Kow Otani - Shadow Of The Colossus FLAC

One of my all-time favorite games and soundtracks ever, but I will never buy another Iam8Bit release. Fuck them.

I love this music. It super reminds me of old fantasy movies like Jason and the Argonauts. Which I suppose is very intentional, but that doesn't stop it being very well done. The game really captivated my imagination back in the day and the soundtrack was a big reason I loved it so much. It's great to have it on vinyl and a jolly good pressing too.

This is my fourth Iam8Bit record and I can not say that I went in with high hopes. But luckily it was pleasantly surprised, if even just a little bit.I should first comment on the cover which is an area where Iam8Bit usually tries to deliver on. And while I really appreciate whats done in nice quality here, I feel as if its not very great to begin with. The artwork itself is very corny and over the top, it just doesnt work well as cover art for a soundtrack. Something more minimalist would not only look better in general, but reflect the game properly. At least its not a colossal (pun not intended) failure as the Journey and The Last Guardian covers, but Undertales is superior in my book.Moving on to the music I should firstly mention that this press has been cut at quite the low volume. So I advise most people to crank the knob on their amplifiers a little more than usual to get the full effect of the sound here (about 50% louder than usual). The only problem that arises is the pressing quality which I will get to later.The sound itself however is first and foremost a step above average as I see it. I imagine that this was likely done from the best source possible because it really reflects it in how the depth, dynamics and detail presents itself. Without a doubt this record allowed me to hear things I just never took notice of before through streaming or other means. But while I praise it for that its all not cut and dry positive. I would buy and love this release no matter how bad it sounded, so dont get me wrong when I as an audiophile would actually say that its lacking still.The stereo imaging especially is what Id want more attention given to. Very often we are presented a quite centered soundstage and even when expanding left and right its rarely ever enough to fill the listening room and just stays within the space between the speakers. It makes me wonder what someone like Bernie Grundman would have done with the mastering and cutting here.Something else he might pay more attention to is the EQ. At times things sound perfect and realistic in the orchestra performance. But other times certain instruments like horns and strings are left a little wimpy and unnatural. Luckily its not across the board, and neither is the lack of low end, which only on certain tracks I feel is unrepresented somewhat. To be realistic, its hard to fit this soundtrack on 2 discs, there are physical limitations. But Im certain that more could be gained.Describing the sound in general I would say that its like listening to an original uncompressed recording of the music, before all of it has been finished in the mixing and mastering process, and then just been cut to work for vinyl. You get all the sweet detail of instruments sounding rich and full, especially on the high end where this, like many other pressings can more easily shine, a deep and emotional soundstage where sounds can feel like they are coming a great distance away, and last and perhaps also least of the three the dynamics which still can come in from quiet to loud very easily, just not with all the kick and drive Id want. Its the lack of expert fiddling with the mastering that could have taken the sound to the next level and made a great orchestral performance come into your room.However Side 4 captures some of that finess especially well to make for a great finisher of the album, it really had me with goose bumps. And perhaps its so because the start and especially towards the end a few tracks have been re recorded with added instruments and quality too I might guess. This is another issue for me in parts though as my favorite track "A Despair Filled Farewell" which now is called "Farewell to Despair" for some reason has lost some of its emotion. The very best part I thought was the choir singing along but that has now been toned down in the mix and blended together with the instruments. A big blunder as I would actually prefer the original in that case, no matter if its less detailed in general.Now to speak about the pressing which is the classic low quality seal of approval by Iam8Bit. However my copy is not so bad I have to say. The surface noise is there as expected for MPO and translucent vinyl, but it rarely intrudes on the music even at these high volumes. The main thing that does are the couple of pops on average for each side as well as what I theorized to be non filled grooves on certain parts of intense passages, but now realize is just challenging inner grooves for my Elliptical stylus. It gives of a slight distortion in the left channel so you really want a thin profile to play this release without damage or distortion occurring. But when all is said and done its not the completely unacceptable performance compared to some of their other pressings.This game means a lot to many people, if there is one soundtrack I wish they would get right its this one. As a huge fan I must admit that I am thankful that they seemed to try here. Its not all it could be, but as a whole its above average from their usual efforts.Equipment Used:Rega RP1 with Nagaoka MP-200 CartridgeCyrus 2 AmplifierSystem Fidelity SF-3050 Tower SpeakersCustom made Speaker Cables

JurassicTrance Thanks for the helpful review - I will take into consideration No problem. Its not like theres much to choose from though, you either get this, a CD or nothing at all. Thats usually how they get the fans even with low quality. This is quite good though.

