I think you are full of it. The remasters sound way better. I had all the cassette tapes. I was not born yesterday like you. I am a metal drummer and know every Megadeth song to date.
Five magics is what made me notice how much better the original recordings are. The vocals of the original are so raw, and I was amazed listening to the better version for the first time.
"Possessed with hellish torment (possessed with hellish torment) I master magics five (I master magics five) Hunting the abyss lord (hunting the abyss lord) Only one will stay alive (only one will stay alive)" in Five Magics, I hated the remaster version
Being a musician/audio engineer, I often if/ how much the loss of hearing by the the artist (in this case mustaine) comes in to play when they remaster/remix. What sounded great years ago might not sound as good today. Years back I assisted with the recording of an song where one of the guitar players was a Vietnam vet, who struggled with hearing high frequency due to his hearing loss due to gunfire. He was complaining constantly about the bass being too loud, but the rest of us are looking around like "what bass?". All that being said , the constant full volume concerts are sure to take a toll, especially in the younger days when you think you are invincible.
@@Stigmatix666 Steven Wilson did an amazing job on King Crimson's remasters. Mostly, he was doing it to remix in 5.1, and the new (also-excellent) stereo mixes are just a by-product of that. They are _not_ too bass-heavy. They do, however, bring out a lot of the instrumentation that was buried in the original mixes.
Hearing loss wouldn’t surprise me. Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer all dialed back the loudness on their more recent albums compared to where they were in the 2000s. Dave is the only one of the Big 4 that’s doubled down on loudness. I found the latest remix of Killing Is My Business to be atrocious. And I’m not bothering with the remasters of his 2000s albums, which I’ve read are even louder than the originals, which were plenty loud to begin with.
@@TheBrettAbides It's not just loudness (although I agree that the brick-wall compression is atrocious). A lot of the high frequencies are just gone from the '04 mixes. The first time I heard 'em, I thought, "Did Dave hire a deaf engineer and fail to notice because he's deaf himself?"
When they did the remaster of Five Magics in 2004 with Ellefson's first departure, they changed Satan's voice in the gang-vocals at the end of the song to Fat Albert's.
What's everyone's issue with Youthanasia, Mike? It's not my favorite Megadeth album but it's definitely a good one in my opinion. Elysian Fields is the only track on the album that I don't really care for that much. Black Curtains isn't a top tier song overall but it makes up for it with an awesome guitar solo. Maybe I have a sentimental attachment to it because Youth and Countdown were the first two Megadeth albums I listened to as a kid when I was first getting into metal. I was maybe 7 or 8 years old and I remember opening the album booklet and seeing Dave Mustaine and thinking "hey! that guy was with Metallica in the Cliff Em All video!". That was the first realization that the two bands were connected.
@@GlennFrog You know who that is right? Mike isn't a douche, he's like one of the nicest guys on TH-cam. An excellent guitar teacher. He was actually agreeing that Youthanasia is a great album and that he loves it. Just acknowledging that a lot of fans have bashed it over the years.
@@colten2524 Apparently those were the demo vocals that he added to the 2004 remix. You can actually hear that on Warchest in 2007 for the Five Magics Demo.
The main reason as to why Youthanasia's 2004 remaster sounds horrible is because of what Dave Mustaine did to all the tracks. During the Gibson TV interview he did 2 years ago, Dave Mustaine basically explained how after Rust in Peace their songs started to take on a heavy metal and hard rock tempo, with Youthanasia in particular having a 120 BPM as a standard tempo. During the remaster stage Dave Mustaine stated that he didn't like the slow tempo so he decided to speed up the tracks. Add that with all the bad stuff with the remasters like the drumming and vocals and thats how you completely alter an album from its original state.
Very interesting - comparing the two different versions of the album on Spotify, I can barely tell that there is any difference in tempo, but using a metronome, the remaster of Blood of Heroes, for example, is 3 bpm faster than the original. And each song on the remaster is a few seconds shorter than the original. I can't tell whether the pitch is any higher, but I imagine they are...
They weren’t remasters. They were complete remixes, sometimes outright re-recording parts. They’re a travesty. What they did to Nick Menza’s drums especially, was horrifying. Also hate them giving such sharp, software drums to So Far, So Good.. That big 80’s snare sounds perfect for that stuff. Especially on a slower track like In My Darkest Hour.
Never saw the point to remasters anyways. Not many classic albums are really known for being mastered poorly in the first place, unless you’re talking about something that was originally rushed/lacking proper funds. Remixes can be interesting, but they need a reason to exist and not be deceptively posed as the original. For example, the original Ramones album had some dated stereo effects and was remixed in mono by the original producer.
One of the best remixes is Cradle of Filth's Cruelty and the Beast. I have some issues with it but overall it's better, mainly because of the drums. @@SlashManEXE
Best metal remix has to be Terry Daye’s remix of Pantera’s Reinventing the Steel. Funnily enough, the original version sounds like the remix/remaster versions of Megadeth’s classics 😂
Definitely seems like they also got caught up in the loudness wars. The original Rust in Peace master is actually pretty quiet overall (I remember I'd always have to turn my stereo up a couple of notches when playing it vs. other albums), but with a pretty good dynamic range; the remaster is loud and compressed all to hell. I quite regret not keeping the original CD. Who knew that in the future the only available digital versions would be the worst ones.
Wdym, idk about deezer but both apple music and spotify have the og ones. I think peace sells on apple music is the 2011 remaster but thats the 'good' one anyways. You do have to put some effort into hearinh the ogs but they are definetly not unavailable in digital form
That'll never happen - for I still have all my original CD's when they first were released - and will make sure there's digital copies of them. The remasters are trash. And I know he did it for spite to release "These Boots" censored - but it just sound like a$$.
DonkeyPopsicle, you hit the nail on the head. The remasters tone down a lot of the brightness (which was often an issue with albums mixed for vinyl and then lazily transferred to CD without incurring the extra expense of remixing), but the dynamic range of the remasters is compressed to the point where it's really grating on my ears. Presumably the thought was to make the remasters sound denser and heavier -- more in line with metal releases from recent decades -- but the open, spacious sound of the originals is completely lost.
My guess is the originals were mastered with a premiere analog soundboard / mixing desk, and the remasters were done completely in an Avid/Mac. Also, Dave Mustaine is approving the remasters, and his hearing is damaged from years of touring. He is boosting the mids and high range so he can hear it!
I think the same thing. Most of the gear these guys license these days are very treble oriented, makes sense since they are probably half deaf from years of performing
This is really interesting. I'm not a huge Megadeth fan so I'm not hearing these changes with a fan's ear but it's pretty obvious that these aren't remasters but remixes, and in some cases re-recordings, sold as remasters with an overt task to "modernise" the original sound. There's an attempt to widen the frequency range of every instrument in order to provide a more consistent bass and also to mono that bass so it stretches across the stereo-width of the track as a solid block, which muddies the original's clean and spaced instruments. The changing of the guitar effects, like the reverb used, doesn't help either. To a non-fan, though, this might actually make these songs easier to listen to but it all comes at the expense of actual fans' memories and the sound that made the band popular in the first place. The separation of instruments in the mix and the aggressive and "dry" sounding guitars are just gone. The removal/replacement of secondary and tertiary instrument tracks, and the rounding off on the high frequency on the guitars, was likely done to make the music sound less harsh to the general music audience and an easier fit with "modern" radio and TV broadcasts. If it had just been a remaster you wouldn't have lost any elements, they'd just have been slightly reduced or increased. I would argue that using the term "warm" about the originals isn't the best word to describe their sound. The added bass response of the 2004 versions actually provides a warmth that wasn't there originally. But I know what you mean. These do sound wrong. You are entirely correct in that it just about throws everything that made the originals sound like they did in the garbage. It's a great example of revisionist history. Was George Lucas brought in to produce these?
Literally took the words right out of my mouth. But, I can say this with 100% that the only album where some vocals were actually redone was on RIP (RUST IN PEACE). They had lost the vocal tracks for some of the songs on the album, so Dave re-recorded the tracks that were lost.
When the were doing the audio mix, Dave realised the original lead vocal tracks for Take No Prisoners, Five Magics, Lucretia, and possibly Rust in Peace/Polaris.
Not gonna argue with the rest of that, but, to be fair they were advertised at the time as being "Remixed and Remastered" rather than just straight remasters
it was printed right on the album artwork of each tray insert, "Remixed & Remastered" www.metalkingdom.net/album-photo/2019/06/12308-Megadeth-Rust-in-Peace.jpg
SFSGSW is the one that I see ppl talk about how the remaster was actually leagues better than the original which always confused me. The mood of the original mix is too iconic to throw it out for the remaster.
The remasters completely ruined the feel of SFSGSW, the snare hit right before the main verse in set the world afire is lethal and they removed it. Super specific but its my favorite moment of the song.
