I think around 8:40 they are basically saying this was put onto tape and can't be properly remixed due to the amount of edits they did during recording and the resulting poor condition of the master tape
Damn, Jason was shredding that bass. It's a real tragedy that literally nobody will ever hear it. I appreciate you bringing his work into the light so to speak. I hope he sees this.
Its a case of preference I guess, I like AJFA because its so scooped and you cant hear the bass guitar. Thats literally why its my favorite album from them.
My brother and I got this album as kids - I mean like junior high kids, and we both knew it sounded terrible, but we didn't know why, aside from us thinking the kick drum sounded like garbage. Once we started getting into music we put most of it together, meaning the missing bass, the guitar tone, the terribly dry snare. But it wasn't until we were adults, actually doing recording, that we started isolating what went wrong, and it really is a TON of mid-low to mid-high frequency just absent. It reminds me of how I'd EQ things when I was a kid - push up the low and high,. the U EQ. So we futzed around with it, in a DAW, trying to get the most out of it. My brother was MUCH more experienced, and after a bit, he shook his head and said "I can't boost something that isn't there to begin with." Sad....but true (hehe). So to see someone go back in and punch this sound up, for me, is so f'ing cathartic, because we tried, and we didn't get even close to having it sound as good as it does here. Well done man!
That's a huge compliment, man 🙏 Thank you!!! I'm blessed to live in a time where technology is available to make these kinds of changes. And having amazingly talented and knowledgeable friends to learn from. Would love to know what Steve Thompson's mix woupd sound like. Some commenters said "The Prince" from Garage Days is close?
@@BecomeTheKnight The Prince is probably the best example of how their production went from ok to terrible, because the Garage Days version is decent, but the Garage Inc version is awful, production wise. Metallica is one of those bands that manages to turn more money into a worse sound. They're like the George Lucas of bands. And happy to give you the due accolades. Your content is always really well thought out, and I dig the insight. Two takes of mind, the Roger Waters assessment was so spot on, and then of course, the MGK cover. So many people attacked the cover, but missed a lot of important details. The remark about "we just picked a song out of a hat and this is our first time even trying it" got passed over by so many people. As musicians, we know the insult that is. You were the only person I saw to really address that. Anyway, looking forward to more great stuff!
@@sydhamelin1265 man i sure am glad i don't do sound engineering so I don't know wtf you're talking about. Glad I can still listen to and enjoy AFJA without thinking about all that stuff
@@BecomeTheKnightactly i really now wanted to hear what his Steve's original mix sounded like, it's pretty sad and the Prince from Garage days is so better it's so "catchy" the tone with the mix
Not at all a wannabe sound engineer but it's incredible how much better it sounded. It seems like AJFA was bassless but their next album really thrived off Jason's tone.
Only because they hired a producer who ran the show and would not back down from them trying to fuck things up. They tried to fuck it up hence all the arguments and Bob cracking them for their stupidity.
Shame that black album was the first "Metallica" album after the end of the actual Metallica phase. The bass should have definitely been HERE, rather than on a pop rock album. My humble opinion.
Here’s my thought about the bass tones and frequencies being lost in the mixes. I have been a fan of Metallica since 1985. Lars has had hearing issues since at least 1988. I believe that his ears are damaged enough so that he hears the bass frequencies (under 500 hz) much louder than he does the mid or higher frequencies (above 1Mhz). I believe this has been going on since he was in his early 20s and it has affected his hearing considerably. Remember he came out in 1988-89 publicly saying that he had hearing loss and tinnitus when he was just 25 years old. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’s got a bit of low-end hyperacusis and he’s just innocently hearing things differently than the average listener with normal hearing. I also say this from personal experience- having lost high-end hearing in my left ear. Low bass tones definitely affect that ear more.
That’s like a color blind man insisting to be in charge of the tone mapping and post production on a film. You know you have abnormal senses, wear the proper ear protection and have the mix filtered for your monitors, but leave the professionals do their job.
The thing is, you can hear the bass so well on the first Garage Days EP, that came out before Justice.....so they could have done it if they had wanted to
That’s what I always said!!! Until the black album came out the Garage Days EP was the best sounding recording Metallica had in their catalog. It was raw and huge sounding.
@@TheRealCardz Yep, it sounds great. I remember James saying in an interview in the 80's that they recorded the whole EP in 6 days, which is how long it took them just to get the guitar sound on Master of Puppets.
Garage days was probably one of the best-sounding records any metal band has made. Everything stood out without interfering with each other...perfection in a bottle (here's looking at you, "Small Hours")
Might just be me, but I honestly much prefer the actual release to any of these added bass mixes. Maybe it’s because no one has the original tapes anymore.
And Justice for Jason is not as extensive as this remix here, where the other guy essentially just boosted the low frequencies. Not a dig against that but this is how it should have been released.
Honestly, my ideal mix for this would be somewhere between the two mixes you showed us. Not quite as overpowering as the last one, but a little more present than the first one. Great work!
Maybe it's because it was my first Metallica album but I love the mix. Sure I'd love to hear more of Jason, but there's something about how the low end used to make my speakers rub that just brings back nostalgia.
I've heard another version called Justice for Jason that's the full album and his playing is really good on there. Too bad Lars is a half deaf egomaniac.
@@TacTicMint justice for jason have some covers in them unfortunately , real bass tracks but like 4 songs are not official bass tracks (frayed , beholder , harvester and to live is to die)
I would re-buy this album in a heartbeat with your remixing! You made everybody sound better overall. The drums have more punch on the attack and less “whomp”. James’ vocals are cleaner sounding too.
