So what are the albums that demand ownership of the remastered/reissued version, rather than the original pressing? Conversely, what remasters are best avoided?

I'm going through an 'improve your CD collection phase' and I'm looking to get a lot of classic albums that I only have burnt or downloaded copies of and I'd really like to get the definitive versions. For example, I recently ordered the reissue of Darkness Descends and I'm guessing this is the best version to get on CD, as the original recording is not the best quality and it also comes with a bunch of live tracks. On the other hand, there are some remastered albums that are really underwhelming (often because they didn't need remastering in the first place) and are ultimately less impressive than the original release - Rust In Peace springs to mind.

In my opinion the originals are the best to get when at all possible. I don't think the Remastered version of "Darkness Descends" sounds bad at all but it doesn't come close to the original Vinyl version. Unfortunately the "Remastered" version is louder and the separation between the guitar and drums is more blurry and the vocals aren't as vicious, still a good listen though. I agree with you about "Rust in Peace" but on the other hand I do enjoy the remastered version of "Killing is my business...and business is good" on CD which does pump the volume up but still retains the dynamics well.

The Andy Sneap remastered version of Sabbat's "Dreamweaver" is probably the definitive version on CD but I would still have a hard time telling someone to buy that over the original. In all honestly the album was just recorded badly from the start and even Andy Sneap couldn't do a whole lot to improve it but the original is still the way it was put out and the way I want to hear it under most circumstances. I would suggest originals first and remasters later if it's an album you truly love. A remaster has a tendency to change the way the album sounds which in some cases changes the album just enough that you would definitely want to hear it as it was originally put out when possible. On the flip side it can be expensive to track down originals and reissues or remasters are the only way to get it, fair enough, go for it!

Your comments regarding Darkness Descends are interesting. I'll be able to make my own judgment this week when the CD hopefully arrives. I've actually got the original pressing of Killing Is My Business... on CD and I'll probably avoid getting the remaster because of the butchering of 'These Boots'.

I wonder if anyone can give me their opinion of the 2002 remastered version of Epicus Doomicus Metallicus?

i prefer the Megadeth- KIMB and So Far... remasters to be honest but the butchering of these boots you are referring to, that was not their decision, rather the Sinatra families decision.

Not metal, but the best remastered album I've ever heard is The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails.

The Human reissue by Death

Always go for the original if possible man.

I've seen that box set, but only listened to the second/remix disc. The Downward Spiral is a 90's masterwork and was produced pretty well. I imagine the remaster is doesn't sound that different actually.

I did personally prefer the remaster of Cynic's Focus to the original. I felt that in the remaster everything was much clearer and easier to hear which is what you need in an album like that. That's really the only thing I can think of though. I usually prefer the original.

The remaster of Seeming Salvation by Epitaph is vastly superior. In fact, the reissue is how the original was supposed to sound, according to the band!

It just has a bit more "pop" to it, really.

Where do we all stand on the Judas Priest remasters?

I definitely prefer the remastered British Steel. It has what Nigel Tufnel would refer to as, "That extra push over the cliff," especially on tracks like 'Rapid Fire'.

Why?

remaster may sound better but original is where the heart is.

The iron Maiden - S/T and Seventh Son remasters ARE WAY better than the originals. S/T finially has a more powerful punch, and Seventh also has a more powerful guitar sound. The Priest remasters are decent, I like the Iced Earth remasters on the first three albums. IE needed it on those. Like somebody else said, Megadeth's KIMBABIS is a PHENOMINAL remaster/remix, probally th1e best sound fix of anything I ever heard, like a new album. Also, I like Megadeth's SFSGSW, the remix/remaster took out the over the top reverb on the guitars, bringing it back a bit, making them more clear. King Diamond's remasters of The Spider's Lullabye and House Of God are AWESOME remasters, they both pack more of a punch and are much more than simply turning the volume up, like a lot of other remasters. Also, Black Sabbath - Born Again got remastered again by Sanctuary records, it is MUCH better than the Castle records? remaster, it came out this year, and makes the production more bearable. They're remixing the album for a release next year, so i would wait for the remix. Also, the remasters of the first six Black Sabbath albums and the first two with Dio by Sancuary records are awesome remasters. Better than the black box remasters. I would say there are GOOD remasters out there, but unfortunately there are shitty remasters as well. You just gotta do some research.