What I love especially about it is that the original had a typical punky and dirty sound which I absolutely love, the remaster sounds both too muddy and overproduced
@@sikamikanico04 Also, if you have the remastered version, you can pretty much download free audio programs like Audacity, and add the amount of reverb that you want, for example. But you can't REMOVE the reverb from the original, if you think it's too much.
I've only recently gotten into Megadeth properly, and didn't know about the whole remastering stuff, so when I bought Rust in Peace and Countdown on CD, I didn't realise what I was buying. I figured that the 2004 remaster would just be tweaked a little bit and boosted, as is often the case with remasters. When I found out I had to go on eBay and find the originals. Fortunately Megadeth CDs tend to be on sale pretty cheap these days.
I prefer the 2018 KIMB because there was so much detail I was missing in the guitar work on the OG. It made me appreciate the songwriting and performance a whole lot more.
@@mike285that’s true. But the vocal tracks were missing or destroyed for that track, as well as Take no Prisoners and I believe another couple of tracks
@@boggstyI thought it was because whoever wrote the original These Boots Are Made For Walking had legally fought with mustaine cause they didn't like the cover, so in the 2018 remaster he had to sing it again with the original lyrics
I think the main problem with the remixes is that they replaced the snare drum with the same sample on everything, and the snare drum is key to the distinct character of a recording.
Maybe he heard st anger and thought 'I'll have a bit of that' Is bizarre listening to it. Makes no sense. Been better if he let others do a remaster or even remix. I'm real picky. I hate the harmonies on RIP. I wish sum1 could sort that. Way too whiney.
That stupid "ka-pow" ultra compressed snare sound on those remixes is the worst. Whatever sample Dave used makes it sound like some kid's basement Garage Band project. It really shows how important engineering/production choices are.
A few of the Ozzy remasters in the early 2000s replaced the bass and drums because of legal issues. I think Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of A Madman. They eventually restored the original parts and re released them again. The original Iron Maidens cds are better than the remasters but at least they didn't remix or replace anything
I remember I was listening to an internet radio station once they played the remaster of crazy train and I was like one sec! Unfortunately my copy of the Osman cometh was that way too.
To be fair, some of the vocals had to be retracked because some the original tapes weren't preserved very well and some dropped out or were nearly inaudible when they transferred them all for just a remix and remaster. I'm pretty sure there were also other issues at play to prevent him from scrapping the remasters as well. I do agree tho, younger Mustaine on Five Magicks certainly sounded more fierce than the retracks!
My original cassette of Countdown To Extinction broke and I was terribly disappointed when I bought the 2004 remaster cd. It sounded like Nick Menza's drums had been replaced by a drum machine and there was something off about the rest of the sound that I couldn't put my finger on. Its only saving grace was that there were bonus tracks I didn't have on the cassette. I converted all my cassettes I collected since the 1990s to mp3 in the last decade and even though Rust In Peace didn't have the same sound quality anymore from being played so much, there was no way I was getting the 2004 remaster of any other of their albums after the Countdown experience. I never liked Youthanasia and didn't even listen to Risk when I read the reviews so I never bought those albums.
Facts I was just saying it .. rust in peace and in countdown to extinction it’s like they use the crap Iest 1980s snare drum electric drum sound such a Devaluation of the albums and a slap in the face to the nick Menza .. I wonder if Dave had anything to do with the mixes or they were just done by somebody for him but it also seems like that’s why he’s also portrayed as a dick just for ruining shit out of spite
your heroes are junkies who sold their rights away. its not done for dave... No its done for the bands pimp...capitol/ emi who are now universal probably. Yes, move from fanboi into a less cloudy but stronger metal man. cheers.@@nickrooney6206 People ought not forget where the maffia went into, and found shelter.....
The Rust in Peace remaster was the first time in my life that I said "this doesn't sound like the album that I listened to before, this is bad" but I didn't know how bad the whole remaster thing was with Megadeth albums. For Reference: I'm a 2000 baby, so when I started listening to Megadeth around 2009-ish on youtube and stuff, when I got a CD of Rust in Peace in like 2014 I listened to it and I was like "is this really how the album sounded like?"
I listened to take no prisoners and it sounded kinda like dave had a higher pitch and less full sound and I was confused, then I realized it was the remaster.
a perfect example of the remasters being worse is take no prisoners, its one of my favourite songs of all time and they just slaughtered that awesome deep chanting voice in the beginning to sounding like some really sad teen who lost his ipod
The thing that always bothered me though was Chris’s Black Friday solo… you can hear that they notched the solo forward so that it’s slightly behind the beat….It’s decisions like these that the author is talking about. Like… Why did Dave feel the need to tamper with this stuff??
I love this youtube channel! You make incredible videos! I really enjoyed the videos on spirit crusher and how death writes songs, those videos came in a very convienient time as i just discovered death. Keep it up
It's always great to see a new Death fan. That song got me into the band. By the time I heard Symbolic, they instantly became one of my top metal bands 🤘
I came to really like Megadeth later on into my late 20's and had always seen the people that hated the 2004 remasters and just hated remasters in general, so I never really cared what the consensus was on whether to buy the 2004 remaster albums or not, since I just wanted to hear the music. The algorithm graced me with this video, and finally hearing them side by side, holy crap, yeah, I get it. Great video, can't wait to hear more from you!
The first remastering I heard was SFSGSW and I was negatively shocked... the original sounded scaring but very interesting, with that chaotic and apocalyptic tone made by tons of chorus/flanger/reverb effects (and so far I've never heard a similar thing in a metal album...). Now it sounds too "harmless" and clean, removing layers of mystery and near-missing instruments, so typical in their first four LPs and like another (in)famous title, And Justice for All, where apparently there is no bass, but it gives a particular tone in a very subtle way. By the way, I'm glad that Metallica won't remaster their old material as Ulrich said every album took the exactly picture of their sound at that time and they're not going to revisit it again.
That was my favorite album by them. Threw it on on spotify and when I started listening to into the lungs of hell and heard those lame horns At the beginning, I knew I was fucked. 😢😢
@@VARVIS_ they did disappear so that should’ve killed the desire to remaster it. The fact he was okay with that version being the most widely available is disheartening
The joy I feel finding this channel, and video especially. I have been saying this for a decade plus, literally went out and bought all the originals I could because the Remasters are indeed cold and soulless.
These remasters is not just remasters: So, what's a remix versus a remaster? To understand the difference between a remix and remaster, remember the steps to get to a finished song or album go (more or less) as follows: write, record, mix, and master. So if a remaster is redoing that final step, a remix logically goes back to the mixing stage. -Jasper Lastoria
Mastering is typically adding compression, eq, limiting. The mastering will change based on the format for the release. Vinyl in particular has very strict requirements. @@rowanshreds
I had the original CDs back in the day.. Rust in Peace was one of the first 3 CDs I ever bought when CDs were a new thing.. When I heard the remaster on a streaming service I instantly thought “this is completely wrong” as in.. these are even different note choices in key solos… I guess being a musician it was more obvious(?) But yeah that EQ choice and Dave doing a different monster voice in “5 magics” was a deal breaker.. it was a whole different tune at that point 🤮 Subbed!
by the time I got to a few of these remasters it was 2006 so I thought they were part of the 06 remasters on all the classic rock that made them sound like those cheap tapes almost. My mom kept telling me the Price is Right The Price is Right I'm like something's off here.
I read somewhere that Mustaine claimed that the remasters are the way he wanted to do the albums, I was disappointed in the remasters, only thing they needed was clean the sound up and raise the overall volume a bit
It’s like Dave had damaged his hearing so much that he couldn’t hear cymbals anymore so left them out. The width of the mix is also gone with most things mixed towards the centre. It sounds like it was recorded in a lifeless garage. If you took the cymbals out of a Meshuggah track you’d be lost as they mostly define the timing.
Liked and subscribed, because I completely agree with your takes. The only thing I like better about the remasters is the two bars added to the intro of ‘In my darkest hour’ (song trashed in remaster) and the “give me alchemy” part of five magics, however only the way he re-organized the lyrics. Other than that the remasters are a travesty, especially five magics, and So far, so good … So what.
I made the mistake years ago and bought the 2004 remake of Rust In Peace. I could instantly tell the vocals and music weren't quite right. So I deleted it and re-ripped my original Rust in Peace CD. As for the other early albums up to Youthanasia and Cryptic Writings. They are all the original releases that I own in my collection.
The only redeeming quality of the remasters is that they sound better than the originals when played through bad Bluetooth speakers or phones. Nothing like putting on some Megadeth whilst doing the dishes or working in the garage 😂
es verdad, toco con la música de fondo conectada a mi parlante bluetooth y es cierto que las versiones originales se escuchan más bajo, me gustan más eso sí, pero usualmente ocupo los remasters porque se escucha más alto y no se queda atrás de el sonido de mi guitarra
Not a hot take at all. 2018 KIMB remaster sounds incredible. I love hearing Gar's patterns on the double kick of Mechanix for example. I never catched that swing pattern on the original. The only exception would be the re-recording of these boots, but oh well.
