Metallica

I wouldn't say there's anything wrong with the MOP production, I just don't like the sound of it. Cold, dry, sterile... I mean, I get it, but I don't like it.
 
Are you listening to the remastered iTunes version? DM has horrible production, makes Dance of Death sound pleasant.
 
I’ve been relistening to Master Of Puppets lately, and that album just keeps getting better and better and better. The only change to my ratings is that “The Thing That Should Not Be” is a 10 for me now, which brings my average up to a full-out 100%.

I’m sorry, it really is that good. I think at this point it’s a Top 10 album if not a part of my all-time Top 5. Fucking incredible with every listen. Love it.
 
The production on Death Magnetic is garbage, and I agree that Master of Puppets sounds dry.

I only have the CD of 'Death Magnetic'. It has a much fuller sound than the early Metallica albums,

It has a louder mix, not a fuller sound. The bass is nearly inaudible, the drums are far too loud, the snare sounds like shit and the guitars sound overly compressed. It's honestly one of the worst sounding albums I've ever heard (not counting lo-fi stuff).
 
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It has a louder mix, not a fuller sound
I'm not familiar with all the jargon so I'll take your word for it. What I meant is that, unlike the 80s Metallica albums, 'Death Magnetic' doesn't sound like it's recorded inside a tin can. The remastered version seems to be on Youtube so I'll try to listen at some point.

I almost feel bad for Metallica because they can’t win. St Anger is one of the most hated Metal albums ever and was the culmination in what I felt was a long line of creative missteps. Death Magnetic is a return to form, what the hardcore fans have been clamoring for, and it was welcomed with a (well deserved) meh.

It’s probably why they don’t make music that often anymore.
I don't see 'Death Magnetic' as a return to form, more as an attempt to stem the criticism which had been thrown at them after 'St. Anger' and caving into the Metal side of their fanbase (so basically selling out!). If they'd continued in the vein of the self-titled album, 'Load' and 'Reload' for 'St. Anger' and subsequent albums I think they'd have been fine, so long as they found a way to be more concise as the worst thing about 'Load' and 'Reload' is the amount of filler on both albums. As they've gone from Thrash to Hard Rock to whatever-'St. Anger'-is to trying-to-be-Metallica-again they just look silly and inconsistent. Metallica can pretty much do anything and get a huge amount of criticism but they'll still sell albums ('St. Anger' was No. 1 in the UK) and sell out concerts. I'm convinced that most of the Metalheads who say they're not interested in Metallica anymore are closet fans.

When 'Death Magnetic' came out I remember it being received with adulation, at least from the people I knew at the time and the mainstream Rock/Metal press. I was never convinced though.
 
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