Dread Central ~ View topic - Metallica

Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6478

I'm surprised there isn't a thread on this already. Hating on Metallica is fashionable these days.

Yeah St. Anger sucked but it was a step in the right direction at least. I think the band listened because Death Magnetic is truly a return to form for the band. It's no Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning or anything but it's easily the best thing they've done since And Justice For All.

So far I'm leaning towards the slower tracks as my favorite on the album in The Day That Never Comes and The Unforgiven III.

I've only listened to it once so far though.

Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 1463

Those guys are dead to me. You hear that? DEAD!
It all started with the Black album. Then it got worse. And worse. Until finally I gave up on them. Back in the 80's they were GODS. They could do no wrong. I bought everything they did. Garage Days, Crash Course, and then, the mother load. I found their cover of Stone Cold Crazy on cassette in a pawn shop for 50 cents. I was looking for that thing for what seemed like an eternity. No internet back then as you remember. You wanted something, you had to go a huntin'. I long for the day when they start making good music again, but I know it will never happen. My theory is Burton was the silent mastermind (master of the puppets, if you will) behind all the great songs they had. That or all four of them just "clicked" and fed off of each other to produce the best metal of the decade. It's hard to see your heroes fall from grace (and in Lars' case become an enormous douchebag) and know that part of your life is truly over. I might check out some new stuff online, but the radio single does nothing for me. It's got the Metallica sound, but it feels empty. Like there should be a great song there, only it's just filler. Hard to explain. If they ever got back to their former glory, I would shed tears of joy. I think we all know that will never happen.
At least Dave Mustaine still rocks.

Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6478

Ha, right on schedule Frank. If the single is My Apocalypse then yeah I agree with you. It wants to be a great song but it's so damn short at just under 5 minutes that it's cut short before it even gets going. That's the last track on the album. I'm telling you there's some good stuff on here.

Hell St. Anger would have been a good album if not for the damn tinny drums. There's some good guitar and vocal work on there but it's unlistenable to me because of the drums it's like someone shooting a nail gun into my head.

Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 477 Location: Australia

Funny thing is Lars has gone from the paint tin drum sound of 'St. Anger' to his snare on this record sounding like it's been stuffed with newspaper.

I'm still on the fence about the album. There's some mighty riffing and great parts of songs, but nothing comes off as particularly iconic to me.

There's no song on here I can imagine people screaming for them to play live.

Rick Rubin is a figure-head. He shows up every few weeks, listens to what's been done, gives a big speech then buzzes off again. How Metallica ever let him have sole producing credit is beyond me.

Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6478

Well I've been listening to it all day non-stop and I think it's awesome. Yes, Awesome. Metallica is back. Just wait for the next album.

Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 529 Location: Chicago, Illinois

Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6478

I won't be going to see them. Their ticket prices are outrageous.

This album gives my sub a good workout. That's a nice change.

Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6478

Metal album of the year no doubt. I'm not just saying that just because either. Seriously I think it's that good.

Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 477 Location: Australia

I've just been listening to the FLAC lossless rips of the album from 'Guitar Hero 3' and the difference between it and that clipped, distorted atrocity of a CD is staggering.

So sayeth http://www.metalsucks.net/?p=7485: 'Metallica made its new album available for play on Guitar Hero the same day as the commercial album’s release. Because of the game’s development time, Neversoft, GH’s creators, were given tapes that preceded the final mix. Put simply, they have a second mix of the album.

This is a stunning surprise, one that will in all likelihood save this album. The GH mix contains none of the heavy compression of the CD or LP versions. None of the squashing, none of the squeezing of the sounds. None of the painful jabs into your ears. Dynamic range is present in the songs. Quiet moments in songs like Unforgiven III and The Day That Never Comes are quiet, and the loud parts are loud. This is a completely different album than the version the mixing engineer destroyed.'

The drums and guitars don't sound like they're being played on top of each other, there's virtually no distortion, and the bass is much fatter and more audible (Yay, bass!!).

On the (minimal) downside, reverb is virtually non-existent, which makes everything sound a bit too 'close' for my liking. But that's how it was recorded. Rick Rubin is known for recording albums without any type of effects.

And the lower mix volume in the FLAC format sounds just the slightest bit muffled. But I'll take a bit of muffling over 'kshhhhhhhh!!!' any day. And it's nothing a slight bit of EQ-ing can't fix.

Hopefully at some point the iPod will soon have FLAC compatibility. But until then I know which version of 'Death Magnetic' I'll be listening to.

For more info on this disgrace check this out: http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-stop-loudness.html

Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6478

I need to get this for Guitar Hero. I was wondering how it would sound.

Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 477 Location: Australia

Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 477 Location: Australia

I've actually just read that James supposedly phoned someone while overseas as the mix was being done without them.

Every day this story just gets more convoluted.

Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6478

Interesting article. It definitely doesn't sound as clean as say Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets and their other earlier albums which is one thing I always appreciated about Metallica's music. Still though I'll take this album over anything they've done since And Justice For All distortion and all.

Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 477 Location: Australia

Dude, just torrent the GH3 rips of the album and prepared to be blown away by how much better it sounds.

I almost wish I'd kept the receipt for the CD so I could return it and get a refund.

What they allowed to be released is a fucking disgrace.

Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6478

Can't I just download the tracks into the game and get the same result? That way I don't have to do anything illegal. Wink

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