Dynamic Mercyful Fate on Bandcamp

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Unsane, Apr 22, 2018.

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  1. Unsane

    Unsane Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hereford, UK
    Just a heads up that Metal Blade have released a load of Mercyful Fate and King Diamond albums on Bandcamp. I've not had a chance to listen to them properly yet, but the two albums I've bought so far (Melissa and Don't Break the Oath) are far more dynamic than the current CD releases.

    I'll report back in more detail next week as I'll listen to them on my way in to work. However, the quick preview I did of the streaming version sounded great on my B&W P7s.

    Links to Bandcamp Pages here:
    The original links I posted redirected to new compilations. The releases I'm talking about are the new versions of the original albums.
    Don't Break the Oath, by Mercyful Fate
    Melissa, by Mercyful Fate
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2018
  2. Bathory

    Bathory 30 yr Single Malt, not just for breakfast anymore

    Location:
    usa
    they boost the loudness, etc, and record them that way, and re-release for money?
    im not wasting my money, i own them on LP's, cd's, and a few cassettes .
    greed





    i was excited when i seen mercyful fate title, thought maybe better news , new album, unreleased songs, other snippets .

    just another brick walled re-releases'
     
  3. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Wasn't really familiar with these releases, but I looked up "Dreams Of Horror" and it was a 2CD 23 track compilation. This appears to just be disc 2 of that comp?
     
  4. Unsane

    Unsane Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hereford, UK
    I wouldn't exactly call these brickwalled. It does look like the links I posted have automatically redirected to the latest release. Links to the DR database are here:
    Album details - Dynamic Range Database
    http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/146548

    Melissa is DR 12, whereas Don't Break the Oath is DR 11. After the release of Cirith Ungol's King of the Dead Ultimate Edition last year and now these it looks like Metal Blade might be starting to move away from the Loudness Wars.
     
  5. Unsane

    Unsane Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hereford, UK
    Woops! Looks like my original links got redirected to rerecorded compilations! I'm actually talking about re-releases of the original albums (2 links included in the original post).
     
  6. oldschool

    oldschool I love tape hiss

    Location:
    Sofia, Bulgaria
    These seem to be digital clones of the original CDs!

    Don't Break the Oath matches 1:1 for DR and peak values with my original German and slimline Japan CDs for every single track.

    Melissa slightly differs from my slimline Japan version but overall DR is the same.
     
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  7. oldschool

    oldschool I love tape hiss

    Location:
    Sofia, Bulgaria
    Btw on BandCamp there is high quality 1200x1200 pixel artwork for both albums. You can open it in full screen and sve as jpg free of charge.

    Been looking for quality artwork for ages :)
     
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  8. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    That would be a welcome development.

    Thanks for pointing that out. I thought it might be the case that they were selling the old masters, but its good to know. Why isn't this stated on the page to let anyone know. Surely they are aware there is some segment of the fan base that wants dynamic sounding versions of these albums. You have to assume that is why they are selling them. But why aren't they touting this at all?

    I've already got good sounding CD's of these, so I'm not buying, but its great the files are available at a very reasonable $7 an album.
     
  9. nosliw

    nosliw Delivering parcels throughout Teyvat! Meow~!

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
    My Combat CD pressing (88561-8011-2) of Don't Break The Oath has DR information that is very slightly different from the Bandcamp results.

    Here it is below and make what you will with the results:

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Analyzed: Mercyful Fate / Don't Break the Oath
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Duration Track
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DR11 -2.41 dB -14.42 dB 5:12 01-A Dangerous Meeting
    DR11 -3.92 dB -16.10 dB 6:21 02-Nightmare
    DR11 -2.14 dB -14.86 dB 4:57 03-Desecration of Souls
    DR10 -4.32 dB -15.54 dB 5:03 04-Night of the Unborn
    DR11 -2.25 dB -16.61 dB 7:33 05-The Oath
    DR11 -2.26 dB -15.04 dB 3:10 06-Gypsy
    DR11 -2.87 dB -15.82 dB 4:05 07-Welcome Princes of Hell
    DR10 -9.91 dB -23.71 dB 1:34 08-To One Far Away
    DR10 -3.22 dB -15.60 dB 5:18 09-Come to the Sabbath
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Number of tracks: 9
    Official DR value: DR11

    Samplerate: 44100 Hz
    Channels: 2
    Bits per sample: 16
    Bitrate: 970 kbps
    Codec: FLAC
     
  10. kb.

    kb. Active Member

    Below is "Them" from Bandcamp. Doesn't include two bonus tracks offered in 97 either. I can't confirm if its remastered but the VU meters sit around 7, 6, and 5 where it should for this era.