Yeah my best work usually happens when I'm left alone. Whenever a band asks to be present I end up dissatisfied with the final result. There was this one band that wanted to take things a step further in professionality and took their album I recorded to someone with fresh ears and a lot of what he did went in the vein of un-doing things they requested when we did the final session for the original mixes. Like, they kept clogging up the mix by asking me to bring to the forefront things that sat nicely on the background, and then the other guy just ditched a lot of those tracks altogether.
Same applies when you’re an artist and you’re working on a piece for a client and have them watch you as you do it. They always want to add this and that and give opinions. It’s very annoying
What are your thoughts on the excessive 60-100hz bass “drone” that is prevalent through this whole album? While it adds more bass (or should I say mid-bass)to the overall mix, I’ve always found it a bit overcooked.
Become the Songwriter sounds like an awesome new video series. Also i have heard alot of "And Justice for jason" remixes on youtube, but honestly yours is the best i have heard so far.
damn, you really brought new life into the track without choking the personality. some of those bass chugs in the verse brings a new energy to an otherwise fairly simple section
Man this was a fun watch/listen. The vocal cleanup was my favorite part. Yeah you did some nice magic on the bass but getting that vocal cleaned up was fantastic
@@mirkecWii Was just thinking the same with James "excuse". Dude if that is the sound you want and it battles the Bass for frequency space then get rid of the bass... Nope. lets just fuck this guy WE picked out to replace a dead friend because you know, fuck that guy for replacing our dead friend, amiright? ... so dumb and petty.
Off topic. Did Ted Templemen mix Van Halen albums so they would sound clear and powrful in mono, as most people may have only had a 1 speaker tape player/radio or car radio???
@@johnp82”Steve Thompson discusses the missing bass on Metallica’s AJFA album” Channel is Dean Cramer. It’s 3 minutes and 5 seconds in. Keeps deleting the comment with the link
The weird thing is that the $5.98 EP has a pretty good mix. Now, that may be because the songs they covered had bass parts that weren't locked to the rhythm guitar 100% of the time but you can definitely hear bass throughout. TBO, I was a little disappointed in the sound of Justice upon release but I got over it pretty quickly.
Anthrax's Among The Living was a perfect mix of high end studio polish and garage band raw energy. That's how I think Justice should have sounded. To me when I first bought the album on vinyl it sounded like they were playing in a big, empty room with walls made out of tin cans, all high end with too much distortion and zero bass. Even Lars bass drums sound more like wet rags slapping rocks than thunderous thuds.
i dont know shit about mixing but i could visionize everything you were saying in that "nerdy mix things" part. like in 14:00, if the original mix sounds like a cube, your mix sounds like a rectangular prism extending away from you. not getting wider, not taller, not bigger, it's not another shape, it's a rectangular prism and it's extending away from you. your way of explaining things have always been astonishing and this video is no different. great video sir!
PleasepleasePLEASE! Do more mixes like this giving Jason the credit of how much his bass lines SLAP! He has been an inspiration to myself and tons of bass players. He deserves that much if not more.
He does, Metallica's community is known for bootlegs and such and Metllica themselves supports it because they came from it. There's an interview somewhere online where Jason got a remastered AJFA tape or CD from a fan where they made the bass audible. It's on youtube
@@Xerachielnah, songs like Dyer’s Eve sounds way more metal with the louder bass. Metal is SHIT when it has no bass. Metal is supposed to be HEAVY. Bass brings the HEAVY.
I love that hot Bass mix. If you ever decide to do the entire record that way, take my money 😅 Also that if Lars was the Bass Player really made me fall off my chair 😂😂😂
Take my money! lol.... I have listened to a LOT of "justice for Jason" mixes, but they always seem to just have a single bass knob of a stereo turned up, not mixed. If you were able to mix the whole album like this, I'd want a copy!
Another piece people don’t recognize: stereos and speakers in the 80’s were designed around mid tones. It wasn’t until Enigma and their first hit Sadness came out that bass kick became prominent. After that, the entire industry changed; especially with rap becoming predominant over rock.
There were tons of bassmobiles running around when this came out. My car had plenty of bass to it even with just some real good 6”x9”s in it before I added the bazooka bass tubes. Never had an issue with how this album sounded, the elitists who hate everything Metallica need something to complain about. Never heard a word about this when it came out and Metallica was still cool before the Black album. Actually feel it’s sounds very muddy with too much bass.
@@joecat70There is something to the idea that metalheads were rebelling in a way against the dominance of minitrucks rattling windows in every neighborhood. The rap metal crossover years were not yet here yet with metal heads embracing it
@@joecat70 your but your average factory system was freakin' garbage, and that's what most people would have had. Same with average home stereos. Sure, some people had good stuff back then, but a lot didn't.
E string on a guitar is 82.41Hz (drop D the lowest tone is 73.42Hz, on an 8 string it goes as low as 23.12Hz or tuned lower to 20.60Hz), in order to get any "lower" colors of that pitch (aka the character of the tone and guitar - strings, body, neck materail etc. - natural deviations in the physical properties of the vibrating system), you need to allow for lower than 82.41 Hz. Alot of character of voices and instruments are lost in modern recordings because deviant resonant frequencies of the materials, halls etc. are not taken into account - it is also very hard to find any speakers that go as low as for example the lowest note on a grand Bosendorfer piano, which is 16.5 herz, on a normal piano it is 27.5Hz and a contrabassoon 29.14Hz. Research also suggests that exposure to infrasound can cause feelings of unease or discomfort, possibly due to the vibration of body tissues. Similarly, ultrasound can be used in medical imaging and therapy, where it interacts with body tissues in ways that can be visualized or felt. What that means is that frequecies are detected by the human body way beyond the 20hz-20khz spectrum. The uniformity and sterility of modern day digital production is generally awful.
