Sometimes it takes something like production or mixing to truly make (or break) a great metal album. I was thinking about this when listening to Motley Crue's debut. For years I was mostly indifferent to this album until I heard the OG Leathur mix. The sound and slight differences really made all the difference in the world and now I hope it in as high a regard as "Shout at the Devil". Then you have the 2 different versions of Mercyful Gate's "Melissa", Ozzy' s records with the re-recorded parts, Pentagram's "Day of Reckoning" with different production and drums, the list goes on.

So does anyone have preferences for a certain production on an album? Which ones are inferior or superior to their counterpart? Or do you feel the performance and writing of the band in question is more essential than the production/mixing?

The only ones I'm really familiar with are those that have been remixed to try and hide atrocious recordings, like Manowar and Nevermore. In that case I generally just avoid the album anyway. Some actual alternate mixes I really liked were Scott Burns' own mixes of some songs from Arise - would've liked to hear the whole album like that tbh.

I'm a big fan of Megadeth and a few years back they released a chunk of their back catalogue with a remix and remaster. Some were clearly worse than the original (Youthanasia) some I didn't min either way (Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?) but one album I found benefited greatly from the remix/remaster (Countdown to Extinction). This is surely not a popular opinion. I have seen no one else preferring the remix but I just think there is something bringing more punch to the record. The original always sounded a little bit flat to me. I always liked it but when the remix was released I thought it took the album to a new level for my listening pleasure.

Here's a great comparison someone put together of Geoff Tate's Frequency Unknown album. Shows how terrible the original mix was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTmufAgdxu0



If you're referring to the re-released Battle Hymns and Kings of Metal, those albums already sounded fine. Joey remixed them so he doesn't have to pay Ross Friedman!

No I mean their latest load of shit, the original album where the bass was just horridly loud - can't remember the name off the top of my head.
Those re-released albums were kinda cool imo.

I liked the Battle Hymns rerecording, it made that album more of a "Manowar" record considering they released the original before they really found their sound and image. The Kings of Metal one, on the other hand, was super lame. That album already sounded fine, and became the blueprint that the rest of their albums were based on. What was the point?

I think you're referring to their most recent album The Lord of Steel, which was released with two different mixes. Still can't hide that bland songwriting.

As a millennial who grew up in the era of remastered classics, it bothers me to no end that the first two Ozzy albums weren't available with the original musicians for the longest time unless you wanted to buy them used. I do have mixed feelings on the Megadeth remasters for similar reasons.

On the positive side, Andy Sneap's Enemies of Reality remix was a smart choice. The Maiden remasters were also done with dignity and the first three albums still flow well with the outtakes added to them. I also prefer the 1993 version of Day of Reckoning as Joe Hasselvander is a superior drummer (RIP Stuart Rose) and the revamped track listing flows better than the original.

There are different mixes, and different recordings of the same album altogether. Some bands have entirely re-recorded their earlier albums and a lot of the time, the original version was simply better in all respects. Like, why did they even bother? But: In the case of Sodom's "Obsessed by Cruelty", well, the original version was so bad it was almost unlistenable, while the re-recorded version (with a different guitarist) is an absolute classic of 80's speed/death thrash.

No, the original is the one that's classic - that's the only one 98% of people have heard . Pardon me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the re-recording only ever released on the original European LP back in the 1986, and all other releases have been the original barring the inclusion of "After the Deluge" on later CD pressings? I also think it sounds even rawer and more "unlistenable" than the original and lacks the dark atmosphere & brutality of the original, though I suppose the musicianship is a bit tighter.

I prefer the remixed/remastered Rust In Peace, mainly cause it's got a louder/fuller sound.

On the original one, the drums were too loud and echo-y, and the guitar and bass were too low in the mix. That's why I never really liked it. Plus, the guitarist is better and the band is overall much tighter on the newer recording. Just my opinion.

I can't find any info about remix, only remaster

Katatonia remixed their Viva Emptiness album due to the poor sound quality on the original. One of the rare instances where the remix is vastly superior to the original, at least to my ears. I always had trouble fully enjoying that album because of the crap drum sound and overall bland nature of the production. The remix fixes all of that and now it sounds great.

So ... what's your take on Earaches FDR (Full Dynamic Range) reissues?

Sigh's power metal album Gallow's Gallery had a pretty bad mix originally but the remix released 2 years improved things a lot!

That Nevermore album EOR was atrocious when it first came out. The remix fixed things a lot. Also In Flames - R2R...that album needs to be remixed badly

This reminds me of the 3 separate remixes for the Molested album. I got the 2016 version which includes the original 1995 mix, and a new updated 2016 remix. I honestly think they both sound good, but I've heard people complain. Haven't heard the 2009 remix, which is that the one Dan Swano remixed? Because I have heard no one compliment it if it is that one.

I honestly like the Megadeth remasters, especially for So Far So Good, So What?, I prefer that bassy sound as opposed to the odd distant original sound, especially on a track like Hook in Mouth.

The non-payment part is right; they can continue paying those songs live without paying Ross. But it's completely re-recorded not remixed. Also, I don't know how anyone could prefer the re-recording of Battle Hymns it's like they deliberately set out to make it slower and shitter.

Could anyone answer this for me: I have the commonly available CD with Obsessed by Cruelty and In the Sign of Evil on SPV (sold as a two for one, with a crappy slipcase). Is that the "awful" version or the good one?

that's up to you to decide. compare yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4aaCgcvUts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVTcp0oa6Ak

This is the US-version, the first one they recorded, leaving out "After The Deluge". I would say it's the more sloppy one, more in the vein of SIGN. With the second recording, they upped speed and tightness, making it more impactful and on par with other stuff from that year.

If you have it in CD, that's the original, the "bad" one. The "good" one was only available on the European vinyl release back in the 80's, and to my knowledge has never been released elsewhere though some of those two-for-one compilations do add "After the Deluge", the only track exclusive to the "good" one.

in fact OBC was rereleased one or two years ago as a DLP with both recordings:

https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/S ... lty/570231

The Caroline versions were remixed, AFAIK.

But no fucking CD release, as usual.

I prefer the original Day of Reckoning. Hasselvander is technically superior, but something about the mixing of the drums puts me off. I enjoy the remix of 'Pentagram/Relentless', that's only available on the original vinyl, but I prefer the original version ('All Your Sins', that became Peaceville's 'Relentless' reissue).


And the later Blood Music remix/remaster helped improve things even more, IMO.

Hmmm. I was not aware of this, so I checked it out. And yeah, it is a marked sonic improvement. But it does nothing to bolster the quality of the music itself to me-this still sits to me as my least favorite "modern" Katatonia record. But you are 100% dead on, the 2013 remixed version is superior to the original in every way and the best songs-"Criminals" and "Evidence" in particular-really shine. And some songs I absolutely hated on the original-"Omerta" as a prime example-are actually listenable now.

Not you, but as it goes when these threads pop up, some people could stand to learn the distinction between "remix" and "remaster" (e.g. the Earache FDRs are not remixes).

My personal favorite remix is The Crown's Crowned Unholy. Yeah I know this a part re-record as well, I just think that this version has superior instrumental clarity over the original Crowned In Terror, and this might be somewhat contrarian, but I much prefer Lindstrand over Lindberg for this band.

Kataklysm did a remix of Victims Of This Fallen World circa 2005 or so, and it was a complete turd-polishing. This album is still garbage, but the remix is a much more listenable piece of garbage.