the third electric wizard record to appear on my blog and the fourth in the electric wizard discography. after i bought 'dopethrone' on a whim at the nuclear blast shop and was blown away by it i set out to get the wizard's back catalogue on my beloved vinyl. a fun task because there are eight full lengths on numerous colours, so a lot of searching and seeking to get the best possible option.
in this case i had to make a compromise. when i was buying this record i had the following reasonable options. the clear/black smoke re-press from nuclear blast, a few discogs options and a gold re-press from high roller records. as you can see, i opted for the solid gold version from high roller because i was able to order a 'we live' copy along and save on shipping, although other colours looked cool, too.
the record was initially released in 2002 by rise above records. back then, rise above didn't go for a vinyl version. dark times for vinyl. only the u.s. label, the music cartel, released a black vinyl edition for the north american market. five years later rise above did the second pressing on a variety of colour-ways. seven years later the third pressing came around with my golden copy being part of it.
musically this record has a gloomier feel to it. i read in some interview that the band really tried to push the boundaries of their sound in the studio. experimenting with guitar layers and trying to give 'let us prey' an old horror movie feel. works for me. i really love this one. the artwork is a bit strange, though. can't say what it depicts. looks still good. 500 copies made. rise above records. 2002/2014.
