It depends entirely what it is. All production styles have contexts they work better in. Thrash has a ceiling for quality of production to me – once it becomes too clinically produced it loses the point of its sound. It's more exciting to me when it sounds kinda nasty.
At least they had it right to put the three minute track out as the single. They're fucking around in Dream Theater or BTBAM territory now with a 12 track/~78 minute album. There's no way this album is going to be worth sitting around through the mediocre filler if this track is any indication...the riffs are good, but the production is just way too sanitized and James sounds like an active rock radio trope on this track.
it's been a consistent issue since (at least) St. Anger. Overly long songs for no reason. Master of Puppets and One are great examples of songs that warrant the run time, but I don't think there's a single song on St Anger, Death Magnetic or Hardwired that wouldn't be better if it was significantly shorter.
You all realize that James is channeling the part of his range he used on the first 4 albums with this new one right? The albums everyone cries are the only good ones they made?
Also, if you don't like Hardwired, you will literally never be satisfied by a Metallica album and should stop bothering to listen to their new shit. They literally gave fans everything they've been asking for.
In addition to this (I.e. certain levels of production work best for certain genres), there is a difference between production sounding crisp/good and production that sounds sterile. A lot of those classic thrash records sound good without sounding like they are recorded underwater.
I listened to St. Anger on my way home from work, and the genius of it is that they actually sound like they are literally playing metal music. They're both Metallica in form and function.
Gave Lux Aeterna another listen and proceeded it with Seek & Destroy for a comparative listen, and there's definitely more redeeming qualities in the instrumentality than I gave it credit for. The riffing there reminds me a lot of Motorhead and 70s metal that's pretty cool. That said, two things: 1) the tracks from Kill 'Em All still sound better to my ears than the new single, but that could be Stockholm Syndrome or the fact I've been listening to too much grindcore that sounds like it was recorded in a toilet bowl. 2) This is the most I've thought about Metallica in a single day in years so at the end of the day Lars wins, I guess.
I told a fellow drummer friend to check of "Lux Aeterna" and he said "Lars sounds competent on this, but I keep picturing his dumb 'rock face' playing these parts and it makes me hate it." hahaha
Lux Aeterna is fun, I just have the tiniest, pettiest complaint with it: James pronounces "Aeterna" like the A isn't there ("LUX ETERNAAAAA") and James why would you use this as the chorus if you don't know how to pronounce it I did Classics for 4 years and this bugs me way more than it should
I’m sure there’s a great case for “The Day That Never Comes” being one of their longer-than-it-should-be songs, but that’s one that earns its length for me, personally. Idk, I just always loved how that one builds as it goes. The “Metallica song that starts slow” niche was far from novel at that point, but its particular take on the model works really well for me. There’s just something extra… catchy or hooky or whatever about it? Maybe it just came out at the right time for me or something. I’m a very casual Metallica listener who just sporadically gets very in the mood for their thing, and that’s the 21st century track of theirs I’m most likely to land on.
can't tell if this is serious or not... so stop me now if i am about to hate this band even more than i already do
Fade to Black, Master of Puppets and One would probably be my top 3. I know you said 2 but I couldn't decide which to leave off lol.