the Candlemass thread

Time to reanimate this old thread !!!
Today I am in the mood to listen to their great debut album "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" again....and again...and again.
I own the original 1986 Black Dragon LP (Made in France) and the US Leviathan pressing...unfortunately, the US pressing doesn't have the nice innersleeve with lyrics and the drawings, but it sounds better to my ears !!! The french LP was cut way too hot I think - you can hear some sibilance and the hihat sounds very nasty in some places. The US pressing is a bit quieter in volume level, but sounds a bit more balanced and warm. What do you think ???

 

I've owned the remasters of the first 4 albums for a long time, but have now started to replace them. Can be a bit expensive, it seems, but I managed to get a Greek promo CD of Epicus from 1998 for a reasonable price which is probably the same mastering as some old edition.

Sounds better than the brickwalled remaster obviously, and the latter seems to have boosted high mids or something (I'm not an expert) which sounds kind of weird. The promo lacks some bottom end, which I solved with a bit of EQ'ing. Now it sounds nice!

 

I have been a fan since the early 80's. My taste tend to run with Messiah on vocals, there is however some good stuff with other vocalist. Nightfall and Ancient Dreams are high level, outstanding metal albums. The S/T 2005 album is also good stuff. If you want to branch off a bit, Leif's other band Avatarium is very, very, good. Avatarium is a folk/psych/doom band(if I try to label them), with some fantastic female vocals, well worth checking out. Good to see Candlemass get a bit of love.

 

foobar2000 1.3.10 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-08-12 17:34:54

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Candlemass / Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (European 1st press, BDCD 013)
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR13 0.00 dB -15.06 dB 5:37 01-Solitude
DR13 0.00 dB -15.29 dB 9:11 02-Demons Gate
DR12 0.00 dB -12.37 dB 5:21 03-Crystal Ball
DR14 0.00 dB -15.13 dB 7:35 04-Black Stone Wielder
DR12 0.00 dB -13.37 dB 6:53 05-Under the Oak
DR13 0.00 dB -16.08 dB 8:17 06-A Sorcerer's Pledge
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 6
Official DR value: DR13

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 987 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

This release in my collection sounds insanely good!

P.S.: I do like this forum but it's preposterous that I cannot insert pics in my post only web links that show pictures!

 

Cool! I wish I could hear it. I think my promo CD might be the same as a US pressing. As I said, mine sounds good with some EQ tweaking. Here is some info on it:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed folder: Candlemass/Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
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DR Peak RMS Filename
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR13 -2.40 dB -17.39 dB 01 Solitude.m4a
DR13 -1.80 dB -16.97 dB 02 Demons Gate.m4a
DR12 -3.25 dB -16.82 dB 03 Crystal Ball.m4a
DR13 -2.00 dB -16.33 dB 04 Black Stone Wielder.m4a
DR13 -1.21 dB -15.42 dB 05 Under The Oak.m4a
DR13 -1.80 dB -18.11 dB 06 A Sorcerers Pledge.m4a
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of files: 6
Official DR value: DR13

==============================================================================================

Album details - Dynamic Range Database »

 

CANDLEMASS: 30th-Anniversary Edition Of 'Nightfall' Due Next Month

 

Based on the last batch of remasters, I don't have high hopes for this anniversary addition. But I would love to be proven wrong!

 

Own 1986 Black Dragon OG EDM CD. The remasters are not recommended.

 

For the one or two Candlemass fans on the forum, what do you guys think of The Door to Doom? I think it's pretty kick ass so far. As you probably know, EDM singer Johan Langquist is back at the mic for the first time in over 30 years. The album is thick, heavy, epic and atmospheric. And there's a guest spot by none other than Tony Iommi on "Astorolus". Looking at pictures of these guys, I can't believe how old they look, but damn do they ever rock.

 

One of the funniest metal bands ever.

 

Anyone heard, or seen DR analysis, for the 2018 CD reissue of 'Ancient Dreams' on the Peaceville label? I know they crushed 'Epicus..' quite badly, but I am hoping they used at least some restraint for 'AD'.

(the Peaceville-label edition isn't listed on the database at loudness-war.info)