Sonntag, 17. April 2016
Transition to wordpress
PSA: After experimenting I have decided to move the blog to wordpress due to the better layout options and the more powerful editor. New reviews are already available on http://vinylofthebeast.wordpress.com - Update your bookmarks and I hope to have your support on Wordpress too!
Sonntag, 10. April 2016
Samstag, 9. April 2016
Considering changing website
I am currently considering moving to wordpress with the blog as the editor is way more organized and powerful for a HTML newbie like me. I am still unsure but I re-created my last two reviews on wordpress for testing purposes. I'd be glad if some of you check it out and leave some feedback (on the comments here or there, via facebook or twitter) to help me decide.
Link: http://vinylofthebeast.wordpress.com
Link: http://vinylofthebeast.wordpress.com
Samstag, 2. April 2016
Review: Amon Amarth - Jomsviking Double LP
I was pleasantly surprised when I got no notification last week that the vinyl release has been delayed. And I was even more surprised when the records were delivered to me on the actual release date. So I am finally able to write a vinyl review on time and not years after the release of a record. Amon Amarth accompanied me through my teenage years from "Avenger" through "Versus the world" to "With Oden on our Side" and now "Jomsviking". Although I am a huge fan, there are two major questions which come with this record. Does the international release via Sony change anything? And more importantly - will Amon Amarth deliver in terms of Jomsviking being their first concept album? Let's find out.Quick Facts:
Artist: Amon Amarth - website
Album: Jomsviking
Version: 2 LP, black + CD - Discogs Link
Label: Sony
Found at: Amazon
"Jomsviking" is the thenth album of swedish melodic death metal legends Amon Amarth and their first in nearly three years after "Deceiver of the Gods". This version is the double LP version (180g) in black. The Vinyl gatefold is advertised with including a pop-up viking boat and the album as CD (in a papersleeve). The vinyl version also includes the bonus track "Vengeance is my Name".
Quality and artwork:
The gatefold is thicker then the usual double LP releases and that's a big plus. The thickness comes from the pop out viking ship and the rather thick records which are 180g black vinyl. The aforementioned viking ship is propably the biggest let-down. I don't know what I expected but this adds nothing to the gatefold. The record itself is perfect, heavy, pitch black, perfectly shaped and no blemishes whatsoever. The quality is simply great.
They have gone all out on the artwork this time with five different artists contributing to the additional artwork. Two artists nearly exclusively worked with other bands before (John Lorenzi - Megadeth, Samwise Didier - Hammerfall) whilte other's seem to be pretty unknown in the field of album art. You should definitely check out the work of Indonesian Illustrator Adi Kalingga on www.silencer8.com. The impressive cover art was designed by Tom Thiel a german illustrator known for his work on various board games (Labyrinth), video games (The Settlers III) and album art (Amon Amarth, Brainstorm). He is also known for his artwork for the german tabletop RPG "Das Schwarze Auge").
Sound Quality:
The sound quality is okay but worse than I expected from a Metalblade record (which it still is, despite the Sony release outside of the US). Listening to the album with turned down volume sounds crappy. The sound is washed up when you listen to the album on lower volume. The FDR Rating of the album is mediocre at best and a perfect example for the loudness wars. The differences between high quality spotify streaming and the vinyl version fortunately noticeable. But there are only little audible differences compared to the CD version which comes with the record. The album was produced, recorded and mixed by grammy winning producer (for Opeth - Deliverance) Andy Sneap who worked with legends like Accept, Saxon or Arch Enemy in the past. His mastering is usually near perfect, so I can't quite put my finger on where the sound issues come from. On higher volume, the record sounds great fortunately.
The Music
Die hard old Amon Amarth stuff fans might need some time for this album. It's more melodic and less heavy/brutal than their past releases. Although this should be no surprise considering the direction of the past albums. To answer my intitial question - they did deliver. This is a great concept album with a variety of different styles and tells an interesting story. Only the part of Doro Pesch on the Song "A Dream that cannot be" sounds a bit odd. In my opinion, there could have been better choices for the female vocals but that's just critique on a very high level. The album gets better and better with each time you listen to it. So if you are undecided to buy, give it a try on Spotify or YouTube first.