@@germantorre1422 Dirk plays it in a more traditional way, 16th notes double kick. You can see it live and in a studio playthrough he did. Gar was more of a jazz drummer, the swing feel is there on the original record, just gets a little lost in the mix
I think a person’s age has a greater impact on their ear than anyone likes to admit. I was born in the 70s and started recording in the mid 80s. I watched the analog warmth of vinyl being replaced by crystal highs and bone shaking bass of digital. The high hats had a hiss that though artificial in isolation, sat in the mix more naturally. The bass filled the remaining frequencies, completing the spectrum. The 90s saw the rise of car stereo boxes with 18” subs. Now people were buying music specifically for the low frequencies. Everything had a bit of a mid scoop. Analog started making a comeback by 00s. Tubes and analog warmth were the answer to the harsh flatness of digital recordings, when computers replaced reel to reel. That Ampex refrigerator had been replaced by a laptop. I’m recalling this history because I think it plays the biggest role in our tastes. At some point we all heard that one record or song that was mixed just right. From that point on, “that was what music is supposed to sound like” was etched into our brains.
I'd say you should do some research on the loudness war and see how this might factor in to your story - one of (one of many!) the reasons vinyl made a comeback was because they made CDs sound bad literally on purpose because they thought it'd make more money, lol Interesting read though! :D
I thought the remasters of Killing Is My Business and Peace Sells sounded much better than the original versions, which I originally had on vinyl and later on the initial CD release. I thought there was much better separation on the instruments, instead of just sounding like one big heavy mush. I particularly liked that I could distinctly hear Ellefson's bass lines much better, which was ironic because this was at the point where he had been kicked out of the band for the first time. The other remasters, however, sounded fine to begin with and didn't really need to be "improved."
I have to really crank the volume of the original Peace Sells ..., but it sounds so much clearer. To me, the remaster sounds like mush. The "helicopter riff" part of The Conjuring drives me nuts, WHOOOM WHOOOM bass and guitar mush on both ears ... JESUS!
In an interview around this time, Dave specifically mentioned how much he hated the shakers in Youthanasia. I also remember years before, he mentioned how he felt thr Led Zeppelin remasters took away from then magic of the originals.
I know you’re a new channel man, gotta remember to cut out when you restart line, if there maybe a way to pin spots in the editing software maybe that could help, keep up the good work
I actually think the SFSGSW remaster might actually be the worst example of taking the soul out of the music. Also, the synth-horns in the intro track are turned up and sound so cheesy rather than just being in the background and much more subtle.
Not to mention the the guitars are so dull and lifeless. The original the guitar tone ripped you apart like falling on a buzzsaw, while the remasters are like someone poking at you with a butterknife
Unbelievable!….i was just about to re-purchase some megadeth cds that were stolen. And i thought “awesome!….they are remastered!” But thanks to you, ill be seeking the originals!!!
I'm glad it's not just me. I've added mega death to my Spotify playlist and a lot of the albums or the remasters and I remember thinking how bad it sounded compared to what I remember growing up as a teenager. I listen to their CDs a lot back then so I was very familiar with the sound
I feel terrible for kids finding out about Megadeth with these remasters out there on spotfy and youtube; Capitol as terrible as it could've been probably could afford the best producers out there and it tells.. especially on later albums Cryptic w., Youthnasia and Countdown which are superb mixes and productions but also the classic ones
Could you change the title to "Why are the Megadeth REMIXES so bad"? The correct term in this case is re-recorded and remixed, not remaster. Since they didn't re-record absolutely everything, I would say "remix" is still valid, I think they mostly re-recorded some guitars or something. A remaster is the exact same original mix and recording, just remastered. Too many people are using the word "remaster" wrong these days. There's four main stages in a production, generally in this order: 1. Writing 2. Recording 3. Mixing 4. Mastering If you only remaster, you cannot touch the first 3 stages. As fast as you touch the mix, it's no longer a remaster. Then it's at least a remix! And in this case I think they have even re-recorded things, so it's even less a remaster.
@@tommiethrash After a mix is done, below peaking into red The mastering is to make it very simple a way to make the entire song loud with a compressor/limiter pushing up without actually going into red and distorting. Theres more to mastering but its very simple technically. A mastering engineer usually dont have access to all individual tracks of instruments, just a stereo file of a final mix that this guy pushes louder.... very simplified explanation. But since MEgadeth has been tinkering around with the mix, they are not longer just a remaster.
I really appreciated the example of Blood of Heroes. Apple music had removed the original mixes from my library and replaced them with the 2004 versions without my knowledge so when I played it something felt wrong about the song immediately. I checked and realised the changes and had to go to TH-cam to find the OG mix. I heard the familiar tone and shouted 'What the fuck did you do THAT for?!'
I'm a musician myself and honestly the difference is so little it essentially makes no difference Edit: Wait I was hearing the version I have without knowing it's the original thinking it was the remaster, Jesus the remaster suuuucks I just went to hear it
@@DeafeningCha Wait I was hearing the version I have without knowing it's the original thinking it was the remaster, Jesus the remaster suuuucks I just went to hear it
To my ears (using Sennheiser HD280 Pros), the remasters mostly just turned down the treble. By attempting to create a warmer sound, every aspect of the songs suffered - vocals, guitars and drums.
I was done with the remasters the instant I heard what was done to Ellefson's basslines. You can barely even hear his brief-but-awesome little solo in the middle of Take No Prisoners, and the flourishes he added (mordents, I think they're called) to the intro of In My Darkest Hour were cut out completely. One does not simply sideline basslines as awesome as Ellefson's!
Five Magics "remaster" has two lines rearranged (Wizardry Alchemy) and it literally kills me every time, because that song's solos are so wicked awesome.
I only ever had the remasters of peace sells and rust in peace. I'm hearing the originals for the first time and wow the old peace sells is so echoey. The snare sounds like something out of a pop song from the time. Rust in peace is melting my brain though. I had no idea there was an older recording, it sounds so strange. I need to listen to the whole thing to see what I feel about that one.
I grew up with Megadeth and only had their stuff on cassette. Didn’t buy on CD until the 2004 remasters and now I wish I bought them on CD earlier. As a bass player, I scream over that missing bass fill in “In My Darkest Hour.” Another group example of remixing is The Who. They remixed their albums in the 90’s. In the case of QUADROPHENIA, I have been a fan for about 25 years and in only the past year or so did I hear the original after finding it in a used CD store. It was quite a revelation.
Not sure why everyone has a problem with Youthanasia being someone's favorite Megadeth album, or why so many people focused on it. It's a great album and is definitely a great starting point for people new to Megadeth, or just a bad ass album to listen to on a road trip. Keep up the videos!
Does cryptic writings get flak? I thought it was a "well recieved" album...not their strongest, not quite on youthanasia level but usually well liked enough
I don't mind them. I look at them as different takes on the songs. I have the old ones and a volume knob to make it louder. It's generally what remasters are -- Louder with some unlistenable demos at the end
This was interesting to me because my versions are all copied from old CDs and converted to mp3s on my phone, so I checked which ones I had and they were all originals. When you played some of the remaster stuff, I was like EW GROSS.
Having bought the CD of So far so good... back in 1988, I was shocked at the horrible 2004 Remaster. I only bought some the other CDs to get the bonus tracks, which were decent at times. This situation made me aware that not all remixes make a better product. As for Killing is my business... I think the remaster is passable, but the censoring of "These Boots" is just silly.
"These Boots" was censored after Nancy Sinatra and/or whoever owns the rights to the song threatened legal action. Under US copyright law, covers are allowed unless the original lyrics are altered (which is the opposite of the "parody or transformative work" rule of thumb for almost any other medium).
OG Rust in Peace was my first. It's one of their best. I obviously noticed the vocals first on the Remaster. As for the rest, I spent years tracking down all the original albums, and I started thinking I was crazy. The other remasters weren't that bad or different... I'm glad someone else feels the same way and I'm not crazy
My biggest issue with the remasters is the replacement vocals on Five Magics. The replacement wizard voice is a massive downgrade and the lyrics are way different.
personally i prefer a lot of the remasters simply because the bass is louder. bass is so, so important to me in a mix and the originals just... don't have nearly enough for me. thrash is often guilty of pushing the bass too far down into the mix in favour of the guitar and i don't like the sound. i prefer the clankier, bass heavy mix of the remasters on the whole, it carries more energy to me. that hangar 18 remaster is a good example of this for me, the guitar is playing entirely chords, and the bass is holding the tonic down, keeping everything grounded. in the original, i don't really get enough definition out of the bass, it's just sort of a murmur down below and the wake up dead original is too washed in reverb to me. it removes too much of the definition from all the instruments to me, it sounds like it was recorded in a swimming pool or something
Same. If I’m using headphones I’ll throw on the originals, but if I’m playing them in my car I will use the 2004 simply because the bass sounds so much better.
