Death (2) – Individual Thought Patterns

Off the bat, the vinyl is beautiful, pressed dead quiet, and the holographic packaging is sick and a great collectors item. As for the music...I could do a full review comparing the differences between the 2011 remix and this remastering (which is much closer to the original) but long story short this isn't the best sounding one to me. A lot of people prefer the OG mix (maybe out of habit) but it (specifically this remaster) come out as a bit bloated, with a lack of vocal clarity that sounds a bit suppressed and veiled, and kick drums that sound outright muddy.

The problem with the 2011 mix was it's very thin sounding, but overall truer to the vocal and guitar tone sound of the other (preferred) Death remasters, while ITP always had wonky production and felt out of sync with the discography. That said, if you have a good hifi setup that can push some bass, it sounds a lot more balanced and dynamic. On the flip side, this remaster here sounds better on cheaper setups since it has more bass and warmth baked in. I've tested this ad nauseum. 2011 sounds better on loudspeakers with a sub, or good headphones, while 2023 easily sounds best on computer speakers, earbuds, and things like that (where 2011 sounds like shrill crap).

So since this is the 2023 mix, on vinyl, probably on loudspeakers...it's just not as good. It's a great collectors item, though, and if you grew up with the original and have an affinity for that original sound baked into your memory, this is still a good buy. (especially if the altered vocals on Overactive Imagination pissed you off on the previous version, the "obsession" echo effect is back as it should)

In a perfect world, a 3rd mix would descend from metal heaven that combines the best of both, mirroring the production of Human, Symbolic, etc. that sounds great 100% of the time. Until then, gotta compromise.

Gorgeous, great sounding record. Might be the prettiest record i have so far. Guess i got lucky because i have a flat copy :)

Agree with mikeSF_, this is a nice little reissue for the most part. Gorgeous looking record, sounds pretty good too. My biggest gripe is that every single copy my local record store got was warped to all hell. They were shipped unsealed so I was able to take a peek and find the one least afflicted, but there is still a considerable warp on my copy as well. Seems Relapse might have cheaped out a bit on this one, unless my local record shop just got horribly unlucky.

A nice reissue of a '90s death metal release. Complex arrangements including changing time signatures and dual harmony guitar lines. The drummer here is working overtime. Super tight performance throughout.

The multicolor splatter vinyl is one of the best I've seen, truly a sight to behold.
There are a couple of divots in the vinyl, but otherwise nothing that translated to any aural problems. This material is a v-shape EQ, so mids are incredibly scooped, but that's death metal for you. I get a little ear fatigue by the end.
All in all, an enjoyable play. Was $31 lightly used, however, yikes.
3.75 stars

This is quite an interesting pressing. So it's a remaster of the original release and sounds very different than the modern repressings that are total remixes (all recent vinly pressings and CDs). I think it sounds pretty good, perhaps a bit more murky and veiled than the original release but smoothes out some of the harshness. It needs to be cranked (which I haven't been able to do yet) to really get a feel for the differences in tone.