I mix and I 100 percent agree. I always see people say "}theres no hard and fast rules" yet tell you to completely obliterate the lows off distorted guitars... which is just wild. There are plenty of instruments and sounds that absolutely have character down there. There's so many instances people will kill the highs too... just because something is more mid focused doesn't mean it doesnt have important character elsewhere. There definitely are a lot of instances where you are going to need to temper frequencies. But killing them is just a lazy solution that leads to sterile and lifeless mixes that everyone on earth complains about. Also people have a very bad concept that killing all that low end gives them more headroom when it comes to making the master loud. This is true to a degree. You dont want unnecessary build up down there and depending on how you recorded, what you recorded... etc... yea. You may want to throw some multiband compression and tame a lot of it. But believe it or not... if you actually properly use those frequencies... they do not get in the way and do not give you way more headroom. They literally only do IF your subs are way out of whack. People should throw songs like Everything in its Right Place by Radiohead into a daw and watch the visual EQ. On that electronic piano... TONS of sub information. Song couldnt be any louder too.
Bob Rock: "Lars, will you make the next couple versions a little more peppery off the top? You know, a little more weight to it?" Lars: "If you want weight, I'm your f*cking guy." Hetfield: "Yeah, he'll make us WAIT longer."
Where can I buy this proper upgraded version on CD or vinyl.?! I absolutely love this version..!! Fark Lars..!!! This is my favourite Metallica album..!! Sydney Australia..
That is an ultimate "fuck you" to Lars at the end, I LOVE IT 😂😂😂😂😂! Thanks for the video, absolutely outstanding job. I'll be waiting for the official release lol
Metallica’s cover of The Prince is how the album should’ve sounded. From what I understand, it was recorded at the very beginning of the AJFA sessions. The Prince has a nearly identical mix to AFJA, but Jason is actually audible to beef up the overall sound and note attack. …And Justice For Jason always sounded overkill to me on the bass guitar.
There is a channel called The Bass Channel that has a near perfect (imo) mix on their full album cover specifically. The individual song uploads they have the bass is too present for general listening but the full album cover is so good.
Great job man!!! I think your second bass mix was it. Please complete the rest of the album and post. I would love to hear the rest. Justice for Jason. Love the bounce of his tone. It really compliments the rest of the parts.
The Smart thing Bob (trickery said to the band) before the Black Album. He said, I want to get more of your bigger live sound in this record. Or in basic we need some thump bass lol
Man this is so amazing. This song, being the closer to the album, has always felt like just a wide open, middle finger, thrashing ode to James’ upbringing. Having the correct amount of bass in the mix makes it more of what it needs. Heavier, darker, and bigger. Awesome job man
I love how the bass is boosted but not overbearing like a lot of remixes people do for AJFA. It's loud enough to hear and add to the song, but it doesn't muddy the guitars. Plus all the other stuff you did to everything else to make things sound bigger and clearer
I also recall hearing that James and Lars were mixing the album between dates on the Monsters of Rock tour they were doing at the time. Can you imagine how blown out your hearing must have been and then you go mix a record? Seems like a bad idea.
Your mix sounds amazing. And Jason’s bass tone is amazing. It's a little hard to really nail it down because the mid are scooped too much to really hear the characteristics. But that is either a Jazz or a PJ through an SVT. Classic sound, it doesn't get much more straightforward than that.
I hate that loudwire cut out the part where he says "..and then James went like this". Does he mean he just threw up his hands like whatever? I don't think he gave a thumbs up I honestly he think he just shrugged his shoulders, threw up his hands like "Fine whatever Lars says"
@@sole__doubtCliff Burton was regarded as a monster on bass, he did solos, it was a selling point of the band “we have a bassist who actually plays solos” so even before Jason, people ‘cared about the bass’
@@ShaunHensley yeah I dont care about Cliff Burton, to me he was taking away from the guitars which to me is the most important part. I prefer metallica w/o cliff.
Ulrich has always made selfish decisions, while he's the worst musician in the band. Sometimes I'd have appreciated if the other members fought their way and their convictions against him, with the help of James, but he always seemed to not wanting to fight with him and that created much shit in the engineering of their albums. It's amazing what you did, it's so good.
Yes it's revisionist history. It sounded as good or better than any other album made in 1988. Over time more and more people have bitched about the lack of bass etc.
@@outis439-Amaster of puppets had lots of bass and if you listen to for whom the bells from ride the lightning you know its not true what you say. Kill em all is the only album with very low bass
@@andersistbesser kill ‘em all low bass? Bro it’s so loud there. Mop has lots of bass? It’s there but you have to pay attention for it. You never listen to the albums.
@@outis439-A as a young dude i loved metallica because they have been the first band with this heavy clean guitar sound and this massive bass. Litsten to things that should not be. The bass was crazy. No one had a bass sound like metallica had back in the days
Would you ever consider doing this for the whole album and uploading it? I absolutely love how you were able to bring up Jason's bass. It sounds so much better.
If this album had better production it would probably be hailed as the best Metallica album. The songs are fuckin' killer, the jist is there. It only needed to be delivered to the listener in a more refined way.
This is Metallicas best album. I'm not really impressed with the bass parts that Jason plays on this album, which I have heard with all these attempts with remixing the album, cranking up the bass, which by the way is always over done. People just put the bass up like it is the lead instrument. And like I said I am not that impressed with Jasons writing, so I'm glad the album was mixed like it was. Wich makes it so unique sounding, with this raw garage - e vibe. I always loved it, that beefy guitartone. Just fucking awesome.
