Quote Originally Posted by Wireworm5
I have Metallica ST. Anger album which I happen to like, and think its perhaps the best recorded heavy metal rock that I've encountered. On my system I can crank it, and the detail of the bass playing remains intact. However reading reviews by Metallica fans on this album on Amazon, the consesus is they sounds like a garage band, and generally disliked.
So out of curiousity I played this album on a make shift system. I wanted a more boom box sound. So I hooked up my CV- LS8's to an old JVC receiver and added some bass with its on board equalizer. There it was, the garage band sound that all these reviewers are talking about.
So I have to conclude that in this case a excellent recording for the mass public played on boom boxes is too revealing and will sound like crap.
If these metallica fans could hear this recording the way it was intended, on a good system, I think the reviews would have been more positive.
Pretty high praise for that album. I admit I gave it few listens and then put it down, never really quite connected with it. Even on my system, the recording does remind me a lot of a garage demo, especially with how detached the vocals sound. I can see how Metallica was trying to go with more of a raw sound with St. Anger, especially considering how polished their last three albums had sounded. (Even though it's got its detractors, I use "Load" as one of my test discs when I evaluate speakers) It definitely has more of a street feel than any of the other stuff that they've done with Bob Rock, but I'm not sure if I would go as far as calling St. Anger one of the best recorded metal albums out there, or blame the boom box playback for its lukewarm reception. Musically, that album still hasn't sunk in with me. I guess I'm still in the old school RideTheLightning/MasterofPuppets/AndJusticeForAll phase!

BTW, I heard a lot of great things about the new Metallica movie. Supposed to be a very insightful documentary that traces all the stuff they went through while recording St. Anger. Heard that the movie has a lot of parallels to This Is Spinal Tap, except that it's about a real band.