l albums and never have seen any clips of them live, so will admit to a fairly small sample size on my part. Will dig a little deeper when I can, as I do love Chris's voice.
And make sure to go and see them if they happen to turn up in your neck of the woods. 👍
Will do. That brand of goth leaning show tends to have a better than usual M/F ratio 😉
Sadly not the case at the show I was at, but I'm pretty sure that was entirely the fault of the headliners 😂
Fires in the Distance is solid. That's a great lineup. Does Amorphis have a new record coming? They already toured for their last album
Nah, seems like they're continuing to promote their last album on this tour. That promo poster is half the artwork for Halo and presumably half the artwork for whatever Dark Tranquillity's new album is called.
AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
It's definitely a lowered-expectations situation, but I can work with Gothminister even if their singer clearly studied dance as part of the Jim Henson Company.
I grabbed a copy of this disc too, it's like an Australian Myrkur though not quite the same, but lots of atmospheric parts, she has a great ethereal voice and then also the black metal and screaming. This is her second album (and not the actual cover).
Posts
The new-look Delain just announced a tour for the same month too but sadly not in any convenient locations for me, as seems to be their new habit...
Steam | XBL
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Also jamming the new Horn record, has a bit more of a blustery Bathory-meets-folk-metal spin to it.
otherwise was drifting through some stuff I hadn't listened to in a while and was reminded of the silliness of kalmah's hook the monster:
they probably just need to be finnish to make it work...
i'm quite deep into a multi year psyop to convince a friend that christian alvestam was actually bjorn strid in scar symmetry and its working
maybe theres only one bald swede
The releases I've found where the original vinyl-rip has superior audio the original CD are:
Helloween Helloween
Helloween Walls of Jericho
Destruction Eternal Devastation
Kreator Pleasure to Kill
Tankard Zombie Attack
Voivod RRROOOAAARRR
Bathory Under the Sign of the Black Mark
Kreator Terrible Certainty
Running Wild Under Jolly Roger
Sodom Expurse of Sodomy
Sodom Persecution Mania
Tankard Chemical Invasion
Voivod Killing Technology
Pestilence Malleus Maleficarum
Tankard The Morning After
Dark Angel Leave Scars
Deathrow Deception Ignored
Watchtower Control and Resistance
Anyways, I'm sure most people are fine with the remastered editions of all of these, but I hate sacrificing dynamic range so I'm not. Maybe, now that streaming services are normalizing loudness which should end the Loudness War (emphasis added for my learned fatalism), we'll start getting more full-dynamic range remasters and none of this will matter anymore. But who knows.
Time to dive into the new Spaceslug.
Also, both their albums and their EP are 'Name Your Price' on Bandcamp, if you enjoy.
I need all of it.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Steam | XBL
I'm only really familiar with their first couple of albums and never have seen any clips of them live, so will admit to a fairly small sample size on my part. Will dig a little deeper when I can, as I do love Chris's voice.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
And make sure to go and see them if they happen to turn up in your neck of the woods. 👍
Steam | XBL
Will do. That brand of goth leaning show tends to have a better than usual M/F ratio 😉
~ Buckaroo Banzai
And...
Two shows relatively near me! The last time I got to see both bands was in Los Angeles, and I had to leave 3 songs into Amorphis's set because I had a nasty headache.
Never heard Fires in the Distance before now, but they don't seem objectionable based on what I am listening to right now.
My Backloggery
Sadly not the case at the show I was at, but I'm pretty sure that was entirely the fault of the headliners 😂
Steam | XBL
RIP
Steam | XBL
Nah, seems like they're continuing to promote their last album on this tour. That promo poster is half the artwork for Halo and presumably half the artwork for whatever Dark Tranquillity's new album is called.
My Backloggery
God damn, I just watched one of his unique gear videos on YouTube. He was such a wealth of knowledge.
Gonna have to spin Surfer Rosa and In Utero soon.
Definitely Given to the Rising.
Also got one for a new Werewolves, listening now.