Gatefold packaging
Remastered from original analog tapes by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Half-speed mastered (45rpm)
NO digital copy included
Audio Quality: 3.75/5
Song Quality: 3.25/5
Packaging: 3.5/5
I don't like Metallica. At all. Just wanted to get that out of the way immediately. As I said about The Jesus And Mary Chain, I think in order to fully appreciate an album like this, you really had to be there at the time of its release. Being 15 at the time of it's release was probably helpful too. Regardless, I've never cared much for their music, and my negative feelings towards the members of Metallica are primarily rooted in their destruction of Napster (bad) and their performance in Some Kind of Monster (amazing, yet also bad).
This is yet another release that I borrowed from a friend, because I would NEVER spend this sort of money on a Metallica album. However, as one of five recent Metallica reissues put together by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, I felt compelled to hear this remastered, "audiophile-quality" sound. MoFi hasn't let me down in the past, so I thought if anyone could change my opinion of this band, it would be them.I must admit, I enjoyed the songs on this record more than I thought I would.
They are pretty relentlessly heavy and fast-paced, and though I think they sound pretty dated now, you can't deny that these guys have serious chops. Now, the biggest thing I cannot get behind on this record are the lyrics. I understand that as a general rule, metal lyrics are not meant to be taken seriously. However, I can't help but laugh at songs that try to sound tough while telling the history of Passover (see "Creeping Death"). Also, I think it's worth mentioning to the metalheads out there that the lyrics to "Fade To Black" are comparable with the absolute lamest modern emo lyrics you can find. "Emptiness is filling me / to the point of agony / Growing darkness taking dawn / I was me, but now he's gone." REALLY?! I'll have to remember to throw that into the face of the next metalhead who makes fun of modern pop/rock. Lyrics aside, I think most of the instrumental performances are pretty fantastic, even if they get a little repetitive as the album progresses. Even the longest songs fly by pretty quick due to all the changes and intricacies of the tracks, so that's quite an accomplishment. My only other beef is that, unlike some of their peers (::cough Iron Maiden cough::), Metallica seem to have a really tough time crafting a decent hook for their songs on this record. They seem to try for a catchy, memorable chorus every time, but consistently fall short and make something a bit awkward and unwieldy. They got better at this later in their career, but by then they lost their truly metal performances and attitude. I guess you can't have it all... at least not with these guys.Sound quality. Now, as I said, this record was remastered at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. Usually, you can tell a MoFi release by the stripe at the top of the record that reads "Original Master Recording," but that trademark is missing from these records. I'm wondering if that was either because Metallica didn't want their precious artwork defiled, or maybe it was deliberately omitted by MoFi, because though this record sounds good and possibly even great, it is definitely NOT the amazingly clear and warm listening experience I get from my other Mobile Fidelity releases. First, the pros. The guitars on these recordings are incredibly detailed, and if you sit and listen with your head down (J-NEX Method), you can hear every single palm-muted 16th note they hit with incredible precision. It's really remarkable. The guitar tones are also excellent, sounding angry and intense without any distortion of the overall mix. The other thing that really struck me about this record was the vocal sound, which is soaked in reverb and sounds a little bit thin and tinny at times. Listening to digital copies, that seems to be how it's always been meant to be heard. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a curious production decision as far as I'm concerned. On the other side of things, this record is mastered pretty quietly. I had to crank my volume up to way louder than usual to get it playing back at a good volume. Now, to be fair, this record really needs to be heard loudly in order to be properly experienced, so I would have probably turned it up louder either way. But this record is definitely mastered at a quieter level than most albums I own, so be aware of that before you drop the needle. I also found the mids to be pretty damn intense and painfully aggressive, with the low-end not getting the sort of love it needed. By the time I was done listening to this album, I was developing a pretty serious headache from this sound, which has never happened to me with any other record. The kick drum is barely audible at times, and I can almost never hear any bass articulation and warmth. I was curious and I looked up information about this release, and actually found a few other consumers who complained about these issues as well, stating that this new release did not have the low-end punch that the original pressing did. Definitely a bummer. While it's a pretty clear and even mix from left to right, it's unfortunately lopsided when you look at it from the top to bottom of the frequency spectrum. Despite these issues, I was pretty entranced in this listen, especially considering how little I care about this band. So that's saying something, I suppose.
The packaging here is pretty nice, but not great. The two 180-gram LPs come in a gatefold set, and each of them sits in a generic paper sleeve with a protective plastic sheet. Opening the set reveals a couple photos, album credits, and lyrics to all the songs. No other inserts or anything, and NO digital version included. It's not a terrible set, but for the price, it could have definitely been better.
For me, in a way, it's kind of a relief that this wound up being the worst release I've ever heard come from the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. I would have been way more disappointed if I wound up hating the sound on their remaster of Permanent Waves or Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People. I wasn't expecting much here in the first place, but despite the sound being sub-par, I still wound up enjoying the record more than I had expected. It's a testament to how important sound quality is for proper appreciation of the music. After all, when you take something and put it under a high-quality microscope, you're bound to notice things you missed when you looked at it with just your eye.
Damn, is that a good metaphor or what?
Buy the LP ***ON SALE*** at ElusiveDisc.com
Buy the LP at MusicDirect.com
Tomorrow: The Strokes - Room On Fire
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