The only one I can think of that is generally viewed as the "real version" despite not being the original is Nevermore's Enemies of Reality. I can't think of one person who liked that production job initially. I'm not even sure you can buy the original anywhere anymore and it's only like 8 years old. I don't think I could buy it when I was a Nevermore fanboy back in 06.

Oh, and I believe the best version of Darkness Descends is the 2008 Century Media release. i have the 1998 reissue, only difference is that the 2008 has more bonus live tracks. Both don't mention anywhere of it being remastered. just make sure you don't get the combat reissue, it has a poorer sound for some reason and no bonus tracks whatsoever!

I really try to get only original and super-early pressings of CD's. I'd rather wait a really long time for one to pop up/become affordable than buy the RM versions about 90% of the time.

I actively avoid anything remastered when I can. If an album was not "originally" released on CD at the same time as the record, I will look for the earliest pressing I can find through online research (via Discogs mostly).

I am far less likely to worry about original pressings of vinyl for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I buy vinyl for stereo use and CD's for clean, accurate, lossless rips and the option to make quick CD-r copies.

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I'd love a remastering of Breeding the Spawn.

Is the remastered Battalions of Fear significantly better? Also, can anyone offer an opinion on Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (the remaster, not the album itself...)?

I have the remaster on Epicus, much more powerful sounding, more of a bottom end. I also like the bonus tracks it comes with! I would say it's worth getting and its a real remaster.

Oh, and yes, Battlions doesn't sound so dated on the remaster, once again, a much better sound is achieved.

FFS, there should be a sticky on the difference between remix and remaster, seriously...

I will contribute a bit later, I have done heaps of comparions between versions of albums.

Looking forward to this...this kind of stuff makes me curious if nothign else.

There's certainly no definitive answer as to which releases sound better. I've certainly learned over the years that people tend not to prefer the same sort of thing and what sounds irritating to you might sound phenomenal to me and vice versa. While there's certainly such a thing as objective improvement it only goes so far...

Someone already brought up the Megadeth So Far, So Good re-tooling and my gut reaction is shock that anybody could prefer that over the original, but then I remember how wide the range of tolerance/preference in the human ear/brain interface really is and it doesn't surprise me all that much.

And yes, I really like the 2002 Epicus re-master as well; perhaps give that one a try.

The new Death reissues seem to be the definitive version (Human and The Sound of Perseverance for now). You can't find the original copies of those albums in the new sections of CD stores. In my opinion, the new mix for Human is better and TSoP is pretty good, but definitely not as needed as the former.

It needs a remix. Not a remaster. A remaster would just make the mud louder. People get remastering and remixing confused all the time I noticed.

Personally I don't give a crap if an album is a remaster or not. I don't care about original press nonsense either. I'm not an audiophile by any stretch. Give me a clean, non-bootleg, non-Russian copy and i'm good.

Remixing on the other hand...

Are you on about the Konqueror Records version cause they fucked that up. The sound is great (like Carnage I guess) but the speed is much slower than the original... shame really...

Fair enough. When I hear the word 'remix' I tend to think of Remanufacture. I, for one, have never longed for a Suffocation techno album.

That's right, a new master might be brighter and you may prefer the muddy dullness, who knows. I like the Megadeth remixes for example, so keep the salt handy.

I'm only going to list albums where I have compared original / older copies and remastered counterparts, and the changes have to be significant, not just all round louder. Compared versions on stereo and ripping to FLAC and comparing on foobar2000, also checking frequency levels etc. I'm not counting remixes.

Here it goes:

Armored Saint - March Of The Saint with the 24-bit demo songs. This is just better all round really.

Black Sabbath - the new Deluxe Expanded Edition releases are THE BEST.

Crowbar - s/t and Time Heals Nothing. The Metal Mind remasters sound cleaner, clearer and really give the guitars some extra definiton and highs, so it's not all mud, especially with THN. Haven't heard the Housecore versions, would be keen to know.

Cynic - Focus from 2004 really is better, not so veiled. The remix tracks are bloody amazing. I heard they are remixing the whole album now, instant buy.

Judas Priest - I personally think they are all great, especially the 70's stuff.