I am no expert but I think this is because also of time. There is some stuff that belongs to a context in time and imo must be kept in it, and although the technology nowadays allow for recording way better, we must respect the magic of the time some songs were composed and recorded. For example, when I listen to stuff like Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, etc, I want to listen it with the quality they had in their time. I want to listen to those "impurities" in sound, because they have some magic into it.
The main reason they sound different is because back in the day of analog mixing you had a giant board that mixed on . Those boards had a certain sound . Modern studios don’t use a mixing board anymore . It’s all done on computer , so you don’t get the sound of that board .
I remember Dave posting on his forums during this time. He thought he was a producer, so he was in there with some engineers and he was trying to be a producer. He kept posting about how great Menza was when he uncovered some old fills from the tapes and stuff. The problem is he isn't a producer. That's why they sound so funky. These had already been recorded. The "board sound" was already on the tapes. He just had no clue what he was doing.
Dave talked about the Rust in Peace remaster in Guitar Magazine back then & said someone had deleted the vocal tracks & recorded over his guitar parts.
I had the same experience growing up after Megadeth’s prime. born in 96, started listening in 2010 - so all that was readily available for me was the remixed/remastered versions which I do own the first 5, but I’ve since replaced them all with original pressing CD’s *including* the OG KIMB with the uncensored These Boots cover! I completely agree, and to your point, I find it super frustrating for any person to try and get into megadeth if they can only listen to these hot garbage remixes. kinda crazy that Mustaine approved of these, but we also gotta consider that Ellefson was suing him at the time 😂 yanno, THE FIRST time they were beefing. it’s such a damn shame that Peace Sells and So Far So Good So What’s mixes were tossed out for these lifeless new ones. those were my favorite sounding out of all the megadeth discography. and I firmly believe Mustaine re-recording / using alternate takes for Take No Prisoners and Five Magics is a war crime. thank you for making this video, your content is great and I hope to see more in the future!
There's a theory that says 2004 remasters were made so Dave could stop paying royalties to many of his ex musicians, just like Sharon Osboune did with Ozzy's first records. That's why he replaced all Nick Menza's drum tracks with virtual drums, which are pretty noticeable in songs like Rust In Peace Polaris or the drum solo at the end of Ashes In Your Mouth
What did you think about the So Far So Good So What remaster? I was scrolling specifically to get to the image of that album cover and didn't find it, because I'm lazy tonight and won't play the full video until later. I actually prefer the 80s original, even if it's just nostalgia.
i picked up killing is My Business when it was released. The songs were great in my opinion but the production was a massive disappointment. I'm so glad they got around to putting out a decent remaster. As for the others, I couldn't agree more. Should be called the De-masters
I totally related to when you said about only ever hearing the remasters because of your age. I first started listening to Megadeths classic albums on CD when I was 15 in 2007 and I was oblivious that they were the 2004 remasters. It was only until a couple of years ago I listened to the originals and man they’re like different songs altogether.
Holy shit! I've never been a huge Megadeth fan in general, but Countdown To Extinction is etched in my brain since listening to it constantly in the 90's. Hade never heard of the 2004 remasters before, had to compare on Spotify for myself, and good grief they really are terrible, maybe even worse than it comes across in the vid. Already the intro on Skin O' My Teeth was enough to hear it was real, night and day. Like someone took a wet blanket covered in mud and draped it over it all and then passed it through a bad MP3 encoder, and sample-replaced some drums (and lots more probably) with out of place sounding ones for good measure. Especially the drums and cymbals, hat's, rides and crashes are almost gone completely, dull and lifeless if there at all, and in some parts the rhythm that made the song really good in the first place is just gone (verse on Countdown for example). How did these atrocities ever get released? Had the band gone deaf and been surrounded by yes-men at this point? I'm at a complete loss for words. Only swear words come to mind now.
To clarify, Spotify in Sweden seems to have multiple versions of most (all?) their albums that have had "remasters". Apparently that's not the case everywhere. They don't have the original 92 version of CTE, but at least an actual remaster of the 92 original mix.
I think you are full of it. The remasters sound way better. I had all the cassette tapes. I was not born yesterday like you. I am a metal drummer and know every Megadeth song to date.
👍👍
woah hit a nerve man relax
Opinions are opinions but yours is garbage dude
This guy must love Lars's snare on St. Anger.
as a metal drummer i say you're full of shit goddamn 😭 the remasters sound like ass.
Take No Prisoners remaster breaks my heart worse than leaving my wife did 😂
Bro 😂😂😂😂
That’s the only remastered version I prefer on the whole album. The vocals are better on it imo
I never loved take no prisoners. Then I discovered I had been listening to the remaster.
@@ali965 Wierd backing imo
Its dog shit.
Five magics is what made me notice how much better the original recordings are. The vocals of the original are so raw, and I was amazed listening to the better version for the first time.
Yep. For me it was Take No Prisoners.
"Possessed with hellish torment (possessed with hellish torment)
I master magics five (I master magics five)
Hunting the abyss lord (hunting the abyss lord)
Only one will stay alive (only one will stay alive)" in Five Magics, I hated the remaster version
Very very different and not in a good way
For me it was hanger 18, I’m a new fan and I started with R.I.P. it’s night and day even listening to the remix first
hmmmm no
Being a musician/audio engineer, I often if/ how much the loss of hearing by the the artist (in this case mustaine) comes in to play when they remaster/remix. What sounded great years ago might not sound as good today. Years back I assisted with the recording of an song where one of the guitar players was a Vietnam vet, who struggled with hearing high frequency due to his hearing loss due to gunfire. He was complaining constantly about the bass being too loud, but the rest of us are looking around like "what bass?". All that being said , the constant full volume concerts are sure to take a toll, especially in the younger days when you think you are invincible.
That is a very interesting take. Never thought of that. Always wear hearing protection man. Good comment thanks for posting
Bass is always too loud in a remaster, always!
@@Stigmatix666 Steven Wilson did an amazing job on King Crimson's remasters. Mostly, he was doing it to remix in 5.1, and the new (also-excellent) stereo mixes are just a by-product of that. They are _not_ too bass-heavy. They do, however, bring out a lot of the instrumentation that was buried in the original mixes.
Hearing loss wouldn’t surprise me. Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer all dialed back the loudness on their more recent albums compared to where they were in the 2000s. Dave is the only one of the Big 4 that’s doubled down on loudness. I found the latest remix of Killing Is My Business to be atrocious. And I’m not bothering with the remasters of his 2000s albums, which I’ve read are even louder than the originals, which were plenty loud to begin with.
@@TheBrettAbides It's not just loudness (although I agree that the brick-wall compression is atrocious). A lot of the high frequencies are just gone from the '04 mixes.
The first time I heard 'em, I thought, "Did Dave hire a deaf engineer and fail to notice because he's deaf himself?"
When they did the remaster of Five Magics in 2004 with Ellefson's first departure, they changed Satan's voice in the gang-vocals at the end of the song to Fat Albert's.
Don't "fix" what's not broken. Not gonna win any favor saying Youth is your fav Megadeth album but I understand. I love it.
Hey I love your videos! Cheers!
What's everyone's issue with Youthanasia, Mike? It's not my favorite Megadeth album but it's definitely a good one in my opinion. Elysian Fields is the only track on the album that I don't really care for that much. Black Curtains isn't a top tier song overall but it makes up for it with an awesome guitar solo. Maybe I have a sentimental attachment to it because Youth and Countdown were the first two Megadeth albums I listened to as a kid when I was first getting into metal. I was maybe 7 or 8 years old and I remember opening the album booklet and seeing Dave Mustaine and thinking "hey! that guy was with Metallica in the Cliff Em All video!". That was the first realization that the two bands were connected.
@@GlennFrog You know who that is right? Mike isn't a douche, he's like one of the nicest guys on TH-cam. An excellent guitar teacher. He was actually agreeing that Youthanasia is a great album and that he loves it. Just acknowledging that a lot of fans have bashed it over the years.
It's my favourite as well
Good to see you here!
I feel like the Five Magics remaster sounds the worst specifically because of the voice pitch shifter
yeah, plus i think he redid the vocals or something and they sound really goofy. before they actually sounded badass.
@@colten2524 Apparently those were the demo vocals that he added to the 2004 remix. You can actually hear that on Warchest in 2007 for the Five Magics Demo.
Capitol lost the vocal tracks for Rust in Peace so Dave had to re-record.
I thought it was Take No Prisoners. Maybe both, but heard it was that one for sure.
