Good albums with disappointing sound/production

[onefingersweep]

Dream Theater - Train Of Thought

Always loved that music but the guitar sounds is horrible, not my cup of tea at all. Other than that it sounds good.

 

[syzygy]

Sun Eater by Job for a Cowboy is such a dang good album, but the bass tone sounds so wimpy on that record. If the production were either more modern/had more bite, I would listen to it more often. And it's still one of my favorite albums.

 

[Alex79]

Queen's of the Stone Age - Villains. Just the absolute worst sounding drums I've heard on an album to the point that it distracts me from the actual songs.

Cradle of Filth - Midian. It was here that I heard someone refer to it as having "fart guitar tone" and I can never unhear it now.

Baroness - Gold and Grey. Less egregious, but still a weird way to produce it and if it were done like a few of their older albums I think it would've been stronger for it. (thank you, Max, for pointing this out and making me aware of it every time I hear any song from it. )

Midian was very much the VHT signature guitar sound I think. It is an acquired taste.

 

[Alex79]

Metallica - And Justice For All is the most obvious one that springs to mind as it's like someone just forgot to mix in the bass tracks.

After The Burial - Wolves Within was already mentioned but I agree 100% that it sucks. I remember when I first heard one of their singles on Youtube and I genuinely thought it was a problem with the upload or something. I'd also include the first release of Rareform and Forging a Future Self as other examples of their dodgy production.

I also want to say that any time a band/engineer throws in some ear-rape section into an album I hate it and it makes me avoid listening to it again. There's like a 30 second bit of deafening static in the latest Rivers of Nihil album, and I'm just thinking - WHY? It's painful to listen to. It's frustrating because the album is good but that part is such a vibe kill for me.

They didn’t “forget”. Lars had the bass guitar turned down in the final
mix. Jason Newsted was not happy when he heard the result.

Metallica's 'And Justice for All': What Happened to the Bass?

Will the celebrated record, which is home to the singles “One” and “Eye of the Beholder,” ever offer justice for four-stringer Jason Newsted?

www.rollingstone.com

 

[Crungy]

I'm surprised I didn't think of AJFA. It's a classic album for sure, but man does it sound like ass.

 

[p0ke]

Probably not a popular opinion, but Gojira's Fortitude album.
The balance, and clarity of the instruments felt a bit off, in comparison to Way of All Flesh, or even the relatively dry yet punchy sound of Magma.

The guitars feel a bit mushier and buried in the mix, especially on tracks where there are a lot of different sonic elements going on. I think the best example off of the album would be their single, Amazonia. Listen to it up to the chorus, and then switch to something like Esoteric Surgery.
The first time I listened to the album I had it in the background while I was working, and it was not until I saw a guitar cover of Amazonia shortly after, that I even picked up that the main guitar part was gallop picked. Once I listened to it again with that in mind I really found the guitars lacking definition.

I guess it's unfair to just pick on that one track - but it's probably the best example of the (to my ears) underwhelming sound of the album

Gotta agree on this, at least a little. It's far from terrible, but it's not up to Gojira standards IMO.