The bass just needs a low pass filter on it to take out some of the higher frequencies. THAT is what messes with the mix and interferes with the overall sound, IMO.
It's so annoying they didn't decide to remix this album with Jason's bass for the 30th anniversary.
This should have been done decades ago.
I think around 8:40 they are basically saying this was put onto tape and can't be properly remixed due to the amount of edits they did during recording and the resulting poor condition of the master tape
@@d3one3 but Mike can do it at home so whats the point :D
@@realmusiciswithinstruments9915 right? And how could they get stems for Guitar Hero if the tapes were ruined?
Lars' attitude is fkng annoying.
The Lars-as-bassist mix is an insanely hilarious dunk on Lars, love it
The bass keeps time better than the drums...
@@yowie0889 Jason was a metronome - incredible timing!
@@ktw70?? Yes, he is playing in time..wow I guess
Hetfield also mixed the album
@@Zaher74 Yes, but it was Lars who made the last-minute changes and turned the Bass all the way down.
Damn, Jason was shredding that bass. It's a real tragedy that literally nobody will ever hear it. I appreciate you bringing his work into the light so to speak. I hope he sees this.
Its a case of preference I guess, I like AJFA because its so scooped and you cant hear the bass guitar. Thats literally why its my favorite album from them.
@@sole__doubtBecause there is no bass i can't listen to this album. It hurts my ears.
@@kudaty1808 i guess you arent a fan of raw black metal then.
Well, not _literally_ ... I mean, everyone who watched this video heard it.
There's a shitton of videos with the bass and even just the basslines themselves.
Anyone else want to hear the full song (and album for that matter) with this mix? Make it happen Mike!
hey mate I don't know if you are still interested but I have made one myself and I would love for you to give me your opinion on it
@fatsoula6297I like to hear it
@@drew092975 me too !
I’d love to hear a remix of this album with bass
No
My brother and I got this album as kids - I mean like junior high kids, and we both knew it sounded terrible, but we didn't know why, aside from us thinking the kick drum sounded like garbage.
Once we started getting into music we put most of it together, meaning the missing bass, the guitar tone, the terribly dry snare. But it wasn't until we were adults, actually doing recording, that we started isolating what went wrong, and it really is a TON of mid-low to mid-high frequency just absent. It reminds me of how I'd EQ things when I was a kid - push up the low and high,. the U EQ.
So we futzed around with it, in a DAW, trying to get the most out of it. My brother was MUCH more experienced, and after a bit, he shook his head and said "I can't boost something that isn't there to begin with." Sad....but true (hehe).
So to see someone go back in and punch this sound up, for me, is so f'ing cathartic, because we tried, and we didn't get even close to having it sound as good as it does here.
Well done man!
That's a huge compliment, man 🙏 Thank you!!! I'm blessed to live in a time where technology is available to make these kinds of changes. And having amazingly talented and knowledgeable friends to learn from.
Would love to know what Steve Thompson's mix woupd sound like. Some commenters said "The Prince" from Garage Days is close?
@@BecomeTheKnight The Prince is probably the best example of how their production went from ok to terrible, because the Garage Days version is decent, but the Garage Inc version is awful, production wise. Metallica is one of those bands that manages to turn more money into a worse sound. They're like the George Lucas of bands.
And happy to give you the due accolades. Your content is always really well thought out, and I dig the insight. Two takes of mind, the Roger Waters assessment was so spot on, and then of course, the MGK cover. So many people attacked the cover, but missed a lot of important details. The remark about "we just picked a song out of a hat and this is our first time even trying it" got passed over by so many people. As musicians, we know the insult that is. You were the only person I saw to really address that.
Anyway, looking forward to more great stuff!
@@sydhamelin1265 man i sure am glad i don't do sound engineering so I don't know wtf you're talking about. Glad I can still listen to and enjoy AFJA without thinking about all that stuff
@@Joshcoshbagosh Ignorance is bliss right.
@@BecomeTheKnightactly i really now wanted to hear what his Steve's original mix sounded like, it's pretty sad and the Prince from Garage days is so better it's so "catchy" the tone with the mix
I'm a bass player and, ironically, AJFA is my fave Metallica record. Your mix absolutely rules and I would pay cash money for physical media of it.
AJFA is the best!
Hell yes. And hell yes!
Not at all a wannabe sound engineer but it's incredible how much better it sounded. It seems like AJFA was bassless but their next album really thrived off Jason's tone.
This made him so much cooler for doing this 🔥
Only because they hired a producer who ran the show and would not back down from them trying to fuck things up. They tried to fuck it up hence all the arguments and Bob cracking them for their stupidity.
@@muriloninja he really acted like a 5th member
Black Album, Load and Reload were all made better because of Jason.
Shame that black album was the first "Metallica" album after the end of the actual Metallica phase. The bass should have definitely been HERE, rather than on a pop rock album. My humble opinion.
Here’s my thought about the bass tones and frequencies being lost in the mixes. I have been a fan of Metallica since 1985. Lars has had hearing issues since at least 1988. I believe that his ears are damaged enough so that he hears the bass frequencies (under 500 hz) much louder than he does the mid or higher frequencies (above 1Mhz). I believe this has been going on since he was in his early 20s and it has affected his hearing considerably. Remember he came out in 1988-89 publicly saying that he had hearing loss and tinnitus when he was just 25 years old. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’s got a bit of low-end hyperacusis and he’s just innocently hearing things differently than the average listener with normal hearing. I also say this from personal experience- having lost high-end hearing in my left ear. Low bass tones definitely affect that ear more.
Or, he could just be a douche'canoe.
