Rick Rubin = Good?

[Heckelgruber]

Despite all the desperate, miserable ways that Metallica have sucked in the past I still can't bring myself to hate them or write them off - except maybe Lars. I grew up with Metallica as a teenager and somehow music from that era of your life is really important.

I'm happy that Rubin's producing the record because he has incredible form but I suspect that James will still be writing tedious, introspective lyrics and that the band will restrain Kirk from playing exciting leads. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see them put out a good album and from a production point of view anything would be better than the tinny, crappy sound of St. Anger.

 

[Opethian666]

I wish Metallica would return to form... *sigh*

 

[daz436]

i never liked them

 

[Heckelgruber]

i never liked them

I don't know what your age is, but I just grew up with it in my early teens. They had just started on the road to being desperate sell-outs, but music from that age just kind of sticks with me. It's the same for Grunge type music, I still like it even though my tatses have changed so much.

 

[daz436]

i respect that you like them and why, I just find metallica very boring and generic.. even their early stuff which people seem to cream themselves over

 

[Pethical]

maybe generic because so many bands ripped it off in the following few years, but at the time im sure a lot of people found the sound fresh

 

[Heckelgruber]

maybe generic because so many bands ripped it off in the following few years, but at the time im sure a lot of people found the sound fresh

I agree. In 1986 Master of Puppets was an exciting album, but I guess that would not be the case now. Reign in Blood is the same - same year, and Slayer's style has been ripped off so much that it risks diminishing the original. I don't listen to Metallica any more, more just fondly remember them.

Still into Slayer though.

 

[melvintillius]

I agree. In 1986 Master of Puppets was an exciting album, but I guess that would not be the case now. Reign in Blood is the same - same year, and Slayer's style has been ripped off so much that it risks diminishing the original. I don't listen to Metallica any more, more just fondly remember them.

Still into Slayer though.

Indeed. When I first heard Master Of Puppets it in 1988, I was blown away. That was also the year that ...And Justice For All came out. I was hooked on Met by then. I'm hoping that bringing Rubin in will help them produce a quality metal album. St. Anger was probably the worst album I've ever heard. I actually threw it out the car window a while back.

I just hope that they can write some good music. Without that, the producer can only do so much. Rubin has worked wonders with System of a Down though, so my hopes are high for the Mighty Met.

 

[Srontgorrth]

Well, heres some info on the new album.

METALLICA's Lars Ulrich has exclusively revealed to Kerrang! magazine that the band's new material has an "old-school" METALLICA flavor.

The metal legends are currently working on the follow-up to 2003's "St. Anger" in their own studio at METALLICA HQ in San Rafael, California.

"The last album was an unusual METALLICA album in that no one brought ideas into the studio. Everything you hear on that album was given birth to in the studio," the drummer notes. "This time around we've each brought in ideas as we used to — as well as working on some jams we had from from two summers ago — and James [Hetfield] and I are sorting through our CDs of riffs to put together stuff as we did back in the day.

"The new stuff is much more organic, more old school. It certainly doesn't feel like 'St. Anger' Part Two," Ulrich adds. "When we were rehearsing for our South African shows and started playing the 'St. Anger' stuff, it definitely felt very different to the rest of the set because of how the songs were put together. It was really important to make that record in the way we did because of the chaotic internal vibe at that time: 'St. Anger' was a statement, 55 minutes of brutality packed onto a CD, proving to ourselves that we still had the spark. 'St. Anger' was fun but we don't need to make that album again."

Ulrich says that the band have six or seven songs nearing completion, minus vocals and they are using producer Rick Rubin, famed for his work with RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, SYSTEM OF A DOWN and SLAYER, for the first time. This collaboration marks the end of the quartet's 15-year relationship with producer Bob Rock, but Ulrich insists the split was drama free.

"We had a great time with Bob," he admits. "But it seemed that after 15 years it was time to try some different things and get a different perspective. As you get older you get set in your ways and get very fucking spoilt. It was important for as to not get stuck. Rick makes everything — he sees the big picture and has big ideas. It's working out great. We're excited hearing shit come together!"

METALLICA's as-yet-untitled album is expected in early 2007.

 

[Brooks]

Just remember not to blame the sound of St Anger on Bob Rock. As far as I know, he was incredibly upset that Metallica chose to conceptualize and actually record an incredibly raw, shitty sounding album (raw isn't the best word, theres nothing "raw" about St Anger, just hastily copied and pasted... but I digress...).

Notice how Bob Rock is quite absent from the second half of the Some Kind of Monster movie? He was not happy with the way he was represented. The shit sounding album was the BANDS idea, not bob Rock.

And now that they're moving to Rick Rubin, Bob Rock gets the blame for St Anger. Kind of sad actually, Bob Rock is a great producer.

