Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar 2xLP red vinyl exclusive to Hot Topic

[kannibal]

The CD tracklisting for a Mechanical Animals vinyl would lame. The vinyl was done the way it was for a reason. I think it's a great concept and executed beautifully on the OP with the two separate LP's

 

 

 

thank you.



edit - to expand a bit more.... to me, it sounds like there is a blanket over my speakers when I'm listening to ACSS, but when I spin BV, the blanket is lifted off. I don't mess with VTA; I calibrated when I got my table a few months ago and have left it there. I have only felt this way about ACSS and the new Deftones... nothing else. Again, very pleased overall... but the sound is lacking something for me.

If your Deftones LP sounds this way, you may want check something, either your ears or your table. It's very possible that this LP needs to be turned up to get the "full effect". I was listening at a good volume, say 11:30 on the dial, so almost 50% and I was very surprised because most of the time that would be blasting, but this wasn't. The were certainly a few parts that were a lot louder than others, but that's what Dynamic Range means and it's not unusual to have music really open at higher volumes when there is a good amount of DR.

[kriss]

Haven't done any reading as to why the two formats were sequenced differently - what's the reason? Honestly, and I know this is lame, but I'd like the cd version just because that's what I've been listening to since its release. hahah

[amnstypls]

The CD tracklisting for a Mechanical Animals vinyl would lame. The vinyl was done the way it was for a reason. I think it's a great concept and executed beautifully on the OP with the two separate LP's

If your Deftones LP sounds this way, you may want check something, either your ears or your table. It's very possible that this LP needs to be turned up to get the "full effect". I was listening at a good volume, say 11:30 on the dial, so almost 50% and I was very surprised because most of the time that would be blasting, but this wasn't. The were certainly a few parts that were a lot louder than others, but that's what Dynamic Range means and it's not unusual to have music really open at higher volumes when there is a good amount of DR.

my table is fine, and my ears are even better. I always listen to vinyl with my receiver pushing about 80%, which is actually obnoxiously loud.

Do you own Born Villain on vinyl? Or Diamond Eyes? If so, try playing said LPs and then compare them... They really do sound much better.

[negavinyl]

Finally got this in and had the chance to listen to it. Speaking as a big Manson fan who has most of the OG pressings, this is really nicely done, especially for the money. Wish one of my HT stores around here would have got it in so I could have cherry picked a nice copy, mine arrived with one of the corners really bent. Sounds like some of yours arrived in better condition and some worse. Minimal warping on my copy. It sounded good to my ears, and will definitely get more spins that the picture disc I got at Hot Topic many years ago.

 

Also, for the record, I'd totally double dip on Mechanical Animals if it had the original tracklisting. Probably will regardless. I know the "main albums" will likely get first priority, but I'd love to see the ultra rare Golden Age of Grotesque get a pressing, and to my knowledge Eat Me, Drink Me and the High End of Low were NEVER pressed. 

[kannibal]

Wow. 80%? That doesn't sound right, but I'm not going to worry about it. I do have BV and Diamond Eyes, I was going to compare the CD of ACS to the LP, but I found I don't own a digital version of ACS, so that's out.  As for BV, I remember the vinyl being very loud, but I will check it out today, to see if my memory is holding up. As for Diamond Eyes, I really like the music, but I'm not a big fan of the production. It was produced and mixed by Nick Raskulinecz, who leaves almost nothing for the vinyl mastering engineer to do, as explained by Brian Gardener when he mastered the latest Rush album. I think Nick's mixes are very congested and the Diamond eyes LP was probably saved by a really good cut by someone at Bernie Grundman Mastering. In short, I think Diamond Eyes is a lot more congested and "covered by a blanket" than Koi No Yokan which was mixed by Rich Costey. 

 

All that being said, it is all subjective, so I don't think you are wrong in what you hear. Just stating my case. I do want to get these records out and compare today. If I find anything worth reporting, I'll do so.

[kannibal]

Haven't done any reading as to why the two formats were sequenced differently - what's the reason? Honestly, and I know this is lame, but I'd like the cd version just because that's what I've been listening to since its release. hahah

 

 

This page explains it well enough. Look at the song titles on each LP. They are grouped together very well in my opinion. Note the two separate sleeves and inserts as well.

http://www.discogs.com/Mar1lyn-Man5on-Mechanical-Animals/release/239093

 

Edit: Stupid Discogs lists this as a UK release. The blue and white OP Mechanical Animals was definitely a US press. 

