Actually Californication was mixed by Jim Scott, Death Magnet was mixed by Greg Fidelman/Andrew Scheps. Rubin had nothing to do with it.
Umm, yes, yes it is. Lars Ulrich has even stated that Rick Rubin presented the Death Magnetic mix idea to them. Even though they went with it, Rick Rubin is at fault for doing it in the first place. Rick Rubin may be a great producer, but he's known for being one of the worst offenders of the loudness war. (Californication, Death Magnetic, and Black Sabbath's 13,)
Okay, I just wasn't sure how much of an impact the producer has on the mixing process. I thought they usually had little impact on the mixing process.
I'm not sure how it works in other bands, but Rick never had final say in LP. The band ultimately has creative control, so I'm surprised Lars Ulrich would blame a self-inflicted issue on Rick Rubin.
Directions: 01. Go to Other Music section. 02. Post about Rick Rubin's producing and what he has to do with the mixing process there. 03. Return here with something about THP.
The band sticks by the decision of choosing the mix they did for Death Magnetic. Lars Ulrich has said Rubin presented them with two mixes, one loud, and one clean, and the band decided to go with the loud one. Even though they ultimately made the decision of using the mix they did, Rubin's still to blame for making that mix in the first place.
Blaming Rick Rubin for Metallica choosing the louder mix over the clean one is like blaming God for you choosing to have sex with a cactus over Jessica Alba. Sure, God/Rick Rubin gave them the choice, but you/Metallica are still pretty fucking stupid for choosing the obviously inferior option. I mean, it's not like Metallica didn't have the ability to go, "We don't like either, let's get someone else to mix it." They can afford it. They have the label clout. They're fuckin' Metallica for Allah's sake. Metallica complaining that they didn't have a choice is laughable when they're one of the most recognized and biggest bands still operating today.
Yeah, I'm not sure how the Death Magnetic mix is Rubin's fault. I'll admit his productions don't really sound that great anymore for the most part, but look at who the band in question is. Metallica have demonstrated that, regardless of who's producing, they have completely forgotten what a good recording sounds like. The snare. THE SNARE.
You know, I consider myself pretty knowledgable when it comes to most phases of music, but this is something I have very little knowledge about. Someone educate me.
I know what it is, but I dunno, it feels like I don't have the kind of understanding I have with most musical topics. Like, what exactly is compression? Why is it bad? What else contributes to the loudness war? Basically I don't know enough about mixing to grasp the nuances here.
I don't really know the specifics, but I can notice over-compression when it's there. I'll provide you with some of the most over-compressed songs you'll ever hear. It just sounds awful. [video=youtube;rMYDuPWHFAo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMYDuPWHFAo[/video] Here's a comparrison for the Rush, so you can here the difference (just the first song). [video=youtube;t0s80izTONE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0s80izTONE[/video] [video=youtube;eCxooEWJTv4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCxooEWJTv4[/video] [video=youtube;rhATDCGRGQw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhATDCGRGQw[/video] [video=youtube;YlUKcNNmywk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlUKcNNmywk[/video] A lot of people say Alice in Chain's Black Gives Way to Blue is way too compressed, and it technically is, but I've never really noticed it, I guess for that album, it just doesn't bother me.
Metallica never attempted to pass the buck for DM's shitty mix job. They've always either stood by their decision to use it or maybe eventually conceded that they didn't make such a good decision. But they've never complained about it or said "don't look at us! It was Rubin all along!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=A_xLbNfewco#t=477 last years Through the Never soundtrack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76m2kmsAxhA Live in Quebec DVD, 2012 https://soundcloud.com/officialmetallica/metallica-ronnie-rising-a/s-CCxu4 this years Ronnie Rising Medley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFFDM1Z-rSg 2010, with Ray Davies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5YbATbUOh8 Live at Grimey's 2008 It's no coincidence that Rubin has such a poor track record with production values. Rubin favours pushing mixes right to the edge. For all people like to say "the buck stops with the band", a producer is selected by the band to guide them, ergo, producers do have influence.