Thanks for the helpful review - I will take into consideration

My pleasure, Im sure he will be pleased either way ;^)

Just grabbed this for a friend sealed on clearance at a local store. Glad to read it's passable for an iam8bit release. Cheers for the review!

Just finished my 1st play thru. Sounded excellent! I did not have any noise issues as some people have stated, only beautiful symphonic sounds of the colossus! 5/5

Got my review up now, I guess it wasnt too bad of a cut they did here, that is if we go by Iam8Bit standards. Still think its rather lacking since it could sound better in ways, but most people might not care much for that type of experience and just want a high resolution sound so to speak.

Hmm, Ill see how it performs for me once I get my copy. Im not having high hopes though, thinking that you are just not a very picky listener so to speak, not that thats bad. Good for you actually.

It's a Tonar banana cartridge. Designed for disco high fidelity.

jdank.firth All Technics SL-1700 turntable, sa5270 reciever, sb2660 front & sb2745 rear speakers. Cartridge?

All Technics SL-1700 turntable, sa5270 reciever, sb2660 front & sb2745 rear speakers.

jdank.firth Just finished my 1st play thru. Sounded excellent! I did not have any noise issues as some people have stated, only beautiful symphonic sounds of the colossus! 5/5 And what is your equipment?

I was really looking forward to this release, but it seems to be yet another Iam8bit quality control shitfest. Somebody please explain how a vinyl label can put so much effort into packaging yet doesn't seem to give a rat's ass about the actual sound.

Vasdenyas I was really looking forward to this release, but it seems to be yet another Iam8bit quality control shitfest. Somebody please explain how a vinyl label can put so much effort into packaging yet doesn't seem to give a rat's ass about the actual sound. Can you describe how it sounds?

If you're like me and buy vinyl to appreciate some brilliant music and excellent design, you'll like this one. If you want to piss and moan about tiny defects and "popz", f*ck off down to your local used record store. smh

big up for you, helegadhttps://i.redd.it/t7knlaa3o2k01.jpgword click word click pop word

Everything you've written about this vinyl might as well have been lifted from a number of comments on any other VGM vinyl Discogs page. I have this nagging feeling that what you describe as "defects" and "audio distortion", let alone "warping", is well within tolerance for vinyl. If it bothers you that much, switch to digital. Cheers.

It's hard to "appreciate some brilliant music" when the purchased product has defects that cause the audio to distort. Cheers.

I hope I'm not alone in my disappointment with this release. Iam8bit sent me a warped record. After dealing with their customer support and sending it back, they reluctantly sent me a replacement which is more warped than the first. Lots of clicks and pops, surface noise and some distortion from the warping. Iam8bit seriously needs to up the QC on their records. The packaging is gorgeous at least.

Exactly same issues encountered throughout the whole LP, all sides have numerous distortions and pops. I can barely enjoy the music...

I’ve never purchased any of their releases before so have no experience with them, my brother really wanted this release so went ahead and purchased it. I’m simply use to getting a certain level of quality for something that’s fresh out the sleeve when paying album prices, etc.

The problem is that your incident of warping really holds no value. You have no way of determining how or why it got warped or if its across the board. Ive payed for cheap records that are warped, does that mean youre wrong? No. Is it the publishers fault, the transporters fault, the pressing plant etc? You cant know, and therefore its not about what you pay since it can happen irregardless of price.Besides, Iam8Bit is a trash teir publishers who cares about making nice looking records and covers only (Which I still think they fail at). Dont buy one of their products to get a quality product. The money thats invested goes to anything but the vinyl and music itself.

If I’ve paid less for faultless records and the original poster mentioned warping on two separate occasions which I’ve also experienced, that tells me it’s not an isolated case. I haven’t experienced any warps after several Data Discs purchases who press and release video game sound tracks, so is that enough context for you ? Maybe it’s isolated to this release, end of the day, Im curious to know if it affected a large quantity of this release, if so, they got it wrong.

I just said price has nothing to do with it. And I still want to know why we care about a little warp if its still perfectly playable?

I’ve bought records for less that were pressed perfectly, it’s a new item, end of story!

Who honestly cares about a "Slight" warp. No record is perfect. And the price has nothing to do with it.

My brother ordered a copy, and it had slight warping. No way on Earth should a brand new release, be leaving the pressing plant like that. Especially for the price it’s being at.

kevers1 I hope I'm not alone in my disappointment with this release. Iam8bit sent me a warped record. After dealing with their customer support and sending it back, they reluctantly sent me a replacement which is more warped than the first. Lots of clicks and pops, surface noise and some distortion from the warping. Iam8bit seriously needs to up the QC on their records. The packaging is gorgeous at least. Thats Iam8bit for you.