Cassette record labels? what?!?

[xAzagthothx]

Hey everyone... okay, maybe I'm just too new to the scene again, but I've been meaning to ask here about what the hell is up with all these cassette record labels? I mean, its pretty much entirely 100% black metal, but regardless... people still buy cassettes?

I just... I don't know, haha. Its not that I'm against it at all, I just thought cassettes were completely DONE. Are any of you here into that thing? I've been shopping around looking for labels for Angeldeath, and I've come across quite a few labels that put out their releases as cassettes.

I donno, can anyone give me some feedback about whats up with this, like how popular it is, anything? That'd be rad.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I own many cassettes. Everyone thought vinyl was done too, but look what's back. It's even less portable than the cassette tape.

 

[xAzagthothx]

oh I get the whole vinyl thing, though... because vinyl actually has legit sound quality over cd's.

are cassettes the same way? I mean... i guess it could be like the whole recording analog vs. digital/pro tools thing... so maybe thats why...

 

[sevag00]

Nobody uses cassettes anymore. The sound quality is terrible. There is nothing much better than a CD sound quality

 

[Koude Haat]

Nobody uses cassettes anymore. The sound quality is terrible. There is nothing much better than a CD sound quality

Plenty of people still do. they are perfectly fine for demo's.. i have no problem with this format.

 

[skeptik]

You're all wrong. The Cassette is dead. We have cultsettes now.

Also, the sound quality of cassettes really are not bad even for normal recordings. I was listening to a cassette version of Therion's Of Darkness yesterday and, on a normal sound system that normal, non-rich people would have, the difference in sound is negligible at best.

Also again, I'm willing to be that the rise of more tape labels has a lot to do with the fact that it's easier and cheaper to put out tapes than it is to put out CDs or records. Plus, you can hand-duplicate tapes. Unless you use CD-Rs, for which you'll be shunned from society, you can't hand-duplicate CDs.

That said, cultsettes are the format for demos.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Yeah, I have that Of Darkness tape and I always thought it sounded pretty great, along with most other tapes I have of old metal albums. IMO the "bad quality" of tapes is just a semi-invented myth; unless you have a ridiculous ear for fuzz, it's really not detracting at all from any music on tape. Plus, yeah, easier to duplicate and more "legit" than CDrs.

 

[Eligos]

My dad recorded on tapes in mass volume for ten years and said that the main problem with them was that they didn't store well in any temperature, were easily tarnished, and ruined a lot of machines by getting all tangled up. Not really a sound quality issue but that was the reason his company (PR&E) switched over to CD's.

 

[Pyro Stick]

Ive bought about 3 cassettes this year. 2 of the albums are only available on cassette and the other is practically impossible to find on cd. I guess tapes are still popular in some circles but they are usually only used for demos or small, obscure bands. They definately arent dead though,

 

[Evil?]

I actually kinda like the sound of certain music on cassette, but as stated most of the time the difference is minute.

 

[-CC-]

I still have my portable cassette player somewhere around...though I have replaced everything else that has a cassette player in it, like my home stereo and my car stereo (in fact I can proudly say I have the most brutal soundsystem for my car in my neighbourhood)

 

[waif]

CD is a better format overall than cassette, but there's nothing inherently wrong with cassettes. That said, I would never buy on cassette if I had the option of buying on CD or vinyl.

 

[The Butt]

The only cassette I own is Chumbawumba - Tubthumper from when it first came out when I was 7. :V

 

[Doomguy]

I own a significant catalogue of cassettes , mainly from obscure black metal artists who prefer to release their material on cassettes.

 

[Jean-Pierre]

 

[swizzlenuts]

I have Cyanide - Dying Truth on cassette, and that's about it. It does sound pretty ace though!

However, since I love my mp3 player, cassettes just really don't do anything for me.

 

[mutantllama]

Vinyl>Cds>Cassettes


That's my preference for formats.

 

[Hail The Wizard!]

I have Austere's Withering Illusions and Desolation on cassette, still great stuff.

 

[skeptik]

hay gais lets talk about all the tapes we own!!1

Most of the tapes I have are demos from newer bands, but since tapes tend to be cheaper, sometimes you're able to find some cool stuff for cheap. Some of the cooler ones I have are:

newer:

Alioth - Channeling Unclean Spirits
Anatomia - Human Lust
Antediluvian - Under Wing of Asael
Bastard Priest- Merciless Insane Death
Church Bizarre - Church Bizarre
Communion - Demo I
Corrupt - Born of Greed
Degial - Awakening From Darkness
Doombringer - Primeval Sorcery
Graveless - Condemned to a Nameless Death
Infinitum Obscure - Seeding Darkness
Innsmouth - The Departure of Shub-Niggurath
Miasmal - Miasmal
Procession - Burn
Stench of Decay - Where Death and Decay Reign
[Tales of Medusa tapes: warning, not a real band]
Tribulation - The Ascending Dead

older:

Aeturnus - Walk My Path
Blessed Sickness - Massacre the Holy
Chemical Warfare - Demolition Tape
Gods Tower - The Eerie (demo, not album)
Morgion - Rabid Decay
Morningstar - Promotape 1994
Necrophobic - Unholy Prophecies
Perdition Hearse - Mala Fide
Pungent Stench - Been Caught Buttering
Renegade - Total Armageddon
Swordmaster - Studio Rehearsal
Therion - Of Darkness

edit: Man, going back and looking at this list, there really is a lot of awesome metal coming out lately that one would miss out on if they ignored cassettes.

 

[The Ozzman]

I own one tape and that is an Ichorous album