Conclusion
While the quality of gatefold, the vinyl record itself and even the added CD is great, the record has surprising flaws in terms of sound quality. Higher volume is needed for the record to sound clear and good. On lower volume it's really hard to distinguish the different instruments and sometimes even the vocals. I am used to better releases by Metalblade to be honest. I'd still recommend it if you are a vinyl enthusiast. If you are all in on sound quality I'd recommend buying the losless version.
Don't forget to like us on facebook if you want to get notifications about new posts.Quality and artwork:
The gatefold is thicker then the usual double LP releases and that's a big plus. The thickness comes from the pop out viking ship and the rather thick records which are 180g black vinyl. The aforementioned viking ship is propably the biggest let-down. I don't know what I expected but this adds nothing to the gatefold. The record itself is perfect, heavy, pitch black, perfectly shaped and no blemishes whatsoever. The quality is simply great.
They have gone all out on the artwork this time with five different artists contributing to the additional artwork. Two artists nearly exclusively worked with other bands before (John Lorenzi - Megadeth, Samwise Didier - Hammerfall) whilte other's seem to be pretty unknown in the field of album art. You should definitely check out the work of Indonesian Illustrator Adi Kalingga on www.silencer8.com. The impressive cover art was designed by Tom Thiel a german illustrator known for his work on various board games (Labyrinth), video games (The Settlers III) and album art (Amon Amarth, Brainstorm). He is also known for his artwork for the german tabletop RPG "Das Schwarze Auge").
Sound Quality:
The sound quality is okay but worse than I expected from a Metalblade record (which it still is, despite the Sony release outside of the US). Listening to the album with turned down volume sounds crappy. The sound is washed up when you listen to the album on lower volume. The FDR Rating of the album is mediocre at best and a perfect example for the loudness wars. The differences between high quality spotify streaming and the vinyl version fortunately noticeable. But there are only little audible differences compared to the CD version which comes with the record. The album was produced, recorded and mixed by grammy winning producer (for Opeth - Deliverance) Andy Sneap who worked with legends like Accept, Saxon or Arch Enemy in the past. His mastering is usually near perfect, so I can't quite put my finger on where the sound issues come from. On higher volume, the record sounds great fortunately.
The Music
Die hard old Amon Amarth stuff fans might need some time for this album. It's more melodic and less heavy/brutal than their past releases. Although this should be no surprise considering the direction of the past albums. To answer my intitial question - they did deliver. This is a great concept album with a variety of different styles and tells an interesting story. Only the part of Doro Pesch on the Song "A Dream that cannot be" sounds a bit odd. In my opinion, there could have been better choices for the female vocals but that's just critique on a very high level. The album gets better and better with each time you listen to it. So if you are undecided to buy, give it a try on Spotify or YouTube first.
Conclusion
While the quality of gatefold, the vinyl record itself and even the added CD is great, the record has surprising flaws in terms of sound quality. Higher volume is needed for the record to sound clear and good. On lower volume it's really hard to distinguish the different instruments and sometimes even the vocals. I am used to better releases by Metalblade to be honest. I'd still recommend it if you are a vinyl enthusiast. If you are all in on sound quality I'd recommend buying the losless version.
Mittwoch, 23. März 2016
Review: Nekrogobolikon - Heavy Meta Picture Disc
A "goblin metal" record released via the bands own label, run by "Elliot Box, an immortal wizard lizard who uses magic to make money off of music bands." As you might have noticed, Nekrogoblikon do not take themselves very seriously. But be not mistaken, they are bloody professionals. I first came across Nekrogoblikon through their already cult-like music video to "No one survies" of the 2011 album Stench. 4.6 million views on youtube speak for themselves. Just for the sake of comparison: Amon Amarth gets way less views on their music videos. To be honest, I lost track of Nekrogoblikon till last month, when they played in the smallest venue in my hometown in front of 50-70 people. And to make it clear, this gig is in the top 10 of all the concerts I visited (including Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Metallica...). Unfortunately the gig was near the end of their european tour and all the vinyl copies of Heavy Meta were already sold out. So much for my plan to get the sleeve signed... Nevertheless, I managed to snag a copy of this album via Discogs as the LP was not available at their european store that time.
