The Damnation of Adam Blessing 2018 Remastered/Reissue

When I first stumbled upon an underground of seemingly endless recordings of heavy psyche, proto-metal, 70s hard n' heavy and whatnot - I was instantly hooked and set on a course to enhance my musical journey through continuous searching, listening and collecting of the more 'obscure' bands. Today, these recordings are more accessible than ever before thanks to the internet, awareness and passionate fans who are doing what it takes to reissue these lost or rare gems.

In recent news, I was excited to learn about Exit Stencil distributing the first official reissues of both heavy psych albums: The Damnation of Adam Blessing S/T debut and it's follow up The Second Damnation. After a few searches of the forums, I found a few fans but no posts on these reissues. The website (below) states the albums are remastered from the original tapes and will be pressed in limited quantities of 1,000 each.

I have high expectations for these releases but wanted to use this post to solicit feedback from forum members who plan to purchase one or both of these, thoughts on the band, proto-metal or sound comparisons to the originals.

Cheers!

Damnation

 

Both albums arrived this week, I had them open and on the turntable as soon as I settled in for the evening. High quality materials and pressings. Both LPs slid out of the sleeve in mint condition. I had a very enjoyable listening session and look forward to a second spin soon. To me, the remaster was done very well and sounded better when compared to my early reissue (first album only). If you like heavy psych and are not familiar, these are certainly worth it! Paul Major does an excellent job writing up his thoughts on the band. Here's a clip on the first album from the Exit Stencil website:

By Paul Major

Feed your mind, yeah… FEED YOUR MIND! Nearly half a century has passed since the day I first heard the Damnation Of Adam Blessing. In 1969 their stunning psychedelic anthem "Cookbook" became a big hit on local AM radio in Louisville, Kentucky where I grew up. It sounded dangerous. Songs with blatant messages concerning the adventure and enlightenment possible through drugs and mind expansion were still a relatively scarce thing on mainstream pop radio. "Cookbook" not only suggested taking the psychedelic journey, it dared you to do it. You can hear it in the singer's attitude. You can hear it in the first guitar break which rips in right after the first verse, they just couldn't wait to smoke you. That dare stands. "Cookbook" is a dose with no expiration date. It is the opening track on the band's first album and it sets the scene. Once you hear it you need more. Hooked. These first ever exact vinyl reissues taken from the original master tapes guarantee the full trip. You get to see inside the earliest days of hard rock, when the more optimistic psychedelic trends had largely run their course, reality and rock music both taking a turn towards a darker and heavier mood. Still somewhat psychedelic but much less interested in being pretty, cosmic and reflective. Turn up the guitars and go on offense. Feed your mind.

 

I have original vinyl LP of first album and the Akarma box set with the 3cd's. Great stuff.

 

I used to see them gigging around Cleveland when I was in high school in the late 60s. Pretty heavy as I recall. Probably still have a copy of their first album; have to dig it out and give it a listen.

 

Hopefully CD editions will come out eventually.

 

I've got the Akarma CD box and those are definitely needledrops. Exit Stencil found the master tapes (and includes pictures of the tape boxes in the records). These have been released before, but never from the same tapes the originals were made from. I'm only half way through the first record and it really sounds great. I've heard good copies of originals, but beat copies in Cleveland fetch 25 bucks, easy. $40 copies usually look like they have issues to me. I've never seen a NM one and I've been looking since about 1980. I figured Exit Stencil would do a pretty good job, but I wasn't expecting them to be this good. These are gorgeous. If you're in Cleveland, get to My Mind's Eye. Charles has them for 21 bucks, which is cheaper than the label sells them for. I'm pretty blown away.

 

Incredible! My Lps have seen better days. Thank you sir.

 

I purchased the Svart red vinyl reissue of their S/T album. I also have a M- original United Artist pressing. I purchased the Svart reissue hoping that it could/would better or at least equal the original allowing me to sell the more expensive M- original. IMO, it does not. If the original is a 10 - the reissue is an 8. The reissue has less clarity and the drums are less prominent in the mix. The original has much better clarity and the percussion is clearer and more present. Though not equal to the reissue, it is a worthy version to replace a beat original or an introduction to the album. I am hoping for better on Svart's future DofAB releases as my Second Damnation could use a replacement. I have heard that only 200 will be pressed on red vinyl while the thread starter states 1000. I would not be surprised if the 1000 will be the limit on the following black vinyl. Either way, it is a limited run of a record that that has seen very, very few reissues.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

These guys were great! I hope they reissue compact discs as well and even better if they have bonus tracks.

 

Are you saying that Svart has already released Second Damnation?

 

The 'early' reissue was on the 1999 Akarma label. Your conclusion does not surprise me. Akarma is a hit and miss venture - mostly miss; however, they often remain the only viable option of very rare and obscure prog. and psych.

 

Used to play around the very active Cleveland club scene. Here’s a handbill advertising a couple gigs at a west side club alongside some other Cleveland talent, 1969.

 

Red vinyl, 200 copies.
Black vinyl, 300 copies.

 

Pending green, yellow, purple and blue in the future - that is an amazingly low number, and why I am watching for Svart's Second Damnation release. And let me add, as of this moment there is only one red vinyl reissue for sale on Discogs. That is unheard of for a new release.

 

I heard that the Svart releases were bootlegs and that they were copied from the original vinyl not the master recordings. So sad that companies do this to the collectors.

 

Great band. A little confused - there are now two different reissues out right now? On "Svart" and on "Exit Stencil"?

 

While I would not be surprised, I cannot find confirmation of this. How confident are you in your source?

 

That second album is harder to find than the s/t. A good thing its being reissued.

 

As per my review above of the Svart pressing compared to the original, I have preordered the Exit Stencil pressings and will be selling my Svart pressing of the first album. Thank you for your post.

 

Heh - I just a sold a clean original of the 1st this past week. Great LP.

 

If this is a band that you enjoy, I would not sell an original with the expectations that a reissue will equal or beat it. Non have to date. The reissues have only made this original more desirable.

 

Well, the guy who bought it was happy to get a copy of the US 1st press.

I am glad it is going to an appreciative home.

 

Yes, The Damnation of Adam Blessing [Black Vinyl] and The Second Damnation [Black Vinyl] are both available through Exit Stencil in the US.

 

I have them in the cart, but I'm waiting to see if my local record store has them...
DoAB now playing!