Production Quality Horrors!

[DogManX 179]

This is not exclusive to VK! Well, we all have these moments when we get a new CD, "consume" for the first time and (to quote the angry video game nerd) have to ask ourselves... "WHAT WERE THEY THINKIIIIING??"

 

What are your top production quality horrors? Were there disappointments when it came to beloveth artists/bands? Did you once have the feeling the production teared down the otherwise good quality of a release? Were there aspects of a release other from mastering that made you angry (like booklet designs etc.)?

[Bear 1817]

Carach Angren - Lammendam

Carach Angren - Death Came Through a Phantom Ship

Carach Angren - Where the Corpses Sink Forever

 

These guys know how to write very good symphonic black metal, but they don't know shit about how symphonic black metal should sound. These three albums are overproduced to the point where they become boring, despite being filled with great music from A to Å. It's way too polished and doesn't fit the music one bit.

 

Chthonic - Seediq Bale

Chthonic - Mirror of Retribution

 

Same problem as above, just that the music is even better. Fantastic music overproduced to the point where it's almost impossible to listen to them. Can't handle more than a couple of songs at a time because of the awful production.

 

Gorgoroth - Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt

 

The music on this albums is pretty damn good, but the production is awful. It sounds so plasticesque and it is all so very unfitting.

 

Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst

 

Awful production that keeps me away from listening to it. The original is weakly produced. They wanted the same sound as Arcturus had on their debut, but the guy who produced that one had left and they got someone else who didn't know shit about it. So they are exusted here. But the re-recording is even worse. Overproduced to the point where it becomes unlistenable.

 

 

It's as if none of these artists or their producers had heard a black metal album before and knew how to properly produce it. I'd love to find out what these bands and their producers where thinking.

 

I could mention 500 more albums to be honest, and that would just be metal. Some bands and producers, man. Jesus.

[CAT5 9075]

Several MERRY records suffer from really shitty production - which is a shame because I've always enjoyed them musically, but can only listen to a handful of their recorded material. They strike me as a band that's probably better live anyways, but still...

 

Also, the indie band YUEY has NEVER had great production - which is also tragic since they're such great songwriters.

[Tokage 5930]

like nearlyy every lynch. record belongs here lmao

[DogManX 179]

I'd also have to go with Chthonic - Seediq Bale. Just horribly mixed drums, too much bass - it's very similar to Dir en grey's Withering to Death, which suffers from the same problems, just worse. Everything sounds electronic, the bass makes it unbearable to listen through headphones.

 

DMX -Undisputed seems like the cheapest ever produced hip hop album. It's like DMX went from superstar to homeless in this. Ridiculous. Also, Flesh of my Flesh, Blood of my Blood was a big letdown from its predecessor. Non-existent beats basically.

 

Whoever knows japanese death metal band Defiled: stay away from In Crisis. This is the epitome of elitist failure. Instead of getting a more classic 90's mixing, it sounds worse than a 10-man basement live.

 

Immolation - KIngdom of Conspiracy. Overpolished mastering, almost to the point of plain boring.

 

Almost every Sigh release. Guys, being horror avant-garde is NO excuse for all this horror quality. OK, often refusal of cooperation from the label was involved. Still.. they could be so much better if they just focused one time on what they actually want to sound like.

 

Lastly what comes to my mind would be Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding. I just can't believe how they fucked up the drums so bad after Tomb of the Mutilated. The only thing that saves this one is Barnes' almost funny vocal performance.

[Zeus 7997]

it's very similar to Dir en grey's Withering to Death, which suffers from the same problems, just worse. Everything sounds electronic, the bass makes it unbearable to listen through headphones.

I think you mean every DEG release. DSS came the closest to having thought put into the mastering process and even that sounds...off.

[Ito 2438]

Sel'm's newest mini-album fall hard core in to this category. The compositions sound really great, but man everything sounds super flat and dull, especially the drums. It's just so disappointing when that happens to an album that you know that you would love if only it were listenable...

[Guest mitsu the indie girl]

Quite a few of auncia's music had lower production quality. My favorite mini album of theirs had such crappy production quality, "Rabiu". I loved it so much, because the good aspects of it were so well done, but then the sound quality etc. was really shitty which was such a bummer. Even the PVs for songs from "Rabiu" were so low production it was laughable and sad. It had a raw visual kei I really enjoyed; just saddened me the production wasn't the best.

