this year marks the twenty fifth birthday of relapse records. this very fine underground metal label has a back catalogue full of classics and boy, they are not even slightly modest with giving these classics the re-issue treatment. one can think about this policy critically or not, it gives the new fan the possibility to get music on a new and shining copy of their desired format without paying over the odds on a second hand platform. i really acclaim this, with all its negative side effects.
in the past i exclusively bought re-issues because first press copies were hard to come by, or mostly because i couldn't afford them. i am real fine with re-issues. it's about the music and not about how limited a release is, at least not foremost. so, when i have one copy of a record, this is where i stop. don't need several copies. what for? can't spin multiple copies of the same record all at once.
at the beginning of the year an interesting problem was heading my way. i saw the announcement of relapse re-pressing their whole nile back catalogue on lovely pieces of coloured vinyl. i love nile. i have all of their albums on vinyl, for two of them i even spent the most cash i ever did for a record. so of course i have a first press copy of 'in their darkened shrines' on green vinyl in my possession. but man, just take a look on this re-press. so lovely! usually when i get an upgrade-copy i give the spare one to a friend or sell them but this time...
i listened to the green copy and thought, man, that copy looks real nice, it's a thirteen years old original and i want to keep it. so now i have two copies of that record and somehow i am ok with it. is this a change in the game? or just an exception? well, time will tell. anyway, relapse went for some changes with this new version. they made a new master for the vinyl pressing, printed some new labels with the nile logo on, printed the liner notes in a legible typeface and put the nile logo on the front in green metallic foil. 1700 made. relapse records. 2002/2015.