Yes, but that's all the more reason for him not to be in charge of the mixing
Anyone in the band, especially James, would throw out Lars' take on the sound but he didn't. That says it all
That’s like a color blind man insisting to be in charge of the tone mapping and post production on a film. You know you have abnormal senses, wear the proper ear protection and have the mix filtered for your monitors, but leave the professionals do their job.
The thing is, you can hear the bass so well on the first Garage Days EP, that came out before Justice.....so they could have done it if they had wanted to
It was obviously done with ill intent. Sad
That’s what I always said!!! Until the black album came out the Garage Days EP was the best sounding recording Metallica had in their catalog. It was raw and huge sounding.
@@TheRealCardz Yep, it sounds great. I remember James saying in an interview in the 80's that they recorded the whole EP in 6 days, which is how long it took them just to get the guitar sound on Master of Puppets.
Garage days was probably one of the best-sounding records any metal band has made. Everything stood out without interfering with each other...perfection in a bottle (here's looking at you, "Small Hours")
Garage Days, Black, Load, and Re-Load are the only Metallica albums with the bass mixed properly :(
Might just be me, but I honestly much prefer the actual release to any of these added bass mixes. Maybe it’s because no one has the original tapes anymore.
Please make the complete album!😭Sounds great man!
I know, right? I was actually expecting to hear the whole song in the video.
And Justice for Jason is not as extensive as this remix here, where the other guy essentially just boosted the low frequencies. Not a dig against that but this is how it should have been released.
You can see the man playing whole album its the best Ive seen ua-cam.com/video/vumrar1k928/v-deo.html
His playing is fucking unreal….all picking
At 18:18 my jaw hit the floor. Holy shit what an amazing job you did. To hear it as it with so much power is some serious talent you have.
It already sounds mean, but with the bass, it’s sounds like an absolute monster
Yea man, it really elevates the guitars and overall mix to a different level!
@@willflores4370it really did
Some kind of monster, actually.
Nah, too muddy
Actual studio audio engineer: “this mix is fried can’t get the parts back”
BTK: “Hold my beer”
Hold my whiskey lol
For a second I thought you meant the BTK Killer.
Bob Rock, the genius behind the Black Album, should get a freaking award not only for making it, but for actually taming those two clowns.
They hired him based on his previous produced albums. Most notably, Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood.
@@revsharp777 yap. Dr feelgood also sticks out from Crue's earlier stuff. He's a freaking dream producer.
@@GuyXVIII indeed! Monster productions on both.
What two clowns are you talking about?
"Clowns" - the disrespect lol.
Honestly, my ideal mix for this would be somewhere between the two mixes you showed us. Not quite as overpowering as the last one, but a little more present than the first one.
Great work!
Maybe it's because it was my first Metallica album but I love the mix. Sure I'd love to hear more of Jason, but there's something about how the low end used to make my speakers rub that just brings back nostalgia.
Couldn’t agree more! It has a raw sound that makes it unique. If every classic album had perfect production none would stand out. Justice stands out.
This is an album made to listen in a car, no other album "crush" like this in my car...
Yeah this album is just the way I like it raw one of my favorite albums of all time all great songs.
Hey Mike!
@@jankystreams3337 Hey Janky!
How does someone get the stems uncompressed online? I’m a mix engineer and have always wanted to do AJFA
I love that with Jasons bassline there's a real pulse to the verse
I've heard another version called Justice for Jason that's the full album and his playing is really good on there. Too bad Lars is a half deaf egomaniac.
@@TacTicMint justice for jason have some covers in them unfortunately , real bass tracks but like 4 songs are not official bass tracks (frayed , beholder , harvester and to live is to die)
@@TheTrooperMB Ah ok. I listened to the front side and it sounded pretty good. Beholder is pretty boring anyways.
I would re-buy this album in a heartbeat with your remixing! You made everybody sound better overall. The drums have more punch on the attack and less “whomp”. James’ vocals are cleaner sounding too.
And this is why modern studio engineers don't mix with the band in the room.
Yeah my best work usually happens when I'm left alone. Whenever a band asks to be present I end up dissatisfied with the final result. There was this one band that wanted to take things a step further in professionality and took their album I recorded to someone with fresh ears and a lot of what he did went in the vein of un-doing things they requested when we did the final session for the original mixes. Like, they kept clogging up the mix by asking me to bring to the forefront things that sat nicely on the background, and then the other guy just ditched a lot of those tracks altogether.
Same applies when you’re an artist and you’re working on a piece for a client and have them watch you as you do it. They always want to add this and that and give opinions. It’s very annoying
this is why most modern bands just have someone in the band who knows how to do this. they don't want to use someone's generic template.
What are your thoughts on the excessive 60-100hz bass “drone” that is prevalent through this whole album? While it adds more bass (or should I say mid-bass)to the overall mix, I’ve always found it a bit overcooked.
Become the Songwriter sounds like an awesome new video series. Also i have heard alot of "And Justice for jason" remixes on youtube, but honestly yours is the best i have heard so far.
If you're not, you should be making records man. This is an incredible transformation. Justice for Jason and the rest of the metal world.
damn, you really brought new life into the track without choking the personality.
some of those bass chugs in the verse brings a new energy to an otherwise fairly simple section
Man this was a fun watch/listen. The vocal cleanup was my favorite part. Yeah you did some nice magic on the bass but getting that vocal cleaned up was fantastic
While the AJFA guitar tone is IMMENSE, I’ve always thought of the absence of bass guitar in the mix to be a representation of the loss of Cliff.
