Death Magnetic

[TheArchitect]

Originally Posted by G-Spot

HAHAHA
Warner Music made the YouTube video be removed... I wonder why...

This is lame. Metallica circa 1986 would have dealt with this. Actually this would have never happened. They turned into business men long ago. Anyone still following this band is just a human ATM for the band

[CarstenDaembkes]

Originally Posted by Sui_City

Looks like they missed a spot.

as serious and frustrating this is.. this comment just made my day!

[ilteraktif]

Okay, it is brickwall-ed like hell, but what about the presence?

Is everybody okay with the density around 2,5-7 kHz area?

I've heard once they were tracking it to analog tapes. It makes sense to me. Everything is over-saturated.

But why not to remove some mess from highs? Isn't that possible during mastering?

I also know how to brickwall stuff, but ear fatigue is something else.
At least my ears say that way.

[CDS]

A buddy played the Guitar Hero versions last night and we a/b the two..

The video game version sounds like a good 90's CD and the CD sounds like someone clicked the RMS power normalize button in Sound Forge..

Night and Day difference in width, dynamics and natural sound.. The CD itself does sound like a rock concert standing directly in front of the speakers with the need of ear plugs.

[PoorGlory]

Is anyone else feeling the distortion on this record is not digital? More like just pushing everything WAY too hard through the console? It seems like there could have been a significant amount of intentional grit on the mix BEFORE it got slammed in a limiter, and the limiter just brought out the distortion like a vacuum sucking shit out of a carpet.

Just a though. Doesn't matter anyway. I want to see them play these tunes live. But never listen to the CD again.

[hourglass]

Originally Posted by PoorGlory

Is anyone else feeling the distortion on this record is not digital? More like just pushing everything WAY too hard through the console? It seems like there could have been a significant amount of intentional grit on the mix BEFORE it got slammed in a limiter, and the limiter just brought out the distortion like a vacuum sucking shit out of a carpet.

Just a though. Doesn't matter anyway. I want to see them play these tunes live. But never listen to the CD again.

FWIW, I listened to the Guitar Hero version last night & this morning. (Calm down, Lars, I already paid my money for a copy on CD.)

On the GH version there is digital clipping on some of the palm muted guitars. The constant "Hey, it sounds like my speakers are gonna blow any second and I only have the volume on 2" digital distortion of the retail CD is not evident.

Also, the headache that the retail CD gives me after about 45 seconds is nowhere to be found on the GH version. I'm glad of that fact, cuz I'm stoked that there are actual Metallica songs on a new Metallica album.

ryan

[Winey]

It sounds like converter clipping distortion to me. I've never heard a brickwall limiter distort quite like this.
It also sounds a little like clipping the output stage on the LinMB plugin.
I guess it could be distortion from driving the front end of the console. Weird technique for processing distorted guitars though.

My buddy who's a pro musician said he couldn't hear the distortion at all. Sounded fine to him.
Go figure.

[Masterer]

Originally Posted by MrBeasty

This silly Loudness war will be an excuse for the Labels to re-sell us the albums as alternate "quiet/de-Mastered" mixes in a couple of years.

What about the ones with distorted mixes? You think they'll sell 'em de-mixed?

[TheArchitect]

Originally Posted by Winey

It sounds like converter clipping distortion to me. I've never heard a brickwall limiter distort quite like this.

Well, nobody in their right mind would have ever cranked down a limiter this hard so it makes sense you've never heard it distort like that.

Its possible they OD'd the converters too. But, since most think the Guitar hero tracks are clean, its likely the tracks themselves are good. What they abused and misused on the 2 bus and later is open for speculation.

At this point, I am of the mind that this was NOT done for artistic purpose. Its no secret Lars can't shut up for 5 min. They would have been all over this pimping their new "direction". Whether it was the band, Rubin or the mix engineer pushing for loud we may never know. Rubin rarely makes any appearance anymore by most accounts and the Band was in Europe. I hope the mix engineer has skills as a plumber.

The fact that they have been silent on the topic and WB is busy getting the youtube vids showing the problem removed shows that they are in full "cover your ass" mode and hoping this just goes away.

[fradoca]

i've purchased a copy of Death Magnetic just out of curiosity..

i've listened on my home stereo system and on my reference
headphone gear and...the disc is insanely LOUD!!!!!!!!!
the sound of the drum is completely distorted there's no dynamic
no headroom and you can't stand listening for more than 5 minutes.
there was no need for them to go at sterling sound to master their
record....the fame and the quality that sterling usually gives to their
customers is something completely apart from this...
Rick Rubin and the band should be put on blame for this...
I mean the tunes are great but...
The funny thing is that year after year we have better converters,consoles,hardware
but the sonic quality of the sound is going totally down the drain...
Everybody should return their purchased copy of death magnetic and ask
for a new version.

Ah well i've downloaded the guitar hero version...in flac format
and it's a pleasure to listen to...yes the overall mix is a little bit "rough"
but the sound is much much much better.No distortion!
In the end having a good sounding version you could also make your own remastered version for your own listening pleasure...



cheers

[Fleaman]

Originally Posted by Winey

It sounds like converter clipping distortion to me. I've never heard a brickwall limiter distort quite like this.
It also sounds a little like clipping the output stage on the LinMB plugin.
I guess it could be distortion from driving the front end of the console. Weird technique for processing distorted guitars though.

