It's funny that you guys bring this up because I bought Some Kind Of Monster just two days ago because of the Sam Goody closing sale. Got it for like $15 because they are going out of business (and a Steve Vai Live at the Astoria dvd as well, woohoo). I absolutely hated the production on St. Anger the first time I heard any of it. Then as time progressed, some of the stuff I liked, some of it still bothered me. My boss actually likes the way the drums sound on that album, he explains that "maybe people will see how nasty a drumset really sounds before you start eq'ing and compressing it. I don't think anyone realizes how awful drums really do sound before any processing is applied". I think he has a good point. If you've ever sat there and realized how much we all process drums to make them sound "good"...I mean, the original drums just sound god awful sometimes, lol.
I still think St. Anger drops the ball on Metallica's integrity as far as being a professional production. I mean, 20 years of top-of-the-line studio recordings - and then this. Kill 'Em All wasn't all that great production wise to me (matter of taste, don't flame!), simply by dating constraints (being back in the 80's and all), but it certainly is a favorable choice over St. Anger as far as production is concerned, IMO.
Bob Rock is full of shit. Is it not apparent the *team* of guys working on the St. Anger album replacing kicks here and there to Lars' taste, looping drum beats so he wouldn't have to play them again, and random other little studio magic-tricks? It's painfully obvious that they are going about it just like any other album.
What I thought was great and completely obnoxious from the SKoM dvd was the art auction for Lars Ulrich's collection of like 8 peices or whatever it was. A couple went for over a million, the others went for close to that. I mean....honestly, those paintings are just like the peices of crap in my city's art gallery. Fucking canvas that looks like somebody just flung bottles of paint all over it, selling for tens of thousands of dollars. People are idiots. I think Bob Rock has driven Metallica into the ground. Thats the most basic way of how I look at it. There are a lot of angles to cover, but when it comes down to the bottom line, I think he just screwed them (and their dynasty) up.
~006
