Whoopee, another song that sounds like one of the crappier ones off the Black Album... looks like the thread title is pretty accurate.

I tried to listen, but it sounds like a 32kpps bitstream. Fuck that.

Any links to the track? I'm lazy.

Metallica.com

To be sure it wasnt just their streaming that sucked, I also previewed at the iTunes music store (you have to have iTunes open). The iTunes sounded just as bad.

I'll give it a listen in a bit, trying to let my expectations clear beforehand.

wow that facepalm gif. I'm still trying to see how many I recognize and can name

Some of this has been posted in the WAYLTRN thread but I figured I'd put it here for completeness' sake. If you like this album at all but are incredibly frustrated by the absolutely horrid production I would suggest tracking down the "Guitar Hero" rip of the album. Evidently it was released to the game manufacturer prior to final processing and is so far and away better than the commercial releas it's absurd. It's still not perfect, but leaps and bounds better. Ultimate for whoever the engineer was who did the final mastering/production.

My post from the WAYLTRN thread:

The quote from the mastering engineer was pretty telling...

I've also read that Metallica was in Europe when the album was mixed, so they let someone else do a majority of the work without them in the room, which sounds insane to me. For a band that is usually so involved and protective of their work to let someone mix their album without them being present sounds way out of character. But hey, whatever... At least there's a decent version floating around!

Ultimate for whoever the engineer was who did the final mastering/production.

I'll say. Getting beat at your own 'skill' by a fucking video game. What a douche.

is the decent version available in FLAC?

Yup, I just finished downloading it. Let me know if you need a link.

is the decent version available in FLAC?

Yup... Torrents are floating around. Sadly you must bring yourself to include Guitar Hero in your search to find the right one.

There are also two versions of "Suicide and Redemption" in the .flac with J.H. for one with a James Hetfield solo based one and with K.H. for a Kirk Hammett solo based one. My experience leads me to believe I'll prefer the J.H. one.

Now I'm marginally curious to see how the vinyl pans out.

Vinyl has gotten pretty horrid reviews @ SH and other places. Appears to be the same master as the CD.

i don't know if i really need a link.

nitpicker

I need the link, I have only found the mp3

I need the link, I have only found the mp3

PM inbound

And for the curious, here's a wav form comparison between the Guitar Hero (top) and CD version of one track.

YGPM Nate.

I've seen it before, and it's still shocking.

I'll take a flac link too, I suppose. For when I get off work.

Well, just listening to the 320 kbps .mp3s, the difference is pretty staggering. For those of you that like the music on the album, this should do wonders for your enjoyment. It won't change things if you don't care for the songs anyway... There are differences, but they're subtle... But it's definitely worth the DL if you're even on the fence about the album.

I'll take a flac link too, I suppose. For when I get off work.

Check the Casino.

Well, just listening to the 320 kbps .mp3s, the difference is pretty staggering. For those of you that like the music on the album, this should do wonders for your enjoyment. It won't change things if you don't care for the songs anyway... There are differences, but they're subtle... But it's definitely worth the DL if you're even on the fence about the album.

That's great.

It was pretty appalling listening to needle drops of the MFSL vinyl that sounded worse than the CD

It's gone from an earsplitting listen to a damn fun listen.

wow, the mfsl vinyl is brick walled as well?

Yup... I've even read of people returning the vinyl thinking it was defective, only to later realize it sounded like it was "supposed" to.