one for the hardcore part of this blog, which has become somewhat small in the recent past. more and more metal dominating my daily spins. so when there is some hardcore it got to be some killer stuff and an original "set it off" pressing is something i would call just that - killer record. strange how things come to be sometimes. i searched for a copy of this record for round about four years now. all the times i saw it come and go on ebay or on discogs, always out of my price range. understandably i was quite happy when backbite records from germany announced the re-press for this year.
after two months of waiting for the pre-order to arrive and actually possessing the re-issue for a week, a discogs e-mail came my way telling me that there was an original pressing for twenty bucks up for grabs. despite the fact the record wasn't in best condition i took it anyway because i knew that such a chance wouldn't come often. so with an original copy in hands it feels like i don't really need the re-press anymore. ah well, maybe i sell off the re-press at somepoint but for now two copies of this classic do no harm, right?
furthermore i can now compare the two releases and can emphasise the differences. the first thing i noticed was that the og pressing looks sharper when it comes to the quality of the pictures. the picture of the two covers doesn't show it properly but i think the pic of the two back covers side by side with the right one being the original, makes it clear. the re-press is lower in contrast and the front and back image seem to be zoomed in a bit. looks like backbite didn't have the original vinyl layout and worked the cd-layout into vinyl measures instead.
indicative for this hypothesis is the parental advisory label on the cover of the re-issue, which were only on further cd pressings. another hint is the layout of the insert of the re-issue. the white letters on black background is a layout design only the cd booklet has, the original vinyl pressing comes with a black on white printed dust sleeve. taking all the differences into consideration, the og pressing definitely wins. i go and spin it again. roadrunner records. 1994.