[amnstypls]

Wow. 80%? That doesn't sound right, but I'm not going to worry about it. I do have BV and Diamond Eyes, I was going to compare the CD of ACS to the LP, but I found I don't own a digital version of ACS, so that's out. As for BV, I remember the vinyl being very loud, but I will check it out today, to see if my memory is holding up. As for Diamond Eyes, I really like the music, but I'm not a big fan of the production. It was produced and mixed by Nick Raskulinecz, who leaves almost nothing for the vinyl mastering engineer to do, as explained by Brian Gardener when he mastered the latest Rush album. I think Nick's mixes are very congested and the Diamond eyes LP was probably saved by a really good cut by someone at Bernie Grundman Mastering. In short, I think Diamond Eyes is a lot more congested and "covered by a blanket" than No Koi Yokan which was mixed by Rich Costey.

All that being said, it is all subjective, so I don't think you are wrong in what you hear. Just stating my case. I do want to get these records out and compare today. If I find anything worth reporting, I'll do so.

anxious to hear your thoughts, if they change at all.

yeah... Born Villain is extremely loud, but I love that. I like the production of Diamond Eyes much more... KNY has some cheesy shit if you ask me. The first example that comes to mind is that hand clapping part... sounds like an entry level Yamaha keyboard sample.

In general though, I do prefer Costey.

edit - listening now.... and yeah.... compare "Overneath The Path Of Misery" to "The Beautiful People." I think you'll hear what I mean.

[mpitts]

I got my replacement from Hot Topic today.  Fast shipping and the new record is not warped in any way.  The jacket was also in excellent condition.  Kudos to Hot Topic.

[killerofjoy605]

Finally got this in and had the chance to listen to it. Speaking as a big Manson fan who has most of the OG pressings, this is really nicely done, especially for the money. Wish one of my HT stores around here would have got it in so I could have cherry picked a nice copy, mine arrived with one of the corners really bent. Sounds like some of yours arrived in better condition and some worse. Minimal warping on my copy. It sounded good to my ears, and will definitely get more spins that the picture disc I got at Hot Topic many years ago.

 

Also, for the record, I'd totally double dip on Mechanical Animals if it had the original tracklisting. Probably will regardless. I know the "main albums" will likely get first priority, but I'd love to see the ultra rare Golden Age of Grotesque get a pressing, and to my knowledge Eat Me, Drink Me and the High End of Low were NEVER pressed. 

I am almost 100% sure those two were never pressed, I would love to see The High End of Low pressed but since most dislike this album I highly doubt it. I agree about The Golden Age of Grotesque, I was going to drop  $100 on a used copy of it today but decided to wait and hear more about what travis is pressing. Another nice one to be pressed would be Smells Like Children as that has become seemingly impossible to get under $100, it would also look amazing on clear with pink splatter to somewhat mimick the cd.

[firefoxUSSR]

Does anyone else have both this pressing and the Simply Vinyl version?  I just put on the SV version... it's a noticeable upgrade in sound.

[amnstypls]

Does anyone else have both this pressing and the Simply Vinyl version? I just put on the SV version... it's a noticeable upgrade in sound.

how would you describe the difference?

[firefoxUSSR]

how would you describe the difference?

 

More realistic sound, highs are higher, lows are lower.  More detail in the drums and guitar.  The crowd at the beginning of "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" has a nice separation/depth to it.  The HT one is just not as much fun to listen to.  Plus the cymbals sound washy... I can post samples if that helps.

[amnstypls]

More realistic sound, highs are higher, lows are lower.  More detail in the drums and guitar.  The crowd at the beginning of "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" has a nice separation/depth to it.  The HT one is just not as much fun to listen to.  Plus the cymbals sound washy... I can post samples if that helps.

 

Not necessary, but I thank you for responding. I really feel like the HT press is lacking some "presence." Not sure if that's even an applicable term to turntable audio (I come from more of a guitar amplification background and this is the term we use to describe the "blanket" that I was talking about earlier.) It just seems like the highs are lacking big time.

[kannibal]

OK, so this morning I checked out ACS again. I get what you are saying, in a sense. I think it's a combination of things. Listening to the two Deftones albums, along with the differences in BV helped me to come to a conclusion.

 

First, I think ACS just sounds like that. This time I listened at 8 o'clock (pretty quiet, put still good for a sunday morning) on the dial, and there were times where the rhythm guitar seemed a bit muffled or blanketed compared to everything else, but I felt tike it was something I got used to. Before I listened to ACS, I listed to Jar of Flies by Alice In Chains and the comparison isn't even fair. JoF sounds very clear and detailed, everything is very upfront and distinct. ACS just wasn't recorded and mixed that way. But listen to Wormboy. It has a lot of different things going on, and I think it sounds great. Good separation and clarity on all parts. Bass hits low and strong and all the guitar and keyboard sounds are clear and open. In the middle of the song I turned it up to 10'oclock and everything just got better, which leads me to...