My buddy who's a pro musician said he couldn't hear the distortion at all. Sounded fine to him.
Go figure.

From what I heard, they pegged the console, meters fully pegged, faders to the top....the mix buss fader was actually arcing Didn't know that could happen

Not that other 'slamming' techniques weren't used, but apparently most of the slam was the console being slammed.

[ilteraktif]

Originally Posted by TheArchitect

[...] Its possible they OD'd the converters too. But, since most think the Guitar hero tracks are clean, its likely the tracks themselves are good. What they abused and misused on the 2 bus and later is open for speculation [...]

To me, Guitar hero tracks are not clean either. They all sound a lot like tape saturation. I used to track the drums saturated in early 90s to the tape. Death Magnetic sounds like (whatever the source CD or GH3) all of the tracks are overly saturated.
Harmonic distortion all the way.

[Amun Ra]

Listened the cd for 20 seconds, and had to turn it off. What an awful
sounding record. Rick Rubin should be ashamed of himself.

Hopefully there will come something good out of this. The distortion
is so obvious it's a good chance that average listeners will notice
that there is something very wrong with the loudness wars. I mean
it sounds like the most horrible, superlimited TV-ad ever.

Just awful

[JPeters86]

Originally Posted by fradoca

i've purchased a copy of Death Magnetic just out of curiosity..

Could you please return it? Everybody should... This is just too bad to listen to.

I just listened to Load/Re-Load for a while, sounds very good actually compared to this crap.

[Halexx]

Euh.....

I am the only one that think that maybe the Metallica guys like this sound?

That they did it on purpose, not to please the fans but to please themself.

They may like that 'always on stress', 'no pain relieve' feel that that kind of sound gives.

Personnaly, i like the Guitar Hero version better, i prefer the roller coster vibe than the constant hammering of the CD version

[TheArchitect]

Originally Posted by Halexx

Euh.....

I am the only one that think that maybe the Metallica guys like this sound?

That they did it on purpose, not to please the fans but to please themself.

They may like that 'always on stress', 'no pain relieve' feel that that kind of sound gives.

Personnaly, i like the Guitar Hero version better, i prefer the roller coster vibe than the constant hammering of the CD version

I'm sorry, but how can you hang out a shingle as an audio engineer and say that? That album is an abomination. If they actually wanted that sound Metallica needs to rehire the handlers that prevented from doing this kind thing in the past

[Vinicius gt]

What's up with all the distortion on D.M.?
it's a shame because i reaaly enjoyed the songs
but the noise and the clipping... oh the clipping!
this is a kickass record, with really...really wierd mixing, sad but true
it's a nice album to listen to with some beers and headbangin', but not so good to "reeally" listen
see ya!

[+6/185]

Originally Posted by Halexx

Euh.....

I am the only one that think that maybe the Metallica guys like this sound?

That they did it on purpose, not to please the fans but to please themself.

They may like that 'always on stress', 'no pain relieve' feel that that kind of sound gives.

Personnaly, i like the Guitar Hero version better, i prefer the roller coster vibe than the constant hammering of the CD version

Maybe you missed my post so here it is again.

Metallica and Rick Rubin know exactly what they are doing. They all have stereos in their cars and at home. They know their CD sounds like it does. Mixes and mastering reference CDs are checked and signed off by all of them before replication.

Personally, I think they are yanking your chain to create controversy and some badly needed attention and it seems to be working – a petition?

I say just ignore them and let them have a crappy sounding record – it won’t be the first time and likely not the last.

[Fleaman]

Originally Posted by +6/185

Maybe you missed my post so here it is again.

Metallica and Rick Rubin know exactly what they are doing. They all have stereos in their cars and at home. They know their CD sounds like it does. Mixes and mastering reference CDs are checked and signed off by all of them before replication.
.

I've been hearing the same thing through the grapevine....

[Storyville]

Originally Posted by Masterer

What about the ones with distorted mixes? You think they'll sell 'em de-mixed?

Singles get re-released as "unmixed" all the time. IT'S A CONSPIRACY! RUN! It's 5 in the morning. Why am I awake posting on Gearslutz? Maybe, if I'm sleep deprived enough I can make something that sounds as ******** as death magnetic.

Um... Ted Jensen is one of those cats in the top tier. Honestly, I can still hear the sense of polish on this album, and even an illusion of dynamics. And for something coming in at -5 RMS, that's pretty freakin' amazing. Really, turn your favorite mix up 9 more db and see what happens.

My favorite part is that every time a drum hits, the mix completely pumps inward.

I also like the super 2D effect. Now I know that if I just limit the hell out of everything no one can tell that my original sound wasn't that good!

Ok, here's my theory: so Rick Rubin is really rich. Maybe, they wanted to make the ULTIMATE DRIVING ALBUM (for Nascar).... so, they recorded in a professional studio... then... here we go.... Rick hooked his laptop up to his car, and mixed the album while his "assistant" drove with the windows down through Nevada at 120mph.

