What records do you think need a proper reissue? SOUND OFF!

I know we have talked about some of these already Matt but here's a refresher:

Razormaid- First Cut; they would be crazy not to let you do it.

Victory- Culture Killed the Native; needs remastering so bad! Awesome album! In fact, I'd take any of their albums with Fernando Garcia on vocals.

Le Mans- On the Streets and s/t; A band that was sorely overlooked. Would love for these to get the Divebomb treatment.

Wall Of Silence- Shock to the System; No explanation needed.

Of course, many more to follow.....
 
Had a buddy reach out to Mike Wead about all three Hexenhaus records that are out of print and got nothing back, but i will keep trying. Those records are definitely on my reissue want list BIG TIME!

The original vocalist in Hexenhaus, Nicke Johansson, actually lives in my tiny hometown in the far north of Sweden :) I had his kid in school a few years back. He also played guitar in Maninnya Blade back in the day btw. He is still active within the metal scene and plays in a band called Slowgate. Oh and he also organizes an annual metal festival here called Nordic Rage, which will take place in a few weeks with bands like F.K.Ü., Månegarm, Zonaria, Helltrain etc. Not the best line-up but it's a cozy little festival anyway :)
 
Matt, why do you remaster all of your releases and why do you sometimes change original artwork (D.A.M. second CD)?

re-master to make them sound better. I get into argument about this with other labels that reissue and don't remaster; they don't seem to comprehend that a recording from the 80s that really was not meant for compact disc sounds like shit by today's standards (i.e. Dio and Dokken catalogs)

New artwork I would guess is because sometimes it is very difficult to get the rights to the original artwork. Not sure if this was the case with the D.A.M. but I know Ed Repka doesn't sale his work, the band, label, whoever basically leases it and in some cases it not worth the price it costs to get the rights to do a mere 1,000 CDs (not mentioning extra cost to use it for shirts,, vinyl, other merch).
 
Matt, why do you remaster all of your releases and why do you sometimes change original artwork (D.A.M. second CD)?

Like Jeremy said I personally hate buying a reissue and the audio not being brought up to current standards. what is the point? the main reason CONFESSOR's Condemned hasn't been reissued by me is because Earache wouldn't let me use my new master audio. they wanted me to use the original 1991 audio (which the 5 people who i have actually let hear it say it's CRIME that it hasn't been reissued with my new audio by now), so again what is the point of releasing a record that was already done once and whose audio level is quite inferior in 2012.

I hear some people complain about certain types of remastering and at times I am one of them. If it's done well it's a good thing and if it's done poorly, it really sucks. A recent one i bought was PROPHET's "Recycled" the new mastering didn't take into account several spots on the original CD that were very "hot" and crackling even back on original cd in early 90's so now it's un-listenable to me. That kind of stuff pisses me off and since i personally approve all masters for Divebomb that won't happen if i can help it.

Also, I guess my releases aren't technically remastered, they are just boosted usually off the original CD. Jamie King's philosophy is one in which I agree with and it's this: "if the album was mastered properly the first time around it makes my job that much easier." He only enhanced what is there at the beginning and doesn't over compress it like current standards dictate to modern production. Jamie's mastering job on my reissues is probably the most complimented thing at Divebomb. He is old school like us and knows how to treat these old recordings how they should be treated.

The D.A.M. album in which you speak i assume is "Inside Out" and the cover we used is in fact the original cover submitted to Noise Records. They proceeded to bastardize it, if you look closely at the original release here is all they used of the image but slightly rotated.

DIVE030_originalportionused.jpg
insideoutbyd.a.m.1991.jpg


and here is original painting we used because the band never approved the original release itself AND tracked down Andreas Marschall to get copy of original painting, who also THANKED us for restoring his original piece to the album. The painting was created from lyrics the band sent him. The liner notes contain and original sketch Andreas sent to the band as well.

