Death Magnetic

[A2D]

has anyone heard the new Metallica CD?
Wow, whats with the distorition all over the CD? Full Scale most of the time.
I wonder who mastered it,there is no mention of the mastering engineer on the CD.

[TRA]

Wasn't it Ted Jensen?

[lucidwaves]

Yes it was Ted. I haven't heard it, but I know that there was some discussion that a purchased download version had some improperly converted mp3s that sounded horrible or something like that. You are talking about the commercial cd though right?

[A2D]

Originally Posted by lucidwaves

Yes it was Ted. I haven't heard it, but I know that there was some discussion that a purchased download version had some improperly converted mp3s that sounded horrible or something like that. You are talking about the commercial cd though right?

I am talking about the commercial CD,

[TRA]

It sounds ok on a factory car stereo, but the second you start listening on even a mediocre pair of speakers it is almost not tolerable at times.

One of the band members said in an interview that the reason for going with Rick Rubin as producer was to try to create the more raw sounds that he helped achieve while working with System of a Down and Slipknot. Maybe they intentionally wanted a distorted master as well? Slummin' it up?

[joerod]

Originally Posted by A2D

has anyone heard the new Metallica CD?
Wow, whats with the distorition all over the CD? Full Scale most of the time.
I wonder who mastered it,there is no mention of the mastering engineer on the CD.

I never asked this question before: Can someone place a little snippet of a commercially released track in this forum. I guess I could always look at the TOS...

[krid]

I GOT A RESPONSE FROM TED - Metallicabb.com

From the metallica forum :

RE: Death Magnetic mastering job
mailed-by sterling-sound.com

hide details 10:34 AM (44 minutes ago)


Reply



Thanks for writing.



I’m certainly sympathetic to your reaction, I get to slam my head against that brick wall every day. In this case the mixes were already brick walled before they arrived at my place. Suffice it to say I would never be pushed to overdrive things as far as they are here. Believe me I’m not proud to be associated with this one, and we can only hope that some good will come from this in some form of backlash against volume above all else.

[A2D]

Originally Posted by krid

I GOT A RESPONSE FROM TED - Metallicabb.com

From the metallica forum :

RE: Death Magnetic mastering job
mailed-by sterling-sound.com

hide details 10:34 AM (44 minutes ago)


Reply



Thanks for writing.



I’m certainly sympathetic to your reaction, I get to slam my head against that brick wall every day. In this case the mixes were already brick walled before they arrived at my place. Suffice it to say I would never be pushed to overdrive things as far as they are here. Believe me I’m not proud to be associated with this one, and we can only hope that some good will come from this in some form of backlash against volume above all else.

AHHHH maybe thats why his name is not on there

[James Meeker]

Originally Posted by krid

I’m certainly sympathetic to your reaction, I get to slam my head against that brick wall every day. In this case the mixes were already brick walled before they arrived at my place. Suffice it to say I would never be pushed to overdrive things as far as they are here. Believe me I’m not proud to be associated with this one, and we can only hope that some good will come from this in some form of backlash against volume above all else.

Wow.

This guy is my new hero for his honesty. Seriously.

[Axon]

So now the buck's passed to Greg Fidelman....

[TRA]

Originally Posted by krid

I’m certainly sympathetic to your reaction, I get to slam my head against that brick wall every day. In this case the mixes were already brick walled before they arrived at my place. Suffice it to say I would never be pushed to overdrive things as far as they are here. Believe me I’m not proud to be associated with this one, and we can only hope that some good will come from this in some form of backlash against volume above all else.

I'm working on something similar that I'm going to catch some heat over. Completely smashed and distorting....my job is to "make it sound good."

[joerod]

Originally Posted by James Meeker

Wow.

This guy is my new hero for his honesty. Seriously.

Well, honesty is always the best policy, don't you think?...

But yeah, poor TJ, he doesn't deserve a backlash...

