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Help. I Think I'm a Rockstar.

Musings of a former rockstar-in-the-making who sold out to The Man and now collects regular paychecks in corporate America and gets to eat more frequently. Views on music, travel, culture, relaxation, politics, toys, and other general bullshit.



For those about to rock...
Friday, September 26, 2008



Since it's been quite a while since I posted anything that supports my claim to former near-rockstardom, and thanks to a suggestion from a good buddy on a new record to pick up, it is with pleasure that I give you my musings on the newest effort by the one and only, Metallica.



Before I get started, it should be known that I was hesitant to actually pay money for this album. First, because Lars Ulrich is a prick and a douchebag for reasons that will go unspoken in this blog. Second, and more importantly, because the last four Metallica studio albums have essentially blown goats. But I have enormous respect for Reverend Humpy's musical taste and overall judgement, so I dropped my ten bucks on iTunes and gave Death Magnetic a digital spin.

Alright, the happy stuff:

  • Musically, this is the most badass Metallica album since 1988's And Justice For All. While I generally like the Black Album, aside from a few jewels, it was the beginning of Metallica's decade and a half love affair with mediocrity and that most unforgivable of terms, poseur-dom.

  • Kirk Hammett has been unleashed and allowed to rock like a motherfucker. While I've never been a huge fan of his solo style (even in metal, I very much prefer more melodic solos from cats like Adrian Smith or Dave Mustaine), his non-solo work on this record is to be reckoned with. We're not worthy, Kirk, we're not worthy.

  • James Hetfield has gone back to not being a pussy. As much as I hate typing that word, there's no other way to explain the lyrics and vocals on Load, Reload, Garage Inc, and St. Anger. "Pleh", "Ugh", "Ick", and "Lame" come close, but "pussy" is the best way to hit it. Here, however, James is a rock star again. And it makes me happy.

    Now, for the not-so-happy stuff:

  • This next one is for the serious audiophiles in the room, so for those of you who are accustomed to and perfectly satisfied by the quality of a recording as played back through Apple's relatively lo-fi standard issue earbuds, feel free to skip down a bit.

    In choosing Rick Rubin to produce the record, Metallica has fallen victim to the biggest trend (and many would say biggest tragedy) in major label production, overmastering. This record has had every last bit of dynamic color squeezed out of it in an effort to make it the loudest goddamned record in your playlist. While being loud wouldn't traditionally be a bad thing in metal, the net result of the hot-master-squeeze is an almost complete loss of dynamic nuance and a steady (loud ass) volume that eventually leads to ear fatigue and a record that can only be rocked to for four or five songs in any given setting. Need proof? Mosey on over here and look at the difference between the dynamic range of a typical "...Justice..." song and a typical "Death..." song. It's sad to see. It hurts my heart. And I'm hoping Metallica will grow a pair and release a remastered version of the album at some point. At least digitally.

    With the exception of the above complaint, this record rocks. It's the best thing Metallica has done since 1999's S&M (which, for the record, rocked my pants off...a few times), and the best studio record in twenty years. Sadly, that above complaint is a REALLY BIG fuck up of an otherwise wicked album. Is it a masterpiece? No. Could it have been? Hell yes.

    Remaster, gentlemen, remaster.


    Currently in Memphis, Tennessee
    Currently listening to Metallica - Death Magnetic

    Labels: ,

    posted by Dustin @ 11:37 AM,




    2 Comments:

    At September 29, 2008 at 1:09 AM, Blogger Reverend Humpy said...

    The really sad thing is, I pretty much only listen to music in my truck nowadays, so I can't really hear any mastering issues. I will have to give it a listen on my studio headphones and see what that does for me.

    I feel like I do need to mention, however, that "...And Justice For All" is usually considered to be one of the worst produced albums by a band that had been around as long as Metallica had in 1988. Not to mention the fact that the tones on "St. Anger" were atrocious, and "Kill 'Em All," "Ride the Lightning" and "Master of Puppets" were all so low budget that they sound lo-fi even for the 80's. So, really, you have sixty percent of the band's discography with "sub-par" production. I guess I am just asking "What did you expect?"

     
    At September 29, 2008 at 8:42 AM, Blogger Dustin said...

    I expected the musical quality and production quality of Death Magnetic, without the full court press mastering approach. But really, we're splitting hairs, as probably 90% of the fan base could care less about mastering, or doesn't even know what it means...

     

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