Archive for the 'Metallica' Category
Metallica’s New Album Is Too Loud
Metallica’s latest disc, Death Magnetic, has caused quite the stir. Fans and professionals alike both agree that the album is too loud. You may be thinking to yourself that metal is supposed to be loud – which is true in most cases. But like everything in life, too much of a good thing is not always as it seems.
Metallica fans have put together an 11,000+ signaure petition for the re-mix and re-release of the album, rightfully so. The album is “in the red” almost the entire time – which is a no-no in the professional audio world. Wikipedia defines “clipping (a.k.a. in the red)” as:
Clipping is a form of waveform distortion that occurs when an amplifier is overdriven, which happens through attempts to increase the voltage or current beyond its maximum power capability. Driving an amplifier into clipping causes it to put out power in excess of its published ratings, which are customarily done with a “clean” sine wave signal just at the onset of clipping. This makes it a sometimes unexpected cause of loudspeaker failure.
Ted Jensen, Death Magnetic’s mastering engineer, states: “In this case the mixes were already [pushed to the max] before they arrived at my place … 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.”
Veteran mastering engineer, Brian Garnder, notes: “The distortion factor comes up pretty quickly, especially when the thing’s been recorded digitally…you try to keep things in control, and it’s not always possible.”
This album was produced by the legendary Rick Rubin and it’s amazing that someone of his stature and respectability would allow an album such as this to be released. For those unaware, a producer has almost complete control over an album. The producer will – in most cases – make all of the decisions such as studio selection, budget, and marketability of the album.
So the question is, how does an album on a major label from one of the biggest bands of all time get pressed to CD without one person saying anything? It really is a huge problem and extremely noticable on this release. Everyone in the recording industry is laughing at this album…
It’s really really really bad.
[quotes taken from this month's Rolling Stone]
No commentsWEEKLY POP CULTURE UPDATE (9.11.08)
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Mitch Hedberg - Do You Believe In Gosh?
The late great Mitch Hedberg has posthumously released a new comedy album entitled Do You Believe In Gosh? I had a chance to listen to it – and as usual – it’s hilarious. If you’ve never listened to Mitch Hedberg, buy this album as an early Christmas present for yourself- oh wait – Napster let’s you listen to songs for free? Sweet. Listen to the entire album here.
WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE PINK?
You’re telling me that the smartest, most advanced creatures on earth have downloaded so many copies of Pink’s new song, “So What”, that it is now the #1 selling song on iTunes? What is so likable about Pink other than she can’t sing, she’s ob-fuckin’-noxious, and she is the least marketable person on the planet. Who is identifying with her image? There can’t be that many pissed off lesbians downloading on iTunes…
METALLICA’S NEW ALBUM – ON A FRIDAY?
CDs and DVDs have been released on Tuesdays for as long as I can remember – so what’s the deal with Metallica releasing their newest effort, Death Magnetic, on a Friday? Can I get some information? I decided to download one of four of their newest singles on iTunes, “Cyanide” – not a bad track. Hetfield has lost it a bit, but the rest of the band still rocks pretty hard.
ENTOURAGE PREMIER BOMBS
Bad news for the fab four – Entourage’s Season 5 Premier on Sunday achieved an abysmal 1.0 rating. It must be attributed to the fact that Season 4 was shit compared to the rest of the series. As TSF readers know, I am a huge Entourage fan. It earned a spot on my Top 6 TV Shows of The 2000s list.
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SONGS OF THE WEEK
Pomeroy – “Elevate“
Ween – “Piss Up A Rope“
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
This is genius.
PICTURES OF THE WEEK