Thats still a dumb move. Just record an album without a bass player, and not bring a new guy, treat him like shit and 'delete' his recording
@@mirkecWii1000% this
@@mirkecWii Was just thinking the same with James "excuse". Dude if that is the sound you want and it battles the Bass for frequency space then get rid of the bass... Nope. lets just fuck this guy WE picked out to replace a dead friend because you know, fuck that guy for replacing our dead friend, amiright? ... so dumb and petty.
Also their reasoning is so weird, I am a huuuge Cliff fan, but his bass parts are also mostly following the guitar just like Jason
They had it right on Garage Inc 1987. It was still the MOP set up but they were using different amps I think
Where can we get a full song copy of your first mix( the one before you go heavy on the bass
JUSTICE FOR ONE OF MY FAVORITE METALLICA BASSISTS!
Thanks for doing this Mike. You're a hero to the metal community.
Off topic. Did Ted Templemen mix Van Halen albums so they would sound clear and powrful in mono, as most people may have only had a 1 speaker tape player/radio or car radio???
At 7:00, the motion James made was a defeated shrug. You can see it in another video
You can't. Loudwire took it out of the video.
@@johnp82 There is another video somewhere on UA-cam that has the full interview with nothing cut out or stuff put over it
@@TBone4Breakfast oh really? Can you send me a link because I haven't been able to find it.
@@johnp82”Steve Thompson discusses the missing bass on Metallica’s AJFA album”
Channel is Dean Cramer. It’s 3 minutes and 5 seconds in. Keeps deleting the comment with the link
@@TBone4Breakfast that's a different video but I'm sure he did the same defeated shrug.
Dude where can we listen to your complete mix for this song? I'll pay good money for it!
I'd love to hear your take on the entire album. That little demonstration sounded immense!
There are numerous fanmade remixes out there like And justice for Jason which include the basslines.
@@AgentLemmon yup, listened to a number of those, including a fan re-recording of St. Anger.
That hits hard, nice work.
The weird thing is that the $5.98 EP has a pretty good mix. Now, that may be because the songs they covered had bass parts that weren't locked to the rhythm guitar 100% of the time but you can definitely hear bass throughout. TBO, I was a little disappointed in the sound of Justice upon release but I got over it pretty quickly.
The Garage Days EP is the best sounding Metallica album
What's TBO? To be onest?
yeah it really is weird how they can muster up a decent mix on a 5.98 EP just goofing off and playing cover songs.
Where can I get the full remixed song?
Anthrax's Among The Living was a perfect mix of high end studio polish and garage band raw energy. That's how I think Justice should have sounded. To me when I first bought the album on vinyl it sounded like they were playing in a big, empty room with walls made out of tin cans, all high end with too much distortion and zero bass. Even Lars bass drums sound more like wet rags slapping rocks than thunderous thuds.
Lars about his drum sound in 1988 “Sounds awesome!”
Lars when he got sober “Cocaine is a helluva drug”
I really like how this was mixed and mastered. I wish you could do this with the rest of Justice album.
Poor Jason, his only 2 sins were not being a genius and not being Cliff Burton 😅
i dont know shit about mixing but i could visionize everything you were saying in that "nerdy mix things" part. like in 14:00, if the original mix sounds like a cube, your mix sounds like a rectangular prism extending away from you. not getting wider, not taller, not bigger, it's not another shape, it's a rectangular prism and it's extending away from you. your way of explaining things have always been astonishing and this video is no different. great video sir!
PleasepleasePLEASE! Do more mixes like this giving Jason the credit of how much his bass lines SLAP! He has been an inspiration to myself and tons of bass players. He deserves that much if not more.
Id love to hear your version start to finish!
Perspective of someone is who ,, justice is sick drums are amazing
Is the whole remastered song somewhere? This is awesome!
It would be cool if Jason saw this. He should know we all wish the bass was louder
no we dont, it fuck up the guitars.
He does, Metallica's community is known for bootlegs and such and Metllica themselves supports it because they came from it. There's an interview somewhere online where Jason got a remastered AJFA tape or CD from a fan where they made the bass audible. It's on youtube
Not all of us.
AJFA sounds perfect as it is, sorry jason lol
This same exact thing has been done 50 times on youtube....he is aware. He's mentioned it in interviews before.
@@Xerachielnah, songs like Dyer’s Eve sounds way more metal with the louder bass.
Metal is SHIT when it has no bass. Metal is supposed to be HEAVY. Bass brings the HEAVY.
How did you find these multitracks?
Out of all the remixes I've heard on UA-cam, this is definitely the best one, good job man, sounds awesome 🔥
Did you release your mix somewhere? I really wanna hear the whole thing!
I love that hot Bass mix. If you ever decide to do the entire record that way, take my money 😅
Also that if Lars was the Bass Player really made me fall off my chair 😂😂😂
Take my money! lol.... I have listened to a LOT of "justice for Jason" mixes, but they always seem to just have a single bass knob of a stereo turned up, not mixed. If you were able to mix the whole album like this, I'd want a copy!
Another piece people don’t recognize: stereos and speakers in the 80’s were designed around mid tones. It wasn’t until Enigma and their first hit Sadness came out that bass kick became prominent. After that, the entire industry changed; especially with rap becoming predominant over rock.
I did check this mix on my CLA-10s!
There were tons of bassmobiles running around when this came out. My car had plenty of bass to it even with just some real good 6”x9”s in it before I added the bazooka bass tubes.
Never had an issue with how this album sounded, the elitists who hate everything Metallica need something to complain about. Never heard a word about this when it came out and Metallica was still cool before the Black album.
Actually feel it’s sounds very muddy with too much bass.
