[Destroysall]

   

Spoiler: Only hidden to make post appear shorter.

It's a bit hard to say after just one full listen. I did try listening to the album once before but the atrocious mastering made me abandon that attempt. I've been somewhat spoiled by having a lot of the metal I've been listening to in recent times have reasonably dynamic mastering compared to the genre's current norm. I should probably see how the album sounds on speakers the next time around for comparison.

 

My first impressions: The first third of the first track reminds me of early Metallica. The rest of the album not so much. I enjoy the musical variety that's present within many tracks but that being said I also thought at least based on my first listen that there was perhaps a bit too little clear musical variation from track to track within the album itself especially when you take the album's long duration into account. Several songs seemed quite solid but there were also songs that failed to maintain my interest for their entire duration. Given the album's length I would have perhaps preferred a more concentrated package, but then again many of the songs might grow on me over time so it's probably a bit too early to say. Admittedly it's been a while since I've properly listened to metal that's in this vein so I'm kind of still searching for the right mindset for listening to this style of music again.

 

Anyway, I don't really have overly positive or negative overall impressions yet, just random thoughts floating around. I expect at least some of these songs to grow on me as I become more familiar with them. Hopefully the album proves to be easier to follow on speakers, but we'll see. It's a shame that the mastering is as hot as it is because it's not like the music itself gives your ears time to rest very often to begin with.

 

I do hope loudspeaker listening does the album justice. I'm not a fan of the master myself. I wish they would push for a solid stereo recording than they do at present. Matt Heafy (lead vocals/guitar) insists on home studio productions much more (with a good economical reason) than professional productions. It's almost like they push for that raw sound; it's cool but it can be distracting when trying to fully digest the album and pluck it all for what it's worth.
 
It's interesting to hear that because I remember hearing a lot of people call them a new Metallica before. I do agree when you say that there are a few songs that can lose one's interest. I do believe though that with time, these tracks become loveable. I personally nominated their In Waves record to be a flawless album in terms of playability and how catchy the tunes not only quickly get, but how musically connected they seem to be. For Shogun, if I had to pick two songs that I find a favorite: one would be Shogun, the other Kirisute Gomen. These two really surprised me in not only how diverse the two are from each other, but how they stand individually. Of course, I'm sure the Metallica sound leaks in here and there, but I feel they begin and end the album with a powerful number.
 
Please do report back on how well the album does with a speaker-listening session. I have always wondered if the album itself would sound better on viinyl, but it seems the vinyl for most of their albums have become harder to find. I do hope maybe more do become available later in the future.

 

[YtseJamer]

 

[erikfreedom]

 

[YtseJamer]

The video is amazing!

 

[Johnnyhi]

Reminds me of some of the old Medal of Honor ost's...
 

 

[MrGatsby]

 

[wormsdriver]

 

 

 

 

[TJ Elite]

 

Spoiler: Original post

I do hope loudspeaker listening does the album justice. I'm not a fan of the master myself. I wish they would push for a solid stereo recording than they do at present. Matt Heafy (lead vocals/guitar) insists on home studio productions much more (with a good economical reason) than professional productions. It's almost like they push for that raw sound; it's cool but it can be distracting when trying to fully digest the album and pluck it all for what it's worth.
 
It's interesting to hear that because I remember hearing a lot of people call them a new Metallica before. I do agree when you say that there are a few songs that can lose one's interest. I do believe though that with time, these tracks become loveable. I personally nominated their In Waves record to be a flawless album in terms of playability and how catchy the tunes not only quickly get, but how musically connected they seem to be. For Shogun, if I had to pick two songs that I find a favorite: one would be Shogun, the other Kirisute Gomen. These two really surprised me in not only how diverse the two are from each other, but how they stand individually. Of course, I'm sure the Metallica sound leaks in here and there, but I feel they begin and end the album with a powerful number.
 
Please do report back on how well the album does with a speaker-listening session. I have always wondered if the album itself would sound better on viinyl, but it seems the vinyl for most of their albums have become harder to find. I do hope maybe more do become available later in the future.

 

 

I have been trying to be more lenient with brickwalled albums lately. Kanye West's most recent album Yeezus for example I believe to be intentionally off-putting both musically and sonically. I think the really harsh mastering on that is completely an artistic decision and I can stand behind that. I've also tried to learn to see digital clipping and over-compression as something some artists might intend to be part of their sound. I might not always like it, but I can respect it as a creative decision. I don't feel that it is an artist's duty to try to cater to what his/her/their audience wants. Then again there is nothing wrong with doing that either. That being said, in many cases it's almost impossible to know what an artist's true intentions were unless they discuss it openly somewhere. If an album was mastered loud simply to follow trends or because of outside pressure, that is just… sad.

 

There are some thrash metal sections on the album that definitely remind me of modernized early Metallica and other thrash metal bands from that era. The singing during the first third of Kirisute Gomen in particular sounds to me a lot like Metallica to me. Just an observation, nothing more. The first two or three tracks felt like the immediate standout tracks for me, although I don't really have very clear impressions of the later songs because my thoughts were beginning to wander a bit at that point and my focus wasn't at its best. My attention span is optimized for 40-minute albums from the vinyl era, I'm afraid.

 

The vinyl was likely only made available as a limited pressing. It would certainly be interesting to compare if it has an entirely different master than the CD. In any case it is impossible for it to be quite as loud as the CD, but if no additional effort was put into it it is quite possible that it sounds pretty flat and dull. Then again on some metal albums the differences between the CD and vinyl master are staggering so you never know before hearing yourself.

 

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Currently listening to:

 

Various artists - Raise a Hope Project
 

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Edit
 
Now watching one of the YouTube let's players I follow play oboe.
 

 

[In Over My Head]

 
Listening for the first time. I never really got into NIN, but I'll give this one a go. Its nice that they released multiple versions. An instrumental version would be welcomed. The sound of the albums seems pretty good overall, and amazing at times, however I find the vocals somewhat boring and abrasive. Hence why I never embraced NIN. But I'll try to reserve judgment until I've given it a good chance.
 
Edit:
 
Track 13 - While I'm Still Here, stood out to me as the best. The bass on this one is off the hook. 

 

[philo50]

 

[BillsonChang007]

 

 
I love this album!  
 
Was listening to Adam Lambert's Tranpassing album xD

 

[Sorrodje]

  Great album , great artists. I post about him a lot but no one seems to take interest. He is amazing - i went to see him live at the cork jazz fest and it was the best gig that i have ever seen!

 
Maybe He's more considered in EU than in U.S ?
 
 
I listened to this yesterday evening :
 

 
 
John Scofield trio "Enroute" .. i'm a huge fan of Steve Swallow ! 

 

[magiccabbage]

   
Maybe He's more considered in EU than in U.S ?
 
 
I listened to this yesterday evening :
 

 
 
John Scofield trio "Enroute" .. i'm a huge fan of Steve Swallow ! 

 
He is well known if you like jazz, but this is the best instrumental album i have heard this year
 

 

[julzd]

Jacques Brel - Les bourgeois 

 

[Sorrodje]

   
He is well known if you like jazz, but this is the best instrumental album i have heard this year
 

 
Thanks for the suggestion