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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2023 8:18:41 GMT -5
Love it! I think this would be super fun, great songs you've come up with. I'm trying to make something work with Medusa and hair metal here... Inhuman Hair(spray)? Amulet of Right for some trad/NWOBHM? (Captain Britain?) Yes...and yes!  |
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Post by impulse on Mar 29, 2023 9:18:48 GMT -5
We Are Legion!!! Industrial
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Post by commond on Mar 30, 2023 5:13:35 GMT -5
I've been on a huge Running Wild kick this past week.
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Post by impulse on Apr 6, 2023 16:53:48 GMT -5
I don't recall if I've mentioned it here or not, but I'm going to see Marty Friedman live this month! My wife is coming, too. She's not a metal head, but she knows that name. They are actually opening for Queensryche, and this might be blasphemy, but...I think we are going to leave after Marty. No disrespect or anything. I've just never gotten into them, and perusing their most played songs didn't convince me. If I were going solo I might, but I'm not going to push it with the missus.
I will be happy to report how it goes!
Sorry I've been quiet here. Definitely not losing interest in the topic. We've just been really busy.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2023 12:19:43 GMT -5
I don't recall if I've mentioned it here or not, but I'm going to see Marty Friedman live this month! My wife is coming, too. She's not a metal head, but she knows that name. They are actually opening for Queensryche, and this might be blasphemy, but... I think we are going to leave after Marty. No disrespect or anything. I've just never gotten into them, and perusing their most played songs didn't convince me. If I were going solo I might, but I'm not going to push it with the missus. I will be happy to report how it goes! Sorry I've been quiet here. Definitely not losing interest in the topic. We've just been really busy. I would do the same thing honestly man, Marty is worth the price of admission alone and then some. So excited you and your wife are going, I'm sure Marty will deliver the goods, can't wait to hear how it goes. There was this brief period when Mindcrime came out I was hooked on Queensryche for a short bit, such a brilliant concept album. But I don't think I ever need to hear it again, and never really got into most of their other stuff. Plus I know Geoff Tate got all weird and his exit was bizarre, but I don't really need to hear some of these bands without their original singers, it's just not the same. |
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Post by commond on Apr 8, 2023 17:24:42 GMT -5
Queensryche are okay, but they've very proggy.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2023 7:39:56 GMT -5
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Post by commond on Apr 10, 2023 17:51:32 GMT -5
I will say that Operation: LIVEcrime is an excellent live album, though it's from a series of shows in 1991, so who knows...
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Post by commond on Apr 11, 2023 18:49:24 GMT -5
This is such a fun song.
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Post by commond on Apr 12, 2023 18:33:59 GMT -5
Quite possibly the noisiest thing I've heard out of Australia.
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Post by impulse on Apr 13, 2023 12:12:20 GMT -5
Well, it looks like the new Metallica album 72 Seasons, that releases tomorrow officially may have allegedly leaked online. In any case, maximum one more day and it's out.
Regardless of individual opinions on their later works, they are the biggest name in the business, and everyone pays attention when they do something. I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts once you've heard it.
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Post by impulse on Apr 14, 2023 9:01:47 GMT -5
Okay, today is the day. Love 'em or hate 'em, like it or not, when Metallica moves, everyone in metal notices. Today is officially release day, and copies may have allegedly or not been released early. What does everyone think?
I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised and somewhat flummoxed that literally all of the singles are the worst songs on the album so far. I don't know what they were thinking, or maybe it's just born of over-exposure and ruined expectations based on nitpicking the imperfections, and I admit it's too soon to know how things will settle over time....
But so far, nearly if not every album cut is blowing the singles out of the water. Whereas the singles seemed to be somewhat forced averages of their many influences, the deep cuts are surprising in a refreshing way. There's a lot more slower, heavier, Sabbathy (@draketungsten) groovy riffing and heaviness than I expected. I even at times found myself wishing they would play a little slower than they did to really let the groove soak in.
Even the generic solos are better on the deep cuts. While none of them sound particularly amazing compared to their heyday, it's at least the better picks from the basket of pentatonic wank.
Usual nitpicks persist. Drums sound too loud and a bit fake. Some of the songs would have really benefited from a more thoughtful, intentional solo. The guitars could sound better, but they are light years better than the previous album. As with all 21st century Metallica albums, some trimming and refining could go a long way, but overall, on first impression it's a lot better than I was expecting. We'll see how well it stands up over time.
