Requiem

Well, maybe, but I doubt it. I'm not talking about sound, I'm talking about feeling and connection. You won't find anything great in the original that you haven't already found. In fact, if anything, the original will sound even worse to you now, I imagine.

Knowing your penchant for a clearer, fuller, sound, I'm sure you'll prefer the Abbath albums because that's what they provide. That much is clear. Those early Demonaz albums are helter-skelter nonsense that just seems to work and has, like I say, the magic.

By the way, what's it like being "in the canal"? Wet? Or boat?

Katatonia - 'Viva Emptiness' What a great album. Again, another release that didn't need to be remixed, remastered and swamped with additional keyboards. The 2003 version is great, barring the one or two tracks of filler.

After much inconvenience with a lost package, complaints lodged at the post office, unreadable tracking numbers, emails and personal visits, and Count Requiem becoming not a little irate at the dopey-eyed postal employee whose problem-solving skills end with "computer says no", I finally have it in my unholy little hands. The system works (eventually)!: Moonblood - 'Teutonic Warriors of the Moon' A5 digipak. Like my only other Moonblood disk, this is made up of splits and eps and forms a very nice package.

Sorry, I was too subtle. You said they were "slated" for release and I just thought that was a funny expression. Also, when people write that such-and-such have "inked a deal" it's a strange thing to say. I was just rapping on that theme. Totally off topic and unhelpful, but there you go.

Is that an arm coming out of the robot's face? Pointing a finger at something? "There it is, over there!" If so, why and how does that help this metallic combatant? It actually hurts to look at because it's not right, anatomically, logically and morally. Yes, it's immoral.

I'll have to check this out. I have a couple of Khold albums and really enjoy them. I think I have 'Masterpiss of Pain' and 'Krek'. Not sure why I didn't pick up any others, but I really like that bouncy-riff-black thing they have going on. I just checked them out on Metal Archives and was surprised to learn that they have 6 albums out! But yeah, I'll have to check out Sarke as I can't recall their music. NP: Mayhem - 'Daemon' I can't stop listening to this damn album.

Just went to tap ‘The Fall of Hearts’ into the now playing thread, and after I’d typed ‘The’ it offered me ‘Shadowthrone’ as an auto fill. I love you portable telephone.

Katatonia - ‘The Fall of Hearts’

Mgla - ‘Exercises in Futility’ I was listening to ‘Age of Excuse’ but had to change it to this, their classic.

Did they ink a deal and now they’re slated for release? I’m sure there’ll be parchment written about them.

I’ve made my thoughts on the new version of ‘Grand Declaration of War’ more than clear on the Mayhem thread, so I’ll keep calm and breathe deeply hahaha. I get what you’re saying. I just disagree completely. But yeah those albums sound good now and probably accessible to a lot more people.

I've been giving this a good listen, and yes, it's hard to argue with the idea that it's done the album a good deed in cleaning up the sound and making it more accessible to the masses. HOWEVER. Some of the high definition sounds that are now coming through, including guitars, vocals (both male and female) and sound effects, ruin a lot of the haunting atmosphere of the original version. The album is about a 16th century Countess, and the original production is pretty damn clear, let's be honest, but also has those touches of mirk that add to the shadowy nature of the theme. There's a sense of unease and disquiet. There's a sense of the other. Now, it's like watching a movie on one of those fancy high-def pixel screens. You can see everything really clearly, but the movie ain't any better, and if anything it's kind of distracting to a long-time listener like me. You can have your new, fancy sounding, 'Cruelty and the Beast'. Sure the drums sound phatter and the girl sounds clearer. You can hear everything. Hope you enjoy it as you sit there on your headphones listening through your phone. But I don't want phat and clear. I want haunting. I want shadows. I want the undefinable quality that can only be achieved once in the studio. I want the original. @Vampyrique Hail the original 'Cruelty and the Beast'.

I'm with team Demonaz. Yes, there were two great albums with Abbath at the helm ('..Winter' and 'Sons...'), but too many weak sauce releases. 'All Shall Fall' was the last insult. The latest with Demonaz is an amazing release if you ask me (and I'm pretty sure you did). It's dark, it's heavy, it's melodic and catchy. It has dignity and poise. And the first three Immortal albums are all very special in their own way. Yes, there's mess involved, but it's the kind of mess that gives it authenticity and atmosphere. The youthful exuberance, the dedication to the cause. And when you listen to those albums you feel the same surge of energy that drove the Norwegian Black Metal scene back in the early 90s. That magic comes across. Obviously, Abbath played a huge part in these albums too, so fair play to the guy. See my ranking of the albums on page 2 of this august thread for Requiem's assessment.