Famed for pioneering the underdog genre of extreme music in the late ’80s and ’90s, Earache Records over the course of the last 30 years has issued some 600+ releases and helped to provide careers for genre-leading names such as NAPALM DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, CARCASS, ENTOMBED, SLEEP, AT THE GATES, BOLT THROWER, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, BRING ME THE HORIZON and countless others.
The concept of extreme music isn’t the only facet to Earache Records that it has pioneered however… the concept of FDR (Full Dynamic Range) vinyl pressings has revolutionised the way music fans can enjoy their favourite metal albums.
During the heyday of many classic Earache bands’ careers, the trend at the time was to make recordings as loud as possible for the fans. Dubbed “The Loudness Wars”, this was a concept much of the music industry adhered to in the ’90s. Unfortunately, many did not realise that by increasing the loudness of studio recordings, this often had a detrimental effect on the overall sound quality. To achieve super-high volume, the sound waves were compressed against the “audible ceiling”, often limiting the difference between the peak and average levels in the music. This meant that the disparity between the loud and quieter elements in the recording (known as the “dynamic range”) is significantly reduced.
Earache’s idea of “Full Dynamic Range” vinyl reissues is to counteract the “Loudness War” and ensure that fans hear the music as it was intended to sound – pure and organic audio pressed straight to 180-gram vinyl from the original studio analogue or DAT tapes, many of which were stored for 20+ years. This concept is not designed for the casual music fan who might only listen to albums on their phone or iPod, but the real music enthusiasts who like to put a record on a turntable, sit back and absorb the sound waves at the optimal quality, experiencing the warmth and depth to the music as it was originally intended; the instruments leap out of the speakers.
Over recent years, Earache has reissued much of its catalogue on FDR vinyl for the first time. Whether it’s the meaty riffs in MORBID ANGEL‘s ‘Altars of Madness‘ or the all-encompassing stoner sludge of SLEEP‘s ‘Holy Mountain‘, the difference in quality and depth of these FDR reissues is obvious to even the average music fan.
Pick up these classic Earache titles on Full Dynamic Range vinyl now:
NAPALM DEATH – Scum
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CARCASS – Heartwork
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Buy now
TERRORIZER – World Downfall
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Buy now
ENTOMBED – Left Hand Path
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Buy now
MORBID ANGEL – Altars of Madness
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Buy now
NAPALM DEATH – From Enslavement to Obliteration
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Buy now
BOLT THROWER – War Master
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Buy now
MORBID ANGEL – Blessed Are the Sick
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Buy now (coloured vinyl)
Buy now (black vinyl)
CARCASS – Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious
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Buy now
BOLT THROWER – Realm of Chaos
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Buy now
SLEEP – Sleep’s Holy Mountain
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Buy now
For more vinyl, CDs and merch, head to http://www.earache.com/webstore
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