Unsane- Blood Run (recorded by Joel H!)

[kayagum]

I'm about to listen to it, but I thought I should start the thread anyway What'd y'all think?

I'll post my impressions/review when I finish listening to it...

[joel hamilton]

Keep in mind that this record has NO eq used on anything. No EQ TO tape, no EQ during the mix. I really wanted to keep the (sometimes unpleasant) gestures intact.

Hope you enjoy the attack!

If you have any specific questions, i would be glad to answer them.

[kayagum]

All I can say is, "wow", and that's BEFORE being told that there was NO EQ in the whole thing.

You can hear the instruments being carved out of the spectrum. The bass drum "boing" is incredible- you have to hear it through a subwoofer. The cymbals ride nicely over the top. I have no idea what was done to mangle the vocals in such a great way- nice to hear vocal distortion with real depth and complexity, much more than the Strokes. The only disappointing element (for me at least) was the snare- a little dull. Maybe I'll think differently when I get to completely crank it up to "concert" levels. (I was only able to listen to it moderately loud last night)

Another thing- a distinct lack of "fizz". You know that fizz- cheap LDC into ProTools. Not that it's missing high end- it just wasn't as brittle. And, paradoxically, this makes the music sound even louder (perceptually). Plus, better for ear fatigue.

But the most important thing is how claustrophobic the overall sound was, and that's a good thing when you're a doom-and-gloom noise band from NYC. From what I can tell, not much "full 180" pan spread, more like L-C-R. Not much room sound. Full assault. Which I'm assuming was the original intent.

I PM'ed Joel about how much I missed the Minneapolis Amphetamine Reptile Records sound from the early 90's (Unsane was signed to them for a while), and when I turned it up I was suddenly thrown back to the night I was physically blown out of the 7th St Entry by the band Hammerhead. Just like certain scents can instantly transport you back, this was an instant throwback to the heady days of club noise rock.

If you like bands like Helmet, this is a must get. If you are interested how mic choices, phase as EQ cuts and compressors can work, this is a disc far more valuable than any mic shootout discs.

Next up in the TapeOp fest: Karate (several albums recorded by Andy Hong)

[joel hamilton]

Awesome, man.

Vinny used the same snare head for the whole record, and it was killed by the first song!

Glad you are digging it.