Album Rating: 4.0

There's a remastered version of Focus or is it the one that only has three of the songs remastered at the end?

Retraced In Air

The removal of the growls is kinda disappointing.

pointless release. cash grab if i've ever heard one.

I was disgusted but also intrigued when reading that the harsh vox were removed. On a first listen, there's some parts that sound incredibly empty without them, like the bridge in Space For This after the guitar solo, the Evolutionary Sleeper intro, the Integral Birth outro... basically any part that didn't also have clean vocals on top of the harsh sounds weird now, but that's from someone who's been listening to this album since it came out so idk man.

New mix sounds nice though, really like the clarity on the bass coming through. Not that there was anything wrong with the original

Meh, pointless much?

Album Rating: 3.0

I think the vocals worked in pretty ethereal harmony on the original, and I think without the growls, it feels a bit one-dimensional

hate how the drums sound on this new one. they are distracting. classic case of thinking new tech and cleaner equipment automatically equal a better sound. couldn't be farther from the truth. i'll stick with the original but i gave this a shot.

Album Rating: 4.0

--pointless release. cash grab if i've ever heard one.--

Not really. I don't think Cynic make enough money for that to be the reason for this. Especially for a CD/digital release... everyone says that's not where the money is anymore. A cash grab would be the Focus lineup getting back together and playing the album in its entirety for its XX-year anniversary. I still think this has more to do with Paul Masvidal never liking the original much. He hasn't liked the death vocals since around the time Focus was originally released.



As for all the issues with the sound compared to the original... Remasters are always going to split the opinion.

wow thanks you just made everything ok

Album Rating: 4.0

I'm not trying to make everything okay. If you don't like the new version, that's your call. Granted, it's kind of an empty comment about remasters, but no comment is going to 'change your mind'. So, it's basically saying 'your opinion is your opinion'. I personally like the drum sound more on this one.

Ban his ass for talking back to a mighty mod

Show him the long Willie of the law

i meaaan honestly the missing growls wasn't really that big of a deal to me, i feel like their still buried in there with a buncha effects. this remasters kinda like an alternative angle, contents still there juuust different compositing.

"There's a remastered version of Focus or is it the one that only has three of the songs remastered at the end?"

That 2004 expanded edition has three bonus remixed tracks plus the whole standard tracklist remastered, where remastered means that they cut the dynamic range in half pretty literally.

Original CDs are relatively cheap on Discogs though, apparently there was even a German repress in 2005.

it needs something to fill the space of the missing growls for sure, some parts feel super empty
i think they could literally just add some centred rhythm guitars or something, just something to add a bit of the missing weight

Album Rating: 4.0

--That 2004 expanded edition has three bonus remixed tracks plus the whole standard tracklist remastered, where remastered means that they cut the dynamic range in half pretty literally.--

That's the one I have. I wasn't really sure how that one was changed, but it sucks if all they did was kill the range.



--it needs something to fill the space of the missing growls for sure, some parts feel super empty

i think they could literally just add some centred rhythm guitars or something, just something to add a bit of the missing weight--

It might depend on how familiar you are with the original. I hadn't listened to the whole thing in about a year, so when I listened to the new one I wasn't even fully aware of how many places there used to be death metal vocals. So, I also didn't notice the 'gaps' in the music where it felt like something was missing. I had to literally go from the original song to the new version over and over to remind myself and get a grasp on all the changes.

Well it's more that the actual production feels like it's missing stuff filling the sonic range, not that it feels musically empty. Literally a guitar playing some tremolo picking an octave lower or some kind of lower rhythm part would do the job, but without the death metal vocals there is kind of an absence of a low-mid sound with the guitars usually playing higher register stuff

Damn missed your comment man, I can't find Tymon's comments anymore now either. I think they might have actually been on YouTube and not FB, as someone else pointed out. I think it was linked in the OG Sputnik post for the Remix but I can't find that news item now either.

Yeah...not so sure how much I like this anymore. Besides the vocals, it lacks any punch or edge. It just floats along, and while the bass and drums and guitar sound unreal with their place in the mix, the whole production just feels a little...tRaCed In AiR for me.

i feel like their still buried in there with a buncha effects.