Quick Facts:
- Artist: Nekrogoblikon
- Album: Heavy Meta
- Version: LP, picture disc - Discogs Link
- Label: Mystery Box LLC
- Found at: Discogs Marketplace
Reviewing this album took me some time as there was way more to research. First of all, Mystery Box LLC is the bands own label, so it is not possible to gather information about the usual quality as there are no releases on this label. Furthermore, I have not found the album in any of the databases I usually use. So I used a different approach this time. I compared the sound quality of the vinyl record, the digital download (comes with the album), high quality streaming on spotify and normal streaming. I did not use any technical equipment to measure anything, so the sound quality is really subjective this time.
Quality and artwork:
The album comes in a single cardboard sleeve. The cardboard is rather thin compared to other albums. Additionaly, my copy has been glued together badly at the top (a bit skewed). The record itself is a as perfect as a picture disc can get. Compared to other picture discs I own, the grooves are clearly visible and the record is not that heavy. The feel is definitely right. The record sits in a printed inner sleeve which has about the quality of a better poster. The record was apparently pressed by Pirate Press Czech Republic which is known for their high quality pressings.
The cover artwork is pretty awesome - especially how the band depicted themselves (see the image on the left). The back is just the landscape of the cover continued with track list and some additional information The inner sleeve is the band playing in a lake at sunset, again with a larger goblin prominently featured on the upper half. The large goblin is a recurring image as it is placed on the album cover, the inner sleeve and side A and B of the record. The record is beautiful as you can see in the pictures below.
Sound Quality:
Taylor Larson (Mastering) and Matt Hyde (Mixing) are not names I have heard of in the past. Larson apparently worked with Toothgrinder and Veil of Maya in the past, while Matt Hyde is a member of the band From First to Last. So once again it was not possible for me to deduct anything regarding the sound quality from the names. So it was about time to conduct my own experiment. The setup I used consits of Nubert nujubilee 40 stereo speakers and a Denon PMA-925-R amp for all sources. The vinyl was played on a Dual 1219 turntable, the losless via my pc connected to the amp, and streaming both via pc and my smartphone (Oneplus One).
I won't bother you with a report of every single source and just jump to the conclusion. The sound quality on vinyl is great and on par with the losless downloaded files. I honestly can't hear any difference here. Spotify high quality streaming was a bit tricky. Using my smartphone as a source the sound was a bit washed up and some instruments hard to identify. When I used my computer as the source the quality improved but did not reach the quality of the vinyl. Standard streaming on spotify was noticeably worse than any other sources used.
The Music
Nekrogoblikon classifies their music as goblin metal (duh). It's a very keyboard heavy mix of melodic death metal with folk elements. Their music has recognition value - if you hear Nekrogoblikon, you know its them! This is a concept album about the band (We need a gimmick!) and thus the name "Heavy Meta" - you should definitely check out the lyrics. Compared to their past releases the album is definitely more accessible in terms of music and although rather short, one of my top 10 releases of 2015. I won't go into more details as there are plenty of reviews out there, but I'd suggest to just listen to a few tracks on youtube or any other legal source.
ConclusionFor a self-released vinyl picture disc the quality is great and among the better picture disc releases in my collection. The sound quality is good and on par with the high quality download files. If you're into Nekrogoblikon's music I'll definitely recommend a purchase.
If you manage to see them live, go for it. Their show is amazing, the atmosphere is great and seem to care a lot about their fans.
Thanks for a great show in Graz!
Truly yours, your biggest fan this is.. ah suck it.
Don't forget to like us on facebook if you want to get notifications about new posts.
