METALLICA's HETFIELD Says 'Death Magnetic' Sounds 'Better' With Compression

Guitar Player associate editor Matt Blackett went to Kansas City on October 25, 2008 to interview James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett for the magazine's February 2009 issue and catch a sold-out show on the "Death Magnetic" tour. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Guitar Player: There's a big brouhaha on the Internet about the overall sound of "Death Magnetic", and how the versions on the Guitar Hero video game are clearer and less compressed. What's your take on all that?

Kirk: A lot of that has to do with [producer] Rick Rubin's opinion that the kind of production on "Death Magnetic" makes the album sound livelier. I'm inclined to agree with him. I think it sounds pretty cool. I think it sounds good and raw and in the moment. It's less than perfect, but I like that aspect of it. In the past, we've gone to great pains to eliminate any kind of digital distortion or redlining. I think for these songs — and the concept of this record — it sounds good.

James: I don't know. Some people will always find something to complain about, and I realize that. They might not be used to the kind of sound that Rubin goes for — which is pushing the limits. We went back and forth with the sound of the record. I was one of the first ones to notice the compression was affecting the overall sound, but when we took it away, something was missing... some of the liveliness went away with it. So after comparing both directions, we said, "This sounds better." It's as simple as that. There's nothing technical about it. We didn't get into worrying what people will think. As far as the Guitar Hero tracks are concerned, those are probably very early versions, but I don't really know. It's so complicated these days. You never know where, how, and when your music is being released. It was a lot easier when you sat down, mixed the records, released it, and that ws it. Now...there are more variables out there with CDs, MP3s, ringtones and games, the more potential there is for different sounds. People are talking about it, though, and that's somewhat important. There's passion there, and we accept that as a good thing. People have always been passionate about METALLICA — positive and negative.

Footage of Guitar Player's Matt Blackett checking out James Hetfield's racks and guitars and Kirk Hammett's rig at the October 25, 2008 METALLICA show in Kansas City can be viewed below.

James Hetfield's racks and guitars:

Kirk Hammett's rig: