Famed for pioneering the underdog genre of extreme music in the late '80s and '90s, Earache Records over the course of the last 30 years has issued some 600+ releases and helped to provide careers for genre-leading names such as NAPALM DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, CARCASS, ENTOMBED, SLEEP, AT THE GATES, BOLT THROWER, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, BRING ME THE HORIZON and countless others.
The concept of extreme music isn't the only facet to Earache Records that it has pioneered however... the concept of FDR (Full Dynamic Range) vinyl pressings has revolutionised the way music fans can enjoy their favourite metal albums.
During the heyday of many classic Earache bands' careers, the trend at the time was to make recordings as loud as possible for the fans. Dubbed "The Loudness Wars", this was a concept much of the music industry adhered to in the '90s. Unfortunately, many did not realise that by increasing the loudness of studio recordings, this often had a detrimental effect on the overall sound quality. To achieve super-high volume, the sound waves were compressed against the "audible ceiling", often limiting the difference between the peak and average levels in the music. This meant that the disparity between the loud and quieter elements in the recording (known as the "dynamic range") is significantly reduced.
Earache's idea of "Full Dynamic Range" vinyl reissues is to counteract the "Loudness War" and ensure that fans hear the music as it was intended to sound - pure and organic audio pressed straight to 180-gram vinyl from the original studio analogue or DAT tapes, many of which were stored for 20+ years. This concept is not designed for the casual music fan that might only listen to albums on their phone or iPod, but the real music enthusiasts who like to put a record on a turntable, sit back and absorb the sound waves at the optimal quality, experiencing the warmth and depth to the music as it was originally intended; the instruments leap out of the speakers.
Over recent years, Earache has reissued much of its catalogue on FDR vinyl for the first time. Whether it's the meaty riffs in MORBID ANGEL's 'Altars of Madness' or the all-encompassing stoner sludge of SLEEP's 'Holy Mountain', the difference in quality and depth of these FDR reissues is obvious to even the average music fan. The next titles due for an FDR repress are SLEEP's 'Holy Mountain' (available now), NAPALM DEATH - 'Scum' (March 17th), CARCASS - 'Heartwork' (March 17th) and BOLT THROWER - 'Realm of Chaos' (March 31st). Other titles in the range are now sold out.
Here is a list of every Earache album which has been specially repressed on "Full Dynamic Range" vinyl:
AVAILABLE NOW
MOSH011FDR Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
MOSH079FDR Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain
MOSH143FDR At The Gates - Slaughter of the Soul
MOSH025FDR Lawnmower Deth - Ooh Crikey It's... Lawnmower Deth
AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER
MOSH003FDR Napalm Death - Scum (Out March 17th)
MOSH097FDR Carcass - Heartwork (Out March 17th)
MOSH013FDR Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos (Out March 31st)
SOLD OUT
MOSH008LP1 Napalm Death - From Enslavement to Obliteration
MOSH006FDR Carcass - Reek of Putrefaction
MOSH016FDR Terrorizer - World Downfall
MOSH018FDR Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness
MOSH021FDR Entombed - Left Hand Path
MOSH027FDR Massacre - From Beyond
MOSH029FDR Bolt Thrower - War Master
MOSH037FDR Entombed - Clandestine
MOSH042FDR Carcass - Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious
MOSH055FDR Nocturnus - Thresholds
MOSH070FDR Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade
MOSH081FDR Morbid Angel - Covenant
MOSH082FDR Entombed - Wolverine Blues
MOSH094FDR Entombed - Hollowman
MOSH120FDR Bolt Thrower - ...For Victory
MOSH160FDR Carcass - Swansong
MOSH232FDR Carnage - Dark Recollections
Records are available from http://www.earache.com/webstore
Subscribe to Earache's YouTube channel for the latest vinyl videos at http://www.youtube.com/earacherecords
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