Collector Corner: Immortalis

 

  

SWITCH TO POLISH

It's hard to believe that such a mediocre, meh album even, had so many re-releases. Not sure what to make out of that. It's enough that it makes me look closer.

About the band itself, all you need to know is that they were from Germany, they played Old Skull Def Metol, and had an album in 1991 (good year, almost like wine), after which, they split-up. Many such cases. I must admit that when I was a rookie, I considered it to be a minor classic, but recently, when I listened to it again, I facepalmed, as this is so sloppy, so uneven, so amateurish. But I still love this CD.

My opinion seems to be irrelevant, as reality shows that the amount of re-releases in the past 5 years make it look, as if it was some next "Altars of Madness". First things first:

1) Dark Symphonies (2021) - version, which I own, and it's the best one, as it has everything - archival photos, complete lyrics, biography, interview, liner notes and other important info. 2CD - second plastic has all demos. Essential and what's more important, still avalaible. I don't think I will spoil, if I say that this is the option you should seek.

2) Pathologically Explicit (2024) - I don't own it, but knowing this company I can blindly say that it has the bare minimum, namely, lirycs, literally one photo with some scarce liner notes. Forget about the rest, no bio, no interview. There are some bonuses, but c'mon, only some.

3) Awakening Records (2024) - only on vinyl and cassette, as they apparently did it on the license by Dark Symphonies. There is an introduction, some trivia, biography, photos, lirycs, but no bonus tracks. Only the sole album. But if someone likes vinyls, it's a go to version, as the label is elite, and they rarely do vinyls, so when it happens, you can expext the best from them.

4) Hammerheart Records (2026) - it's still upcoming (february), but let me again predict how it will look like, using my so-far experiences with this label. There will be lyrics, some scarce info, even photos, perhaps, but no interview and the graphics will be minimal (plain text on black background). 2CD version, but, this is good, only 1 demo from 1993, when option 1 has it all. In other words, 5 bonus tracks vs 16 bonus tracks. Judge yourself, which option is the best. Especially that Hammerheart is more expensive to buy than Dark Symphonies.

So yeah, bother your local internet shop to import the Dark Symphonies version, until there are still copies left (I should be paid for that). Don't get yourself tricked or fooled, but then again, that's why I'm here, to warn you about such practices. And there is a comment section, so if there's something you want to talk about - ASK!