So far, Shadows Follow, Sleepwalk My Life Away, the back half of You Must Burn, Crown of Barbed Wire and Chasing Light are standouts for me.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2023 11:09:23 GMT -5
I've listened to 72 Seasons, I have several thoughts, and I'm going to geek it up (as usual) with some guitar talk here along the way. Yes, there's some production stuff to talk about, but I'm going to start with just the simple "how does it grab me" right out of the gate. Really well actually, this is a "heavy Metallica" album overall, just like I like it. Is it full on 80's thrash? No, but it doesn't dabble into the 90's alt rock as much either, the riffs are mostly heavy and are more catchy to me overall than the last couple of albums. Let's talk about James for a minute. His voice sounds rough, no doubt he's getting older and his vocals are getting worn, but at the risk of projecting a bit, I feel like I might hear something else too. He's had a rough personal road the last few years with his marriage breaking up (and we're talking like 25 years here) and the return to rehab a few years back. While the vocals on the album are certainly not the "young angry" 80's James, there's some intensity I feel like is coming through perhaps related to his life. Maybe I'm offbase, but again the thought came to mind. Ok, the guitar tone issue, here's my take. I looked up what James is actually using here, and supposedly he's using an old Jose Arredondo modified Marshall Superlead. In guitar circles, a Jose modded Marshall is the stuff of legend (though I know plenty of folks who have owned them), he is known to have done amp work for Eddie Van Halen among many other stars. And Ed is a good example of what a Jose modded Marshall is best known for, the Van Halen style level of gain and tone. Hard rock levels of gain, and usually the type of music you associate with more upper mids in the EQ to get that Marshall bite. James established the legendary "Metallica guitar tone" of course back with Master of Puppets with the scooped Mesa amp tone and became THE sound of the band for years to come. Bob Rock's production on the Black album perhaps realizing the Mesa's recorded tone at its best. But they did use Marshalls on the first two albums, and I rather liked the sound on Ride the Lightning (I also am not quite the worshipper of Bob Rock that others are, I enjoyed Flemming Rasmussen's production in the 80's, but I digress). So using a Marshall in itself I don't think is the problem here. If I'm remembering any of this right, I think James using a boosted Marshall JMP on RTL that got nicely into thrash territory, but I question this Jose Superlead for the heavy tones. I don't know if it's an OD/boost issue, the EQ (does the "scoop" squash too much), just flat out not enough gain, or other production related issues, but to my ears it sounds like an amp that struggled to get into thrash territory. When I set up Marshalls for thrash myself which I've done MANY times over the years, I always get the right overdrive in the front of the amp to tighten up the low end (the EQ won't do that alone) which gives more percussive chug (which I hear missing on this album) and just pushes the amp harder. Then EQ, studio magic, etc. And yes, it boggles the mind that with the financial resources Metallica has, a lot of kids could (and do) record a better guitar tone on their laptops in their bedrooms. But it is what it is. With all of that guitar tech geek opining aside, it far from ruins the album for me. The drums are also still a little too dominant in the mix, Lars never learns. impulse , I think you nailed the overall song highlights, similar reactions here. I'm surprised with how much I actually like this right out of the gate, again production critique aside, it seems to rock pretty heavy. Good on Metallica, it's always a long wait at this stage of their career, but again I think I will be giving this more of a listen than their other more recent material. |
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Post by impulse on Apr 14, 2023 11:43:05 GMT -5
I really appreciate the guitar geek deep dive stuff. I'm but a dabbler in the specifics, but I am an avid listener of the results.
I am not sure if it's that the Marshall couldn't cut it here because by and large, these are not thrashy riffs, and honestly some Van Halen recordings I've heard would have had the punch I was looking for here.
As you say, it's certainly not a limitation of resources. These guys have access to the best producers and equipment in the world, so I am forced to conclude this is the way they want these things to sound, for whatever reason. I disagree with them, but if they wanted something different, there is certainly no shortage of options within their reach.
I suspect it's something to do with settings and something else in their signal chain, or shoot, maybe it sounds great in the room and it's getting killed in production. They've been using the same engineer/producer on the last three albums, Gred Fidelman. Technically Rick Rubin "produced" Death Magnetic, but from what I've read, his production consists of showing up once a month, listening to what people have done, and giving a few notes and disappearing again, so basically, Fidelman is the dude.
And I. Am. Not. Impressed. Death Magnetic infamously "won the loudness war" that infected albums for the 2000s. That album was so over-compressed to hell and back it clipped all over and was so loud it was physically uncomfortable to listen to. Thankfully fan remixes from the Guitar Hero stems saved Death Magnetic, but even then, the mix sounded fine but it didn't sound GOOD the way Puppets or Black or even Load sounded sonically.
