Thanatopsis "Requiem"

[Travis]

Track Titles:

1. Introit
2. La Calavera Catrina
3. Resurrection
4. Veneration
5. Hypnos and Thanatos
6. Offering
7. Critical Mass

[MuldeR]

All pre-order have now shipped as of today.

That's great!

Now the long waiting starts for me

[LeviSnuts]

I got mine!!! Cannot wait to listen!!!

[Khaneda]

Also just came home to mine, won't get a chance for a proper listen until Monday.
Excited.

Travis - thank you so much for personalizing the cd.
Engraving into the packaging by cutting out your message/signature is an awesome touch.
As always your professionalism and courtesy to your fans is exemplary.
Bravo!

Now to make the time to listen to the album   

[badgerbot]

Excellent work, Travis.  An absolute gem.

[Travis]

Thanks guys. Glad to see they're finally arriving.

[Gackt]

Got my copy yesterday, it's definitely one of my favorite albums this year thanks for putting this project together Travis

[sportee]

Got mine yesterday . I don't know what I was expecting from a odds and ends CD but I wasn't expecting one of the best Thanatopsis CD's and that what this is. I don't understand how this could have been left behind. Travis you must have been shocked when you first discovered it.
Also this is one of the best sounding Thanatopsis records. I love the up front bass and in your face sound, it's different than the first three. Also the two tracks with the extending stripped down jams, that's different. Really great production. The more I listen the more cool stuff I hear. I would love to know more about how this came to be. Thanks for making it happen.

[Travis]

Khaneda,

I learned something about glossy CD covers....there is no kind of ink that will stick to them. I tried the good old sharpie but my name just beaded up and ran off the CD. In desperation I grabbed a razor blade and scratched my sig into the cover. Fortunately I thought it looked cool but was a little concerned that somebody would think I totally trashed their CD so thanks for the feedback.

Sportee,

Thanks for the kind words. When I first listened to the tracks that became this CD I thought hey there is some cool stuff left behind and then I thought, how in the F am I going to make anything out of the crumbs from under the sofa cushion I just lifted up. Really, there wasn't much there. There were just the outlines of things with one or two passes from Ramy and Buckethead and sometimes not even that. Some of it is just made from whole cloth. It became a "fun" challenge. I had fun recording new keys. I didn't have my Yamaha concert grand back then so I rerecorded a lot of piano and added a lot and really love the sound of it. I worked for a month everyday recording new keys editing and swearing a lot but I just kept after it. Before on the Thanatopsis CDs I did as little bass keys as I could and left it low in the mix. I just wanted to fill in the bottom but not do anything that stood out too much. This time I used my Prophet and I really spent some time crafting the bass and I really enjoyed it so I mixed it up. Anyway I probably have said too much, it is what it is and it really doesn't matter how it got that way, only to me.

Gackt,

Thanks, I really appreciate the feedback and kind words.

My whole incentive for doing it was to see if I could raise the capitol to keep the Thanatopsis catalog alive. It looks like there is so little interest in CD's now I will be lucky if I can recoup the pressing costs of this CD. However, I really did enjoy the process and I did call it Requiem for a reason. But I'm glad to hear your positive feedback and give me some hope the word will get around and maybe I can pull off one or two of the things I had hoped to eventually. So spread the word.

[DroidHunter13]

And, as always from Travis Dickerson, no disappointment whatsoever. I absolutely LOVE this album...I've had it on repeat in my car all day and all night! I'm still trying to decide which is my favorite. La Calavera Catrinaand Resurrection are my current favorites. Thank you once again for making these available!

You should check old hard drives more often 

[10bot2]

I'm a long time lurker here and at the .TK. I just registered because I feel strongly about this. I have been buying music from you for years. I noticed there is a lot of talk about shipping on the forums. I'm in Canada and ordered Requiem. It cost $30 for the CD and shipping. I just want to say, it was worth every penny. It's an excellent CD. I'm loving it. Like you said above if it was offered on ebay as a rare item, for $30 I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. It's lucky it's available at all. I'm happy to support your music in any way I can. I have purchased multiple CDs at a time and every time Travis has added extra CD's stickers and other goodies that have more than made up for the shipping.
I truly hope you don't get discouraged and continue to release music. Many of use are very grateful your here.

[Slaw_Slinger]

Thanks Travis!!!  I just recieved and can't wait to listen~

[MuldeR]

Thanks Travis!!!  I just recieved and can't wait to listen~

Got mine today too. That was fast! Listening

[Travis]

The download of Requiem is now available here:

https://tdrsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/requiem

at Bandcamp and full CD preview as well. It's been submitted to iTunes as well and will take a few days to see it there.

I waited a bit because I wanted The CD buyers to have an exclusive listen and hope to improve CD sales.

My hand was forced bit and I'm not surprised but within two days of shipping the CD a Google search of "Thanatopsis Requiem" yields pages of free high quality torrent downloads and someone posted it to Youtube. Kind of amazing since fewer than 100 people have purchased the CD. This all goes to reinforce the fact that there is no demand for CD's. Obviously the music is in demand or it wouldn't be available on hundreds of sites world wide. As a small label thats really a problem, absolutely no way to create revenue with music. So, it looks like the plan to continue the physical catalog is probably not going to work out.

I am happy that it was received well and I really did enjoy making it. Also, I want to thank those that did buy the CD. I have known a lot of you for years. I know you didn't need to buy it but did anyway as a show of support as you always have and as I always have, I appreciate it.

There is still catalog here. I'm going to try to address the international shipping costs issue. Probably by shipping jewel case CD's internationally with disc and art only. And try to use shipping containers that will qualify as first class letters not packages.   I hope to make the cost of international shipping less of a problem. I'll still researching but I'll start another post for that subject.

I've said this before but it's even more true now. If your a collector of CDs and you don't have a copy of one of our catalog CDs this is the time to get them. First to go will be the first Thanatopsis CD. Then Dragons of Eden. Almost all the Bucketheadland CDs here are almost gone, with Inbred Mt. and Albino Slug being the first to go.

I imagine from here out it will be all download only as it is for most other labels. There were more downloads sold that CDs last year for the first time. There are new copyrights laws being worked on in congress right now. Also there is now new pressure for the big internet services providers to police what they allow to be downloaded in terms of copyrighted material. There are some new laws just going into effect that will help artists who got screwed out of their copyrights in the past by labels and publishers.

There does seem to be a bit of a tipping point being reached and so I'm not completely discouraged and have some hope that the complete destruction of the music market is a temporary result of the revolution to all things digital in the 21st century.

[piikea]

You've possibly addressed this before elsewhere but is there any particular reason Thanatopsis may not continue? (You think it's run it's course? Buckethead otherwise occupied?, etc.)