Emperor (2) – In The Nightside Eclipse

Someone can explain why prices skyrocketed,cause I bought my copy a couple days ago for 27 euro

This release is intended for those who really want to have the cult first Emperor album on vinyl for the sake of ownership, and only secondarily for those who are interested in music and care about sound quality. By and large, Norwegian bands have received a large share of success due to their criminal activities, which does not negate the innovative and even brilliant in the music of many bands. In the case of Emperor, we have a given that three of the four had convictions for murder, arson and robbery by the release date of the album. And this did not prevent the album from deservedly receiving the title of one of the most influential in the genre precisely due to the composer's talent.

The next reissue turned out to be very good. Unfortunately, there is no way to compare with the original or later repress, which is designated as "Original Vinyl Replica", but Half-Speed Master version doesn't seem to make it worse, at least. It should be understood that the original recording is very far from modern quality standards, so no matter what work is done on the sound, there is reason to believe that it will not be possible to jump over your head. It's still the same dungeon recording, slightly muted and quite raw - that's the charm of the record. At the same time, due to the recording of not the highest level, there is no special difference from the CD version. Of course, vinyl as an analog media gives a warmer and deeper sound, this is all clear, but it was not possible to notice any transformation of the material from listening to vinyl. There are a lot of audio tracks, high party intensity, high sound density lead to the fact that compression has to be used for the sake of sound readability. Despite the almost twofold difference in the dynamic range of the disc and vinyl versions, it is difficult to determine this difference by ear in this case. Yes, when listening to vinyl, there is a feeling that "there is some kind of life inside", but this is due to the accentuated keyboards, the sound in most cases becomes flat, while the drums, guitars and voice are pushed into the background. By and large, the original has the same specific sound.

In of design, everything is quite regular, an uninformative gatefold, a printing envelope without protection for vinyl, which is why a new copy comes with minor cosmetic damage. It's probably fair to say that the 2022 version will be slightly more advantageous due to the presence of a poster (which in most cases remains inside the sleeve). Otherwise, the design for the CD version is much cooler than all vinyl editions due to archival materials, so the label should consider including these elements for the next reissue. According to the totality of impressions, it turned out to be a normal vinyl edition, without a wow effect. There is no impression that mastering helped to reveal this record differently. Similarly, the label did not use the potential of the historical archive of the Emperor in order to make the edition truly collectible and memorable. The edition rather matches to the cult status of the band and the album, but the potential could be realized more, especially since the demand for the album is enormous. Who knows, maybe on the 30th anniversary there will really be something more interesting...

Mine came with minor scratches, i complained to MerchNow and the worker pulled out a copy of theirs to inspect it and it also had scratches all over it lol. I guess most of these have some sort of production problem. Luckily its only cosmetic because the record sounds fucking fantastic. Buy it. No surface noise. Pure Black Metal.

Mine has minor scratches, probably due to the inadequate vinyl sleeve, but to my surprise, not enough that I can hear any interference during playback. However there is a small crease running running across the very top of the album's front cover. I accidently ordered another copy from a different vendor, and that also has the same crease line. Can anyone else confirm that this is standard on all these remasters?

Other than that the vinyl sounds fantastic.

Is the sound quality a great enough improvement on these "half speed masters" to justify buying them to replace the reissues from 2017?

My copy was completely silent, not a single pop during the whole playback, I really don't know how people play their records but I wet clean every single album I get before the first play, new or second hand, doesn't matter, you wouldn't believe how dirty a factory sealed record can be, I bought 4 of these Emperor new reissues and I have no issues, luckily. I would recommend to wet clean your records, by doing this you also take care of your cartridge stylus. Just trying to help.

Agree with Bomberpilot: also got a sealed copy but a lot of surface marks, crackling over the complete album and needle hangs on the first track. Besides that it sounds very good. I have not yet compared it with the original pressing, nor with the 2017 pressing.

If someone can say us how it sounds? Thanks in advance.