Anberlin Band • Page 206

I wish they would press Devotion to vinyl. I've asked Nate about this before.

 

I don't think I'm familiar with this third artwork!

 

I think I've listened to the bonus Devotion tracks like 3 times max. None of them really do much for me. Vital is easily the better version in my opinion.

 

Was just going to say the same thing. Devotion is so good, the extra tracks just put it over the top

I'd take a pressing of the acoustic live album too

 

this is how i have my copy in Apple Music. it's not on the digital version (only physical copies), but i somehow found a high-ish quality digital version of the artwork 10 years ago when they announced the reissue.

one of the artists on the remix album, Resist Temptation, also briefly had a remix of City Electric up for download on their SoundCloud, so i added it to the end of disc 2 as a bonus track.

 

Oh that's fantastic!

 

i'll go digging on my hard drive later to find the artwork if anyone wants a good copy. got a Zoom meeting in a few minutes.

 

need a 180g 2xLP for this one (hell, even a 3xLP pressed at 45rpm would be badass).

 

I hate how they pressed Vital to 2 10"s. I still own it, but its just not the same

 

i'm just glad i got my hands on Help Yourself a couple years ago. the 12" there sounds fantastic. but i agree they should've taken the chance to give it a 12" pressing back in the day, especially since Vega runs almost 52 minutes and is being pressed on a single LP. bare minimum, a 2xLP with a blank side would've been better.

 

here's what i have for the deluxe Devotion artwork. it either came from Amazon, Facebook, or their website, i don't remember which.

 

Devotion is an insane accomplishment, but I'd probably put City Electric, Dead American, and Said Too Much below any of the standard Vital songs, so I typically listen to Vital more.

Safe Here is probably the best Anberlin b-side that isn't The Haunting though. IJSW is up there too.

 

Vital>>>>>>>>>Devotion

And I like most of the Devotion tracks. But Vital is such a solid album. Adding to it just doesn’t measure up to it.

 

Said Too Much and IJSW are top tier bonus tracks for me. i'd also say Dead American as well, although it is a bit repetitive.

All We Have and I'd Like to Die are also incredibly strong B-sides.

 

This is probably how I'd rank the b-sides:

S tier:
The Haunting
Safe Here
Heavier Things Remain

A tier:
Uncanny
Hell or High Water
I'd Like to Die
IJSW
Unstable

B tier:
New Fast Automatic
All We Have
No Love to Speak
Downtown Song
Dead American

C tier:
Said Too Much
City Electric
A Perfect Tourniquet

D tier:
Said and Done

 

The live from Williamsburg version of “I’d Like to Die” is total perfection.

 

I've always loved that they included that in the acoustic set. Whole live album is excellent.

 

I somehow missed that B-side when it came out so the acoustic version was my introduction

 

this is the version I listen to almost exclusively. the drums add so much

 

Oh shoot I need to listen to that new Leprous song

 

it's really good. my partner is a huge fan.

 

just went back and checked my copy of Devotion. despite being a premium package, there's soooooo much excess glue that barely holds the edges together, leaving residue on top of the discs. i'm lucky that the Live from Williamsburg DVD even plays, lol.

 

Come join us in the progressive metal thread sometime.

and to stay on topic, I really like Devotion, but feel like for a full album experience ,Vital really hits all the high points and feels really cohesive. Glad they both exist.

 

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the song was only previously released on the Hybrid VinylDisc (one side CD, the other vinyl) single with "We Owe This to Ourselves."

 

yeah, i really didn't like how the spread out the B-sides like that. glad i got my hands on a copy though.