The main reason as to why Youthanasia's 2004 remaster sounds horrible is because of what Dave Mustaine did to all the tracks. During the Gibson TV interview he did 2 years ago, Dave Mustaine basically explained how after Rust in Peace their songs started to take on a heavy metal and hard rock tempo, with Youthanasia in particular having a 120 BPM as a standard tempo. During the remaster stage Dave Mustaine stated that he didn't like the slow tempo so he decided to speed up the tracks. Add that with all the bad stuff with the remasters like the drumming and vocals and thats how you completely alter an album from its original state.
Nice history! Thanks man, did not know that. No wonder the remaster sounds so off
Cheers
@@VARVIS_you did a bad job, the comment was better.
Youth didn't need to rely on the faster tempo... all about the 1/2 step tuned down guitar tone and the vocals - first and foremost...
Very interesting - comparing the two different versions of the album on Spotify, I can barely tell that there is any difference in tempo, but using a metronome, the remaster of Blood of Heroes, for example, is 3 bpm faster than the original. And each song on the remaster is a few seconds shorter than the original. I can't tell whether the pitch is any higher, but I imagine they are...
The original Master of Puppets is sped up
They weren’t remasters. They were complete remixes, sometimes outright re-recording parts. They’re a travesty. What they did to Nick Menza’s drums especially, was horrifying. Also hate them giving such sharp, software drums to So Far, So Good.. That big 80’s snare sounds perfect for that stuff. Especially on a slower track like In My Darkest Hour.
Never saw the point to remasters anyways. Not many classic albums are really known for being mastered poorly in the first place, unless you’re talking about something that was originally rushed/lacking proper funds.
Remixes can be interesting, but they need a reason to exist and not be deceptively posed as the original. For example, the original Ramones album had some dated stereo effects and was remixed in mono by the original producer.
Remastered and remixed.
One of the best remixes is Cradle of Filth's Cruelty and the Beast. I have some issues with it but overall it's better, mainly because of the drums. @@SlashManEXE
Best metal remix has to be Terry Daye’s remix of Pantera’s Reinventing the Steel. Funnily enough, the original version sounds like the remix/remaster versions of Megadeth’s classics 😂
I hate how Spotify has basically only the remasters the originals sound way better, remasters sound more artificial.
Really hate that too. I just listen the originals in TH-cam Premium
Same bro.
@@diegoelcoolI wonder if I should use TH-cam music, if that would be worth it
Spotify has both for rust in peace, SFSGSW and RIP
Spotify DOES have the originals
Definitely seems like they also got caught up in the loudness wars. The original Rust in Peace master is actually pretty quiet overall (I remember I'd always have to turn my stereo up a couple of notches when playing it vs. other albums), but with a pretty good dynamic range; the remaster is loud and compressed all to hell. I quite regret not keeping the original CD. Who knew that in the future the only available digital versions would be the worst ones.
That was a terrible period for CD's. Everything sounded awful lol.
Wdym, idk about deezer but both apple music and spotify have the og ones. I think peace sells on apple music is the 2011 remaster but thats the 'good' one anyways. You do have to put some effort into hearinh the ogs but they are definetly not unavailable in digital form
That'll never happen - for I still have all my original CD's when they first were released - and will make sure there's digital copies of them. The remasters are trash. And I know he did it for spite to release "These Boots" censored - but it just sound like a$$.
Try Tidal for SFSGSW, Rust, Youth, and Super Collider. Rust in Atmos may be even better, it has the same dynamic range.
DonkeyPopsicle, you hit the nail on the head. The remasters tone down a lot of the brightness (which was often an issue with albums mixed for vinyl and then lazily transferred to CD without incurring the extra expense of remixing), but the dynamic range of the remasters is compressed to the point where it's really grating on my ears. Presumably the thought was to make the remasters sound denser and heavier -- more in line with metal releases from recent decades -- but the open, spacious sound of the originals is completely lost.
My guess is the originals were mastered with a premiere analog soundboard / mixing desk, and the remasters were done completely in an Avid/Mac. Also, Dave Mustaine is approving the remasters, and his hearing is damaged from years of touring. He is boosting the mids and high range so he can hear it!
Huh. I didn't think of it that way
I think the same thing. Most of the gear these guys license these days are very treble oriented, makes sense since they are probably half deaf from years of performing
This is really interesting. I'm not a huge Megadeth fan so I'm not hearing these changes with a fan's ear but it's pretty obvious that these aren't remasters but remixes, and in some cases re-recordings, sold as remasters with an overt task to "modernise" the original sound. There's an attempt to widen the frequency range of every instrument in order to provide a more consistent bass and also to mono that bass so it stretches across the stereo-width of the track as a solid block, which muddies the original's clean and spaced instruments. The changing of the guitar effects, like the reverb used, doesn't help either. To a non-fan, though, this might actually make these songs easier to listen to but it all comes at the expense of actual fans' memories and the sound that made the band popular in the first place. The separation of instruments in the mix and the aggressive and "dry" sounding guitars are just gone. The removal/replacement of secondary and tertiary instrument tracks, and the rounding off on the high frequency on the guitars, was likely done to make the music sound less harsh to the general music audience and an easier fit with "modern" radio and TV broadcasts. If it had just been a remaster you wouldn't have lost any elements, they'd just have been slightly reduced or increased. I would argue that using the term "warm" about the originals isn't the best word to describe their sound. The added bass response of the 2004 versions actually provides a warmth that wasn't there originally. But I know what you mean. These do sound wrong. You are entirely correct in that it just about throws everything that made the originals sound like they did in the garbage. It's a great example of revisionist history. Was George Lucas brought in to produce these?
Literally took the words right out of my mouth. But, I can say this with 100% that the only album where some vocals were actually redone was on RIP (RUST IN PEACE). They had lost the vocal tracks for some of the songs on the album, so Dave re-recorded the tracks that were lost.
When the were doing the audio mix, Dave realised the original lead vocal tracks for Take No Prisoners, Five Magics, Lucretia, and possibly Rust in Peace/Polaris.
Not gonna argue with the rest of that, but, to be fair they were advertised at the time as being "Remixed and Remastered" rather than just straight remasters
@@snapeaThis is why I would rather he referred to them as remixes than remasters. Remixing does more to change the sound than the mastering does.
it was printed right on the album artwork of each tray insert, "Remixed & Remastered" www.metalkingdom.net/album-photo/2019/06/12308-Megadeth-Rust-in-Peace.jpg
Poor “So Far So Good So What”was hit the hardest. The original was so wrathful that the remasters watered it down.
SFSGSW is the one that I see ppl talk about how the remaster was actually leagues better than the original which always confused me. The mood of the original mix is too iconic to throw it out for the remaster.
The remasters completely ruined the feel of SFSGSW, the snare hit right before the main verse in set the world afire is lethal and they removed it. Super specific but its my favorite moment of the song.
What I love especially about it is that the original had a typical punky and dirty sound which I absolutely love, the remaster sounds both too muddy and overproduced
Yeah I like the original MUCH better.
Listen to the CD on a real stereo. You'll change your mind.
i think the original sounds wayyyyy too reverby
@@sikamikanico04 Also, if you have the remastered version, you can pretty much download free audio programs like Audacity, and add the amount of reverb that you want, for example. But you can't REMOVE the reverb from the original, if you think it's too much.
I've only recently gotten into Megadeth properly, and didn't know about the whole remastering stuff, so when I bought Rust in Peace and Countdown on CD, I didn't realise what I was buying. I figured that the 2004 remaster would just be tweaked a little bit and boosted, as is often the case with remasters. When I found out I had to go on eBay and find the originals. Fortunately Megadeth CDs tend to be on sale pretty cheap these days.
thank the Gods for digital media. Lots of forces want to get rid of it, but it needs to be preserved for this reason as well.
@@themadmattster9647 Do you mean physical media or like mp3s?
@@CountryMouseCityCrimes yeah that’s what I meant oops lol
Imagine my delight a few weeks ago when I discovered that the originals were finally returned to Spotify 🙂
I prefer the 2018 KIMB because there was so much detail I was missing in the guitar work on the OG. It made me appreciate the songwriting and performance a whole lot more.
True
But the remaster of these boots is unforgivable
@@mike285that’s true. But the vocal tracks were missing or destroyed for that track, as well as Take no Prisoners and I believe another couple of tracks
@@mike285 Fair point. It is always jarring for me when the vocals start on that track!
@@boggstyI thought it was because whoever wrote the original These Boots Are Made For Walking had legally fought with mustaine cause they didn't like the cover, so in the 2018 remaster he had to sing it again with the original lyrics
I think the main problem with the remixes is that they replaced the snare drum with the same sample on everything, and the snare drum is key to the distinct character of a recording.
Maybe he heard st anger and thought 'I'll have a bit of that'
Is bizarre listening to it. Makes no sense. Been better if he let others do a remaster or even remix.
I'm real picky. I hate the harmonies on RIP. I wish sum1 could sort that. Way too whiney.