Quality and artwork:The album comes in a single cardboard sleeve. The cardboard is rather thin compared to other albums. Additionaly, my copy has been glued together badly at the top (a bit skewed). The record itself is a as perfect as a picture disc can get. Compared to other picture discs I own, the grooves are clearly visible and the record is not that heavy. The feel is definitely right. The record sits in a printed inner sleeve which has about the quality of a better poster. The record was apparently pressed by Pirate Press Czech Republic which is known for their high quality pressings.
The cover artwork is pretty awesome - especially how the band depicted themselves (see the image on the left). The back is just the landscape of the cover continued with track list and some additional information The inner sleeve is the band playing in a lake at sunset, again with a larger goblin prominently featured on the upper half. The large goblin is a recurring image as it is placed on the album cover, the inner sleeve and side A and B of the record. The record is beautiful as you can see in the pictures below.
Sound Quality:
Taylor Larson (Mastering) and Matt Hyde (Mixing) are not names I have heard of in the past. Larson apparently worked with Toothgrinder and Veil of Maya in the past, while Matt Hyde is a member of the band From First to Last. So once again it was not possible for me to deduct anything regarding the sound quality from the names. So it was about time to conduct my own experiment. The setup I used consits of Nubert nujubilee 40 stereo speakers and a Denon PMA-925-R amp for all sources. The vinyl was played on a Dual 1219 turntable, the losless via my pc connected to the amp, and streaming both via pc and my smartphone (Oneplus One).
I won't bother you with a report of every single source and just jump to the conclusion. The sound quality on vinyl is great and on par with the losless downloaded files. I honestly can't hear any difference here. Spotify high quality streaming was a bit tricky. Using my smartphone as a source the sound was a bit washed up and some instruments hard to identify. When I used my computer as the source the quality improved but did not reach the quality of the vinyl. Standard streaming on spotify was noticeably worse than any other sources used.
The Music
Nekrogoblikon classifies their music as goblin metal (duh). It's a very keyboard heavy mix of melodic death metal with folk elements. Their music has recognition value - if you hear Nekrogoblikon, you know its them! This is a concept album about the band (We need a gimmick!) and thus the name "Heavy Meta" - you should definitely check out the lyrics. Compared to their past releases the album is definitely more accessible in terms of music and although rather short, one of my top 10 releases of 2015. I won't go into more details as there are plenty of reviews out there, but I'd suggest to just listen to a few tracks on youtube or any other legal source.
ConclusionFor a self-released vinyl picture disc the quality is great and among the better picture disc releases in my collection. The sound quality is good and on par with the high quality download files. If you're into Nekrogoblikon's music I'll definitely recommend a purchase.
If you manage to see them live, go for it. Their show is amazing, the atmosphere is great and seem to care a lot about their fans.
Thanks for a great show in Graz!
Truly yours, your biggest fan this is.. ah suck it.
Dienstag, 15. März 2016
Vinyl fairs: Expectation vs. Reality
First of all, I don't know which term is common in the scene as I've seen both exchange and fair being used and I could not make out a difference. For the sakes of readability I am going to refer to them as fairs.
A vinyl fair can be a blessing or a curse. I've been to only three of them but I made classic mistakes on each of them. I still came home with a bunch of great heavy metal records, but I literally paid my tribute for not being prepared. So here are the lessons I learned the hard way.
A vinyl fair can be a blessing or a curse. I've been to only three of them but I made classic mistakes on each of them. I still came home with a bunch of great heavy metal records, but I literally paid my tribute for not being prepared. So here are the lessons I learned the hard way.
Expectation I:
It doesn't matter if I show up an hour after opening.
It doesn't matter if I show up an hour after opening.
Reality:
The good/reasonably priced records go fast. I arrived late on my first fair and people showed me what they've purchased today. Thrilled to find similar records I kept on digging only to find that the interesting records where already gone. With that in mind I went to my second fair with...
The good/reasonably priced records go fast. I arrived late on my first fair and people showed me what they've purchased today. Thrilled to find similar records I kept on digging only to find that the interesting records where already gone. With that in mind I went to my second fair with...
Expectation II:
I will find a rare record for a good price.
