Swans – The Seer

I had the CD after it came out but wanted the vinyl experience and I got this 2014 reissue soooo cheap ($25 + $5 on ebay), for a very beautiful physical packaging, good looking thick vinyl, flat records, great sound. Very pleased with it.
As far as vinyl versus CD, I see how people criticize all these split tracks. On To Be Kind it works well, but it works less well here. A song ends all climactic, then you have a quiet moment to flip it and it picks right back up. And the album ends with a whimper, not a bang, this way, but I have to imagine Gira's mindset: "People who buy records are serious audiophiles. I'm tracking and mixing this album so the record people are the happiest." No? Who knows. It is obvious he wanted Lunacy first and the long tracks all suffered for it, these half-hour works that can't play out by themselves once you start them. It's a caretaker album, that's for sure, but it marks a big page for the return of Swans so buy it cheap like me and you'll never be wrong.

Got this on sale recently for 10€. I have had an original pressing bought on release but sold it when I needed money. This one sounds fantastic - with beautiful detail and a ton of punch - much better than I’m used to with modern releases on vinyl - a major improvement over streaming it through K702s. It has some surface noise on Side A - apart from that it’s spotless. The alternate tracklisting bothers me on paper only because, somehow, it works almost just as well as the original one. The Apostate feels sort of weird pushed to the front of the tracklist but it works better than it should, immersing you from the start into the deepest pit this album’s to offer. The packaging is beautiful too. A steal for the 10€ I paid for it but 30€ would not be too much either for how good this release is. Also, this is their best album by a mile.

Picked this up at the recent gig in Brighton. Added bonus of getting it signed by Michael :)
It’s a great looking set and lovingly mastered.

All 3 discs are flat and centered with no noise or audible defects. They come in anti-static sleeves, and the jacket is a triple gatefold with a poster in the first section.

Sound is great in my opinion, sounds as good as the lossless files. Some don't like the new sequencing of the tracklist, but I don't mind it. I think the album is great either way - the title track actually makes a great closer.

Fluance RT80
AT-VM95ML
Schiit Mani 2
Edifier R1700BT

Let me start by saying this one of the best sounding records I own. The bass line on a piece of the sky will make you transcend. The mixing, dynamics, and clarity of the recording just come together to make something truly special. The triple gatefold looks fantastic, each disc comes in plastic sleeves, and even comes with a nice poster.

Now let's talk about the elephant in the room: the sequencing. There's a part of me that believes the seer was never going to work as a "vinyl listening" experience. 3 of these songs are over 19 minutes, meaning to get this on just 3 vinyls...changes were going to be necessary to get everything to fit. But it still leads to a very disted listen when you're immersed in a song only to have it abruptly stop. Godspeed managed to get sleep and storm on individual sides. So why not give a piece of the sky and apostate their own sides too?

Again I understand these were most likely limitations for making a great sounding product. But I can't help but think of how well To Be Kind turned out on vinyl. Sequencing never had to be touched and no tracks had to be cut to fit on another disk. Even the inevitable cut on bring the sun/ toussaint never felt out of place because of the nature of that song being broken into two parts.

It's still a great vinyl and recommended. Just not as a first time listen, start with the cd/streaming.

Not what I expected. Sounds great but I can't get on with it. There are moments on it that are great. Moments where I click with it but I can't get on with it so far. I expected it to be more extreme. Nearly half way through and it's good but it's not mind blowing. It's pretty good post rock. I think some of the tracks drag a bit but it's good. It's just not astonishing. Not for me at least. Maybe it's my own fault my own expectations for what it would be but I'm slightly disappointed with it as an album. Maybe one day I'll get it but for now. Not even half way through. I'm gonna listen to something else

Cover Art: 10/10
Sound Quality: 9.5/10
Packaging: 10/10 (trifold + poster)

Total: 10/10, Recommended Masterpiece.

I think there is another press of 2020 because of the engraving by MPO in my copies. All numbers start by 20.