Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[Kaa]

I've never been a Metallica fan. Some songs are good, overall their stuff with Burton seems more interesting and the music of their early days really packs an energetic punch, so I can see why people really love it. But even the material with Burton I feel downplays the bass. It's hard to make it out due to the tone and the mix. And that's kind of a deal breaker to me. Can anyone convince me otherwise? It's a band I want to be able to appreciate.

...and now you understand why 73.5% of the world hates Lars.

 

[Grahams Groove]

I've never been a Metallica fan. Some songs are good, overall their stuff with Burton seems more interesting and the music of their early days really packs an energetic punch, so I can see why people really love it. But even the material with Burton I feel downplays the bass. It's hard to make it out due to the tone and the mix. And that's kind of a deal breaker to me. Can anyone convince me otherwise? It's a band I want to be able to appreciate.

I'm right there with you. I respect them immensely and understand their significance, but I never put them on when I'm selecting the music. I can definitely enjoy them, but the music doesn't move me at all. The way the early albums are mixed does not help the case either...

 

[Deleted member 132197]

I'm right there with you. I respect them immensely and understand their significance, but I never put them on when I'm selecting the music. I can definitely enjoy them, but the music doesn't move me at all. The way the early albums are mixed does not help the case either...

I'll join this club.

I appreciate what they've achieved, but strongly dislike Lars and James. Kirk just wants to be on his ranch of play his riffs.

My band mates really like them, so that makes disliking metallica extra fun.

Some Kind of Monster is a great documentary though.

 

[Grahams Groove]

I'll join this club.

I appreciate what they've achieved, but strongly dislike Lars and James. Kirk just wants to be on his ranch of play his riffs.

My band mates really like them, so that makes disliking metallica extra fun.

Some Kind of Monster is a great documentary though.

That documentary is my favorite thing about them.

 

[ConfoundedBridg]

I've never been a Metallica fan. Some songs are good, overall their stuff with Burton seems more interesting and the music of their early days really packs an energetic punch, so I can see why people really love it. But even the material with Burton I feel downplays the bass. It's hard to make it out due to the tone and the mix. And that's kind of a deal breaker to me. Can anyone convince me otherwise? It's a band I want to be able to appreciate.

Regarding the bass being downplayed I have to agree as far as mixing goes. Just learned the bassline to "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and it's so sick, but had I not have learned it I never would've really known how cool it is (minus the intro) because you can't frickin hear it. And I'd say that I've developed an ear for hearing bass at this point so that's a problem. I think a lot of this has to do with them having two guitars though. Having two guitars often sucks away that little area of mids bass players can usually work with when there's one guitar it seems.

 

[Kaa]

Regarding the bass being downplayed I have to agree as far as mixing goes. Just learned the bassline to "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and it's so sick, but had I not have learned it I never would've really known how cool it is (minus the intro) because you can't frickin hear it. And I'd say that I've developed an ear for hearing bass at this point so that's a problem. I think a lot of this has to do with them having two guitars though. Having two guitars often sucks away that little area of mids bass players can usually work with when there's one guitar it seems.

Don't forget the "Metallica Magic Tone Setting" of: Bass - dimed, Mids - zero, Treble - dimed

 

[YawningJorin]

Don't forget the "Metallica Magic Tone Setting" of: Bass - dimed, Mids - zero, Treble - dimed

 

[kleinenenten]

- Black Metal, Marduk (ANYTHING with singer Mortuus) - Everything bleeds (starting at 33:38). A lovely tune about Jeanne d'Arc fingering herself.

Dang it, now I gotta start listening to Marduk...

well that and ATHF theme song

ATHF FTW! Love me some ATHF. Isn't there a spin off coming out soon or something? Aqua Donk Side Pieces, I think.

 

[cusar5]

Now I've fallen down a rabbit hole of revisiting stoner albums I used to enjoy... the nice thing is that a lot of them are easily accessible on Bandcamp these days:

 

[El_Charro]

Or Load, or Re-Load, or Death Magnet, or....