[krid]

Well it's the first time that there is such a reaction from the public about the loudness war and clipping.

[Melodioso]

Yep, listened to it today on CD. I won't talk about the music, you like it or don't, it's your opinion. But the sound quality is a catastrophe. The snare and toms distort like hell, as do the guitars. Noise. It's awful and distracting, to the point you begin to focus more on the clipping than the music.

Isn't it ironic though? They must have recorded the album with kick ass slutty gear. But none of it shines. What a shame! It's almost insulting.

[lucidwaves]

Originally Posted by Axon

So now the buck's passed to Greg Fidelman....

It may very well end up being passed to Metallica's PR ultimately. Cloth-eared egomaniacs/salesmen are becoming the "say so" where it comes to how something sounds. Pretty sad.

[joerod]

Originally Posted by krid

Well it's the first time that there is such a reaction from the public about the loudness war and clipping.

Maybe this is the turning point on the "Loudness War". The feather that broke the camel's back...

[A2D]

Originally Posted by joerod

Maybe this is the turning point on the "Loudness War". The feather that broke the camel's back...

Lets Hope so

[ianshepherd]

Props to Ted ! thumbsup

Ian

[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

[narcoman]

Rubin is a great performance man. Works bands fantastically.... i DO think that he's ALWAYS needed a "sounds " man though - smashing stuff unpleasantly seems to be his thing... sort of going for the tube thing but getting it "wrong". HOWEVER - it worked on the Johnny Cash stuff!

[diogo_c]

More cents:

Metallica is just like every other mainstream act out there, so I guess it is not a surprise (imo) if they released something "squashed to the max" like everybody else does.

What gets my attention is Ted saying that he is getting work that is already delivered "squashed to the max" from mixing engineers.

[warhead]

Listening to it now, I am amazed at how crunched it becomes at times.

War

[MASSIVE Master]

I had some "inside information" on this one some time ago... So I'd like to say that I'm not surprised. But I *am* surprised by the backlash from the fans. And I have to say that it's pretty cool and I hope there's some good that can come from this.

But with Metallica's paradox of "not doing what the fans expect" (and in doing so, they do exactly what the fans expect), I was actually expecting this one to be a better "listening experience" than the last.

[Masterer]

Originally Posted by diogo_c

More cents:

Metallica is just like every other mainstream act out there, so I guess it is not a surprise (imo) if they released something "squashed to the max" like everybody else does.

What gets my attention is Ted saying that he is getting work that is already delivered "squashed to the max" from mixing engineers.

Receiving smashed mixes is commonplace.

These mixes were well beyond the typical smashed mixes of the day. This is a new level of smashed. The kind of smashed that makes jaded engineers like me and Ted shake our heads and laugh [a special kind of of laugh] and wait for the forum posts to roll on in.

[krid]

We have reached a new level of distortion, this album is unlistenable.
It's too bad because the songs are pretty good.
I read that some Metallica fans are bringing back their cds to get a refund.

[macc]

Originally Posted by diogo_c

What gets my attention is Ted saying that he is getting work that is already delivered "squashed to the max" from mixing engineers.

Yeah, same here!

[axeman81]

Originally Posted by fradoca

s 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...

don't know where you got your copy, but mine clearly says on last page of the booklet inside:

"Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, New York"

[joerod]

Metallica has been known for taking some controversial stands in the past like illegal music downloading. Well, I wouldn't be surprised if this is yet another point they want to make with the fans and the music industry.

[James Meeker]

Originally Posted by joerod

Metallica has been known for taking some controversial stands in the past like illegal music downloading. Well, I wouldn't be surprised if this is yet another point the want to make with the fans and the music industry.

It must be some type of strategy to make a record that sounds so awful nobody would want to illegally download it!

[joerod]

Originally Posted by James Meeker

It must be some type of strategy to make a record that sounds so awful nobody would want to illegally download it!

That's hilarious, James...