Hardwired was sonically improved in that it was not compressed to actual breaking point and everything was clear and audible, but nothing sounded pleasing, if that makes sense? I've struggled with the words to really convey it, but it sounds bad. Like, I actively dislike the sound of the guitars. They are under powered, undergained, not enough oomph, and the actual tone of them is an unpleasant "blat blat" kind of sound. As opposed to the aggressive chunk on Kill Em All, the fuzzy rip on Lightning, the Gained crushing tone on Puppets, even the Mesaed megawall of crunching power on the black album which all sounded great. Those opening chords and subsequent chugging riff on Sad But True make a hell of an impact, even if that's not my favorite album of theirs. Even Load and Reload, the guitars sounded good and fit the songs, setting aside the music style for moment.
None of the Fidelman albums sound good to me. They don't always sound bad, but I'd hope for a band with all the resources in the world the sonic bar would be higher than "doesn't suck".
I will say, I bought this in FLAC and listened on my nicer Sennheiser studio headphones, and it sounds a lot better than on regular speakers. Still doesn't fix all the production issues, but I can see how it might sound better to the band on the high end studio gear they hear on.
I'd have loved to hear what Bob or Fleming could have done with this material. Like you, I am surprised at how much I like right out of the gate. I don't see this album making the top 5, but it's a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting.
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Post by impulse on Apr 24, 2023 9:04:28 GMT -5
So, it happened! I saw the legend. The GOAT. The one and only Marty Friedman, and what a show! My wife even loved it, and she is not into my music. First opening was Trauma, famous basically only for being the band Cliff Burton was in before he joined Metallica, and the drummer was the only original member. Hats off to the guy. He's still got it, and the band was good, but not exciting. Marty was ELECTRIC. We were about 20 feet from the stage on the floor for Marty, and the band came out first. Very great group and dressed as loudly as they played. The drummer was like a bleached-blond human version of Animal from the Muppets. From the moment Marty came out, he was electrifying. I was expecting great playing, but I was pleasantly surprised at the great performance. Very charismatic, very playful, he and the other guitar playing off each other, lots of over-the-top antics. Showboating, windmilling, jumping in the air and kicking out it his whatever inch boots, just having the time of his life. He spoke to the crowd several times, and they engaged the entire crowed throughout, pointing, talking, focusing on various groups. We liked that he went out of his way to share spotlight to hype and shout out his band. The music was great as to be expected. Musical and melodic and delicate when needed, and crushingly heavy at times. He played the main intro riff and full solo to Tornado and it was a lifelong checklist item checked off, ha. My wife loved it, too, and we listened to Marty on the way home. We did not stay for Queensryche  . I am sure they were great as well. Side note on Metallica's 72 Seasons album. I've been basically immersing myself in it nearly nonstop for a week, trying to settle into my longer term impressions, and I keep arriving back at the same, unfortunate place: There is a lot of good material here, but I am just struggling to overlook how unpleasant the mix is to my ears. Like most of their 21st century work, there is some good material, there is some fat to trim, and there are some things that could have used a few more cycles through the filter. Papa Het is always good for some sick riffs. Kirk is playing well, but what he's playing is boring. Lars is Lars. Overall, a solid effort.... But I just don't like the way it sounds. Metallica and good material being marred by bad mixing choices - name a more iconic duo?? What made it really stand out to me was when I put on a Spotify radio station based them or Slayer or something. It kept shuffling bands of similar styles, and then one of the new songs came on, and it sticks out like a sore thumb from all the rest. Way too much mid-bass boost in the EQ, the rhythm guitars don't have enough bite to punch through, and what is there doesn't sound good. Lar's drums sound fake and fill the audio space, and the INCESSANT too-loud splashy hi-hats just smashing through constantly, even on slow composed melodic breaks. I saw an interview with James talking about the guitars he used on this album. One is THE classic V he played on Kill 'Em All, and you get hints of it here and there. I've messed around with EQs and listened on different speakers, and I can hear the trace of a good guitar sound somewhere in the process, but Fidelman (and maybe Lars) have processed out all of the good sonic qualities. The mix is like a dish that is cooked to hell and back to get a perfectly uniform consistency but all individual flavors are just boiled off. All the remains is the strong flavor of the base item but none of the nuance that makes it a popular dish. Good ingredients squandered. It does sound better on my Bose bluetooth speaker than on my car or headphones, and I'm sure it sounds wonderful on a high-end studio system, but the mix is kind of ruining it for me. Material: 6.5-7/10 Final product: 4/10 |
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. I am sure they were great as well.