Remasters

[Mel81x+]

I spent today listening to a Metallica album (Ride the Lightning) and I did it with the original recording vs the remaster. It wasn't till I went and found the remaster that I realized what a shoddy job the sound engineering was when it was first recorded. The guitars (James in particular) sound so much better on the remaster than they do on the original where they almost sound hollow in comparison. And of course this isn't a bashing on the tech they had back in the 80s to record so much of what went onto albums that came out then but what other remasters has anyone heard that sound better (subjectively) than the original?

[Stan]

Maybe because my ears aren't tuned like yours but I often find it difficult to tell the difference between originals and remasters, for the songs I've listened to anyway  

[Mel81x+]

10 hours ago, Stan said:

Maybe because my ears aren't tuned like yours but I often find it difficult to tell the difference between originals and remasters, for the songs I've listened to anyway  

TBF I didn't really realize it myself either till I went hunting for it and then I went oh these guys actually did some work here haha. Also, this seems to be a very Apple thing because you'll find really old albums and their remasters together in iTunes.

[Dr. Gonzo]

I think most Megadeth remasters are worse than the original tbh

[Mel81x+]

18 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I think most Megadeth remasters are worse than the original tbh

Whys that though? Granted I haven't listened to a remaster from them yet so I am curious how the remasters make the originals better. I can probably see this in terms of how the guitars need to be a little more thinner to sound more Megadeth (its the sound I associate with them) vs being more mid-tone heavy on remasters.

I was partly right about that rich mid-tone moving up to create a more flatter spectrum. Just look at the amount of variation in the sound-scape on the original and then the flatness of the remaster (2004). Shame really as I remember Megadeth more as the original vs the 2004 mix. 

Thought I'd post the Metallica remasters for Master of Puppets but its so subtle in the soundscape its pointless to really post it.

[Dr. Gonzo]

11 hours ago, Mel81x said:

Whys that though? Granted I haven't listened to a remaster from them yet so I am curious how the remasters make the originals better. I can probably see this in terms of how the guitars need to be a little more thinner to sound more Megadeth (its the sound I associate with them) vs being more mid-tone heavy on remasters.

I was partly right about that rich mid-tone moving up to create a more flatter spectrum. Just look at the amount of variation in the sound-scape on the original and then the flatness of the remaster (2004). Shame really as I remember Megadeth more as the original vs the 2004 mix. 

Thought I'd post the Metallica remasters for Master of Puppets but its so subtle in the soundscape its pointless to really post it.

The remastered album that most sticks out to me as not sounding as good as the original, is actually their first album Killing Is My Business... and Business is Good - they had a remaster issued really recently (well it feels really recently but it was probably 2-3 years ago tbh). The song that sticks out the most to me is Chosen Ones - which is a brilliant song originally... I fucking love the baseline in that.

Then Dave Mustaine in his infinite wisdom decided to remove a shitload of the bass from that album and it makes the remaster, but especially that song, really disappointing to me. Which is kind of incredible because it's a famously low budget production originally, and I'm sure they spent more money than they did to originally record & produce it on the remaster.

The 2004 remaster of that album is much better than the more recent remaster, which I really don't like because of the bass sounding so different. And that 2004 remaster might be the one Megadeth remaster I like better than the original, but I'm not really sure on that. I don't have my MP3s of the original production on any of the computers I currently use - and the original isn't on Spotify for some reason (generally true of many Megadeth albums, sadly).

With the Rust in Peace - I think the worst parts of those remasters are the tracks where Dave re-recorded the vocals (on Five Magics and Take No Prisoners). On the 2011 remaster of Peace Sells... But Who's Buying - the snare drum sounds... too loud, I think.

Generally, I've found their remasters to be way more compressed than the originals. Less dynamic range sounds less good, imo.

I think the originals of Peace Sells, Rust in Peace, Countdown to Extinction, and Youthanasia are some of the best produced metal albums of the years they came out in... so I'm really not a fan of those remasters. I feel like they were done mostly to just generate money/make a record label happy - but they don't actually improve the sound of these already very strong albums.

[Mel81x+]

2 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The remastered album that most sticks out to me as not sounding as good as the original, is actually their first album Killing Is My Business... and Business is Good - they had a remaster issued really recently (well it feels really recently but it was probably 2-3 years ago tbh). The song that sticks out the most to me is Chosen Ones - which is a brilliant song originally... I fucking love the baseline in that.

Then Dave Mustaine in his infinite wisdom decided to remove a shitload of the bass from that album and it makes the remaster, but especially that song, really disappointing to me. Which is kind of incredible because it's a famously low budget production originally, and I'm sure they spent more money than they did to originally record & produce it on the remaster.

The 2004 remaster of that album is much better than the more recent remaster, which I really don't like because of the bass sounding so different. And that 2004 remaster might be the one Megadeth remaster I like better than the original, but I'm not really sure on that. I don't have my MP3s of the original production on any of the computers I currently use - and the original isn't on Spotify for some reason (generally true of many Megadeth albums, sadly).

With the Rust in Peace - I think the worst parts of those remasters are the tracks where Dave re-recorded the vocals (on Five Magics and Take No Prisoners). On the 2011 remaster of Peace Sells... But Who's Buying - the snare drum sounds... too loud, I think.

Generally, I've found their remasters to be way more compressed than the originals. Less dynamic range sounds less good, imo.

I think the originals of Peace Sells, Rust in Peace, Countdown to Extinction, and Youthanasia are some of the best produced metal albums of the years they came out in... so I'm really not a fan of those remasters. I feel like they were done mostly to just generate money/make a record label happy - but they don't actually improve the sound of these already very strong albums.

I spent some time tonight listening to a track with far less of the band in it with its totality - Dawn Patrol. What's odd about this pre-remaster is that it actually sounds eerie and has that almost broken feel to it. Then you get to the remaster and its almost like Doom 2 became the new Doom we all know about. It's a lot more grittier and has a punch in the bass that the original just doesn't have. They also completely ruined the vocals on it as its already a bit of a growl but now the bass seems to be overpowering the vocals with the drums adding a lock that it doesn't even need to.

In general I agree with you about the compressed part of remasters. They try to bring everything to the same level and pan them in a 25 ~ 50 split to allow equal splitting across the ears and then push them across. What's odd about that is that its a trick used in a lot of pop music to give vocal prominence but with metal music and rock music it doesn't always help because you know certain elements need to be drive the song more. 

[Machado]

"Let it be... naked" is my most played Beatles album on spotify. Great job Paul.