Album Rating: 2.5

Yeah, production is the best they've had in ages.

Album Rating: 2.0

sorceress sounds like it was recorded underwater

Album Rating: 3.5

And through something really cheap, that makes it all overblown, oversaturated, too bass heavy but hollow.

Album Rating: 3.0

"Yeah, production is the best they've had in ages."



Where ages means the grand total of 1 album? haha



Pale Communion (and Heritage is no joke either) is pretty much some of the best sounding rock music after the 80s and that's no hyperbole. Even the CD master was made with decency.

Album Rating: 3.5

Yeah I think PC and Heritage had delish production. But for some weird reason they botched it here, and I even remember how happy Mikael was about it.

Album Rating: 3.3 | Sound Off

I don't know if it's the production or the instrumentation, or a combination of both, but these days PC sounds so vintage and classic rock to me at kind of an exaggerated, goofy level.

Heritage is way more organic and unique imo due to both the songwriting and production being so top notch.

Sorceress is fine with the soft sections but doesn't have enough punch for the heavy sections. The live versions of The Wilde Flowers, t/t, and Era from Live at Red Rocks, which I reviewed recently, sound better than the studio album versions in a lot of ways.

In Cauda Venenum nails it all with having more modern production reminiscent of GR and WS, and the heavy sections sound great. I prefer the loopy unpredictability and loose rhythm section of Heritage, but the new one is easily their best since.

Album Rating: 3.5

"I prefer the loopy unpredictability and loose rhythm section of Heritage, but the new one is easily their best since."

Yeah that loose feel of Heritage is so perfect. Nothing but love for that album.

Sounds kind of good though about ICV, very curious about it.

Album Rating: 4.0

I've said it before but Mikael mentioned in a recent interview that this album wasn't mastered because he doesn't really understand the whole process.



Kinda explains why everything sounds so brickwalled on here.

Album Rating: 3.5

Haha wow! Didn't know that. That's almost cute haha!



... Pity it left us with that overblown sound.

Album Rating: 4.0

Basically said he doesn't understand the difference between mixing and mastering so just didn't bother with the latter.



Apparently the vinyl of this sounds much better, even then the songwriting falls short anyway.

Album Rating: 3.5

Hmm yeah, we'll always have that to deal with too.

Good to know what caused that horrible mix though! Or I should say "master".

Album Rating: 4.0

Hoping for some sweet, ethereal earworm sections on the new record, this album seriously lacks cohesion in spots.

Album Rating: 3.5

I really can't ever remember much from it.

Album Rating: 3.0

I find it hilarious that he just didn't bother mastering, you really hear the difference

Album Rating: 3.3 | Sound Off

According to wikipedia, a grammy nominated record producer and audio engineer named Tom Dalgety produced and mixed the album. Mikael is credited in a secondary role (maybe someone with the CD or vinyl and can read the credits confirm this) so as far as I see it Tom is more responsible, especially if Mikael admitted he didn't know what he was doing.

Album Rating: 4.0

I remember how they said in the teaser videos how good the mixing was. Yea.



The frustrating thing about this album is how it's never as good or bad as I remembered. It leads into a spiral of constant disappointment

Album Rating: 3.5

Yeah indeed. There was one specifically on the topic of mixing/mastering if I'm not mistaken. Makes the actual end product even more infuriating grrr!

Album Rating: 4.0

Grrr indeed.

Album Rating: 3.5

"Apparently the vinyl of this sounds much better,"



Yea well, unfortunately it doesn't...

Album Rating: 3.5

Yeah, heard that before. Some say it rules, others say it isn't at all better.



''Grrr indeed.''

If only it was GR, right?