That stupid "ka-pow" ultra compressed snare sound on those remixes is the worst. Whatever sample Dave used makes it sound like some kid's basement Garage Band project. It really shows how important engineering/production choices are.
@@doctorbarber1 trends dont help. At the time nu metal was massive. Prob inspired by Korn,bizket etc
@@armondtanz Yeah everything had that piccolo snare sound. Really sounds dated to a very specific time period now.
@@doctorbarber1 st anger enters the chat 🤣
A few of the Ozzy remasters in the early 2000s replaced the bass and drums because of legal issues. I think Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of A Madman. They eventually restored the original parts and re released them again. The original Iron Maidens cds are better than the remasters but at least they didn't remix or replace anything
I remember I was listening to an internet radio station once they played the remaster of crazy train and I was like one sec! Unfortunately my copy of the Osman cometh was that way too.
To be fair, some of the vocals had to be retracked because some the original tapes weren't preserved very well and some dropped out or were nearly inaudible when they transferred them all for just a remix and remaster. I'm pretty sure there were also other issues at play to prevent him from scrapping the remasters as well.
I do agree tho, younger Mustaine on Five Magicks certainly sounded more fierce than the retracks!
Finally someone talked about how some of the tapes were damaged. : D
My original cassette of Countdown To Extinction broke and I was terribly disappointed when I bought the 2004 remaster cd. It sounded like Nick Menza's drums had been replaced by a drum machine and there was something off about the rest of the sound that I couldn't put my finger on. Its only saving grace was that there were bonus tracks I didn't have on the cassette. I converted all my cassettes I collected since the 1990s to mp3 in the last decade and even though Rust In Peace didn't have the same sound quality anymore from being played so much, there was no way I was getting the 2004 remaster of any other of their albums after the Countdown experience. I never liked Youthanasia and didn't even listen to Risk when I read the reviews so I never bought those albums.
Facts I was just saying it .. rust in peace and in countdown to extinction it’s like they use the crap Iest 1980s snare drum electric drum sound such a Devaluation of the albums and a slap in the face to the nick Menza .. I wonder if Dave had anything to do with the mixes or they were just done by somebody for him but it also seems like that’s why he’s also portrayed as a dick just for ruining shit out of spite
They have a 1992 mix remaster on Spotify now
your heroes are junkies who sold their rights away. its not done for dave... No its done for the bands pimp...capitol/ emi who are now universal probably. Yes, move from fanboi into a less cloudy but stronger metal man. cheers.@@nickrooney6206 People ought not forget where the maffia went into, and found shelter.....
The Rust in Peace remaster was the first time in my life that I said "this doesn't sound like the album that I listened to before, this is bad" but I didn't know how bad the whole remaster thing was with Megadeth albums.
For Reference: I'm a 2000 baby, so when I started listening to Megadeth around 2009-ish on youtube and stuff, when I got a CD of Rust in Peace in like 2014 I listened to it and I was like "is this really how the album sounded like?"
Pretty much the same experience I had
the '04 redux sounds like a very competent cover band
I listened to take no prisoners and it sounded kinda like dave had a higher pitch and less full sound and I was confused, then I realized it was the remaster.
Yep same here I'm like wtf am I listening too haha.
a perfect example of the remasters being worse is take no prisoners, its one of my favourite songs of all time and they just slaughtered that awesome deep chanting voice in the beginning to sounding like some really sad teen who lost his ipod
I had the countdown remastered! Def something was different nice to know now, you got a new sub! Please make a video about the Brazilian band Angra!
I may be wrong but I much prefer the 2004 remaster for Peace sells... But for the rest, I always prefer the original.
I second this.
I can definitely see how you could prefer the 2004 one, I am just weird and like the SOVL of the old one
100% agree. The remaster gives peace sells some bass it needed I think, but I hate the others.
Yeah they completely missed with all the others but I much prefer the peace sells remaster
The thing that always bothered me though was Chris’s Black Friday solo… you can hear that they notched the solo forward so that it’s slightly behind the beat….It’s decisions like these that the author is talking about. Like… Why did Dave feel the need to tamper with this stuff??
I love this youtube channel! You make incredible videos! I really enjoyed the videos on spirit crusher and how death writes songs, those videos came in a very convienient time as i just discovered death. Keep it up
Thanks so much my man! 👍👍
It's always great to see a new Death fan. That song got me into the band. By the time I heard Symbolic, they instantly became one of my top metal bands 🤘
I came to really like Megadeth later on into my late 20's and had always seen the people that hated the 2004 remasters and just hated remasters in general, so I never really cared what the consensus was on whether to buy the 2004 remaster albums or not, since I just wanted to hear the music.
The algorithm graced me with this video, and finally hearing them side by side, holy crap, yeah, I get it.
Great video, can't wait to hear more from you!
The first remastering I heard was SFSGSW and I was negatively shocked... the original sounded scaring but very interesting, with that chaotic and apocalyptic tone made by tons of chorus/flanger/reverb effects (and so far I've never heard a similar thing in a metal album...). Now it sounds too "harmless" and clean, removing layers of mystery and near-missing instruments, so typical in their first four LPs and like another (in)famous title, And Justice for All, where apparently there is no bass, but it gives a particular tone in a very subtle way. By the way, I'm glad that Metallica won't remaster their old material as Ulrich said every album took the exactly picture of their sound at that time and they're not going to revisit it again.
SFSGSW was incredible, it does sound like no other metal album really.
HAHAHA yes! SFSGSW remaster is the only remaster I truly cannot tolerate! Others are, well, listenable to me
in some ways its my favorite album by Megadeth and I concur. I'm glad I rebought the original masters
That was my favorite album by them. Threw it on on spotify and when I started listening to into the lungs of hell and heard those lame horns At the beginning, I knew I was fucked. 😢😢
Using new vocals for the Rust in Peace tracks was unforgivable ❤
Didnt they lose the original vocal takes for Rust in Peace?
@@VARVIS_ they did disappear so that should’ve killed the desire to remaster it. The fact he was okay with that version being the most widely available is disheartening
@@VARVIS_ they definitely didn't on Five Magics... the remastered version's vocals almost ruin the song they're so bad
i love this channel, very cozy metal content that covers exactly the type of stuff i like
Thanks Man, appreciate you
The joy I feel finding this channel, and video especially. I have been saying this for a decade plus, literally went out and bought all the originals I could because the Remasters are indeed cold and soulless.
I’m just happy that the original versions are available on Spotify 😅
they used to not be only the 2004 😭
These remasters is not just remasters:
So, what's a remix versus a remaster? To understand the difference between a remix and remaster, remember the steps to get to a finished song or album go (more or less) as follows: write, record, mix, and master. So if a remaster is redoing that final step, a remix logically goes back to the mixing stage. -Jasper Lastoria
Good point, isn't mastering technically the stitching of the tracks?
@@rowanshredsmastering is when you take the mixed song, as a stereo track and then polish them, make shure they are coherent and equally loud.
Mastering is typically adding compression, eq, limiting. The mastering will change based on the format for the release. Vinyl in particular has very strict requirements. @@rowanshreds
Wow. I’ve always listened to the Originals, but now I’m definitely going to check on any Remastered Albums. Thanks, subscribed 🙂
I had the original CDs back in the day.. Rust in Peace was one of the first 3 CDs I ever bought when CDs were a new thing..
When I heard the remaster on a streaming service I instantly thought “this is completely wrong” as in.. these are even different note choices in key solos… I guess being a musician it was more obvious(?)
But yeah that EQ choice and Dave doing a different monster voice in “5 magics” was a deal breaker.. it was a whole different tune at that point 🤮
Subbed!
by the time I got to a few of these remasters it was 2006 so I thought they were part of the 06 remasters on all the classic rock that made them sound like those cheap tapes almost. My mom kept telling me the Price is Right The Price is Right I'm like something's off here.
@@thephoenixhasflown The Price is Right?
@@erakattack six to eight dollars brand new.
The 2004 version of Five Magics sounds so dorky when he does the distorted voice.
I read somewhere that Mustaine claimed that the remasters are the way he wanted to do the albums, I was disappointed in the remasters, only thing they needed was clean the sound up and raise the overall volume a bit
Your doing a great job bro, loved your video on spirit crusher, your definitely on a big come up for the channel
Thanks man 👍👍
It’s like Dave had damaged his hearing so much that he couldn’t hear cymbals anymore so left them out. The width of the mix is also gone with most things mixed towards the centre. It sounds like it was recorded in a lifeless garage. If you took the cymbals out of a Meshuggah track you’d be lost as they mostly define the timing.
Liked and subscribed, because I completely agree with your takes.
The only thing I like better about the remasters is the two bars added to the intro of ‘In my darkest hour’ (song trashed in remaster) and the “give me alchemy” part of five magics, however only the way he re-organized the lyrics. Other than that the remasters are a travesty, especially five magics, and So far, so good … So what.