 

Second, There is a clear level(volume) difference between ACS and BV, and Koi No Yokan and Diamond Eyes. I put on DE and listened to my favorite track, You've Seen The Butcher. Again back at 8'oclock, it was thick and congested. Keep in mind, I just came from ACS, and DE did not sound great, thanks to our buddy Nick Ras-whatever. I even turned it up to see if it would open up like ACS did, and it didn't really do anything but get louder. Keep in mind I used to think this record sounded good. I know longer think that. I then put on Koi No Yokan. I immediately noticed how quiet the music was and immediately turned it up to 9'oclock to somewhat match DE. It also immediately struck me with it's open sound. The drums sounded great and everything was clear and had space, unlike DE. And, when I turn it up more, everything opens even more and gets better.

 

I think you like the loud! I'm curious what kind of system you are running that might make what we are hearing so different. Regardless, there are going to be a lot of different opinions on music and sound, so enjoy what you like. 

[amnstypls]

I definitely do like the loud! I am running a Project Carbon through Marantz Integrated... into B&W 686 speakers. I don't really know much about hifi audio so I sent a budget to ajxd and he hand picked all of these components for me, and I bought them up without question or any of my own research. I have to say... it sounds great!

thanks for humoring me though! interesting discussion.

[crapforgenius]

My copy arrived yesterday. First LP was slightly warped and the top right corner of the sleeve slightly crunched, but nothing terrible so I'm content with that. The color is fantastic and fits perfectly with the album art theme, so well played on that. Sound wise, it's been a while since I've listened to the album but it sounds fine to me - not a significant upgrade from the CD from what I remember, but an enjoyable listening experience.

However, and this is no one's fault, the side splits kill the fun for me. "Tourniquet" is supposed to seamlessly flow into "Little Horn" and "Angel With The Scabbed Wings" is supposed to be born out of the maelstrom at the end of "Mister Superstar", but with the side splits as they are - a necessity due to time constraints on each side, I get it - the overall effect of the album is ruined for me. Also, not having a little bit of editing done to make the ends/beginnings of each side a little less jarring - you can hear the end of "Tourniquet" at the beginning of "Little Horn", for example - is even more detrimental for me. (I don't have any other pressings of this one so maybe it's always been like that, but see something like 'The Downward Spiral' where the end of "Eraser" is extended a bit and the beginning of "Reptile" is smoothed out to make the lack of transition between the two less obvious. Does that make sense?)

I'm glad to have it and as a physical artifact it's a great representation of the album. However as a listening experience, it falls short for me and the CD will remain my go to whenever I feel the need to listen to this again.

That said, bring on "Portrait of an American Family" on a 2xLP and I am first in line.

[firefoxUSSR]

 ...

"Angel With The Scabbed Wings" is supposed to be born out of the maelstrom at the end of "Mister Superstar", but with the side splits as they are - a necessity due to time constraints on each side, I get it - the overall effect of the album is ruined for me.

 

On the SV release it's somehow worse... they fade the end of Mister Superstar.  

 

Of course I'm a audiophile nutjob and i'm just making a 24-bit recording on my mac anyway.  So what I'll do is "reverse fade" to correct the end on my listening copy after clipping out any silence between the sides.  Seamless!

 

 

*not actually an audiophile... I have a Numark TTUSB using the analogue output.  Time for a new table after I sell some stupid crap.

[crapforgenius]

Unfortunately it's an album that wasn't sequenced with vinyl in mind - the initial LP release wasn't even for a number of years after the CD came out if I'm remembering correctly. In order to make it work, you have to make the sides really lopsided or go in and remix some of the fade ins and outs to make the side splits work.

[killerofjoy605]

Travis, when can we be expecting more info about MM repressings?

[kriss]

maybe I've said this before, or maybe someone else has; but the live record would be rad to have!

[psus2h]

This is sold out on hottopic.com.

 

Traivs, whats up next brother?  Mechanical Animals?  Portarit of an America Family?

[travis]

Nothing new on Manson yet. He doesnt want any of his stuff pressed for now. If/when that changes I'll start doing more but for now its all on hold.

[firefoxUSSR]

I love Marilyn Manson.  Also this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCxNWWvZ-qI&t=5m10s

[psus2h]

Nothing new on Manson yet. He doesnt want any of his stuff pressed for now. If/when that changes I'll start doing more but for now its all on hold.

 

Its all good.  Thanks for getting this one done.  It would be cool to see some NiN stuff redone, but I'm guessing Trent has a tight grip on his stuff too.

[firefoxUSSR]

Its all good.  Thanks for getting this one done.  It would be cool to see some NiN stuff redone, but I'm guessing Trent has a tight grip on his stuff too.

 

It's kinda funny what happened with Pretty Hate Machine.  He freaking deserves to loose money after what he did to the 2010 LP remaster... wtf was that...dude?!