————————————-
I’m starting to feel like the goal of this entire conversation has become to test me (or at least test my patience)…

*Takes a deep calming breath to attempt to refocus his Zen energy*

To clarify-I love ALL of those albums…

I get that people get upset that they moved on from the whole Thrash template, but that doesn’t mean those albums are somehow “bad” music just bc they are different…

I listened to ReLoad in high school and college so much that I ended up having to repurchase that CD…TWICE…

It’s REALLY easy all these years later to pick apart their career, but Load/ReLoad…Like it or lump it-Those albums may not be every one’s cup of tea and I would classify them more as hard rock or blues rock than Metal, but they were a response to what was going on at the time in the music world…

Death Magnetic is a decent album and I really like most of Hardwired save for a song or two on the back half that feel like “fillers”…

Does no one here remember a band called Nirvana and how the whole Grunge movement changed the musical landscape of that decade???…

I just mean-The 90s weren’t exactly kind to Metal unless you were Pantera or White Zombie-even then-That’s a completely different style of Metal than Thrash Metal which had pretty much run it’s course due to the whole Seattle movement…Industrial Metal and later Nu Metal was a lot more popular than anything to do with 80s Thrash…

So-No-None of those albums may be their “best”, but I listened to those albums more times than I can possibly count…

Also-I still don’t get the hate for The Black Album-How are 12 songs of complete and total awesomeness not good enough for people???…

My first dance with my Wife at our wedding was to Nothing Else Matters and that band is the reason I picked up a guitar and later picked up a bass…

Will NEVER forget seeing them play Sad But True live the first time I saw them in ‘97…They were so loud that I thought the roof was gonna come off the f-ing building…

Even last October when I saw them 2 nights at Aftershock-How??? HOW are you pushing 60 and still playing that well live???

So…

Everyone go ahead and laugh at me and judge me for liking their post 80s music, but just know that NO ONE on this thread (or anywhere else for that matter) is gonna change my mind on their music…

I am 100% certain that I would have taken my own life on SEVERAL occasions of the course of my life had their music not provided me with hope thru my parent’s divorcing and my Mom dying from cancer…

Also-I don’t recall me asking anyone else to defend their musical preferences or influential albums that were listed so I’m not sure why it’s okay for people to make fun of what influenced me musically, but I guess if it makes you feel good then have at it…

Thanks! \m/

 

[Grahams Groove]

Mastodon - Crack The Skye is on heavy rotation all the time. The Sword -Warp Riders, and also Apocryphon are heavy rotation. Sabbath - Paranoid, heavy rotation. I listen to a lot of stuff while I'm walking the Battle Dachshund. Interesting bands I'm currently spinning a lot:
Slift - UMMON
Tuber - EP, Out of the Blue, and Desrt Overcrowded
Mother Engine - Muttermaschine
Mantra Machine - Nitrogen

That Slift record is super interesting. I had that and the live KEXP youtube set in heavy rotation for a good while...

————————————-
I’m starting to feel like the goal of this entire conversation has become to test me (or at least test my patience)…

*Takes a deep calming breath to attempt to refocus his Zen energy*

To clarify-I love ALL of those albums…

I get that people get upset that they moved on from the whole Thrash template, but that doesn’t mean those albums are somehow “bad” music just bc they are different…

I listened to ReLoad in high school and college so much that I ended up having to repurchase that CD…TWICE…

It’s REALLY easy all these years later to pick apart their career, but Load/ReLoad…Like it or lump it-Those albums may not be every one’s cup of tea and I would classify them more as hard rock or blues rock than Metal, but they were a response to what was going on at the time in the music world…

Death Magnetic is a decent album and I really like most of Hardwired save for a song or two on the back half that feel like “fillers”…

Does no one here remember a band called Nirvana and how the whole Grunge movement changed the musical landscape of that decade???…

I just mean-The 90s weren’t exactly kind to Metal unless you were Pantera or White Zombie-even then-That’s a completely different style of Metal than Thrash Metal which had pretty much run it’s course due to the whole Seattle movement…Industrial Metal and later Nu Metal was a lot more popular than anything to do with 80s Thrash…

So-No-None of those albums may be their “best”, but I listened to those albums more times than I can possibly count…

Also-I still don’t get the hate for The Black Album-How are 12 songs of complete and total awesomeness not good enough for people???…

My first dance with my Wife at our wedding was to Nothing Else Matters and that band is the reason I picked up a guitar and later picked up a bass…

Will NEVER forget seeing them play Sad But True live the first time I saw them in ‘97…They were so loud that I thought the roof was gonna come off the f-ing building…

Even last October when I saw them 2 nights at Aftershock-How??? HOW are you pushing 60 and still playing that well live???