[Storyville]

perhaps they wanted to get into the Guiness Book of World Records...

[Blast9]

^ LOL storyville ^

Originally Posted by +6/185

Maybe you missed my post so here it is again.

Metallica and Rick Rubin know exactly what they are doing. They all have stereos in their cars and at home. They know their CD sounds like it does. Mixes and mastering reference CDs are checked and signed off by all of them before replication.

Personally, I think they are yanking your chain to create controversy and some badly needed attention and it seems to be working – a petition?

I say just ignore them and let them have a crappy sounding record – it won’t be the first time and likely not the last.

Hey John! D'you reckon they maybe re-amped the entire album through a raging stack?

You should never have sold that device to them!

BTW - like the last Satriani album - some damn fine tones in there!

[Vinicius gt]

I wonder if they did such an unusual sounding record, so they can release another documentary
then we would all be curious about who to blame and how did they do such a crazy, over the top recording
the tittle could be - Death Magnetic - some kind of bummer

[Fleaman]

Originally Posted by Vinicius gt

I wonder if they did such an unusual sounding record, so they can release another documentary
then we would all be curious about who to blame and how did they do such a crazy, over the top recording
the tittle could be - Death Magnetic - some kind of bummer

LOL

I'm sure they made way more $$$ on Some kind of Monster than any single Album....

[Keith_EFK]

i just got a copy of Death Magnetic
in limited edition SHM-CD version... from japan.
it's saying that SHM means, "Super High Material"

i don't have normal retail CDs nor PS3(GH), and don't have
any MP3 versions, so i cannot compare my SHM-CD version
to others,

but i can say,

I can't listen the entire record in one day. it gets me headache.
(and i like 'the end of the line' a lot, but it's still hard to listen more than 5 minutes at once)

damn....

[RockDog]

Originally Posted by fradoca

uhmm...reading all the comments made by metallica fans
you get the whole picture..disappointment for bad sound quality
is the main word....and anger also...
There's even an online petition asking
for a re-mix and re-master of the album...
I think that Ted Jensen has no responsability for this due to the
fact that levels were all ready smashed to death....his hands
were tied...i can understand why his name is not on the cd credits...
I think that Rick Rubin has the responsability for this...
He already made something like that with the RHCP album "Californication".
That cd has distorted sound...insane levels and a lot of RHCP fans
asked for a remastered version of the album...but nothing happened
in that way...I hope this episode will put an end to the loudness war....

just my two cents..


cheers

his name is on the cd credits!!

[fradoca]

Originally Posted by RockDog

his name is on the cd credits!!

that's what i was thinking at the beginning...sorry...
then i bought the album...

great tunes but unpleasent sound


cheers

[RockDog]

Originally Posted by joerod

I have little doubts that it was done on purpose. How could they not know? ...

lol well they've been standing in front of blasting amps on stage for 25 years so there hearing cant be the best

[Dog Boots]

Originally Posted by CDS

The video game version sounds like a good 90's CD and the CD sounds like someone clicked the RMS power normalize button in Sound Forge..

I don't really understand this - everyone's talking about the mastering, which certainly is something to talk about. But it seems like if only the mastering was redone, all would be good. Am I the only one who thinks the mix itself sounds like CRAP, Kirk's tone (playing) is (still) horrible, Lars sucks as bad as ever and the songs would be OK if the band members were 12 years of age....(?) (chorus of "My Apocalypse" is cool though...)

[Laletin]

from another forum.....

MASTERED BY MUPPETS

End of session day, Rubin works away:
I'm your source of song-destruction
Tunes that hurt you ear, poor sound engineer
Leaving spikes on my instruction
Trust me you will see
Volume’s all you need
Dedicated to
How I'll limit you

Compressing faster
Limit your Master
Your albums sell faster
With a loud Master
Master

Mastered by muppets, brickwalling your dreams
Clipping, distorting and smashing extremes
Ruined by me, you can't hear a thing…
Just spiking snares, and auto-tuned screams
Mastered
Mastered
Rubin’s my name, and I'll hear you scream
Bastard
Bastard

Need to mix this way, never you dismay
”Loud” makes death magnetic clearer
Gain monopoly, ritual Waves L3
Squash your tracks til it’s severe
Gate and you will see
More and more dB
Dedicated to
How I’m killing you

Compressing faster
Limit your Master
Your albums sell faster
With a loud Master
Master

Mastered by muppets, brickwalling your dreams
Clipping, distorting and smashing extremes
Ruined by me, you can't hear a thing…
Just spiking snares, and auto-tuned screams
Mastered
Mastered
Rubin’s my name, and I'll hear you scream
Bastard
Bastard

Master, Master, where's the version I've been after?
Bearded, Bastard, you promised only lies
Blaster, Blaster, recorded on a ghetto blaster?
Laughter, laughter, laughing at those highs
Spike to me!

Lars ain’t worth all that – “natural” kick and hats
Kirk adds wah without a reason
Never ending phrase, Jaymz goes on for days
Rob, your shirt is out of season…
I’ll record til 5 (then)
I will help you buy
Sandals that suit you
Now you look cool too