Queens Of The Stone Age – R

I recently bought a copy - not the Polish pressing- sealed, from local store. I want to mention two things. First is that record is flawless and clean. Second thing is that when i rised up bass and treble it sounded much much better, especially in lower parts. About the drums it must be considered that they are a bit back in mixing anyway, even in cd version quitars and bass are on front. This happens to many "stoner" albums.

Don't waste your time with this one. Seek out a 2014 reissue instead with B041493-01 in the runouts. It looks to have been pressed with the same stampers as the OG, but just cut by someone else. It destroys this all around.

I can confirm my copy is the Made In BG cut. The best way to describe my experience is this:

Dynamic and soundstage during verses of almost all the songs are good to great Compression is evident but didn’t bother me so much.

However, as soon as the chorus/loud part of the songs kick in, the compression is much more evident. The sound gets squashed in these parts but it could very much be due to mixing decision to take drums volume down during the choruses.

Overall, because of the the latter point I mentioned above, the listening experience isn’t as great as Songs For The Deaf or Lullabies To Paralyze (which to be fair has the advantage of being spread across 2 LP).

The artwork is cool and the pressing quality is top notch. The sound quality is miles better than the 2019 reissue of Era Vulgaris (which is one of the worst sounding records I own).

Even for a 1 LP, this sounds excellent. I like the original packaging and poly lined sleeve too.

My BG cut copy had a made in sticker on the back of the cellophane.

I recently bought a sealed edition which is very similar to this one visually (the sleeve, insert, artwork, hype sticker, I can’t spot any differences) but:
1) the vinyl itself has totally different matrix 010701008-A-2 and 010701008-B-2 etched
2) there is an additional small sticker on the back of the shrink which says MANUFACTURED IN POLAND
Does anybody know if it’s still this 2019 EU edition or something new?

Pressing - 5/5
Exactly what you usually expect from a Pallas pressing. Nice and heavy, even, flat, and perfectly center. Plus, came very clean right out of the package and no surface noise at all. A+ all around.

Mastering - 4/5
In isolation, this sounds really good. Great soundstage and nice, crisp dynamics. But, honestly, it pales in comparison to the original. I’m not an “original press is always best” kind of person, but the difference between the two is significant. Maybe it’s just that Bernie was given a different source. This sounds great, but the original is demo-worthy.

Packaging - 4/5
Nice to have the original art but outside of that, nothing super special. Came in a poly lined sleeve which is a plus.

Overall - 4/5
Solid copies of the original press are still affordable, so I’d say go with that one. But, if you prefer new, or want the original artwork, this one is solid. I own both, because I love this album and my original press has a persistent skip in one spot, so this is my “playing” copy and that one is my “special occasion” copy.

Just like my pressing of SFTD this pressing is phenomenal. Excellent sound for an excellent record. If you see it grab it

Sounds fantastic. Very strong low-end, and it's a flat and silent slab of wax. Cheap too

I must respectfully disagree with everyone who thinks this sounds good. This sounds terrible. It is dark, dull, lifeless, obviously compressed, and boring. I did a shoot out between this and the 2014 "Rated X" version, and that red one is better by a landslide. The 2014 version is rich, lively, and very full sounding. This is quite unusual because I was expecting this Bernie Grundman-cut copy to be better. I wonder if he had subpar sources to cut from. Avoid this version; you're actually better off with the CD! But pick up the red one for the best possible sounding copy of this great album.