Does Kirk Hammet just suck recently or am I just seeing it now?

[ShinkanPo]

I've never looked into it but it seems to me like if there were good master tapes in the studio vault that could be used for a better sounding remix, they'd have done it already.
It bugs me because KEA had a good mix. And even GDR, the liner notes mention that it's "not very produced by Metallica" but it sounds better.

Yeah Kill Em All despite having a less thick sound still sounds well balance and Kirk's tone is upfront and you can hear pick attacks from James' down strokes.

While in RTL it sounds muddy specially Kirk's Solo even though I think they got better equipment by that time. If I am not mistaken RTL and Master of Puppets where recorded in the same studio in Copenhagen Denmark.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Yeah Kill Em All despite having a less thick sound still sounds well balance and Kirk's tone is upfront and you can hear pick attacks from James' down strokes.

While in RTL it sounds muddy specially Kirk's Solo even though I think they got better equipment by that time. If I am not mistaken RTL and Master of Puppets where recorded in the same studio in Copenhagen Denmark.

I'm gonna have to look into this.
It's weird that a band would only have its sophomore effort sound worse than the rest.

 

[ShinkanPo]

I'm gonna have to look into this.
It's weird that a band would only have its sophomore effort sound worse than the rest.

One thing I appreciate about Dream Theater their Album mix has always been on point since "Images and Words" but I guess they just have the privilage of being almost a decade later than Metallica albums and John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy seems to have more Money than Metallica when they started!

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

One thing I appreciate about Dream Theater their Album mixed has always been on point since "Images and Words" but I guess they just have the privilage of being almost a decade later than Metallica albums and John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy seems to have more Money than Metallica when they started!

Yah, both were established on their own already to an extent, known names. Petrucci in particular had a "player's player" rep.
Metallica was one of those bands that slept on dirty mattresses and ate mayonnaise sandwiches while they were trying to make it

 

[ShinkanPo]

Yah, both were established on their own already to an extent, known names. Petrucci in particular had a "player's player" rep.
Metallica was one of those bands that slept on dirty mattresses and ate mayonnaise sandwiches while they were trying to make it

From what I remember from a documentary John Myung,Petrucci and Mike Portnoy came from an upper middle class background and I think when they started their demos they have supportive parents specially Mike's Dad.

 

[ultramanhyata]

And even then he gets Legato Massacred by Youtube kids of today how sad that would be!

I don't think it comes down to Hammet's lack of technical prowess. It's that he also lacks the feel, soul, lyricism and compositional ability that makes other technically average players still brilliant.

 

[Lonesome Crow]

Yeah Kill Em All despite having a less thick sound still sounds well balance and Kirk's tone is upfront and you can hear pick attacks from James' down strokes.

While in RTL it sounds muddy specially Kirk's Solo even though I think they got better equipment by that time. If I am not mistaken RTL and Master of Puppets where recorded in the same studio in Copenhagen Denmark.

Both were recorded in Sweet Silence Studios. Lars is a big Ritchie Blackmore fan and loves the Rainbow album Difficult to Cure (Lars loves the Joe Lynn Turner era of Rainbow; let that factoid sink in for a moment... their current state of sacklessness and pussification should not be a surprise). Flemming Rasmussen produced and Difficult to Cure and recorded it at Sweet Silence... so naturally Lars had to record there with Rasmussen at the helm.

MoP sounds different despite Rasmussen and Sweet Silence because Michael Wagener did the final mixing.

Random factoid that probably only interests me: James was using a Jackson King V at the time (so was that moo-moo Mustaine); the "King" in King V refers to Robbin "King" Crosby of Ratt, the band that embodied everything that James and Dave hated about the LA glam-metal scene.

 

[Gref]

Went to the show here in Orlando on the 5th and everything sounded pretty good. Nothing out of the norm for a live show, imo. I could have done without the 5 minute bongo session.

 

[ShinkanPo]

I don't think it comes down to Hammet's lack of technical prowess. It's that he also lacks the feel, soul, lyricism and compositional ability that makes other technically average players still brilliant.

Agreed