Metallica – Death Magnetic

Listening to this album on the first US vinyl pressing is a truly unique experience—yes, that categorically! It’s not that vinyl makes the sound "better" in the usual sense—just different. And in this case, closer to how it might (or might not) have been originally intended. Later reissues, including digital versions, were tweaked for vinyl and had their loudness "corrected," ultimately losing some authenticity and the spirit of the era.

CD vs. Vinyl:
Yes, the vinyl wins—but not by a landslide, as both formats suffer from a heavily compressed mix. The vinyl retains slightly more dynamics, especially in drums and bass, making it sound "livelier."

The CD, however, was pushed harder (+3.6 dB!), making digital distortion even more noticeable—at times, it sounds flat and "plastic." The vinyl was mastered separately, possibly with less "loudness war" aggression. Ted Jensen (the engineer) claims he received already distorted tracks—but who decided to crank the CD further remains a mystery. Maybe vinyl just couldn’t handle that level of abuse?

Can anyone confirm whether this original pressing actually sounds better (and not just louder) than the reissues/represses? They all seem to be pressed from the same stampers as far as the matrix runouts tell. Only difference would be whether Pallas or Rainbo pressed them from these plates ig?

Pallas being a reputable company, let's assume that they properly pressed these: shouldn't the sound be the same?

It's hard to find reasons to spend twice as much for the original pressing (of which up to 20.000 copies were made), from here

Just found a nice clean copy of this release at a record show this weekend. Even after reading through the reviews of this release, I still bought it...and glad I did. I loved this album when it came out, and I'm loving this release. It sounds great on my set up.
ONLY complaints would be, the mix is a little quiet for my liking, especially for a Metallica album, but when I turn it up, it's well balanced and clear on each instrument and vocals. I do hear a few pops here and there during some of the softer/quieter moments of a few tracks, but when all four are playing, it easily overpowers any crackling that may be there. All in all, I'm really digging this pressing and don't agree with most of the complaints I'm reading here. Rock On 🤘🏻🤘🏻

This album sounds like the mix tapes I made as a kid in the 80’s

I found this album more exciting to listen to than master of puppets, which kinda bored me. um, do i get banned from discogs now?

It’s crazy that even the first pressing can’t out perform the Guitar Hero version. Despite having flaws this pressing is easily the best compare to later pressings. The guitars are way more kind to your ears. Drums in my opinion are snappy but not piercing to later pressings. I believe they are using tapes instead of digital for that reason.
I really did enjoy the bass on the later pressings and this has the best bass. They really let Rob out of the cage and his bass work is phenomenal in this album.
The dynamic are gorgeous if I say so myself. Gives you less ear fatigue.

Any who. I love this pressing despite the flaws that just can’t be helped. This is the pressing to have.

I've read about pressing issues , surface noise , and just general poor quality with this release , but other than the actual album being mastered poorly , my pressing is fine , minimal surface noise , perfect trackability , the album still sounds like crap , all versions do except the fan made guitar hero version , but if you need this for the collection , dont hesitate to pick up this original pressing , its not bad at all.

This album sounds more like late era Slayer then Metallica. Maybe that was the point. I made sure I borrowed it at a library and copied it so Lars won't get a dime.

Death Magnetic brings Metallica back to respectability IMO. Since the Load albums and the failed attempt with St. Anger, I kind of wrote them off. Lucky for me, several years after the release, I found a copy of the CD in my local library. Since it was free, I decided to give it chance. Having zero expectations for it, I was shocked how good it was. Back are the chunky driving guitar rhythms and more importantly are the crazy breaks that send the song in completely different direction. The production isn't as crisp as there classics but I think its give the album a more of a live feel.

I listened to DM for the first time in a while today and I decided, what the hell. Write my first review here on Discogs.

I am now, in first time in a long time, looking forward to Metallica's next release.

Since it is filed under Reviews, I figured it was for my review of the album.