Mystery Metal Producer Re-Mixes Death Magnetic Song Using Guitar Hero

[McFarland]

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/name-metal-prod.html

Remember that item from last week about the new Metallica album sounding better when played in the Guitar Hero videogame than on actual CD? Now, a mysterious producer has released a new mix of one of the songs on the album.

He or she extracted three stereo submixes from one of the songs as it appears in Guitar Hero, combined them with snare drum reverb from Black Album, and wettened the dry (effects-free) overall mix that the band and its engineers apparently preferred. By doing so, the excessive compression, distortion and clipping that many report hearing on the CD and MP3 versions of the album disappear.

"If you love the songs on Metallica's new album, Death Magnetic and think the band has written some of its best material in years, but were very disappointed with the CD's sound/production, then this is for you," reads an e-mail apparently sent to several members of Metallica's forum including mastering engineer Ian Shepherd, who helped uncover the mastering issue many say plagues the CD version of the album. "A 'name' metal producer who has worked with some of the top bands in the genre has put together this version of Metallica's 'Broken, Beat & Scarred' using only six separated/extracted tracks from Guitar Hero."

Several forum members initially fingered Andy Sneap as the man behind the new mix, according to Music Radar, but Sneap said he's "a touch busy with Megadeth live to be worrying about Metallica Guitar Hero remixes right this second." The issue of who made the mix is still up for debate.

Entitled "The Thing That Should Have Been" -- coincidentally or not, the same title of a review of the album by eFluxMedia's Sarah Vasques -- the mystery producer's reworking of "Broken, Beat & Scarred" is available in the usual ways.

Although Shepherd says the new version features more bass, richer guitars and far less distortion/clipping (since it comes from the GH version), he points out that the limitations of mixing from Guitar Hero and one of the band's previous albums mean an official new mix should still be released.

"This would still be my choice of mixes to listen to so far. But I can't 'commit' to enjoying it in the same way as I could to a proper remix from the band. It doesn't feel authentic, because the band aren't involved," he wrote. "I think we as listeners look for statements from artists, and this isn't it. An official re-mix is still needed."

A petition for a new official mix of the album currently has 9,945 signatures and counting (updated: Shepherd did not start the petition).
(If you're wondering how the CD version of Death Magnetic sounds compared to the Guitar Hero version that was used to make "The Thing That Should Have Been," a YouTube video demonstrates the difference.)

Anybody know where to find this song? 

[boonstack]

Metallica should have stopped after Re-load. Dont give me that bullshit about how they SHOULD have stopped in 80's. BULLSHIT RELOAD HAD GREAT FUCKING SONGS ON IT.

UNFORTUNATELY, DEATH MAGNETIC = SHIT and i literally cant believe its Metallica when i hear it.. such a shame man

[Zach Trowbridge]

Metallica should have stopped after Re-load. Dont give me that bullshit about how they SHOULD have stopped in 80's. BULLSHIT RELOAD HAD GREAT FUCKING SONGS ON IT.

UNFORTUNATELY, DEATH MAGNETIC = SHIT and i literally cant believe its Metallica when i hear it.. such a shame man

Are you tripping?  Death Magnetic has good tunes.  Maybe not 5-stars all around, but at least a 3 1/2 or 4.

[Bluto]

I made that mix between posts the other day, thanks to the 32 second delay