Satyricon – Dark Medieval Times

Superb .... (Thanks for this gift ...). Thanks Satyricon |m|

You guys weren't kidding, opened a new copy to find light surface abrasions across all 4 sides and some kind of putty all across the title track. Fortunately I was able to clean off the blob with a microfiber brush and some water, isopropyl alcohol and surfractant.

Still don't understand why both this and the Shadowthrone were released as 2LPs. Should never have been so. Not good to read so many complaints about pressing quality either.

Expected more from Satyricon.

"Dark Medieval Times" is an influential and in-demand album, the long-awaited reissue of which turned out to be at least quite strange, and at most spoiled. This reissue had a chance to become an absolute masterpiece if it had adequate quality control.

1. The Sound.
To be honest, the mastering turned out to be extremely successful. It perfectly reveals the potential of recording in the modern technical standard, there are not very many real differences from the earlier version, perhaps it has become a little clearer and "transparent", but it has not lost its primitive charm. The values of DR 12-13 speak for themselves https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/189091. A necrosound that makes your blood run cold. The expressive aura of a winter storm is felt when listening on a physical level, regardless of the time of year outside the window. This album has its own unique amazing energy and atmosphere. None of the above is lost as a result of remastering. At the same time, it definitely made sense to release the release on one vinyl, or to do mastering at 45 rpm. Good sound, but when changing sides, the mood of this album is a little lost.

2. The Design
In the case of DMT, some parallels with the design of the original version can be traced, in of the art and photos used, but still the original cover is better and it could be reused, for example, in the design inside gatefold. DMT's design concept turned out to be more interesting than Shadowthrone's, it turned out to be more informative, but it's strange that individual photos of musicians do not correspond to the period of recording the album. The quality of the printing is at a good level, but again label/manufacturer forgot the protective envelopes for vinyl. As a result, during transportation, stains and scuffs appear on the surface of the plates. This has never happened before and here it is again!

3. The Quality
The vinyls were killed at the factory. A brand new thing in its original packaging at the first opening looks like it was polished with sandpaper. Spots, dots, scratches, scuffs... There are several hundred vinyls in my collection, but this is the worst edition that has ever arrived as new (by the way, the second hand also arrives in a better condition.). It's hard to say what went wrong. Of course, these shortcomings significantly affect the sound quality, numerous pops, clicks and noises on all four sides. Unprecedented low quality of vinyl and control of its production. The number of defects in my copy is such that vinyl as a means for playing music loses its primary consumer properties. With such a product quality, the label must to either withdraw the circulation or reduce retail prices. Does it turn out that Napalm Records are scammers? It's just very strange that a big label with a long history allows itself such a careless attitude.

If call a spade, then there is garbage in a beautiful package. This edition is unsuitable for listening to music. Yes, the rating is three stars, at least out of respect for the album and an attempt to make a good sound. Otherwise, the press does not stand up to criticism and should not have got either on store shelves or into your hands.

UPD: sold my copy for half price...

concerning the vinyls: both are slightly veiled, without any impact on listening. some crackles for me, but nothing that spoils the listening, to clean.

concerning the sound, it is fantastic, clear, crispy, superb separation of the instruments. flawless.

the cover is heavy, of good quality with two superb innersleeves. the labels on the discs are also superb, top!
I love this cover, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy an edition with the original cover!

great album and good job!

I’m super disappointed with the album artwork. The original album art was in my opinion some of the best ever in the genre. This looks like hardly any thought was put into it. Thumbs down.

For someone like me who likes to see the original artwork in these reissues (specially a release that hundreds of fans have been waiting for years) This was a huge disappointment. 7 songs on four sides!!?? People are really tired of labels like Back on Black butchering classic albums with stupid decisions. Labels like Peaceville and Candlelight have done a great job on their releases. It would be so cool if someone made bootlegs of these that actually respect the original record.

More than a year has ed since the release and I really took my time and often thought about writing something about it.
Well, obviously that's what I'm doing now.
I can agree to a large extent to "consono". I'm less concerned about the sound as it's still vinyl, remastered or not, so I don't really care about scratching when playing. If I want crystal clear sound, then I go for a CD or a digital release. What bothers me much more is the whole presentation of this LP. A re-release of an absolute Black Metal milestone requires a lot of attention to detail, which I totally miss here. For me, the vinyls belong in anti-static sleeves, all the liner notes, texts, photos (from the right time and not pictures that were taken years later), maybe the original cover artworks, etc. should be published in a 12" booklet. Also, it's absolutely incomprehensible why the songs were pressed onto two vinyls - there's only one song on side D, which takes up half the LP. Absolutely nonsensical division.

Conclusion: this is an unworthy re-release and there is still hope that in the future "someone" will really make an effort to dress this milestone in an appropriate guise.

These lines also apply to the reissue of the "Shadowthrone".

Sound is good, pressing is not so good. No problems with sleeve or inner sleeves which are nice, but the vinyl looks like master plates were dirty as lots of little marks that are pressed into the vinyl and sometimes it is audible. Same problem with The Shadowthrone. It will do for now, but I give this pressing a B-

To put it short: remastering and changed cover artwork lets the album age well and "keeps it true", pressing sucks with quiet crackles and slight pops on a minty record throughout the whole album. Die waiting for a repress.