New Metallica Album

[RAP1D]

So whats the deal then? Is it mastered like that? I thought it was just my sketchy torrent copy... there is something digitally encoded as the EQ on itunes doesn't work

[Trough Lolly]

I like old metallica as most metallica fans do, their "st anger" days were going to be the death of them, glad to see their going back to old roots as such, but FMD lay off the symbols a bit!

6/10.

[adzza17]

f*ckin awesome

has a similar sound to the black album

Love it

[Full Monty]

f*ckin awesome

has a similar sound to the black album

Love it

It most f*cken definately doesnt sound anything like the black album. That is one of the best recordings / production still to this day.

Death Magnetic has an issue with the mix, where the whole recording is compressed with limiters, constant clipping and audible distortion of the drums.

Its believed the problem is in the final mix, which Fidelman and Rubin are responsible. Tons of articles on the sh*tty sound issue already, Rolling stone, wired, various music production / mixing engineers have commented on it.

Its a real shame...I love the album, but its the worst sounding album I own, out of around 300.

go to metallicabb.com to read more about it, the forum is overflowing with upset fans.

If you want to hear how it was meant to sound, look for the Guitar Hero flac file rips on various torrent sites, it is how the album is supposed to sound, mixing etc much better, and it doesnt suffer the extreme compression / over loudness, so it breathes allot better.

There are reports that not all the release batches were produced from the same master disc, but the 1st and 2nd batches here in Aus are affected (I bought both, in the hope that they had fixed it).

Edited 24/09/08 11:19 PM by Full Monty

[senna_T]

Woudl the band themselves have any idea of how it sounds? Do you think they would've approved it if it sounded so bad and they knew it? Or do they just lay down the tracks and then leave it up to rubin to do whatever?

[RAP1D]

Lars would be all over every part of making the album... but they would all be fairly deaf by now.

I've found an analog copy, sounds alot better, but still compressed.

[Full Monty]

Woudl the band themselves have any idea of how it sounds? Do you think they would've approved it if it sounded so bad and they knew it? Or do they just lay down the tracks and then leave it up to rubin to do whatever?

Its reported that they trusted Fidelman and Rubin with the final mix, as they were in europe touring at the time, and they approved it over the phone.

wtf!

Rubin hasn't produced a good sounding album in well over a decade! I honestly think his beard has overgrown his ears!

He does get good performances out of the artists, but the mixing etc always sounds terrible, and I think Fidelman is to blame, ever since he started working with him, his productions have been way over compressed / limited, with audible distortion and clipping. (system of a down Hypnotise& mesmerise, Slayer - illusions of christ, RHCP californication and stadium arcadium etc etc.

[Full Monty]

Ohh and its well known that James and Lars have acute tinitus, so they cant hear for sh*t. Im guessing the louder the better for them.

It sounds ok in a basic car system (crappy factory fitted), but awful on headphones or a decent home system.

Edited 24/09/08 11:28 PM by Full Monty

[senna_T]

Hmmm, I was thinking about getting this album - not sure if I should now though...

[R-SPEC]

I'm a massive, massive fan of the RHCP and have closely followed the mix and production of the albums they've put out since Mother's Milk, and I can honestly say Rick pulls chops out of people they never knew they had, and he keeps it simple which is very very effective, and is what makes most bands popular. Some of the best songs ever written are 4 farkin chords. But I don't think Rick wouldn't have a hell of a lot to do with the sound control of an album though.

As for not having a decent sounding album for 10 years, all I can say is you don't get a band like U2, or any one of the others in the huge list of big name bands he's produced in his career, wanting him to work on their albums if he's not one of the best in the business!

Out of all the songs I've listened to that Rick has produced, I've never heard a Beastie Boys, Peppers, Linkin Park, Johnny Cash, SOaD, AC/DC, Audioslave, Rage, Slayer track that sounded badly mixed?

The sound comes undone when you have a little cock stain like Lars in your ear telling you what to do. But bare in mind, a lot of people judge sound quality from torrents they download, which are ripped from CDs and sound farkin crap to begin with!