Iron Maiden CDs: 1980's Toshiba EMI vs. 1995 Castle Reissues

I've read several threads here on this topic. I was going to reply to one of them but they are 10 years old or older and not open for further replies. I was so confused reading them because half the people said the Toshiba/EMI and Castles have the same mastering and the other half said they're different masterings (with the general consensus being that the Toshibas are always superior). Well, after taking matters into my own hands I've discovered that they're all wrong...or right, depending on how you look at it (confused yet lol).

The truth is most of them are different masterings (or at least have different peak values) but 3 of the albums are the same. The Castles that are the same as the Japanese Toshibas are: The Number Of The Beast, Piece Of Mind, and Somewhere In Time. And the other Castles, despite having different peak values, sound very similar to the Toshiba/EMI. The unique Toshibas masterings seem to have maybe a little more top end "sparkle" while the Castles are warmer. But the difference is very small, and some people may actually prefer the Castles.

Since I'm talking about Iron Maiden CDs, I'll take the opportunity to touch on the remasters. For the most part the 1998 remasters are poor. There are two albums that I recommend the remasters for and those are the Self Titled Debut and Piece Of Mind. The debut remaster has more punch/power and the Piece Of Mind remaster has better bass, despite both being heavily compressed. As for the 2015 remasters, don't even bother. The ones I've heard (first 4 albums) are all compressed even more than the 1998s and are too loud even for me, who sometimes doesn't mind compressed remasters.

 

My 2 CD USA Castle Killers as well as Fear Of The Dark are considerably more compressed than their EMI and Toshiba masterings respectively. This is only true of the main albums, the bonus discs are nice and dynamic.

 

Good call on Killers, you're right, I just checked again (Toshiba's DR12 vs. Castle's DR10). It's more compressed than the Toshiba but still sounds good IMO. My 1995 Fear Of The Dark 2 CD is a European EMI pressing and it's got the same "quiet" mastering as the Japanese TOCP. I sought out that specific one since it has my preferred mastering of the main album plus the same bonus disc as the 1995 Castle.

I recall that the Debut, Powerslave, Seventh Son, and No Prayer For The Dying are all similar between Toshiba/EMI and Castle though. Another catalog that's all over the place lol.

 

Yeah I’ve long suspected that the UK Castles were far better for those two albums I mentioned.

 

I'm going to have to try and acquire that 95 Castle Fear Of The Dark. I really like the Killers one, despite it being a little more compressed. Fear Of The Dark is one I wouldn't mind a good louder remaster of. Thanks for mentioning this.

 

Yeah it’s not a modern day super compressed mastering. It does provide a good alternate listening.