Gism* – Detestation

R.I.P. SAKEVI

cherry has confirmed on his instagram

31 august

I had bootlegs, the pressing of Relapse records and finally this one!
I have never heard this album like that, the multiple voice of Sakevi is incredible!! but what a killer! you can forget all the other pressings.. it is expensive for sure, but some discs are worth the financial sacrifice!
Killer !!

Found this description from the press release of Determination which confirms it was remastered from the master tapes:

★G.I.S.M.初のベスト盤になる全15曲収録のDETERMINATION。
収録された音源全てオリジナルマスターより24bitデジタルリマスタリング。
特にオムニバスGREAT PUNK HITSに収録されたDEATH EXCLAMATIONSは、原曲のマスター音源に
相当なイコライジングがかけられていたことが今回のリマスタリング作業から判明。
オリジナルマスターからの原音に忠実なDEATH EXCLAMATIONSは初音源化となる。
92年のDETESTATION CD化から実に23年目にして全ての音源に新たなディレクションが加わり究極のベスト盤となった。

4月29日発売
販売価格\2,980(税抜)

Auto-translation via deepl.com

★ DETERMINATION of 15 songs, which is the first best album of G.I.S.M..
All the recorded sound sources are 24-bit digital remastering from the original master.

In particular, DEATH EXCLAMATIONS, which was included in the omnibus GREAT PUNK HITS This remastering process revealed that the original master sound source had been equalized to a great extent.
This is the first time that DEATH EXCLAMATIONS has been recorded from the original masters with faithfulness to the original sound.

It has been 23 years since the release of the DETESTATION CD in 1992, and the new direction has been added to all of the sound sources, making this the ultimate best-of album.

On sale April 29th
Retail price: \2,980 (excluding tax)

After finally getting my hands on the Dogma version, here's a quick comparison review of the different versions:

1983 Dogma LP:
Sounds great. It's a 45rpm pressing and it's really clean and punchy because of it. The dynamic range of the songs are in the 13-15 range based on the Dynamic Range meter. I played this on a Rega p6 with Ortofon 2m Black.

1992 Dogma CD:
This sounds pretty close to the original '83 press with the exception of the low end. There's alot more bass on this with the bass drum being much more prominent. This might make it sound a little warmer / fuller compared to the '83 vinyl. Adversely the the '83 Dogma press might sound more crunchy by comparison. Unsure if this Dogma CD was sourced from master tapes or was a vinyl transfer. It looks like it was from the master tapes but not 100% sure. Considering Sakevi saved his original flyer designs cut-and-pastes from the early days, as seen in his Oppressive Liberation spirit book, he surely has to have the original master tapes for Detestation which he would've used for this CD.

2015 Determination compilation:
I'm including this in here because all of Detestation appears here in remastered form.
The Detestation tracks sound punchier and more in-your-face. The dynamic range meter for these songs is between 5-6 which is clearly a lot less than the original LP. When I first heard this comp CD all of the tracks sounded alive and brand new. Some might see this as a victim of the loudness wars where the compressor tools have been used to death to make it punchier. Again, not 100% sure if the master tapes were used here but it seems like it. Tracks like Shoot to Kill has never sounded better before and has great looking spectrals. A cassette transfer would top out at 15-16khz and this, and all of the other tracks on Determination, have the normal CD range up to 22Khz.

One strange finding is that all of the Detestation tracks have swapped channels. It's immediately noticeable on Endless Blockades where the opening guitar riff is playing out of the left channel on the 83 vinyl and 92 CD. On Determination, that riff comes out of the right channel. All Detestation tracks are flipped like this. All of the other tracks on Determination have flipped channels as well but I have only compared these tracks with other transfers made over the years on various fan compilations / rips. This was either done intentionally or was done mistakenly. I'm leaning toward the latter. One could easily take the tracks and flip the channels in software but most people won't go to that length. So anyone listening to this Determination comp as there go-to for Detestation and those other compilation tracks will be listening to it incorrectly.

2020 Relapse CD / web flac / vinyl:
Based on the waveforms and spectrals, The Relapse version (web flac / vinyl / CD) of this album seems to be sourced from the 1992 Dogma CD. The CD has the same exact RMS and Peak values. Same dynamic range. So, it's a budget version of the 1992 Dogma CD. The channels are the same as the 92 CD and 83 vinyl. The only thing you're missing out is the amazing 1992 artwork which you can get in Sakevi's book.

I transferred the vinyl but didn't bother going through the motions of even splitting the tracks because it looked to be the same as the web flac / CD.

The choice of using the 1992 CD is strange considering the Determination comp sounds (arguably) better / louder / crunchier and more in line with a modern mastering. Aside from the potentially incorrect swapped channels which could have been corrected if someone at Beast Arts realized it, why didn't Relapse source their Detestation from the 2015 Remasters on Determination?

Bonus thought: I'm pretty sure Relapse censored the cover for German markets since the swastika might be illegal there to show.

Even when peeling the OBI off of the record (glued on) the swastika is still censored and not present. Just a black circle.

Snagged a copy through Relapse Records today (Black w/ White Butterfly Wings variant). Looking forward to it!

This record stands the test of time, the packaging is nice and not flimsy, the art on the cover and insert are gripping, the music is raw ion expressed at the highest levels through the means of sound. It's a well executed piece of music and art. G.I.S.M nailed the length of the record, the low haunting bass, ripping guitars and the constant timing and execution of the skins being pummeled are the perfect backdrop for the bellowing screams. If you have it give it some TLC, spin it and PLAY it LOUD! Tons of "fan club" presses, not sure about the sound quality but pick one up give it whirl and drink the cool-aid, this band rips you may just find a legit copy somewhere still. Trading records rules, thanks to all who are honest record traders, sellers and buyers.
The search for music is truly never ending.

the Track Nih Nightmare is actually just called "Nightmare." the Nih is a spelling mistake while typing Nightmare, flipping the g and the h. It was corrected, but then accidentally left there anyway.

I have a bunch of super rare CD's: Whitehouse SEs, Sore Throat, Coil. I will trade something for a copy of Detestation on CD.

sorry, double posting