Description
OUT NOW! Nameless Grave Records is proud to announce our second reissue of a
classic Twisted Tower Dire album, once again with a cool variation from the
original version: The Isle of Hydra with an alternate mix from the original
sessions and a brand new master, with the CD version being mastered by Andrew
Lee and the vinyl version by Dan Lowndes!
This version is for the LP limited to 500 copies with a cool poster sized
foldout insert including liner notes, lyrics, and a variety of never-before-
seen pictures from the era of the band that the album came out. First 100
copies come with a free patch!
Though they formed in the mid-1990s during an absence of heavy metal, by 2001
Twisted Tower Dire was starting to come into the peak of their popularity.
They’d played Wacken in Germany for the first time, had a fairly good reception
for their debut album two years earlier, and were ready to knuckle down to
record a second album that was written collaboratively as a full band for the
first time. They had an excellent experience with Kevin “131” Gutierrez at
Assembly Line Studios and The Isle of Hydra came into being: sleek, catchy, and
a perfect intersection of the band’s early years as an epic Candlemass inspired
band and the power metal juggernaut that they’d become.
This alternate mix comes from an earlier session than the one we all know and
love, and when it was unearthed by the band it became immediately clear that it
merited a release. Powerful bass playing, in particular, is much more prominent
than in the original 2001 masterpiece, showcasing Jim Murad’s final recordings
in a way that the OG never did and giving a much larger nod to the epic
leanings of the band’s formative years. Capped off with the glorious new
masters, this version will equally satisfy new fans using this as an
introduction to the band and old fans ready to experience a favorite again.
Highly recommended for fans of Visigoth, Pharaoh, and Omen.
