Good news for Dismember fans who missed the "Historia Mortis" boxset or just wanted to get the "Misanthropic" EP on vinyl, separate from the boxset. Now, thanks to a collaboration between Black Sleeves and BlackSeed Productions, this great 5-song EP is finally available separately on black and electric blue vinyl. Of course, mine is the black vinyl, and like the Nuclear Blast version, which was transparent blue, it spins at 45 rpm. If I compare the two sonically, I only notice that the Nuclear Blast version is a few decibels louder, but they are about the same, because both use the version remastered on vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony. We all know that this EP was the precursor to the fantastic "Death Metal" LP, which also marked a return to a heavier, more distorted guitar sound. The five songs are "Misanthropic", "Pagan Saviour" (Autopsy cover), "Shadowlands", "Afterimage" and "Shapeshifter". This current reissue includes an insert with the lyrics on one side and a live photo and credits on the other, while the Nuclear Blast version comes without the insert, instead featuring the lyrics and credits on the back cover. The lyrics of the song "Misanthropic" have been corrected and now include the line "restrained in moral chains", which somehow ended up as the last line of the lyrics of "Shapeshifter" on the CD version, but unfortunately on recent vinyl reissues this line is still there in the lyrics of "Shapeshifter", too bad if you ask me. Oh, and while the first press CD version included the lyrics to the Autopsy cover, the new reissues omit them, but that's no big deal at all. However, there's another, I think much bigger problem with these latest vinyl reissues, which occurs during the "Afterimage" solo. Namely, an audible defect, such as a slight shift or odd jump, if you like, that may have occurred during or as a result of the remastering process. I checked the CD version, there is no such audible error. Well, apart from that, it's a pretty good sounding and looking reissue. Now it's your turn to decide whether or not to invest!!!

I have bought all the formats of the latest "Tapping the Vein" reissues and I have to say that the deluxe bookpack version is the best of all, and of course it contains most of the music and visuals. There are 3 vinyls pressed on palatinate purple and black swirl wax plus 2 CDs. I must admit right away that these vinyl records sound slightly better than the transparent red ones, perhaps because of the alloy combination mentioned above. The first vinyl features a remastered version of the original "Tapping the Vein" album by Eroc. This album was always aggressive and brutal in terms of production, but now it's even more massive thanks to Eroc. The second vinyl contains the Redux version of the "Tapping the Vein" recordings, which means that the raw studio tracks were mixed by none other than the axeman himself, Andy Brings, to give a different feel to this killer record. Then there's the third vinyl, entitled "The Final Witchhunt: Live in Cologne, December 28th, 1992", which contains Chris Witchhunter's last performance with the band. The setlist is pretty awesome, so I'll put the song titles here: "Sodomy & Lust", "An Eye for an Eye", "Agent Orange", "Skinned Alive", "Better Off Dead", "Ausgebombt", "One Step over the Line", "The Crippler", "Bullet in the Head", "Wachturm" and "Bombenhagel". This live concert sounds pretty good, but the performance was chaotic. The first CD contains 12 songs from "Live in Tokyo 1992" and 3 bonus alternative remixes from the Redux version, namely "Body Parts", "Wachturm" and "Reincarnation". The Tokyo show sounds fantastic and is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The second CD contains 10 songs from "Live in Düsseldorf 1992", with a playing time of 45 minutes. The setlist for this live show is also great and looks like this: "Sodomy & Lust", "An Eye for an Eye", "Skinned Alive", "One Step over the Line", "Exhibition Bout", "Ausgebombt", "Remember the Fallen", "The Saw Is the Law", "Wachturm" and "Bombenhagel". The live sound is something between the other two live shows, but definitely enjoyable. Now about the visual content. The 24-page, deluxe hard bound book edition contains extensive liner notes by Ronny Bittner, alternative artwork by Krasimir Talev, sketches, lots of great photos and memorabilia from the band's personal archive. Oh, and there are also 3 well-arranged vinyl inserts. The insert of the remastered version contains all the lyrics and photos of the members, almost as they appeared on the original first pressing of the vinyl. Well, this bookpack is a huge deal, and needless to say it should be in every Sodom fan's collection!!! So buy now or cry later!!!