HiRez Poll Opeth - PALE COMMUNION [BluRay Audio]

[JonUrban]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this 2014 5.1 release from RoadRunner Records.

Pre-release comment thread can be found HERE

 

[perzon57]

I've listened to this album 3-4 times with the phase corrected and it fantastic sounding.A very good mix.The music is top notch to.I've liked Opeth after I found some of their 5.1 albums.Have them all.Saw them live on a local festival this summer and they were fantastic.This will be one of my few 10's.I spare them for the absolute best.:sun

 

[Thonolan]

Not voting until I get the corrected blu-ray. Maybe the poll should've waited until we receive it.

 

[The Bright Side]

The corrected version is amazing. Perhaps not the best music I've ever heard, but a very good album, and mix and sonics are outstanding. A 9 from me.

 

[Wildman]

I probably listened to this disc 10 times after receiving the original defective disk. The music has been a 10 for me from the first listen. The puzzle of the odd sounding surround mix was the only problem. After the issues with the out of phase channels were brought to light, I was willing to go through the trouble of rewiring just to listen to it. It's the type of album I was hoping Opeth would eventually make some day.

After listening to the corrected disk, I can give it nothing but a 10. I had planned to give it a 9 due to the defect issues, but Roadrunner handled the situation so well that now all is forgiven. It has all the qualities of a great SW surround mix. The overall sound of this mix plus the music being right in my wheelhouse makes it dang near perfect for me.

Kudos to Roadrunner for handling the defective disk issue quickly, and to everyone at QQ who helped bring the problem to their attention. :brew

 

[timbre4]

It really is an album I always wanted to have without even knowing it existed! Took the stereo CD on a brief road trip this evening and even that proved to be comfortably crank able! Great record that only grows...


From QQ deep space

 

[Which_One_Is_Pink]

Got my email from Burning Shed, I should have my replacement disc in the next 2 weeks

 

[Modern Day Warrior]

It really is an album I always wanted to have without even knowing it existed! Took the stereo CD on a brief road trip this evening and even that proved to be comfortably crank able! Great record that only grows...


From QQ deep space

I took the cd with me also on a 2 hour drive I had to do for work this past week. Such an awesome soundtrack for a long drive. I was really sucked in the the music.
I got my replacement Blu Ray today and finally checked it out. I give this a 10 also. Steven Wilson has knocked it out of the park once again. My wish is that Steven will do Rush's Hemispheres in Surround one day. That would make my life complete.

 

[MyCuff]

Corrected disc sounds great to me. My speakers are set to large so I hear no issues with LFE. Lots of BASS! This album really grew on me.

 

[patrick1]

I waited awhile to buy the corrected disc from Burning Shed. Didn't want the hassle of returning, etc. This sounds great to me, with plenty of bass. Great songs and musicianship. A great 8 from me.

 

[0tto]

that's first time, i'm really enjoyed listen to Opeth. albeit do have all their previous albums which were mixed into surround.
how much better perception of this one, just for being Hi-Rez lossless, without shrinkage into DTS as previous.
10 from me.
b.t.w. curious why they do not included 5.1 PCM?

 

[GOS]

I am coming close to getting this disc from Burning Shed....had my eye on it.

 

[corneredcat]

I am coming close to getting this disc from Burning Shed....had my eye on it.

i love this one...not the growly older opeth. audio quality is pretty darn good!

 

[Ge Someone]

I like this album, it is again a change of style, but still comparable with the previous one (Heritage).
The mix, by Steven Wilson, is nice with excellent sound and good surround. It is noticeable that the drums are very much in the foreground. This might have helped Martin Axenrot to win the title of Best Prog Drummer in the World Today.
Still even after the correction of the two channels, I have a problem with the bass drum sound, it is in the LF, LR and LFE. This is a bit too much, at least on my setup and in my room.

 

[JanBakker]

I am coming close to getting this disc from Burning Shed....had my eye on it.

You should it's great and gets better after a couple of spins :banana:

 

[rtbluray]

Finally had time to listen to the full corrected disc, and I now come away with a much better impression of the album than the faulty disc gave me.

Still not a perfect '10', but a well deserved '9'.

It's a very dense listen for sure, with a lot of musical themes and sounds similar to 2011's "Heritage".
Not sure if I prefer one album over the other, but it's just finally nice to get a good Opeth surround mix on Blu-Ray as opposed to the crap that's been peddled on DVD-V before ("Heritage" being the exception).

Will have to listen again before I can write a proper review, but go for this disc, and if you end up getting a faulty disc, follow the instructions to get the correct one.

 

[Ge Someone]

Still even after the correction of the two channels, I have a problem with the bass drum sound, it is in the LF, LR and LFE. This is a bit too much, at least on my setup and in my room.

I experimented further. I changed the LFE channel back to "out of phase", so now it's like the "corrected" disc.
This is actually an improvement because the anti-phase reduces the ultra low end (kick drum). IMHO this is a bit of a mess, and makes me wish music was just mixed in 5.0. OTOH on most releases 5.1 is OK, so what happened here? We'll never know I guess.

Just like to repeat that I like this album nevertheless.

 

[Hattipper]

Is this still an issue or was it rectified in later pressings?

 

[keenly]

I think this album is a little overrated. I much prefer Watershed to this. Heritage is somewhere in-between. The surround mix is good, but the studio is not used as an instrument itself, with basic production, no tricks, no panning etc. Personally I like Hendrix, Page style of production; think Zeppelin 2. Overall 7.5, but leaning to 8 due to real nice sound and thick bass.

 

[keenly]

I like this album, it is again a change of style, but still comparable with the previous one (Heritage).
The mix, by Steven Wilson, is nice with excellent sound and good surround. It is noticeable that the drums are very much in the foreground. This might have helped Martin Axenrot to win the title of Best Prog Drummer in the World Today.
Still even after the correction of the two channels, I have a problem with the bass drum sound, it is in the LF, LR and LFE. This is a bit too much, at least on my setup and in my room.

If you like the drumming on this one check out Watershed. That album has phenomenal drumming. Shame SW didn't mix it.