Hey all, this is my first post! I've been lurking for a few days, and I'm very interested in being a part of this community.
I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile (partially because I can't afford to be one), but I like things that sound good.
I too received my Insurgentes order a couple of days ago, and I was blown away during my first listen. I've only heard the 5.1 version in its entirety, so that's the version I'll be talking about. Also, the book is beautiful. I don't know how much actual use it will get, but it is definitely a piece of well though and well produced art. The downside is that one really needs to like mutilated dolls and destroyed iPods. I wouldn't suggest looking at it directly before bed unless you enjoy disturbing dreams
The 1st track is as close to PT that we will see on this album, as it quickly diverts into many different things, but in a very cohesive way. Although the styles are different from track to track, they still very obviously belong together.
"get what you deserve" (track 9) is amazing; when the "total fu**ing noise" (that's actually in the credits as a instrument) comes in, it's very much like a tidal wave of sound about to crash over your head that only gets bigger (closer) as more noise is added until it's a full out assault (but in a good way). I really like how this track goes through the entire dynamic range from a very minimalist beginning with very little happening to utter chaos by the end. It's a mini-clinic in the use of dynamic range, something that a lot of musicians seem to have lost.
Although the musicians are all excellent throughout, don't expect to hear crazy musicianship in the form of technical chops; it simply isn't there but in a very few select places on the album. Everything is exceedingly tight, and every note is purposefully placed in its exact spot with the appropraite level of volume and tone, but don't expect crazy solos or a plethora of drum fills that defy the brain.
The preview of the film (about 18 or so minutes) makes me really want to see it, and I would hope that it is released on Blu-Ray so as to preserve the excellent sound as well as the video. Considering a major theme is the mourn for the loss of full fidelity artwork, I would expect it to be released in a format that preserves as much as possible, and DVD with a 5.1 DTS surround simply won't cut it.
One thing I find a bit perplexing, however, is SW's resistance to the download culture which is inherently lossy in terms of sound as well as it's disconnect from the artwork, yet he still sells MP3s of many of his albums. To his credit, most of those MP3s are also available as FLAC, and they do come with PDF files of the artwork as opposed to a simple icon, but . . .