MFB
Banned
Totally agree. Art of Balance and War Within were two of the first metal albums I ever listened to but my god the mix is bad.
I was spinning "The Art of Balance" at work today, and it's not as terrible as I'd remembered. It could certainly due with some polishing, but I wouldn't say it's awful.
Although, I'm of the mind that the first couple albums of any band are going to sound fairly unpolished/just OK due to being amateurs to the scene; so take my opinion with a grain of salt.