Reality:
Reality:
A vinyl fair here in Austria is an event where record stores sell their used or in some cases new records. These guys know exactly what they have and what to sell it for. You can find rare records but don't expect them to come at a bargain. The prices are usually slightly above discogs prices, and the rare records by a margin. Darkthrones first pressing of "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" was available for €200 while Burzum's "Aske" Mini EP was seen for 900€. Those records are usually used to show off and nobody with experience in buying vinyl would buy the records for those prices. With my hopes of finding a rare record for cheap crushed I lowered my standards to...
Expectation III:
At least I'll get some good metal records from the past few years.
Reality:
At least I'll get some good metal records from the past few years.
Reality:
95% of the records at the fairs are non-metal. 95 % of the metal records are from the same few bands: Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Dio, Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC and you find a lot of rock filed under metal/heavy like Bon Jovi or the Scorpions. With my hopes crushed again I settled for...
Expectation IV:
The price tag on the records I find and want to buy will be okay.
Reality:
If you don't barter, you'll lose money. Many sellers set their prices 5-10 € above value so it seems you'll make a good purchase. 20 € price tag for a 1982 VG+ edition of Iron Maiden's - Number of the Beast? "Hey for you I'll make it 15." - Emperors reissue of "In the Nightside Eclipse"? - "Usually 29 but for you 22". Bartering is essential if you want the records for their market value. I am all for supporting local record stores but sometimes it's a total rip off.
Lessons learned:
- If it is a small fair, show up early.
- You will find rare records but the price tag is hefty
- Be prepared that most of the records are non-metal
- Be prepared that the heavy/metal section consists of the same few classic bands
- Be prepared to pay a bit more than online
Vinyl fairs are a great event when you keep in those lessons in mind. And it's an interesting place to meet vinyl enthusiasts and metal fans alike. Especially when you talk to collectors or sellers who dedicated their lives to vinyl you may hear some very interesting stories.
So here's a quick overview of what I came away with this time:
Lamb of God - Sturm und Drang
I was fortunate enough to come across a sealed copy of Lamb of God's recent album. According to the seller he bought two copies by mistake. This is the 2LP clear limited edition (Discogs link). The price was the same as on discogs and below retail.
Enslaved - Frost
I am a big fan of Enslaved and I am collecting all their releases. So when I came across the picture disc of Frost. The front is the album cover and the back is a ridiculous image of the band. (If you need to know, check this link).
Primordial - Where greater men have Fallen
This was one of the few newer records I stumbled upon. There where actually three sellers with this album and the prices varied by a margin. I got the record for a bit over discogs prices which was okay.
Lessons learned:
- If it is a small fair, show up early.
- You will find rare records but the price tag is hefty
- Be prepared that most of the records are non-metal
- Be prepared that the heavy/metal section consists of the same few classic bands
- Be prepared to pay a bit more than online
Vinyl fairs are a great event when you keep in those lessons in mind. And it's an interesting place to meet vinyl enthusiasts and metal fans alike. Especially when you talk to collectors or sellers who dedicated their lives to vinyl you may hear some very interesting stories.
So here's a quick overview of what I came away with this time:
Lamb of God - Sturm und Drang
I was fortunate enough to come across a sealed copy of Lamb of God's recent album. According to the seller he bought two copies by mistake. This is the 2LP clear limited edition (Discogs link). The price was the same as on discogs and below retail.
Enslaved - Frost
I am a big fan of Enslaved and I am collecting all their releases. So when I came across the picture disc of Frost. The front is the album cover and the back is a ridiculous image of the band. (If you need to know, check this link).
Dark Funeral - In the sign...
This is a 2000 reissue of the original Dark Funeral self titled EP with two bonus tracks. This record is amazing in every way. The sound and the music alike.
Primordial - Where greater men have Fallen
This was one of the few newer records I stumbled upon. There where actually three sellers with this album and the prices varied by a margin. I got the record for a bit over discogs prices which was okay.
Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse
This is a purchase I regret a lot. I like Emperor, I am fan of Ihsahn but this 2008 reissue sounds very very bad. Seriously, Back on Black, the label behind the reissue, is known for bad sounding records. So there's the newest lesson I learned: Do some research before buying from unknown labels.
