Okay! So they came in. Listening to Amazon streaming (all tracks HD or Ultra HD) through a Fiio BTR5 (wired, not BT). Comfort-wise... nothing to report. They're fine? I don't know why anyone's had headband or clamp issues. They're barely on my head at all and I got a big melon.
Keep in mind this was written literally while listening, no pausing to ruminate, no repeats, nothing like that. I picked these songs as they came to mind and just plowed through trying to get a bunch of different tones.
Nine Inch Nails - Where Is Everybody? (industrial-ish)
Started here to get some electronic-ish on a track that has a lot of layers but with a meaty bassline. When people talk "immediacy," whew. Yes. I get it. The bassline came in good and growly but once everything else hit, I could tell the bass wasn't really the star of the show. At least that was my impression here. The clarity is, of course, impressive as hell, but what I liked was how alive it was. Bouncy and fun.
Antaeus - Inner War (black metal)
Wanted to get something that I know can sound unpleasant and this one has some, shall we say, imperfections in the recording. The cymbals are strident as **** so my goal was to make it miserable. Did it work? Yes it did. Well, sort of. Those damn cymbals were as rough as ever, but I was impressed with how easy it was to crank up regardless. There's a weird "everything in its place" with these. Buzzsaw guitars and ugly vocals still shone through even as the cymbals made me want to screech.
Necrot - Your Hell (death metal)
Okay here's the meat. I wanted a track that's just burly and stompy to see if these would make me bang my head and... yes. It's a good thing these are light because I might throw them off otherwise. I was worried there wouldn't be enough low end on here and thus far I can definitely say that they might be bassy insofar as Grado goes but they're not basshead phones by any stretch. This is the one where the guitar and mid quality made itself most obvious. Really enjoyed that.
Warhorse - Doom's Bride (stoner doom)
Had to do this one. This is a track that will sound horrible if the headphones can't pull off a big bassline. MOST of this album is at the low end of the spectrum. I took a deep breath and expected a case of "oh it's deep but it's not heavy." It's not subwoofer bass. It's not booming over the rest, but there is MORE than enough to keep me happy. The guitars keep on scraping over top of things but there's nothing lost. This is where I started to have actual confidence that the Hemp are living up to the hype.
Archspire - Involuntary Doppenganger (tech death)
Extra high speed death metal. This isn't one of my favorite albums and I admit this one with the Grado felt a little empty, but I think that's how I've always felt about this one. It's not bad, but I didn't have a moment of "omg such impact" like elsewhere. Not blaming the hemphone. Though I'll say if you're worried about speed, every single thing was bell clear and separate from the rest. I'm pretty sure I could literally count the individual crackles in the distortion.
Goatwhore - Carving Out the Eyes of God (blackened thrash)
The drums here felt a bit off. This was the first time when my impression was that the midrange was really taking over. There's a blast beat during the verse transition where the kick was pretty much gone. Not sure what I think there. Once again, guitars and vocals shine like crazy. Then the chorus hit and the drums showed up again? I think I'm chalking this one up to realizing some recording issues.
We Lost the Sea - A Gallant Gentleman (post-rock)
Decided to switch it up and get my feelings on, so went with this guy. It's instrumental and slow with a lot of crescendo, a good time to listen to something that didn't rely on something hammering my skull in. It's also a good one because the bass guitar is prone to some weird ringing bloom if the headphones have a hump in the wrong spot. Once that big climax hit at the three and a half minute mark I was in. That big expansive sound and "majesty." The bass guitar almost felt like the most prominent instrument, but not in a weird "someone turn that down" way. Just all good and warm.
Black Math Horseman - Tyrant (uh... stoner/retro/something?)
This is a favorite of mine because it is VERY swirly and ethereal, kind of dreamlike. I use it for tests a lot. The drums had that right amount of thump, the guitars danced on top of that, but what I really liked was again that damn bassline. It wasn't just a mass of vague sound in the center of the song, I could actually hear its individual notes. That's REALLY hard on this track. Listening to this one I realized that I was able to just melt into the whole experience in a beautiful way. Steve Guttenberg talking about these being like listening to speakers felt right.
Slipknot - (sic) (nu-metal)
Another bellweather track for me mostly because there's a moment near the end that, if the headphone is right, gets me going goddamn ballistic. The guitar tone is just vicious on the Hemp, and Corey's screams come out perfectly. There are some odd peaks going on with some of the DJ scratches and other sound effects. Had me wondering what it'd be like when the big "siiiiiiiiic" moment happened. It's not as massive as I was hoping but that's okay. I admit I had the volume a bit down for the sake of my ears after all the testing.
Wintersun - Beyond the Dark Sun (power)
If I wanted to show someone what Grado can do, I'd use this song. Everything just "clicks" with this track. Big dynamics, fast on the attack, the bass is full, guitar great, etc etc etc. I'm going to repeat myself. The point is it's great.
Shining - Yttligare Ett Steg Narmare Total Javla Utfrysning (DSBM)
Oh boy. Ohhhhh boy. This one. This is meaty depressive black metal, not Xasthur or Leviathan style, and holy balls did the Grado come through with flying colors. There's a "snap" factor to Shining albums that's necessary for full impact and that's what I got here. They aren't going for wall of noise so clarity is paramount. The songs aren't terribly busy but there's "space" to them and what I love about this is that all the nooks and crannies are filled.
Deftones - Digital Bath (alternative)
And here's where we end. Another song that brings out all the best of the Hemphone. The snare drum is like a bullwhip cracking but not in a bad way. Just that big, heavy woody sound, and then when the bass guitar lands home everything falls into place. Chino's voice absolutely SOARS during the chorus. Oddly the chorus felt a bit "busy" but I think the culprit here is that the mids are coming through so strongly that it caught my off guard. Listening to the verses on this song might be the best experience of the above.
(note: I also fired up You've Seen the Butcher by Deftones but didn't want to repeat artists. Long story short they literally vibrated on my head from the bassline holy crap)
So! What are the takeaways?
1) If you're not a basshead, these will work for literally any kind of metal.
2) These are absolutely the best Grado I've heard.
3) I don't know if I'll keep them or the Beyers just because they are so wildly different I'll have to put them head to head a few times
4) Any talk of comfort issues with the F-pads or the clamp is wildly overblown
5) Oh lord I hate this cable
6) I owe all y'all who said to get them an apology for waiting so long.
