Torrent time?

Yeah too much to figure out I've heard a few clips for comparison, and it's definitely better.

 

I don't remember any of the old metal being this way. And I have lots of it. This is a fairly new thing, the "loudness war" it's been called. It seems to just get worse. I bet record companies have tried to find ways to boost falling sales (sound quality wasn't the reason for the fall, it was piracy) and this was one solution....and a stupid one.

The problem with extreme cases of this (the new Metallica), is summarized here from Wikipedia -

Compression was used to the extreme to make this CD really $%^&ing loud. This brought on clipping. It's like turning your stereo up full blast and expecting it to sound good. It usually doesn't, it distorts. But imagine distortion even at the lowest levels....you'd think "wtf!?". So that's what all the hoopla is about....and I'm mad enough to sign an on-line petition about it! :grrr:

 

Exactly. It takes a lot of the live feel out of the music.

 

I've always respected him as a musician, but damn he can be a *****.

 

Have you even read the thread Puck? It's not as good as old Metallica, but it's a step in the right direction to me. And it gives me some new stuff to play on the guitar.