Sacred Warrior - Obsessions

So I snagged the remastered version that recently came out. With few exceptions I rarely hear much of a difference with all of these remastered classics. This one is much the same. I hear a slight improvement. I’m sure audiophiles hear a big difference, but I don’t have the ear for it.

Anyway, the point of this thread is to remember just how awesome this album is. I loved this back in the day when it came out and I still love it today. It’s my favorite SW album. Buying the remastered version has had me playing this one again for the first time in a long time. I need to pull this out more often in the future.

“Wings of a Dream” is probably my favorite track, but the main riff in “Kamikaze” (which starts the song) is also really good. I usually get hooks/choruses stuck in my head but that riff has been in my head today for a while. The lyrics on this album, too, are terrific. “Remember Me” is probably my favorite lyric on the album.

An all-time classic to be sure!

You know, I am a huge fan of Sacred Warrior. But somehow, I am not into this album. I don't even own it.

Maybe I should listen to this remastered version, but the fact is that I simply can't see eye to eye with most SW fans.

It's a good album but MC and the first one are my faves.

Black Rider wrote:It's a good album but MC and the first one are my faves.

I love those 2...

Waiting in darkness is my 3rd favorite.

Thiago-Brazil wrote:

Black Rider wrote:It's a good album but MC and the first one are my faves.

I love those 2...

Waiting in darkness is my 3rd favorite.

I first got MC when it came out and it’s always been my favorite... then I got Rebellion and was hooked on this band...I would say Obsessions is up there with those first 2. Waiting in Darkness was a very strong comeback album.

Excellent album!  First stuff I heard from them was the title track to this album.

It's their 2nd best album IMHO.

Obsessions is 2nd on my list behind Wicked Generation (seems to be a minority opinion). I remixed the bass on my own copies of those two but if someday I had a lot of excess money I'd buy these for the improved packaging. I'd really appreciate that and I'm sure a professional remaster would be more clear across the board. I just can't justify remasters when I've got a million new albums that I could be buying.

Follower of Jesus wrote:So I snagged the remastered version that recently came out. With few exceptions I rarely hear much of a difference with all of these remastered classics. This one is much the same. I hear a slight improvement. I’m sure audiophiles hear a big difference, but I don’t have the ear for it. 

Yeah, I usually don't hear too much of a difference with any remaster unless the original was just really that bad.

That being said, at least by being re-released it is easier for folks to get a new, legitimate, copy of it.

Obsessions is my favorite SW album....just fantastic all the way through.

Bought4Life wrote:

Follower of Jesus wrote:So I snagged the remastered version that recently came out. With few exceptions I rarely hear much of a difference with all of these remastered classics. This one is much the same. I hear a slight improvement. I’m sure audiophiles hear a big difference, but I don’t have the ear for it. 

Yeah, I usually don't hear too much of a difference with any remaster unless the original was just really that bad.

That being said, at least by being re-released it is easier for folks to get a new, legitimate, copy of it.

Amen to that. For a guy that sold alot of his CD's back in the day I cant afford to buy orginals anymore of alot of them due to collectors pricing. Re-issues have saved my butt, wallet and my marriage

Of the 5 Sacred Warrior albums, Obsessions is their most consistent and best one for song writing. The production of the original is not the best and I bought the new remasters for Rebellion, Wicked Generation and Obsessions which I haven't had a chance to listen to yet. The best sounding/produced album is Master's Command. I have the original to this and the other 3 albums and the 2017 Roxx remaster for Master's Command.

I will agree about Rebellion. Even I heard a big difference between the original and the remastered version from 2017. That would be my second favorite SW album.

mothy wrote:

Bought4Life wrote:

Follower of Jesus wrote:So I snagged the remastered version that recently came out. With few exceptions I rarely hear much of a difference with all of these remastered classics. This one is much the same. I hear a slight improvement. I’m sure audiophiles hear a big difference, but I don’t have the ear for it. 

Yeah, I usually don't hear too much of a difference with any remaster unless the original was just really that bad.

That being said, at least by being re-released it is easier for folks to get a new, legitimate, copy of it.

Amen to that. For a guy that sold alot of his CD's back in the day I cant afford to buy orginals anymore of alot of them due to collectors pricing. Re-issues have saved my butt, wallet and my marriage

I also sold off my entire Christian metal cd collection at one time....and then had to rebuild.

It sucked, because even the originals that I was able to replace with originals, I had to settle for someone else's used cds instead of the ones I had bought new when they first came out.

I have also replaced a lot of them by getting the reissue, though.

Still kick myself in the rear for selling off my music collection. I did it in 2 stages...first all the Christian cds, then all the secular cds. I have never replaced the secular ones.

I had so many great hair metal releases, secular and Christian, that I had bought new when they first came out.

Follower of Jesus wrote:So I snagged the remastered version that recently came out. With few exceptions I rarely hear much of a difference with all of these remastered classics. This one is much the same. I hear a slight improvement. I’m sure audiophiles hear a big difference, but I don’t have the ear for it.
 

My old ears NEVER hear a difference. Guess I've been exposed to too much loud noises over the years: Target practice, Loud cars, Loud bikes, 100's of concerts, my wife, etc., all without ear protection have taken it's toll.

Sorry, I just don't excited about the plethora and majority of releases in the past five years in the Christian Music Realm being re-issues.

I love all of Masters Command and select tracks from the other 3 SW records all of which had various skippable songs. I had Obessions on cassette, bought the new remastered CD out of nostalgia, it all sounds the same to me. Got Waiting in Darkness but the songs never stuck with me. Zero hooks. The vocals seemed all forced into the metal as opposed to a cohesive vision for each song.

I see what you mean.  Most of my music purchases over the last several  years fall into three categories:

1. Death/black metal.
2. New music by legacy bands (Fear Not, Michael Sweet, etc.).
3. Reissues, mostly to replace worn-out cassettes.

It's good that so many classics are being reissued lately (have fun finding an original Fear Not or Detritus CD at a reasonable price), but it does feel like the market is saturated.  Many of the re-issues I DO pass on if I have the original.

So are the latest Sacred Warrior remasters a big improvement?
I heard the 2017 Roxx remaster of "Master's Command" and thought it sounded brittle, worse than the original even.

Wait, they're being remastered and re-released again? 

[/quote]
My old ears NEVER hear a difference. Guess I've been exposed to too much loud noises over the years: Target practice, Loud cars, Loud bikes, 100's of concerts, my wife, etc., all without ear protection have taken it's toll.

Sorry, I just don't excited about the plethora and majority of releases in the past five years in the Christian Music Realm being re-issues.[/quote]

I love everything SW. My first listen was on cassette. I was so enthralled with what I heard that I did not notice the tape hiss. I'm all about content and not remastering sound into perfection. Raw adds to the ambiance. Yes, I just QUOTED myself

I like Obsessions quite a bit. It’s probably my favorite of theirs. Something in the production has always bothered me though. I think I just wish they had had a huge budget to really get everything sounding great.

SevenWonders wrote:I like Obsessions quite a bit. It’s probably my favorite of theirs. Something in the production has always bothered me though. I think I just wish they had had a huge budget to really get everything sounding great.

Completely agree with all of that.  Fantastic album (my favorite), really needed a better production.