Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar by Disasterpeace
Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar by Disasterpeace pressed on “Interstellar Splatter” vinyl by Yetee Records
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Prepare for light speed and blast off into the unknown this week with one of the greatest chiptune albums of all time. Pressed on “Interstellar Splatter” vinyl by Yetee Records comes an epic chiptune-prog-rock odyssey to the edge of the known universe and beyond. Disasterpeace's hit 2011 album Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar is finally on vinyl and sounds better than it ever has before. Join me as we trek through the stars and back!
Club Wolf
Richard Vreeland (Disasterpeace), is an American musician and composer. Over the years, Disasterpeace has built his name as one of the most iconic and legendary indie game composers of all time. Best known for his work on FEZ and Hyper Light Drifter, Disasterpeace is also a synonymous chiptune artist with credits ranging arrangements and covers for some of the industry's most illustrious indie titles. Beyond video games, Disasterpeace has also scored short films as well as full-length movies such as the award-winning It Follows, Under the Silver Lake, and most recently Triple Frontier. As one of my favorite composers of all time, it’s always a pleasure to listen to his music, and this album is among his greatest compositions to date!
Adrift
A galaxy of bits erupts as you drop your needle into this solar system of grooves. Quasar notes rip from channel to channel as a thunderous bass ripples through the cosmos of your eardrums and dissipate through the black holes of your consciousness — leaving you in the wake of a cosmic cavalcade of tones. Like an event horizon, your needle becomes the very ship that travels through to Disasterpece’s death spiral story of notes to the center runout groove. The journey that this album takes me on is among one of the best I have ever had with a non-video-game album and I can’t believe it is finally on vinyl. Chiptune albums have a special place in my heart because their so grounded in video-game nostalgia and culture that I can’t help but immerse myself in them from time to time, and Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar has always been regarded as a classic in my eyes! There’s no doubt that this album will deliver one of the greatest chiptune experiences you’ll ever have on vinyl, and that has a lot to do with Disasterpeace’s incredible talent as a musician, and his vision for delivering a story through music that is unparalleled. Disasterpeace is a God of chiptune and this vinyl is the manifestation of his universe of sound.
The New Formation
The Yetee has done this album some true justice! Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar was way ahead of its time when it was originally released in 2011, and I feel it has finally found its home on vinyl. The transparent magenta red with “Interstellar Splatter” of black and white truly emulate the sounds that cascade off of this album, and is one of the best-colored vinyl that Yetee Records has produced to date! The metallic reflective silver jacket designed by Drew Wise is absolutely stunning and reminds me so much of the FTL releases from iam8bit! This album has some serious production value and that has a lot to do with the amount of care and love that everyone involved with Yetee Records pours into each and every one of their releases. As an alternative design to the originally released artwork for Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar, I have to say I am happy they went with new artwork for the vinyl release. While the original artwork by GP Lackey holds a special place in all of our collective hearts that fell in love with this album back in 2011 — What Drew has achieved here is pure artistic brilliance that made me fall in love with the mystery that this album holds all over again!
Ensis
The pressing quality is top-notch as always for a Yetee Records release, with mastering being carried out by resident audio engineer Marc Junker (R23X). Every time I get to spend time with an album that Marc has mastered I can’t help but smile. There are some truly epic stereo sequences on this album that had me completely floored when I heard the music pan across my speakers and headphones during my listening session with this album! The sheer brilliance that he has achieved in making this album sound better than it ever has to my ears is a testament to the work he puts into every project he is a part of. As the 2019 Mastering Engineer of the Year, Marc has proven his track record time and time again, and this album is no exception to his brilliance in audio vision! The sequencing on this album is pretty unique, considering the final song on side A is continued on side B, which was nerve-wracking when viewing the tracklist, but in playback, it’s executed quite well.
Submerciful
One of my favorite things about Yetee Records’ vinyl releases is their inclusion of digital albums with their physical media purchases. However, the downside here for me is that the digital copies are in MP3 instead of lossless. I know that server issues or licensing could be a factor here, but it’s a bit jarring as a consumer getting some releases with a much preferred Bandcamp code inside the sleeve, and one with a locked-in media format that might not be preferred by everyone in the next.
Constellations
Overall, I am extremely happy with this release, and cannot recommend this album highly enough. As one of the best chiptune albums ever made, Yetee Records’ release Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar goes above and beyond in delivering a truly amazing experience for the listener. From the artwork, the mastering, and the included digital album and amazing Disasterpeace sticker, what you are left with is one of the most complete and well put together releases from this Aurora-based label to date!
This week, the annual Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) event is currently live! This amazing event helps support the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and is the largest gaming charity event in the world. If you want to show your support for this amazing cause head on over to the ADGQ website and donate to help crush last year’s fundraising goal! As an amazing added bonus, The Yetee is currently selling some limited time merch that helps directly support this wonderful event they are sponsoring. Included in this lineup of limited merch are amazing gaming shirts, pins, patches, and designs exclusive to this event. There are even a couple of items designed by Marc Junker & Drew Wise that are definitely worth checking out. Don’t miss out on the chance to help support a great cause!
Album Details
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Where to buy?
This album is still readily available from Yetee Records. Limited to 500 copies it’s hard to say how many are actually still available to purchase. The album has sold out on Disasterpeace’s Bandcamp page, and I can’t imagine it lasting much longer over at The Yetee. If you are a big fan of chiptune music or Disasterpeace’s incredible music you owe it to yourself to pick up this amazing piece of music history today!