So…

Everyone go ahead and laugh at me and judge me for liking their post 80s music, but just know that NO ONE on this thread (or anywhere else for that matter) is gonna change my mind on their music…

I am 100% certain that I would have taken my own life on SEVERAL occasions of the course of my life had their music not provided me with hope thru my parent’s divorcing and my Mom dying from cancer…

Also-I don’t recall me asking anyone else to defend their musical preferences or influential albums that were listed so I’m not sure why it’s okay for people to make fun of what influenced me musically, but I guess if it makes you feel good then have at it…

Thanks! \m/

The beauty of music is everyone likes different stuff, and the only thing that really matters is what gets you off and what gets you through the rough spots. I don't think anyone is asking you to defend any of your choices. Just a matter of people here having more or less overlap on the heavy Venn diagram. A lot of my favorite records and bands (which have spanned a huge variety of music over the years) have resulted in friends, family, colleagues, etc. scratching their heads or laughing. Not once has that made me any less enamored with those bands, records, and shows. People are just discussing their opinions - it shouldn't matter as long as the music you dig brings you joy and relief...

 

[scabpicker]

I get that people get upset that they moved on from the whole Thrash template, but that doesn’t mean those albums are somehow “bad” music just bc they are different…

Well, they're not "bad", but they were not what I came to Metallica, or anyone else for. I don't begrudge a band for deciding they want to change their style for any reason. Even if the motivation is commercial, I can't pretend I haven't gone "well, if I do this, that'll Cheap Trick this song enough to get people dancing!" So, all is fair in love, war and etc. Your reasons for enjoying or creating art are yours.

But if they change their approach (or even if they don't), I'm not required to like it. Heck, I'm not required to like anyone, even myself. For what it's worth, I decided I was done with really enjoying Metallica when ...And Justice For All came out. It didn't live up to their previous albums, and I had moved on as a listener. However, listening to them play the songs live before its release at The Monsters Of Rock, I liked them well enough. I think that's probably the first record where I realized production could kill a song.

But nah, similar to the silly idea that 50,000,000 Elvis fans can't be wrong, 50,000 Fall fans could actually be just as wrong, and the one guy who decides to love my next project and writes us fan letters in crayon might actually be right. I know I love crap, and I will never apologize or give its critics the time of day other than to acknowledge their criticisms when I feel or think they are correct, while I continue to enjoy the awfulness that I enjoy.

I mean, I enjoy the fscking Archies. I have no high ground to occupy.



But the best version of that was when Lithium X-Mas did their medley (ehh, maybe a proto-mashup?) of it with Wire's Hearbeat. I'm pretty sure no recording exists, so you're gonna have to imagine it:



Trust me. You like records that are total crap to someone, and so do I. It's universal.

 

[Kaa]

Lol. Well, I certainly hope you've achieved your Zen calm. No one is attempting to push your buttons. You like what you like, I like what I like, it's all good.

With that sentiment out there, anything after MoP is terrible.

I kid! I kid!

 

[arbitrary]

All I have to add atm is that I had to resolder my bass pots and Whitney Houston’s - I wanna dance with somebody is a great damn song; carry on.

 

[bobomatic]

Things always seem to get heavy when Metallica comes up… whether it’s online, at band practice, wherever. I guess the fact that they’re so polarizing means you can’t ignore their significance.

So to lighten things up a bit…

Have I gone too far?

V-4 to GC-Acoustic for high mids/treble, bass rolled off. Mesa to Barefaced for lows/low mids. Both fed by an MBD-1 set to stun. I won’t know if it works as well in reality as it does in my mad scientist head until my ABY gets here later today… but I’ve already scared the excrement out of my guitarists so I’ve almost already won.

 

[ConfoundedBridg]

Have I gone too far?

There is no rig too huge

 

[lucas303]

"One man gathers what another man spills"

 

[lucas303]

Things always seem to get heavy when Metallica comes up… whether it’s online, at band practice, wherever. I guess the fact that they’re so polarizing means you can’t ignore their significance.

So to lighten things up a bit…

Have I gone too far?

View attachment 4649489

V-4 to GC-Acoustic for high mids/treble, bass rolled off. Mesa to Barefaced for lows/low mids. Both fed by an MBD-1 set to stun. I won’t know if it works as well in reality as it does in my mad scientist head until my ABY gets here later today… but I’ve already scared the excrement out of my guitarists so I’ve almost already won.

Or have you not gone far enough?

 

[thombo]

My drummer was jamming this shirt on Sunday:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[scabpicker]

My drummer was jamming this shirt on Sunday:
View attachment 4649576
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Hehejejejehehehehe, there's something meta about wearing a bootleg Lars Ulrich shirt.