    Bitrate wise they are in the 900s other than the non musical ones which sit in the 600s..

    foobar2000 1.3.16 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
    log date: 2018-04-24 13:07:17

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Analyzed: King Diamond / Them
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Duration Track
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DR12 -4.51 dB -26.49 dB 1:45 01-Out from the Asylum
    DR13 -0.09 dB -14.48 dB 4:36 02-Welcome Home
    DR12 0.00 dB -13.52 dB 5:04 03-The Invisible Guests
    DR14 0.00 dB -14.73 dB 5:15 04-Tea
    DR14 -0.04 dB -15.96 dB 4:02 05-Mother's Getting Weaker
    DR14 -0.60 dB -16.32 dB 5:08 06-Bye, Bye, Missy
    DR14 -1.20 dB -17.38 dB 4:08 07-A Broken Spell
    DR14 -0.60 dB -16.47 dB 4:21 08-The Accusation Chair
    DR10 -2.92 dB -20.64 dB 1:57 09-Them
    DR16 -0.31 dB -17.75 dB 4:08 10-Twilight Symphony
    DR17 -2.12 dB -24.95 dB 1:13 11-Coming Home
    DR12 -0.40 dB -21.66 dB 1:40 12-Phone Call (Bonus Track)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Number of tracks: 12
    Official DR value: DR14

    Samplerate: 44100 Hz
    Channels: 2
    Bits per sample: 16
    Bitrate: 604 kbps
    Codec: FLAC
    ================================================================================
     
  11. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    How do the new digitals compared to the Roadrunner remasters? That's what I have.
     
  12. kb.

    kb. Active Member

    Just grabbed Melissa and compared to the "two from the vault" version, out of the gate the bass isn't muddy. The bass isnt as present either though here.. And thats only the first 30 seconds i listened to so not a great comparison by any stretch

    I'm betting that these are originals. I grabbed a few more and will listen more indepth tomorrow.
     
  13. kb.

    kb. Active Member

    While I didn't find the 97s to sound bad, these are way more dynamic and makes the 97s feel way louder in comparison.

    These are worth it to me considering they are cheaper than used discs, too. I would have to agree (assume) like someone mentioned above that they are clones of the originals.

    I wish they'd release these in high resolution.
     
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  14. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    I like the Roadrunner remasters (the gold discs) but would be interested in how these downloads compare.
     
    Brenald79 likes this.
  15. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    [​IMG]

    So I picked up a few Bandcamp titles...first is the 2009 re-recorded version of Evil (also Curse of the Pharaohs, not pictured)
    As you can see there is very little dynamic happening. I had previously only had the MP3 version.
     
  16. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Next up is The Family Ghost...top is the new Bandcamp version, bottom is the remaster.

    [​IMG]

    Not pictured is the Dreams of Horror version which is WAY more dynamic than I expected, much more than the remaster but less than the Bandcamp.
     
  17. Unsane

    Unsane Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hereford, UK
    Well after a week of listening to these on headphones I can safely say they sound way better than the 97 remasters. Don't break the Oath is a little bass shy (as many have stated about the original CD), but Mellisa sounds fab and both are much less fatiguing with more dynamics. As someone who is young enough to have only had the remasters previously it is fantastic to be able to get the original CD masterings so easily.
     
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  18. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Can I throw in that Abigail is truly a masterpiece and I'd say the best thing King has ever done. The concept is great, the musicianship outstanding and the production is overall well done.
     
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  19. kb.

    kb. Active Member

    I got it too. No surprise here since they couldn't find the masters and rerecorded for Guitar Hero Metallica.
     
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  20. kb.

    kb. Active Member

    I'd have to agree. The older titles sound far better.

    I haven't given it a deep comparison yet but even Into the Unknown sounds slightly better to me.
     
  21. ganma

    ganma Senior Member

    Location:
    Earth
    Nice! I just picked up Mellisa and Fatal Portrait on Bandcamp! Nice to have non-compressed versions!
     
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  22. schwifty523

    schwifty523 Active Member

    Location:
    Singapore
    So I just picked up a version of Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath and I need help with verifying the authenticity of it. Upon listening, I noticed the 3rd track Desecration Of Souls had this weird glitch? (dont know how to describe this) It kinda "gets really soft (as if its glitching out)" on one side of my headphones for like a fraction of a second. Doesn't really sound like a cd skip to me (might it be?). It happens a few times throughout the song. I guess you can say the song doesn't stay/sounds consistent. The rest of the songs are fine and the CD condition is near mint.

    So I decided to use Audio Checker to verify it and here are the results:

    "-===- track 3 in drive HL-DT-STDVDRAM GUE1N
    Track ripped successfully
    Conclusion: this track is MPEG with probability 95%"

    I used another program (TAU analyzer) and it says the same thing. An MPEG file in a CD?
    Have I been cheated of my money? Is this a CD version genuine? Or might it be that the audio checker programs aren't reliable


    Here are the details of the cd, with pictures.

    Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath
    Cat no. : RR 34 9835
    Barcode number: none
    Matrix / Runout: SONOPRESS B-7424 / RR 349835 A
    Mastering SID Code: none

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  23. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    So I just got around to listening to this and you are right; it sounds like tape damage in the transfer. The remaster does not have this and I no longer have my original CD to see if it's on there. When I get a change I am going to report it to Bandcamp.
     
  24. klaw

    klaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denmark
    I see that the two first King Diamond albums have just been reissued on vinyl and CD.

    King Diamond: "These are not remasters. These are the albums as they were originally done in the old days from the original production masters. They retain all the original dynamics that were captured at the time. It's very exciting to present these to fans as they were originally released."
     
    ganma likes this.
  25. klaw

    klaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denmark
    Correction: coming April 24th.
     
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