 

[demonofthefall6469]

Hm, Linkin Park, that's gonna be a well produced bad album. Linkin Park is annoying and doesn't have good musicians, but they sometimes come out with a decent sounding song.

but for the uninformed, here's a list of what he's done so far and a few of what he's planning on doing, taken from wikipedia

Radio - LL Cool J (1985)
Licensed to Ill - Beastie Boys (1986)
Raising Hell - Run-D.M.C. (1986)
Reign in Blood - Slayer (1986)
Electric - The Cult (1987)
Danzig - Danzig (1988)
Tougher Than Leather - Run-D.M.C. (1988)
South of Heaven - Slayer (1988)
Masters of Reality - Masters of Reality (1988)
Andrew Dice Clay - Andrew Dice Clay (1989)
Trouble - Trouble (1990)
Danzig II: Lucifuge - Danzig (1990)
Seasons in the Abyss - Slayer (1990)
Nobody Said It Was Easy - The Four Horsemen (1991)
Manic Frustration - Trouble (1991)
Decade of Aggression - Slayer (1991)
Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991)
Danzig III: How the Gods Kill - Danzig (1992)
Thrall: Demonsweatlive - Danzig (1993)
21st Century Jesus - Messiah (1993)
Danzig 4 - Danzig (1994)
American Recordings - Johnny Cash (1994)
Divine Intervention - Slayer (1994)
Wildflowers - Tom Petty (1994)
One Hot Minute - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1995)
Ballbreaker - AC/DC (1995)
God Lives Underwater - God Lives Underwater (1995)
Empty - God Lives Underwater (1995)
Unchained - Johnny Cash (1996)
Undisputed Attitude - Slayer (1996)
Diabolus in Musica - Slayer (1998)
System of a Down - System of a Down (1998)
Chef Aid - South Park (1998)
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1999)
Loud Rocks - V/A (tracks: 1. System of a Down & Wu-Tang Clan - Shame, 6. Tom Morello & Chad Smith & Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothing Ta Fuck Wit) (1999)
American III: Solitary Man - Johnny Cash (2000)
Paloalto - Paloalto (2000)
Renegades - Rage Against The Machine (2000)
Amethyst Rock Star - Saul Williams (2001)
Toxicity - System of a Down (2001)
American IV: The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash (2002)
By The Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers (2002)
Audioslave - Audioslave (2002)
Steal This Album! - System of a Down (2002)
Results May Vary - Limp Bizkit (with Terry Date and Jordan Schur)
Unearthed - Johnny Cash (2003)
De-Loused in the Comatorium - The Mars Volta (2003) (with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez)
The Black Album - Jay-Z (2003) ("99 Problems")
Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium - Rage Against the Machine (2003)
Heroes and Villains - Paloalto (2003)
Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) - Slipknot (2004)
Armed Love - The (International) Noise Conspiracy (2004)
Crunk Juice - Lil' Jon and the East Side Boyz (2004) ("Stop Fuckin' Wit Me")
Make Believe - Weezer (2005)
Out of Exile - Audioslave (2005)
Mezmerize - System of a Down (2005)
Hypnotize - System of a Down (2005)
Fijación Oral 1 - Shakira (2005)
Oral Fixation 2 - Shakira (2005)
12 Songs - Neil Diamond (2005)
Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006)
Untitled - Justin Timberlake (2006)
Untitled - Linkin Park (2006)
Untitled - Slayer (ending 2006)
Untitled - Metallica (2006/2007)
Untitled - Kid Rock (2006/2007)
Taking the Long Way - Dixie Chicks (2006)
American V - Johnny Cash (2006)
Untitled - System of a Down (possibly 2007)

So you can see he sort of just flows with the times. Not everything is going to appeal to the ones who know him from stuff like slayer and Danzig.
I'd be more concerned with Justin Timberlake than Linkin Park.
As for Metallica, it's gonna be more up to them than Rick Rubin.

7 albums in 2005?

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he didn't produce Master of Puppets. Kid Rock is still making albums? Eeeeewwwwwww.

 

[Opethian666]

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he didn't produce Master of Puppets. Kid Rock is still making albums? Eeeeewwwwwww.

It says Masters Of Reality, not Master Of Puppets. Or did I miss it? O well I'm too lazy to check the list again.

 

[melvintillius]

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he didn't produce Master of Puppets.

If you had read the posts leading up to your response, you would have realized that the discussion was not whether or not Rubin produced Master of Puppets. He did not, of course. It was some European guy.

 

[AlphaTemplar]

Why are Bob Rock and Lars Ulric always blamed for Metallica sucking. Hammet isn't "allowed" to play cool lead solos? Give me a break...the whole band is responsible for their musical direction.

 

[demonofthefall6469]

It says Masters Of Reality, not Master Of Puppets. Or did I miss it? O well I'm too lazy to check the list again.

My mistake, sorry.

 

[FuneralPortrait]

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is a brilliantly produced album. I don't know what you're listening to it on, but you may want to check your speakers. It was mastered by Howie Weinberg, who is an exceptional mastering engineer. He works for Masterdisk for fuck's sake!

Also, mastering and production are two different things. If an album has been badly mastered, that does not mean that it was badly produced. But, generally the producer is there with the band when they preview the mastered product. If they don't like it, they have them fix it. The mastering company works on the project until the artists are pleased.

So, you might want to have your speakers checked out, or get some new ones.

Howie Weinberg is incredible... whenever I think to myself that the mastering on an album sounds nice, I look in the booklet and more often than not it was him. He's worked with some great artists as well.. Mars Volta, Jeff Buckley, Faith No More etc.

 

[RDreamer]

Rick Rubin is terrific. A lot of the albums I see on that list are some of my favorites. Rick Rubin could polish a turd and make it into gold.

That being said, if Metallica is so insistent on sucking, there's not a whole lot Rubin can do about that. He can make the suckfest sound nicer, but unless he is a closet necromancer and can bring Cliff Burton back to life, it's kind of a lost cause.

BTW, where is the Geto Boys album on that list? I thought Rick produced one for them too.

 

[Evan84]

BTW, where is the Geto Boys album on that list? I thought Rick produced one for them too.

He produced their self-titled album.

 

[:Wreath:]

OMG that linken perk cd will rulz, lmao...

Seriously, the producer has a lot to say when it comes to the sound created by a band but the band itself is still the guilty party behind the music so I think it's up to Metallica this time...