Dave Mustard was busy becoming god bro. What can I say? ❤
You are 💯 🎯
Have a Happy New Year 🎉
I made the mistake years ago and bought the 2004 remake of Rust In Peace. I could instantly tell the vocals and music weren't quite right. So I deleted it and re-ripped my original Rust in Peace CD. As for the other early albums up to Youthanasia and Cryptic Writings. They are all the original releases that I own in my collection.
I had the original copies and when I heard my son playing a re-master, I could immediately tell they were def different
The only redeeming quality of the remasters is that they sound better than the originals when played through bad Bluetooth speakers or phones. Nothing like putting on some Megadeth whilst doing the dishes or working in the garage 😂
I love your positive take on this 😂
es verdad, toco con la música de fondo conectada a mi parlante bluetooth y es cierto que las versiones originales se escuchan más bajo, me gustan más eso sí, pero usualmente ocupo los remasters porque se escucha más alto y no se queda atrás de el sonido de mi guitarra
but why are we playing it through bad speakers?
I love this, great work.
Dude, you nailed this! I actually agree with every point🤜🤛
Not a hot take at all. 2018 KIMB remaster sounds incredible. I love hearing Gar's patterns on the double kick of Mechanix for example. I never catched that swing pattern on the original. The only exception would be the re-recording of these boots, but oh well.
These Boots was not only censored but the bass is inaudible, when in the original the bass was the grooviest thing in the song
That double kick.... so suspicious. I think was re recorded by Dirk...
@@germantorre1422 Dirk plays it in a more traditional way, 16th notes double kick. You can see it live and in a studio playthrough he did. Gar was more of a jazz drummer, the swing feel is there on the original record, just gets a little lost in the mix
I think a person’s age has a greater impact on their ear than anyone likes to admit. I was born in the 70s and started recording in the mid 80s. I watched the analog warmth of vinyl being replaced by crystal highs and bone shaking bass of digital. The high hats had a hiss that though artificial in isolation, sat in the mix more naturally. The bass filled the remaining frequencies, completing the spectrum. The 90s saw the rise of car stereo boxes with 18” subs. Now people were buying music specifically for the low frequencies. Everything had a bit of a mid scoop. Analog started making a comeback by 00s. Tubes and analog warmth were the answer to the harsh flatness of digital recordings, when computers replaced reel to reel. That Ampex refrigerator had been replaced by a laptop. I’m recalling this history because I think it plays the biggest role in our tastes. At some point we all heard that one record or song that was mixed just right. From that point on, “that was what music is supposed to sound like” was etched into our brains.
I'd say you should do some research on the loudness war and see how this might factor in to your story - one of (one of many!) the reasons vinyl made a comeback was because they made CDs sound bad literally on purpose because they thought it'd make more money, lol
Interesting read though! :D
Menzas drums had so much tone and depth, then then put the same Ringy/Clicky snare sample across pretty much ALL his albums. And it drives me NUTS!
I subscribed I love I’m all about stuff like this I just hadn’t been able to talk about music like in these terms to anyone around me
I thought the remasters of Killing Is My Business and Peace Sells sounded much better than the original versions, which I originally had on vinyl and later on the initial CD release. I thought there was much better separation on the instruments, instead of just sounding like one big heavy mush. I particularly liked that I could distinctly hear Ellefson's bass lines much better, which was ironic because this was at the point where he had been kicked out of the band for the first time. The other remasters, however, sounded fine to begin with and didn't really need to be "improved."
I have to really crank the volume of the original Peace Sells ..., but it sounds so much clearer. To me, the remaster sounds like mush. The "helicopter riff" part of The Conjuring drives me nuts, WHOOOM WHOOOM bass and guitar mush on both ears ... JESUS!
In an interview around this time, Dave specifically mentioned how much he hated the shakers in Youthanasia. I also remember years before, he mentioned how he felt thr Led Zeppelin remasters took away from then magic of the originals.
I know you’re a new channel man, gotta remember to cut out when you restart line, if there maybe a way to pin spots in the editing software maybe that could help, keep up the good work
Thanks fam. I usually am rushing to get these out before work. Ill try that out thanks for the tip!
the remasters sound so fucken muffled like im listening to speakers wrapped in pillows.
I actually think the SFSGSW remaster might actually be the worst example of taking the soul out of the music. Also, the synth-horns in the intro track are turned up and sound so cheesy rather than just being in the background and much more subtle.
Yeah I can’t even listen to the remaster. I know I’m used to the old original but dam the new 2004 version is terrible
Not to mention the the guitars are so dull and lifeless. The original the guitar tone ripped you apart like falling on a buzzsaw, while the remasters are like someone poking at you with a butterknife
You are right the original sounds much warmer, more organic and soulful. Thanks for the content!
Unbelievable!….i was just about to re-purchase some megadeth cds that were stolen. And i thought “awesome!….they are remastered!” But thanks to you, ill be seeking the originals!!!
I'm glad it's not just me. I've added mega death to my Spotify playlist and a lot of the albums or the remasters and I remember thinking how bad it sounded compared to what I remember growing up as a teenager. I listen to their CDs a lot back then so I was very familiar with the sound
I feel terrible for kids finding out about Megadeth with these remasters out there on spotfy and youtube; Capitol as terrible as it could've been probably could afford the best producers out there and it tells.. especially on later albums Cryptic w., Youthnasia and Countdown which are superb mixes and productions but also the classic ones
Could you change the title to "Why are the Megadeth REMIXES so bad"?
The correct term in this case is re-recorded and remixed, not remaster.
Since they didn't re-record absolutely everything, I would say "remix" is still valid, I think they mostly re-recorded some guitars or something.
A remaster is the exact same original mix and recording, just remastered.
Too many people are using the word "remaster" wrong these days.
There's four main stages in a production, generally in this order:
1. Writing
2. Recording
3. Mixing
4. Mastering
If you only remaster, you cannot touch the first 3 stages.
As fast as you touch the mix, it's no longer a remaster.
Then it's at least a remix!
And in this case I think they have even re-recorded things, so it's even less a remaster.
Maybe I don’t know what mastering means… is Megadeth lying about their remasters? It says remaster on the CD, but the remixing is obvious.
@@tommiethrash After a mix is done, below peaking into red
The mastering is to make it very simple a way to make the entire song loud with a compressor/limiter pushing up without actually going into red and distorting. Theres more to mastering but its very simple technically.
A mastering engineer usually dont have access to all individual tracks of instruments, just a stereo file of a final mix that this guy pushes louder.... very simplified explanation.
But since MEgadeth has been tinkering around with the mix, they are not longer just a remaster.
The drum samples on the “remastered” Nick Menza era stuff could not be worse if they came from a Casio keyboard.
I really appreciated the example of Blood of Heroes. Apple music had removed the original mixes from my library and replaced them with the 2004 versions without my knowledge so when I played it something felt wrong about the song immediately. I checked and realised the changes and had to go to TH-cam to find the OG mix. I heard the familiar tone and shouted 'What the fuck did you do THAT for?!'
Bro the remaster of Youthansia is SO BAD
I'm a musician myself and honestly the difference is so little it essentially makes no difference
Edit: Wait I was hearing the version I have without knowing it's the original thinking it was the remaster, Jesus the remaster suuuucks I just went to hear it
You must be deaf. Not hearing the difference between a drumset and samples from Korg keyboard.
I'm a musician myself and honestly the difference is large enough that it makes a large difference.
@@DeafeningCha Wait I was hearing the version I have without knowing it's the original thinking it was the remaster, Jesus the remaster suuuucks I just went to hear it
To my ears (using Sennheiser HD280 Pros), the remasters mostly just turned down the treble.
By attempting to create a warmer sound, every aspect of the songs suffered - vocals, guitars and drums.
because it highlights in clarity how inept his vocals were and how thin the guitar tone often was
Oh yes... I grew up on the originals and when I first heard the remasters, I was horrified. In no way are they better. It's mystifying.
They are better at sucking
I was done with the remasters the instant I heard what was done to Ellefson's basslines. You can barely even hear his brief-but-awesome little solo in the middle of Take No Prisoners, and the flourishes he added (mordents, I think they're called) to the intro of In My Darkest Hour were cut out completely. One does not simply sideline basslines as awesome as Ellefson's!
Five Magics "remaster" has two lines rearranged (Wizardry Alchemy) and it literally kills me every time, because that song's solos are so wicked awesome.
I wonder why he changed "bestow upon me knowledge" to "bestow upon me magic"
I only ever had the remasters of peace sells and rust in peace. I'm hearing the originals for the first time and wow the old peace sells is so echoey. The snare sounds like something out of a pop song from the time.
Rust in peace is melting my brain though. I had no idea there was an older recording, it sounds so strange. I need to listen to the whole thing to see what I feel about that one.
