Porcupine Tree – Deadwing

Beautiful balanced sound stage and excellent pressing..dead flat, no surface noise at all. But the volume is inconsistent from one track to another...straining to hear one track to be blasted out by the next. Something I didn't notice on the digital version on the same system. Having said that, I love this record. This is an incredible band that I somehow never heard of until recommended by my local record store a few months ago.

The original production of this album had a quite brickwalled mastering (at least on CD), which is gone with this remaster fortunately: no more distortion in the loudest parts, more dynamics, thick guitars, a full bass and snappy drums.

It seems though that I'm in a minority who isn't entirely happy with this remaster: There's still a noticable amount of compression, especially in the higher frequencies. For example the cymbals sound quite harsh and artificial when it gets loud, a good example is "Shallow" in the loudest parts. As good as everything else is here this spoils my listening experience, it's quite fatiguing in parts, especially on headphones. And this isn't the first time I noticed this with a Porcupine Tree remaster, this is also the case on the remasters for at least Fear of a Blank Planet, Stupid Dream and (to a lesser degree) In Absentia. I find this really odd and lets me question if Steven should remaster his own stuff (it's no coincidence there's an unwritten rule in engineering that mixing and mastering of the same album should be done by different people).

I'm very curious how the first pressing by Gates of Dawn sounds in comparison, unfortunately it's simply unaffordable. Considering that their Stupid Dream pressing is one of my favourite sounding Porcupine Tree pressings I own, with a beautiful, warm and organic sound, I expect it to beat this pressing.

"Open Car", "Dot Three" and a different intro from Rockpalast were not included on the Blu-ray yet were included in the Digital version from Burning Shed. Wonder why that was changed? Would love to have seen the demos included on the Blu-ray as hi-res. Otherwise, yes, a fantastic set.

Absolutely flawless remaster of an absolutely flawless album. This is the copy to own and cherish. No pops or crackles whatsoever.

I'm very glad with this stand alone version. Payable too.
The original was very bad, soundwise, clipping and brickwalled.
This one is mutch, very mutch better. Indeed a second cd with some extra's had been a bonus.

All i can say that this is a very good made Remaster. What i exspect by PT.

I prefer the sound of this blue Gates of Dawn vinyl over the newly remastered clear vinyl. It's very subtle but enough to know the difference. The clear vinyl is heavier but was noisier and the volume needed to be turned up a little bit more. Original lps from this severely underrated and overlooked band will always be sought after by knowledgeable rock fans.

A fantastic pressing of a great album. Anyone complaining about this pressing and the way it sounds should go get their ears checked out. Q-tips also help.

Just because you overpaid tens of thousands of dollars for overrated audio equipment and feel the need to list your set up like that makes your opinion any less relevant doesn’t mean you’re hearing anything different than someone with a system that cost a fraction of the price. Especially with the way albums are pressed these days.

Magnificent album PT magnum opus their DSOTM if you like. Forget FoTBP as their finest work. This is it. Arriving somewhere but not here being the apex of this magnificence. Not one filler. Make sure you buy an uncompressed version. I’m recommending either the vinyl or the awesome DVD-A which sounds uncompressed in 2 channel or 5.1

I have the same review for In Absentia 2021 reissue as well as I had the same sonic experience with both the records.

I grew up listening to this band and had the privilege to watch them live as well. It’s fair to say I know the band’s sound well.

Listening to this record is an amazing sonic experience. The drums don’t sound tiny like many modern rock records, the bass is well rounded (so happy to see how Colin Edwin’s groovy basslines are finally getting the right treatment) and the guitar stands out really well. The synth/keys sit in the mix well. The vocals are upfront and centred well. Every instrument and vocal have their own space and you can hear/feel the air between them.

The soundstage of the vinyl is audiophile grade in my humble opinion. You can hear light compression during the loud ages but that is not at all bothersome.