Sound disaster instead Kunstgenuss

Musically, the CD would have a lot to offer. In addition to the expected highlights like "Video Games", "Born To Die" and "Blue Jeans" there is a solid mixture of quite good and very good songs that tap into some only after repeated listening. With bonds of different styles it is possible to create a wonderful, emotional and own world. The spectrum ranges from dark ballads about independently and skillfully used hip-hop elements to pop songs with girlie-like Quiecksern, the preferences will likely vary for each listener to taste.

However, it is difficult to penetrate under the sound disaster for musical quality. Unfortunately, the production was a victim of the so-called "Loudness War". In counterproductive delusion, everything (to put it simply, to a consistently high volume) to maximum loudness to trim the pieces was the important musical element taken momentum. To achieve this goal actually unnatural, the production was (not to be confused with data compression in MP3) completely driven by excessive compression of the audio level on the wall and thereby sounds monotonous, boring and at the same time but also nerve-wracking.

One consequence are also significant distortions spread over the entire CD repeatedly be heard. It is not at all nitpicking or audiophile esotericism. You do not need golden ears and not particularly high-quality facility to listen to these serious problems. Even while driving disturb the distortion significantly. Examples: entitled "Video Games", at 2:46 min the word "ever" or at 3:24 min "Everything I do ...". That runs through almost all titles. It is incomprehensible how the listeners expect the kind. The record industry is ashamed of nothing! The sole objective of this audio vandalism there, on all occasions (radio, supermarket, ...) is possible to be louder than the competition. The miserable resulting audio quality will be consciously accepted.

Presumably, many of the following features that are mentioned in some reviews, due to the extremely reduced dynamics:

- Boring, monotonous, lifeless; everything sounds the same
- Exhausting listening experience, to desire instantaneously (often leads to involuntary decrease the listening volume)
- Musty sound like through a felt mat

I would venture the thesis, no, I'm even sure that the decline of CD sales is also due to these bad productions. As an avid CD collector I place in any event at myself that I buy fewer CDs because I can not stand this poor quality. Also, I am firmly convinced that even listeners, which the above relationships are not known, intuitively buy less music because it does not pay for this sound. Love board industry, the Loudness War there are only losers, namely the listeners, the artists and especially the record industry itself! Please end this nonsense!

Here in any case the opportunity was lost to an outstanding album. The wonderful music was destroyed by the production. I envy anyone who can live with it. But to me the pleasure of the CD is denied, it is not listenable for me. Lack of dynamism and constant distortions make the disc a torment, so I make the CD definitely back end.

Five stars for the music, zero stars for audio quality makes an average of 2.5 stars, but the audio quality leads to the devaluation.

Loudness War kills music!