King Diamond - the recent digipak releases of The Spider's Lullabye to House Of God are amazing in the fact that you'll hear stuff you've never heard before. Hard to believe they weren't remixed in some way with some of the detail. Awesome.

Winter - Into Darkness is brought to life on the remaster, more impact. Even though the guitars aren't in the mix I think they are better here anyway.

I'll mention some bad / indifferent ones too:

Sodom - Agent Orange: fuck this got butchered. Pushed to within an inch of its life and then pushed some more. It's crackling all over the place and is at its worst in the first couple of songs. During the crushing thrash break of Tired and Red, the thundering fills are too much and it maxes out to the point where sound actually cuts out altogether in fragments. Pathetic.

Sigh - Scorn Defeat is audibly crackling through a lot of it, too hot.

Century Media ones for Combat releases etc from 1999 are OK, afterwards total shit. 2008 they released the newer Dark Angel black box ones, Exodus silver editions, the Death digipaks etc. All thin sounding crap.

That's enough for now.

yes, this new Human mix is awesome

I'm planning to replace my cd with the new one soon

The Megadeth remixes sound ok to me, but that might be because the only original album I've got is Rust In Peace. Without hearing the original KIMB cd I can be fairly sure that the new version is better, if the bonus tracks are anything to go by. I've heard an original mix of a song from Youthanasia though and it sounds a lot better than the original. I'm guessing that the only albums that really required redoing were KIMB and SFSGSW. Risk is possibly the one that sounds the most different - Prince of Darkness is noticably different in composition, let alone sound.

Can anyone comment on the recently released 25th anniversary edition of Peace Sells...?

Thanks for that. And does this mean that the Darkness Descends I'm expecting any day now is likely to leave me wanting?

Earthridden, great analyses; I'm completely with you on both Agent Orange and Scorn Defeat. I bought the latter's re-edition because of the demo tracks. The album sounds intolerably loud and makes me furious.

I'd advice you to do a little research —and pre-listening— on the details of a particular remastered version before buying it. Yes, I know it can be tedious, but it is a good way to avoid deception.

Ozzy's 2002 remastered version of 'Blizzard of Ozz' also re-recorded the bass and drum lines, and it sounds awful to my ears. Not surprisingly, this year's remastered reissue restored the original bass and drum tracks; Iron Maiden's remastered versions make the albums sound more powerful, the guitars sound very strong and the drum sound is better, IMO; Desultory's remastered versions sound more powerful too...

Megadeth's remastered version of So Far, So Good... was a disappointment to me, luckily they preserved some original Paul Lani mix versions, so one could compare and draw conclusions, I guess...

Now, as far as I've listened so far, Peace Sells... 25th Anniversary edition sounds like they just restored the original 1986 recording, and since I did no really like the 2004 remastered version, I'd go for this 25th anniversary edition. But then again, if you guys can shed more light on the subject... please do so!

Does anyone have any of the Artillery remasters?

I will probably try and track down a copy of By Inheritance soon.

Bummer about Sodom. I nearly bought that 2CD version of AA a few times!

I'm only familiar with the originals and they sound perfect to me. I like my Sodom dirty!

Definitely Hypocrisy's Abducted is better as the remaster than the original. To begin with the original production was still in the vein of old school Swedish death metal--a genre they basically had definitely left behind with Abducted. The remaster really lent itself to make the whole album more atmospheric, crisp and clear (a la Tiamat's atmospheric metal era albums), with a lot of the rough jaggedness of the guitars softened so that even the more aggressive songs end up sounding soothingly hypnotic. That and the bonus tracks fit amazingly well. The bonus tracks include the best of The Final Chapter, such that I hardly ever listen to it anymore.

The original agent orange is indeed best, but I wouldn't say they're dirtier; quite the reverse, in fact, as the increased levels wash the whole thing in a mess of crackling and excess. The drums sound like crap and the irony of the increased loudness is that individual instruments are not separated as much leading to, for example, the vocals actually sounding less discernible.

This. Listening to the older version of "Tyrant" and then the remastered version, it's like HOLY SHIT! I JUST GOT MY ASS KICKED 40 YEARS AGO!

I just wanted to make an allusion to dirty anal sex...