@@joecat70There is something to the idea that metalheads were rebelling in a way against the dominance of minitrucks rattling windows in every neighborhood.
The rap metal crossover years were not yet here yet with metal heads embracing it
@@joecat70 your but your average factory system was freakin' garbage, and that's what most people would have had. Same with average home stereos. Sure, some people had good stuff back then, but a lot didn't.
@@SOHCGT96 800w Fisher system with the 24 band EQ that sounded amazing. Still have the speakers
E string on a guitar is 82.41Hz (drop D the lowest tone is 73.42Hz, on an 8 string it goes as low as 23.12Hz or tuned lower to 20.60Hz), in order to get any "lower" colors of that pitch (aka the character of the tone and guitar - strings, body, neck materail etc. - natural deviations in the physical properties of the vibrating system), you need to allow for lower than 82.41 Hz. Alot of character of voices and instruments are lost in modern recordings because deviant resonant frequencies of the materials, halls etc. are not taken into account - it is also very hard to find any speakers that go as low as for example the lowest note on a grand Bosendorfer piano, which is 16.5 herz, on a normal piano it is 27.5Hz and a contrabassoon 29.14Hz. Research also suggests that exposure to infrasound can cause feelings of unease or discomfort, possibly due to the vibration of body tissues. Similarly, ultrasound can be used in medical imaging and therapy, where it interacts with body tissues in ways that can be visualized or felt. What that means is that frequecies are detected by the human body way beyond the 20hz-20khz spectrum. The uniformity and sterility of modern day digital production is generally awful.
I mix and I 100 percent agree. I always see people say "}theres no hard and fast rules" yet tell you to completely obliterate the lows off distorted guitars... which is just wild. There are plenty of instruments and sounds that absolutely have character down there. There's so many instances people will kill the highs too... just because something is more mid focused doesn't mean it doesnt have important character elsewhere.
There definitely are a lot of instances where you are going to need to temper frequencies. But killing them is just a lazy solution that leads to sterile and lifeless mixes that everyone on earth complains about.
Also people have a very bad concept that killing all that low end gives them more headroom when it comes to making the master loud. This is true to a degree. You dont want unnecessary build up down there and depending on how you recorded, what you recorded... etc... yea. You may want to throw some multiband compression and tame a lot of it. But believe it or not... if you actually properly use those frequencies... they do not get in the way and do not give you way more headroom. They literally only do IF your subs are way out of whack.
People should throw songs like Everything in its Right Place by Radiohead into a daw and watch the visual EQ. On that electronic piano... TONS of sub information. Song couldnt be any louder too.
@@JimmyKlef Exactly, and that is where the true skill of engineering music comes into play
It's not just that bass is back. The WEIGHT is back.
There definitely is that “hum” quality with his new eq work.
Bob Rock: "Lars, will you make the next couple versions a little more peppery off the top? You know, a little more weight to it?"
Lars: "If you want weight, I'm your f*cking guy."
Hetfield: "Yeah, he'll make us WAIT longer."
can listen to the full thing somewhere bro?
I actually like the original mix (I still feel that it compliments the songs on the album), but it's amazing how much better yours sounds! Fantastic.
Where can I buy this proper upgraded version on CD or vinyl.?!
I absolutely love this version..!!
Fark Lars..!!!
This is my favourite Metallica album..!!
Sydney Australia..
That is an ultimate "fuck you" to Lars at the end, I LOVE IT 😂😂😂😂😂!
Thanks for the video, absolutely outstanding job. I'll be waiting for the official release lol
Do you have the recording from when you turn it up at 18:16 complete for sale ?? It’s sounds outstanding!! Great job man !
Metallica’s cover of The Prince is how the album should’ve sounded. From what I understand, it was recorded at the very beginning of the AJFA sessions.
The Prince has a nearly identical mix to AFJA, but Jason is actually audible to beef up the overall sound and note attack.
…And Justice For Jason always sounded overkill to me on the bass guitar.
Holy crap, awesome example!! Yes!
There is a channel called The Bass Channel that has a near perfect (imo) mix on their full album cover specifically. The individual song uploads they have the bass is too present for general listening but the full album cover is so good.
@@c.j.echaveit’s the only way that I can listen to that album now. Lol
@@c.j.echave Is that the one where he is playing on the video?
@@morsteen yeah, where he's playing through the entire album
There should be a link to the second mix somewhere dude. Sounds like an absolute beast 🤘
this is dope! good lord this record sounds so much better without the neglected bass treatment. can you upload your remix somewhere? :D
Probably copyright issues despite being a proper remix.
Great job man!!! I think your second bass mix was it. Please complete the rest of the album and post. I would love to hear the rest. Justice for Jason. Love the bounce of his tone. It really compliments the rest of the parts.
I love the guitar tone in this album not because i find it thick and massive. To me it is more thin and sharp and that's what makes it great
Kind of hard to mix bass with that style of guitar sound.
Justice had a unique sound
@@Crabbadabbathat’s what i’m saying. the bass was literally doomed from the get go because of the (killer imo but troublesome) guitar tone
@@defaultdan7923 I just wish Metallica nailed their drum sound better.
How do we get the full track of the remix???
Dude...the difference at 18:28 - 18:41 is incredible. Top work! The song pushes so much better. Bravo man 🤘
Could a plugin like Waves Maxxbass or RBass added more oomph to the bass guitar? Or would that have been too much?