Sonntag, 6. März 2016
Review: At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul (FDR)
Quick Facts:
- Artist: At the Gates
- Album: Slaughter of the Soul
- Version: LP, black - Discogs Link
- Label: Earache
- Found at: nuclearblast.de
This version is a great example why researching what you are buying will net you a great record. Had I found this version in a record store, I'd probably passed on it. There is only little information on the sleeve indicating that this a reissue. The only hint is the little 2014 in the bottom left corner on the back of the sleeve. I did a little research and according to discogs this is a full dynamic range, remastered, initially limited heavyweight black vinyl version of Slaughter of the Soul. This is mentioned nowhere on the whole record. So in the store would have passed on a potentially great record. Earache is well known for their FDR releases of classic albums in the past and they are well perceived. Earache released a bunch of FDR CD reissues in the past and the consensus seems to be that the differences to the original pressings are big. Nearly all reviews I read praised the sound quality. On vinyl the differences are subtle as most of the original releases already had a very high sound quality. So upgrading to a FDR vinyl is not essential. If you want to read a bit about FDR and/or audiophile metal I strongly recommend the awesome page Metal-Fi (Link to their FDR rating system).
The origin of FDR is something you might have heard of before. The so called loudness-war which is the tendency of increased audio levels on records since the 90's. You can read about it on wikipedia but I strongly suggest the website of mastering engineer Ian Shepherd (dynamicrangeday.co.uk) for great example videos on why FDR is important in the music industry.
One of the main problems is, that FDR is no guarantee for high quality sound. There are many praised FDR reissues and many who sound nearly the same or even worse than the original release. Fortunately due to the awesome website http://dr.loudness-war.info/ you can finde a huge FDR album database online where you can check the Dynamic Range of records. Furthermore you can download a measuring tool and upload new albums to the database.
Fortunately this Slaughter of the Soul vinyl version was already included in the database (link). Compared to the three CDs already in the database the DR rating is way higher and it even beats the losless download version (although by a small margin). The release is not outstanding in terms DR but still sounds very good. I hope someone can upload the score for the other vinyl releases of this album. For my personal test I played the record against high quality streaming on spotify, the 2002 reissue on cd and losless .flac from earaches bandcamp page. While the quality of the vinyl record was better on low, moderate and loud volume settings compared to the CD and the spotify stream, there was no audible difference compared to losless.
Quality:
I am not going to review the music as you can find hundreds of reviews out there but I am still interested in the quality of the material. This reissue comes in cardboard sleeve wich is a vinyl version of the CD front and back. The cardboard sleeve is okay, the quality is not exceptional and not bad. This definitely feels like a 90's vinyl version. Included is a printed inner sleeve with the lyrics on one side and thank you notes on the other side. The record itself is plain black heavyweight vinyl. The sticker resembles the CD with some writing added (source).
Conclusion:
One of the main problems is, that FDR is no guarantee for high quality sound. There are many praised FDR reissues and many who sound nearly the same or even worse than the original release. Fortunately due to the awesome website http://dr.loudness-war.info/ you can finde a huge FDR album database online where you can check the Dynamic Range of records. Furthermore you can download a measuring tool and upload new albums to the database.
Quality:
I am not going to review the music as you can find hundreds of reviews out there but I am still interested in the quality of the material. This reissue comes in cardboard sleeve wich is a vinyl version of the CD front and back. The cardboard sleeve is okay, the quality is not exceptional and not bad. This definitely feels like a 90's vinyl version. Included is a printed inner sleeve with the lyrics on one side and thank you notes on the other side. The record itself is plain black heavyweight vinyl. The sticker resembles the CD with some writing added (source).
This version is definitely an upgrade of the CD version of Slaughter of the Soul but might not beat the original vinyl and losless download versions. As it comes pretty cheap it is still a nice pickup for any heavy vinyl collection. If you care for music quality make sure to do some research as FDR does not mean you get the best version available.
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