bjorn

The box from Napalm came to $53 with shipping, the single violet LP from the band's site came to almost $32 with shipping and tax. I begrudgingly went with the box since an extra $21 didn't seem too crazy. I do think the concept of releasing a 7" box with no additional content is bonkers, so I hope I don't end up regretting this too much.

I agree with the comments above. I think the best approach is not to worry about it. Just buy what you want, and if you come across a pressing which sounds bad to you, return it or sell it. The risk really isn't substantial. I share your frustration with the inconsistency in quality between releases. So much of what is available today has clearly been rushed or otherwise compromised by sloppy manufacturing. But every once in a while I do get some near-perfect pressings that really elevate the experience of listening to a particular album, which somehow makes the whole thing worth it, at least for me.

Magus is really good. I’m still breaking it down mentally, but there are multiple parts that are beastly. I have so much Thou in my brain due to their massive discography, so the vocals can get a bit tiresome even though they’re awesome. I think that’ll change once I get a better feel for the lyrics, which seem to be a bit different thematically so that’s interesting. I love the recording... still gritty as hell but I can hear everything so clearly. The only time I ever saw them perform was in a tiny basement about three feet from my face, and one of my favorite things about that experience was how close they sounded to their albums. They’ve always had this very honest and unvarnished approach to album production and I love it, it’s so much heavier and better than the way most metal albums are produced.

It's great to see this album get continued recognition. I remember downloading it from emusic, maybe in 2006 or something, and not really knowing what to think about out, just knowing that it was special. I've been consistently returning to it and it keeps getting better.

Amazon has discounted this record by 20%... came to around $24 shipped for me. I assume it will be black vinyl but that's cool with me.

This is good! Thanks for sharing.

I didn't have massive expectations for Solara, but a part of me hoped it would be something closer to Ma Belle or Stellar, which had some of that classic SP magic even though they were from the Zeitgeist era. Unfortunately, it sounds more like a deliberate attempt to recreate something like Bullet. Also, the mix is horribly bright. I'll still give anything they put out a fair shake. Oceania was good, and Monuments was enjoyable as well, but to me none of this stuff really lives up to the band's potential, which is a bummer.

They are crazy to keep up with for sure. I hopped on early, otherwise I'd be utterly lost. Heathen, Summit, and Peasant are probably the most essential things to get into first. They did a run of 12" splits that I really like. The Leech, Salome, and Moloch splits are my favorites. They are short, spin at 45, and sound massive.

Grabbed all four from Deathwish. I was waffling on whether to track all of these down but getting them all in one fell swoop made it easy. I somehow have every 12"/10"/7" they've ever released, minus a couple comps, so I guess I'm keeping the streak going after all.

Silver repress: https://velvetbluemusic.com/shop/starflyer-59-silver/

Sounds like something's up with that new cart, I'd definitely try to get that replaced. I've had lots of issues on older turntables with one side or another cutting out, but it was always some kind of issue with the table's wires or connectors, in your case that wouldn't make sense.

Nice! How do they sound? Curious what convinced you to buy them.

I have the original iPhono. It's a slight step up from what's in my Rotel sound-wise, but offers tons of extra adjustments/cartridge flexibility which is probably why I'll hold on to it. Other than that, not really crazy about its design, the little switches are a pain to mess with and not very intuitive. Having cables on both ends can be a little awkward, but I hide mine behind my turntable, seems to be designed with that in mind. That being said, apparently the 2 is even a bit better performance-wise if the hype it to be believed.

Spinning my blue/yellow copy now. I was worried it would sound noisy, but the vinyl is practically flawless. I like the album a lot, it's gorgeous really, though it loses steam a bit. I don't mind the stylistic change so much, but I think it would have been smart to keep at least some bursts of heaviness to punctuate parts here and there.

I agree. While swapping carts is fun, I've learned that the differences between them tend to be vastly overstated in reviews, discussions, etc. We are talking about very subtle differences in sound quality, with the main advantages of of higher-end carts being their ability to minimize distortion and produce a more accurate tonal balance. I've used a Nagaoka MP200 and loved it, and I'm sure the 120 would be a great cart to use. However, whatever turntable you end up buying will probably come with a halfway decent cart if you're buying new, and there simply isn't a reason to ditch that immediately.