Graham

Metallica really need someone who can say no to them. Hardwired had good tracks on it, but for some baffling reason they decide to dilute those into an hour and 20 minute double album filled with bland, lifeless material. I just made a Spotify playlist of the best tracks - 6 songs, 37 minutes long, now I just listen to that rather than the album

Have you heard DVNE's new record? I think you might like it

Sounds brilliant, wish this is what the remaster sounded like

I think Lars was a perfectly adequate drummer for what Metallica were doing for their first four records. In an perfect world, he'd have been in a producer role, helping to write the material with someone more competent actually performing/writing the drums.

It's my favourite Metallica album, but that mix 😡 To think how it could have sounded. It's also heartbreaking for Jason, he wrote Blackened, so it's his song opening the first album he recorded with them but then finds he's inaudible.

My tastes are a little niche and from the heavier end of the metal/hardcore spectrum - if post-rock/hardcore, mathcore, black metal or grindcore are your bag then you'd probably recognise the bands I'm listing, otherwise they will probably be completely unheard of Speaking of which, yesterday was the last day of my holiday and I listened to the below - I've tried to give some description of what they sound like Lingua Ignota - Sinner Get Ready (hard to categorise, but think Diamanda Galas dealing with an abusive relationship through the medium of Catholicism and American folk music. It's actually a brilliant record even if it sounds conceptually odd) The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works (mathcore - chaotic, abrasive hardcore/punk in complex time signatures) The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis Bossk - Audio Noir (post-metal which is exemplified by (often instrumental), music which slowly builds to crescendo with lots of textures, often quite cinematic. Bossk though are like that, but with big, fun, awesome riffs)

Yeah, I'm really not into that Dingwall/Darkglass djent sound, but I do want a very clear and articulate sounding five string

I'm not wild about the finish on the BTB Multiscale, but may have to go and try one in the flesh when they're physically available. There's an awful lot of bang for your buck there, and it's appeared at the exact moment my multiscale GAS has re-surfaced

Yesterday was mostly albums with long titles Poison The Well - The Opposite Of December...A Season Of Separation Emperor - Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire & Demise Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken...Deeds That Go Undone Discordance Axis - The Inalienable Dreamless Rolo Tomassi - Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It Cave In - Perfect Pitch Black Last day of holiday today before back to work, gone far too quick

Yesterday's albums Bleeding Through - This Is Love, This Is Murderous Deafheaven - Infinite Granite Spylacopa - Spylacopa Urne - Serpent & Spirit Bossk - Migration

Forgot to post my holiday listening again On New Year's Eve Born To Murder The World - The Infinite Mirror Of Millenial Narcissism Make Them Die Slowly - The Bodycount Continues The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity We Lost The Sea - Triumph And Disaster And then New Year's Day Cave In - Antenna YOB - Clearing The Path To Ascend ISIS - In The Absence Of Truth Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

I was asleep by half 10 NYE, so started the new year the next day with my favourite band

Forgot to post yesterday, yesterday was: Zao - The Crimson Corridor Pupil Slicer - Mirrors Full Of Hell - Garden Of Burning Apparitions Pig Destroyer - Book Burner Today has been: Cave In - Jupiter Chamber - Cost Of Sacrifice The Armed - Only Love Emma Ruth Rundle - Engine Of Hell

Ah! I've found an input setting called "force mono" that seems to have done it, thanks

Hi all, I'm trying to record using both channels of my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 into Reaper, where channel 1 is through my EBS pre-amp and channel 2 is a complete dry DI from the link output of the pedal. The trouble I'm having is when I use both channels and set the tracks in Reaper to the respective inputs on the interface they pan left and right, whereas I want them both mono. Reason being I want to record with the EBS to get the sort of tone I like, but also want to give the songwriter options for re-amping when mixing, should he want something different. I've tried mucking about with the panning in Reaper, but a) that didn't seem to work for channel 2 and b) it feels like this must be a common issue with a simple solution I've not found yet. Thanks all

Today has been KOYO - Drives Out East Carcass - Surgical Steel Cave In - Final Transmission The Dillinger Escape Plan - Miss Machine Botch - American Nervoso It's nice being off work

This afternoon I've had on ISIS - panopticon Deftones - Ohms Carcass - Torn Arteries

You too Blue

I'm fairly safe in the knowledge I can't really afford anything big, but if an MXR envelope filter or a Earthquaker Devices shimmer reverb came up at the right price, at the right time I'd jump on those.

I've got nothing booked so looking out for bands that need a bass player or venues that need a band, quite possible there will be cancellations this year. To be honest though, I'm not really expecting there to be any gigs again this NYE, SO we'll probably order Italian and watch a movie.

I'd think that if they were designing the five string properly, ie as an instrument in it's own right not just the standard four string with a wider neck and extended pickup, then I would expect it to sound similar but different. Really, I'd hope the five string pickup had been designed with a low B in mind and so would be voiced differently to the four string equivalent.

Dillinger Escape Plan - it's keeping the kids upstairs and therefore making it slightly more likely that they're tidying their rooms

I've got very familiar with Wren Kitchens and DFS's hold music and if I were to hear them now would probably trigger Pavlovian rage. There was supplier I used to call quite regularly in my supply chain days in Essex who had a pub-rock CD as their hold music, Judas Priest and similar. When I complimented them on this they said it had been set by a previous employee and they didn't know how to change it

When I was in a thrash band at uni, we did a gig with a death metal band where the bassist had one of those and let me use it. it was amazing, tone was like being hit in the face with a brick

Brilliant basses, I do miss mine