The Smart thing Bob (trickery said to the band) before the Black Album. He said, I want to get more of your bigger live sound in this record. Or in basic we need some thump bass lol
He also genuinely wanted to capture that live moment hahaha. He really enjoyed it when they played the Grammy's iirc
Man this is so amazing. This song, being the closer to the album, has always felt like just a wide open, middle finger, thrashing ode to James’ upbringing. Having the correct amount of bass in the mix makes it more of what it needs. Heavier, darker, and bigger. Awesome job man
I love how the bass is boosted but not overbearing like a lot of remixes people do for AJFA. It's loud enough to hear and add to the song, but it doesn't muddy the guitars. Plus all the other stuff you did to everything else to make things sound bigger and clearer
Excellent work!
Can you do the entire album!?
I also recall hearing that James and Lars were mixing the album between dates on the Monsters of Rock tour they were doing at the time. Can you imagine how blown out your hearing must have been and then you go mix a record? Seems like a bad idea.
Can you quantize the wild tempo swings too?
the a b sounds like a blanket is being taken off the speaker, the original sounds so muffled
Your mix sounds amazing. And Jason’s bass tone is amazing. It's a little hard to really nail it down because the mid are scooped too much to really hear the characteristics. But that is either a Jazz or a PJ through an SVT. Classic sound, it doesn't get much more straightforward than that.
I would pay full price of the album with your mix and take a listen for once like it should be!
Fantastic mix. Can we hear the full song?
I hate that loudwire cut out the part where he says "..and then James went like this". Does he mean he just threw up his hands like whatever? I don't think he gave a thumbs up I honestly he think he just shrugged his shoulders, threw up his hands like "Fine whatever Lars says"
How do you get these tracks for these videos you do - very cool videos - appreciate your work
Holy shot this sounds amazing the best revise of this album I’ve heard yet.
Dude that mix (your first mix) sounds PHENOMENAL. I would pay money for the whole album again with that mix.
DAAAAAMN, Lars did Jason DIRRRRTY on that album. Those bass tracks absolutely slay!
Your first mix was the best and one that I would want to listen to. In fact, please do the full album...
I actually really like the AJFA sound. It's extremely dry but somehow it fits perfectly.
Exactly I like it because its so scooped and you cant hear the bass guitar. I never realized people cared so much about the bass guitar.
@@sole__doubtCliff Burton was regarded as a monster on bass, he did solos, it was a selling point of the band “we have a bassist who actually plays solos” so even before Jason, people ‘cared about the bass’
@@ShaunHensley yeah I dont care about Cliff Burton, to me he was taking away from the guitars which to me is the most important part. I prefer metallica w/o cliff.
@@sole__doubt ok, I’m just pointing out the vibe as it was at the time. The bass was very much a focal point of the band up to that point.
@@sole__doubtWHAT THE FUCK
Dude, what an awesome video... now could you please remix the whole album?
Amazing what a small change can do. A lot of the fan mixes have way too much bass but this sounded just right.
Is it possible to upload a complete album remix? I personally prefer your second mix
Man! Rex Brown even mentions in his book Lars himself admitted of "ribbing" Jason Newsted and turning down the bass.
nice video bro like and subscribed . Would you please tell me where do you get the original wave files from ?
Thank God for Bob Rock on the black album. He got the drums and bass sounding fantastic.
Where can I download the full album mixed this way? Asking for a friend..
Ulrich has always made selfish decisions, while he's the worst musician in the band. Sometimes I'd have appreciated if the other members fought their way and their convictions against him, with the help of James, but he always seemed to not wanting to fight with him and that created much shit in the engineering of their albums. It's amazing what you did, it's so good.
Maybe because Lars makes decisions that are good that we dont know. They are not puppets of Lars.
WHERE CAN I LISTEN TO THE FINISHED FULL TRACK!?!?!?
The vocals on the original sound better, but you certainly improved the other instruments.
Great video and work on the remix. BTW, where does one get the stems for these tracks?
We listened the shit out of Justice in the 80s. No one was around to tell us it sucked.
Yes it's revisionist history. It sounded as good or better than any other album made in 1988. Over time more and more people have bitched about the lack of bass etc.
@@ryanjacobson2508 Well i think it’s exaggerated cause metallica barely has bass in the first 4 albums except in moments (except Kill em all)
@@outis439-Amaster of puppets had lots of bass and if you listen to for whom the bells from ride the lightning you know its not true what you say. Kill em all is the only album with very low bass
@@andersistbesser kill ‘em all low bass? Bro it’s so loud there. Mop has lots of bass? It’s there but you have to pay attention for it. You never listen to the albums.
@@outis439-A as a young dude i loved metallica because they have been the first band with this heavy clean guitar sound and this massive bass. Litsten to things that should not be. The bass was crazy. No one had a bass sound like metallica had back in the days
Would you ever consider doing this for the whole album and uploading it? I absolutely love how you were able to bring up Jason's bass. It sounds so much better.
Hearing how Lars made his drums sound like empty trash cans back in the Saint Anger days makes this all sounds absolutely like what Lars would do...
Do you have the album to download in flac or wab or mp3 320
If this album had better production it would probably be hailed as the best Metallica album. The songs are fuckin' killer, the jist is there. It only needed to be delivered to the listener in a more refined way.
This is Metallicas best album. I'm not really impressed with the bass parts that Jason plays on this album, which I have heard with all these attempts with remixing the album, cranking up the bass, which by the way is always over done. People just put the bass up like it is the lead instrument. And like I said I am not that impressed with Jasons writing, so I'm glad the album was mixed like it was. Wich makes it so unique sounding, with this raw garage - e vibe. I always loved it, that beefy guitartone. Just fucking awesome.
It is anyway in my opinion....
The bass just needs a low pass filter on it to take out some of the higher frequencies. THAT is what messes with the mix and interferes with the overall sound, IMO.
where to listen the full version with your cool mix?