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Interesting idea for an editorial. Usually you can't tell the difference with remasters, but with the Megadeth ones, the production sounds noticeably beefed up.

/\ Yes. I think overall it depends on the album. If it's late 90's stuff, like Hammerfall's first album that I got the other day, then I don't mind the original. Stuff early 90s and before I generally prefer remasters. If I had the original (some mid-period Testament, eg) then generally I wouldn't bother with a rerelease. It all depends on cash levels.

Of ocurse, stuff like re-released Ghost Reveries with one bonus track is ridiculous.

One should mention that Dave Mustaine also modified some tracks on the remastered versions.

Even though these editions are awesome, Mustaine altered a lot of the songs from Cryptic Writings and Risk, and I must say I prefer the original versions.

The Iron Maiden remasters are also must haves, since the sound quality is much better, the booklets are greatly improved and the multimedia stuff is awesome. (But, I must say, when you put them all together, you're supposed to recreate the first album artwork but there's two records that the image is printed upside down...so, it doesn't work ! lol )

I actually have these remasters as well. I was going to mention them in the Editorial. So many different versions of the same thing. I don't hear that much improvement from the originals though......

True, this should've been pointed out in the editorial. I'm all for remastering cd's myself, but the Megadeth stuff is not only remixed as well, but as you said, even has several musical changes to the original versions. IIRC, even Rust in Peace has some re-recorded vocal parts. Really shouldn't mess THAT much with the original recordings.

The early Iced Earth stuff (first three) I think should've been mentioned too, it's quite a noticable difference there since those albums are not only remastered but also remixed. Wish they'd kept the original artwork, though...



Hm, not my versions...

What I don't like is remastering where it's just not needed. Halford - Resurrection, anyone?

I do mention remixing in the review (The Doors example) but not specific to the Megadeth CD's, though if I discussed every detail about every album I mention here I might as well write a full review on each. I didn't mention the Iced Earth remasters/remixes because I don't have them. I only mentioned CD's that I actually have and been able to listen to.

Depends on the album some are obvious cash ins others make sense. What I don't like is special versions that come out a few months after the original has been released. Not to name labels but one in particular is terrible for this.

Most remasters wind up losing the charm and resperentative quality of thier era. A lot of the times these things are remixed without the consumers knowledge to further compress them and get rid of "excessive" headroom. Then when everything is about 3db (not an optimum level whatsoever) until the 0db loudness threshold, they master that as loud as possible, usually completely forgetting to do effective sound dithering to get rid of excessive noise from sounds a CD can not play properly (too low or high frequency)

Some of them are oustanding, like "The Rush Remasters" and a lot of them just suck, like Queensryche's and especially Ozzy's remsaters (this is not considering the first two albums, this is strictly the sound quality of the other stuff). The majority do a fine job, but there's something else going on here:

That is that if people used high quality stuff anyway, really old unremastered stuff will sound marvelous regardless and the extra headroom and fidelity will always sound better than a louder mix with more wet sound. But they don't most people prefer really low-rent ways tyo play music that sound like regardless of what it is, it just so happens very loud mastering (with harsh noise from shitty mixing) sounds better on these crappy systems (that will not reveal this awful noise) than the quieter, more dry, crystal clear and full of headroom stuff of the past.

I find the best produced stuff is happening now, loudness race or not since a lot of record companies don't contract a mandatory producer to ruin the band's sound with "modern techniques" that suck.

The problem arrives when they eq the hell out of a signal to get "more realistic" sound out of the tones and then don't dither (remove anything over/under certain frequencies) the tracks enough.

It really depends on the CD. Some are actually worth it, such as Converge's When Forever Comes Crashing, which had shit sound quality before the remaster, and some like Strapping Young Lad's City/Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing are just glorified re-issues.

Nevermore have remastered most of thier catalog twice. The first time for HDCD compatibility and the second time to change the cover and not much else from the previous remastering.

Granted, Enemies... needed it, but nothing else did.