DIVE030_Cover-500x.jpg


Hopefully that sums it up well enough. :)
 
It is very important to tweek the sound and raise those levels; Jamie sold me on the Blacksmith 'Strike While the Iron's Hot'; he pulled things up that were so bury that I had never heard them in the mix at all. Have yet to here any complaints on that one. And even with the stuff that he has to do more with like vinyl or demos he does an incredible job with.
Ok Jamie that is enough strokes for you, if you rae reading this.:D
I have heard some band mastering jobs myself and I agree that Confessor should be done, but hey some labels are... well you can fill in the blank.
Goddamn that Watchtower KICKS ASS!
So I have two or three different pressing of that Prophet CD but have never compared them, probably never even spun them all. HAHA
 
Another album I just thought of: Eviction - The World is Hours Away. As far as I know, the band is responsive on Facebook, but they aren't active. I don't know if it has ever been reissued, but I'd love to buy a copy!

Edit: Coven's Blessed Is The Black is another good choice too! I thought I heard something about that being reissued sometime this year or last year (or maybe next year), but it's been so long that I can't remember if that was just a rumour or actually happening.

Edit 2: After a quick search, it looks like it was reissued on vinyl in 2011, but I can't find anything about a CD reissue.
 
Another album I just thought of: Eviction - The World is Hours Away. As far as I know, the band is responsive on Facebook, but they aren't active. I don't know if it has ever been reissued, but I'd love to buy a copy!

Edit: Coven's Blessed Is The Black is another good choice too! I thought I heard something about that being reissued sometime this year or last year (or maybe next year), but it's been so long that I can't remember if that was just a rumour or actually happening.

Edit 2: After a quick search, it looks like it was reissued on vinyl in 2011, but I can't find anything about a CD reissue.

Funny you mention EVICTION. Ted and I have been chatting since I did the SOLITUDE in 2008. There is some discussion as to who owns the rights to the album. I have been pushing him for a 2 cd deluxe edition of album. He gave me both demo tapes and the 6 songs from what was to be their second album, Think Tank. If we cannot do the album I hope to do a demo collection.
:)
 
I don't really got why "Inside Out" from D.A.M. had to be remastered. The sound is flawless for me. Well just my opinion anyway..

Instead of this Blood Feast's - Kill For Pleasure should have been remastered. The sound is fuckin terrible. The songs could sound alot better with a proper remastering I believe.
 
I don't really got why "Inside Out" from D.A.M. had to be remastered. The sound is flawless for me. Well just my opinion anyway..

Instead of this Blood Feast's - Kill For Pleasure should have been remastered. The sound is fuckin terrible. The songs could sound alot better with a proper remastering I believe.

Again, the Inside Out mastered from original cd. So if you haven't heard it yet a nice a/b comparison will show what Jamie did and it is definitely for the best. Really brought out the strengths of original recording while boosting the low end so it feels like a metal album once again.

Remember mastering doesn't change the actual mixes of older album. To change Inside Out drastically we would have had to remix it. But we didn't nor couldn't.

And yes ALL of New Renaissance albums should have been remastered at some point when going to cd. The Anvil Bitch disc is the same. I had Jamie remaster that one for me because I was tired of crappy version.
 
I think some people look at remastering like old people think of wodescreen tv, can't expalin to them that the black bars are not cutting out the full picture and t5hat they are actually seeing more and the way it was intended.
 
How about Re-Animators albums? I liked Condemned to Eternity. Laughing sucks, but That Was Then...This Is Now was really good.

I love Condemend to Eternity's artwork

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How about Re-Animators albums? I liked Condemned to Eternity. Laughing sucks, but That Was Then...This Is Now was really good.

Hey! :D
"Condemned To Eternity" was a plain Thrash Metal album, "Laughing" is an audacious effort!

One day, I'd like to see a reissue of both Secrecy albums and Swedish thrashers Damnatory album "The Madness Never Ends"...

 
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Very Hard to find album here. On the Long Island label back in the day. This would be a killer reissue:

 
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