Other Samples Are Up

[ErioL]

I think there is still some misconception as to just what mastering is. Mastering is listening to the songs, sequencing them so that they flow musically, balancing lyrical content, dynamics, EQ, etc. In some cases it is crisis management. In some cases it means correction and restoration. But for the most part, there is no magic going on. It is really a simple process or adding fractions of decibels of EQ here and there, unlike the recording process where someone might use a mic or an EQ that adds 20dB of boost or cut.

Then the mastering engineer does different processes for CD, MP3, etc. Vinyl is a completely different formatting, compression and EQ process alltogether.

Now, the mastering engineer CAN do damage by over compressing, which is what most labels and artists want, so that they sound crappy like everyone else. This IS slowly changing. Levels are coming down, dynamic range is increasing.

When mastering engineers have their hands tied and are forced to normalize so that the average volume is the constant peak all of the time, it basically nulls the subtle work done by the artists and mixing engineers. It collapses the stereo image. It makes the sound come across as flat, one dimensional. It can make an album that gave the listener a break from loudness fatiguing. This is why most people cannot stand to listen to digital music for more than 30 minutes. It does not sit well with our brains and bodies. For me, I just don't like the sound of things on 10 all of the time, no matter if I am listening at low levels.

To say that an engineer is bad for going along with this is silly. We all have to do things we prefer not to do. But at the end of the day, we are not paid for our opinions and preferences. We are paid to do what we are told. If we want to continue to eat, we will do it. People that refuse to do what they are told find it hard to keep work and eat. I like food too much to do that.

Thats only true in a label environment. If the artist is producing, mixing, and choosing the mastering engineer, then the responsibility is on the shoulders of the artist. In this instance, since Petra is responsible for production and mixing of the album, if the product turns out to be a squished, over-compressed, etc, then I have to blame Petra for it. What you've pointed out is true in many cases, this is not one of them. The full version of MPTY sounded a lot better than the other samples so i'm not as concerned about the finished product.

[rexreed]

I'm liking Angel of Light a little more. But the drums are so, elementary!

Adonai, ugh, I never liked the original much so what can I say

I like the upbeat Rose Colored update- it works for me

Clean, well too bad it's not Hollow Eyes. HE was a great song- still relevent to this day too.

Of the originals, More Power To Ya always sounded the best to me, this version just sounds like they are a little older with the synths higher in the mix than before.

Bema Seat- Can't wait to hear the whole thing.

[CatNamedManny]

Typing as i listen:

So far really like how "Adonai" was turned more into a hard rock sound with less keyboard emphasis.
"Bema Seat" - FINALLY the guitars brought up into the mix. Can we just get a full re-record of NOTW? The sample seems really rough here, so I'm looking forward to hearing the fully produced version.
"Clean" - AWESOME. Maybe we can just get a complete re-record of BTS, too? Both those albums have such terrific songs and such dated production.
"Grave Robber" - It's nice, and probably an improvement over the original, but we already have this in so many versions (NOTW, CITAS, Farewell), it feels redundant.
"More Power to Ya" - Much more dynamic. I always thought the original was pretty boring, but the beefed-up strings do a lot, I think.
"Rose Colored" - Reminds me of Double Take at the beginning, for better or worse. I like this version. Not sure I like it better than the original, but I don't dislike it. It's just different. I always envisioned a new version as being heavier, not "stringier".

Overall. I am officially EXCITED about getting the album and seeing them play in Nashville. I can honestly say I don't feel disappointed by any of these songs.

[bakersfieldpethead]

Thats only true in a label environment. If the artist is producing, mixing, and choosing the mastering engineer, then the responsibility is on the shoulders of the artist. In this instance, since Petra is responsible for production and mixing of the album, if the product turns out to be a squished, over-compressed, etc, then I have to blame Petra for it. What you've pointed out is true in many cases, this is not one of them. The full version of MPTY sounded a lot better than the other samples so i'm not as concerned about the finished product.

But in some cases also as in Farewell, who do we blame? Bob co-produced, Jim cooper engineered but the label put it out? Everyone was at fault in this case.

[rexreed]

More Power to Ya and Angel of Light are sounding a lot better with each listen. Although the drumming is really simple. I guess I never noticed the "average at best" drumming in Petra.

[bakersfieldpethead]

More Power to Ya and Angel of Light are sounding a lot better with each listen. Although the drumming is really simple. I guess I never noticed the "average at best" drumming in Petra.

I wouldn't call it "average at best." Louie is a solid drummer, He has what a lot of drummers don't have today and that's a very keen sense of time, where most drummers today rely on programing to keep them on time, Louie has it down without it. Although it's normal in a studio to always have a click track. Brent would know better how Louie is about click tracks.

[rexreed]

Time keeping is essential, and if Louie keeps good time then great, it's just kinda plain on Angel of Light. Perhaps they are even more vanilla than the original? I never paid much attention to the drums when I was younger.

[bakersfieldpethead]

Well he didn't play the original recorded track from Never Say Die, but you can see what he did during the videos of the live performances after he joined.

[trodLAN]

A new "Graverobber" seems to be uploaded:
http://soundcloud.com/classicpetra

[RockOn]

It's the 'original' Graverobber. I wonder if they made a mistake.

[bakersfieldpethead]

Sounds like it

[shawnpfan2010]

I wonder if they intended to have both so people could hear the old and the new and they forgot to put the new one back up??