I grew up with Megadeth and only had their stuff on cassette. Didn’t buy on CD until the 2004 remasters and now I wish I bought them on CD earlier. As a bass player, I scream over that missing bass fill in “In My Darkest Hour.”
Another group example of remixing is The Who. They remixed their albums in the 90’s. In the case of QUADROPHENIA, I have been a fan for about 25 years and in only the past year or so did I hear the original after finding it in a used CD store. It was quite a revelation.
I bought them all on cassette as well, bought with my Birthday money usually.
I knew it! Same thing on greatest Hits back to the start.
Oh wow also unfortunately I might know what you're talking about with the who.
The drums were stripped of life!
Based on the sample here, Rust In Peace sounds like an improvement. The snare is a massive step up.
Great video man, one critique, I would double check the audio in post to make sure you don't repeat something just stated.
Not sure why everyone has a problem with Youthanasia being someone's favorite Megadeth album, or why so many people focused on it. It's a great album and is definitely a great starting point for people new to Megadeth, or just a bad ass album to listen to on a road trip.
Keep up the videos!
Cryptic Writings is underrated and arguably the bands most solid lineup. I know that album gets alot of flack but ive always loved it.
It's my favorite guitar tone... Pushed by Marshall JMP-1
It kicks ass, definitely one of their grooviest albums. Who cares what others think, I love it. And Nick Menza was amazing on it.
@@Schush crispy ass tone
@@vyruss000 agreed 💯
Does cryptic writings get flak? I thought it was a "well recieved" album...not their strongest, not quite on youthanasia level but usually well liked enough
They’re absolutely unlistenable for someone like me who grew up listening to the Combat Records version of Peace Sells.
I don't mind them. I look at them as different takes on the songs. I have the old ones and a volume knob to make it louder. It's generally what remasters are -- Louder with some unlistenable demos at the end
This was interesting to me because my versions are all copied from old CDs and converted to mp3s on my phone, so I checked which ones I had and they were all originals. When you played some of the remaster stuff, I was like EW GROSS.
They're awful. Utterly devoid of life.
Having bought the CD of So far so good... back in 1988, I was shocked at the horrible 2004 Remaster. I only bought some the other CDs to get the bonus tracks, which were decent at times. This situation made me aware that not all remixes make a better product. As for Killing is my business... I think the remaster is passable, but the censoring of "These Boots" is just silly.
"These Boots" was censored after Nancy Sinatra and/or whoever owns the rights to the song threatened legal action. Under US copyright law, covers are allowed unless the original lyrics are altered (which is the opposite of the "parody or transformative work" rule of thumb for almost any other medium).
OG Rust in Peace was my first. It's one of their best. I obviously noticed the vocals first on the Remaster. As for the rest, I spent years tracking down all the original albums, and I started thinking I was crazy. The other remasters weren't that bad or different... I'm glad someone else feels the same way and I'm not crazy
My biggest issue with the remasters is the replacement vocals on Five Magics. The replacement wizard voice is a massive downgrade and the lyrics are way different.
The Cryptic Writings remix and remaster was diabolical. Glad I have the OG CD. Mustaine stripped out loads of the original bits
Right? It's a fantastic sounding album and the "remaster"/remix ruined it.
personally i prefer a lot of the remasters simply because the bass is louder. bass is so, so important to me in a mix and the originals just... don't have nearly enough for me. thrash is often guilty of pushing the bass too far down into the mix in favour of the guitar and i don't like the sound. i prefer the clankier, bass heavy mix of the remasters on the whole, it carries more energy to me.
that hangar 18 remaster is a good example of this for me, the guitar is playing entirely chords, and the bass is holding the tonic down, keeping everything grounded. in the original, i don't really get enough definition out of the bass, it's just sort of a murmur down below
and the wake up dead original is too washed in reverb to me. it removes too much of the definition from all the instruments to me, it sounds like it was recorded in a swimming pool or something
Same. If I’m using headphones I’ll throw on the originals, but if I’m playing them in my car I will use the 2004 simply because the bass sounds so much better.
I met Dave Mustaine when the Risk album shortly came out (summer of 1999). I haven’t listened to Megadeth since..
I think you may be the only other person I've ever encountered who considers Youthinasia as their favorite. Instant subscribe.
I am no expert but I think this is because also of time. There is some stuff that belongs to a context in time and imo must be kept in it, and although the technology nowadays allow for recording way better, we must respect the magic of the time some songs were composed and recorded. For example, when I listen to stuff like Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, etc, I want to listen it with the quality they had in their time. I want to listen to those "impurities" in sound, because they have some magic into it.
The main reason they sound different is because back in the day of analog mixing you had a giant board that mixed on . Those boards had a certain sound . Modern studios don’t use a mixing board anymore . It’s all done on computer , so you don’t get the sound of that board .
I remember Dave posting on his forums during this time. He thought he was a producer, so he was in there with some engineers and he was trying to be a producer. He kept posting about how great Menza was when he uncovered some old fills from the tapes and stuff. The problem is he isn't a producer. That's why they sound so funky. These had already been recorded. The "board sound" was already on the tapes. He just had no clue what he was doing.
Dave talked about the Rust in Peace remaster in Guitar Magazine back then & said someone had deleted the vocal tracks & recorded over his guitar parts.
listening to this is like trying to read tabs back in the late 80's and expecting to play the song
I had the same experience growing up after Megadeth’s prime. born in 96, started listening in 2010 - so all that was readily available for me was the remixed/remastered versions which I do own the first 5, but I’ve since replaced them all with original pressing CD’s *including* the OG KIMB with the uncensored These Boots cover!
I completely agree, and to your point, I find it super frustrating for any person to try and get into megadeth if they can only listen to these hot garbage remixes. kinda crazy that Mustaine approved of these, but we also gotta consider that Ellefson was suing him at the time 😂 yanno, THE FIRST time they were beefing.
it’s such a damn shame that Peace Sells and So Far So Good So What’s mixes were tossed out for these lifeless new ones. those were my favorite sounding out of all the megadeth discography. and I firmly believe Mustaine re-recording / using alternate takes for Take No Prisoners and Five Magics is a war crime.
thank you for making this video, your content is great and I hope to see more in the future!
There's a theory that says 2004 remasters were made so Dave could stop paying royalties to many of his ex musicians, just like Sharon Osboune did with Ozzy's first records. That's why he replaced all Nick Menza's drum tracks with virtual drums, which are pretty noticeable in songs like Rust In Peace Polaris or the drum solo at the end of Ashes In Your Mouth
That wouldn't be a remaster but a re-mix.
Those things are done so the record company stops taking their cut. Band members are still earning royalties from the songs.
What did you think about the So Far So Good So What remaster? I was scrolling specifically to get to the image of that album cover and didn't find it, because I'm lazy tonight and won't play the full video until later. I actually prefer the 80s original, even if it's just nostalgia.
"Take out all the mids...ok....so far so good....now, don't let it fluctuate at all....cool cool...now muddy it up? Perfect!"
i picked up killing is My Business when it was released. The songs were great in my opinion but the production was a massive disappointment. I'm so glad they got around to putting out a decent remaster. As for the others, I couldn't agree more. Should be called the De-masters
KIMB is an outlier. It wasn't part of the batch of Dave's 2004 remix/remasters, which only covered Peace Sells - Risk.
Youthanasia is my favorite album from Megadeth too. The production and song writing is incredible and gets better with time.
Hell yes brother
same!
Youthanasia is your number 1 album? You just earned a sub!
I totally related to when you said about only ever hearing the remasters because of your age. I first started listening to Megadeths classic albums on CD when I was 15 in 2007 and I was oblivious that they were the 2004 remasters. It was only until a couple of years ago I listened to the originals and man they’re like different songs altogether.
So true man, glad someone else had the same experience
Holy shit!
I've never been a huge Megadeth fan in general, but Countdown To Extinction is etched in my brain since listening to it constantly in the 90's.
Hade never heard of the 2004 remasters before, had to compare on Spotify for myself, and good grief they really are terrible, maybe even worse than it comes across in the vid. Already the intro on Skin O' My Teeth was enough to hear it was real, night and day.
Like someone took a wet blanket covered in mud and draped it over it all and then passed it through a bad MP3 encoder, and sample-replaced some drums (and lots more probably) with out of place sounding ones for good measure.
Especially the drums and cymbals, hat's, rides and crashes are almost gone completely, dull and lifeless if there at all, and in some parts the rhythm that made the song really good in the first place is just gone (verse on Countdown for example).
How did these atrocities ever get released?
Had the band gone deaf and been surrounded by yes-men at this point?
I'm at a complete loss for words. Only swear words come to mind now.
To clarify, Spotify in Sweden seems to have multiple versions of most (all?) their albums that have had "remasters". Apparently that's not the case everywhere.
They don't have the original 92 version of CTE, but at least an actual remaster of the 92 original mix.