[CAT5 9075]

like nearlyy every lynch. record belongs here lmao

LOL, was skimming through some of my fav. lynch songs the other day and felt the same. Although I don't think the production on their latest is as horrible as everyone thought it was. Everything is clear and audible, it just sounds uber compressed and sterile.

[Zeus 7997]

How about that I.T.G album?

[Number Girl 48]

I can't say much about production values, nor do I tend to judge albums on that factor alone, but . . . Boris' Noise album.

I wouldn't call it a "horror" necessarily (I do have a bias towards them, being one of my favorite bands of all time 'n all), but something feels very *uncomfortable* about listening to it. I mean, I enjoy the songs themselves but I couldn't help but feel like something is just off about the way it's put together. I feel like there's an emphasis on the vocals that isn't necessary considering Takeshi is not a stand-out singer. Not sure if that has anything to do with production, but let's just say hearing them performed live was a lot more pleasurable than on the recording.

[Ito 2438]

TBH, I actually enjoyed the production on Noise...or more or less I didn't notice any problems with it.

[saishuu 3220]

heidi.'s アルファ album. It's unlistenable.

Plus all of MERRY's releases starting from nuケミカルレトリック.

[Number Girl 48]

TBH, I actually enjoyed the production on Noise...or more or less I didn't notice any problems with it.

It must have been just me then, lol. 

[keyinjpop 89]

acid android, I've yet to hear one of their songs where yukihiro isn't buried under the instruments.

[Shaolan974 6185]

Everything comes form Death-trap Records.

[Ikna 1225]

Basically any demo tape or demo CD by obscure indie VK bands (especially if they are from the late 90s-early 00s). Though sometimes the bad recording quality can add some charme to the music. And I forgive bad quality when the music is on tape, because in most cases tapes are a low budget medium and you will rarely get a super polished and great sound quality on them. I am judging more harshly if the band has bad recording quality on a CD, especially if they have the budget and maybe even signed to a large (or major) label.

[Lestat 2167]

Femme Fatale's recent 'Freya'. Something has gone terribly wrong on that single.

[Alastor 14]

Deluhi's best album, Vandalism. Their previous releases weren't awesomely mastered either, but they buthered these songs beyond redemption.

 

I LOVE the band, it's awesome, but these beautiful melodies deserve SO much better.

[Traxan 148]

I got crap for this before but I'll say it again: the new Aldious album is a tragedy. The sound, in particular the drumming, is reminiscent to "St. Anger," and that is not a compliment. The first two albums were perfect. This one is awful, and it's got some interesting music, although I am still very much biased toward the thrashy early albums with Rami.

 

On the non-Japanese side, the last two Nightwish albums have been poster children from the Loudness Wars (and I don't mean the band. Google the term if you don't know). Symphonic metal requires extra care and those albums are bombastic travesties with all of the subtleties blown out and all of the gain cranked to 10. I have to get the vinyl versions because they will sound better.

 

To this day, Rush's "Vapor Trails" remains the biggest fark up I've ever heard. They recently remastered it after years of protests from fans and it's vastly improved. But the original release was painful. Here was Rush, known for making great sounding records, making their big comeback following Neil's tragedies and the band breaking up and fans were gagging.

[RpgRiser 70]

How about that I.T.G album?

 

THIS!

I.T.G is a real massacre,in both the production quality and musical composition >,<

[inartistic 1151]

Femme Fatale's recent 'Freya'. Something has gone terribly wrong on that single.

I thought their mini-albums were somewhat suspect as well―too flat.

My contribution: LIN. Besides sometimes ruining songs by using too much background synth, their mixing/mastering is way too loud and always sounds clipped. How KISAKI listens to those things, with his 20 years of experience, and thinks they sound ok... I'll never understand.

(Maybe it's to blame on this “sound advisor” guy who has been credited on a lot of their releases?)

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

^ it's probably a hand puppet Kisaki talks to when deciding how many layers of pipe organ he'll need to cover up his bass parts.

[Ikna 1225]

The funny thing is that his old Matina bands sounded way better and have been better produced, despite the majority of other bands on the label sounding crappy. In Syndrome's songs you can even hear Kisaki's Bass very clearly at times. But isn't it generally the case, that a lot of modern bands (not only VK) are produced way too loudly?