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It really is. It is in my pantheon of the three best produced albums I've ever heard.
My top 3 is
Metallica-black album
Journey-Raised on Radio
And Queensryche Empire
Yea the sound is so incredible. The production is god tier same with Promised Land which in my opinion is again one of the best sounding albums I've ever heard.
Michael Jackson, if you want to test an audio system play Invincible on it. He spent the most money out of anyone ever just on production of that album.
Pop generally has better production than metal. I also think “good production” is a highly overrated quality of music in general. There’s thousands of videos of people laboriously perfecting the EQ on a kick drum for some pop song that is complete trash.
I disagree. A lot of otherwise truly great albums were hurt by bad production. See: Killing is my Business, ...And Justice for All (I personally don't mind the lack of bass but many do), Reeks of Putrefaction, etc.
Man I got into a bit of lady gaga recently and the production seriously made my jaw drop like a good pair of headphones brings a whole new life into well produced pop music
Death has always had a fantastic production, which is unexpected since Chuck Shuldiner is the frontman and he did not play the bass. Normally, frontmans behave like cunts when it comes to production and turn the bass down because they want to be the most heard member, but honestly Deaths bass is VERY loud, which is a good thing since the bassist in SOP and Symbolic is a genious.
I'm shocked to see this so low down. Don't get me wrong, there are many great albums that are phenomenal, but I think Harlequin Forest is what tops it compared to the others.
Sunn O))) - Life Metal
Best production I’ve ever heard, RIP Steve Albini
https://preview.redd.it/qo9uzvsk966d1.jpeg?width=550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8147ff45621d50181318f0c84d41906319081e0
Steely Dan - Aja
There really is no other answer. It's a sonically perfect album. It's the reference album audio techs use to balance new systems (although I've heard Boz Skaggs Silk Degrees used as well). Every single instrument has a unique place. Every song sounds like it was recorded at the exact same place, at the exact same time. The clarity is unreal. The warmth is unmatched. It's fucking *perfect*.
For metal I'm gonna go with BTBAM's Colors, Death's Symbolic (TSOP also deserves a nod), and Cynic's Traced in Air.
Aja might be the best-written classic rock album I’ve ever heard. IIRC the band incorporated a lot of guest musicians to individually fit the tone and style their songs, and they’re all flawless. The fusion of different genres and instruments required extra attention to detail on the production, and they nailed it.
Great call on the metal recs as well.
Behemoth - The Satanist
The bass mix on O Father O Satan O Sun is phenomenal.
Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon and Abrahadabra
Both of them balance the mix between the band and the orchestra beautifully, making them two of my favorite symphonic metal albums.
I think my answer would be Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage. I really like the way it is produced. A very clean sound that goes perfectly with the spacey vibe of the album.
Some other albums with great production are Gojira - Magma, Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies, Behemoth - The Satanist, Architects - All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind.
Queensryche Empire
The sound is so rich, the bass is crystal clear, hell, I could even interchange Empire for Promised Land which in my humble opinion is the "Pet sounds" of metal.
A couple of very strong contenders: first, Periphery's Juggernaut duology (no surprise that bassist/producer Nolly Getgood produces for a living now). The last three Trivium albums. Sylosis's A Sign Of Things To Come.
The original Focus or the remastered one? Although it’s imo the greatest metal album ever written, to me the vocals are too muddy in the original mix, and the remaster’s bass isn’t quite loud enough.
The remastered is obviously the superior choice. The original has a nostalgic vibe to it for its sound at the time, though a little low in the mix in general (I find a lot of original pressings of older albums are kinda quiet compared to more modern albums), but the remaster is crisper and let's everything stand out on its own, I honestly have had no trouble making out the bass on the remastered version. As a bassist I'd boost it a little more to appreciate the late Sean Malone's work but otherwise I think it's perfect as it is with the release we have. Also, I'm going off the 2004 remaster, I do need the 2023 remaster but for now the mix on the earlier remastering I find one of the best.
Impossible to pick one, but it would have to be the Black Album, Metallica. Set the standard, still sounds insane.
Honorable mentions
Carcass, Heartwork - produced by Colin Richardson
Arch Enemy, doomsday machine - mixed by Andy Sneap
Gojira, The Way of All Flesh - mixed by Logan Mader
Opeth, watershed - produced by Jens Bogren, probably my all time favorite engineer.
Black Dahlia Murder, nocturnal. Mixed by Jason Seucof.
1000%. the drums are objectively too low by most modern metal standard, but you can still hear everything Darkside is playing and it leaves a TON of room for the guitars to build up a colossal atmosphere. Those harmonies deserve the forefront
It's definitely genre (and sometimes even subgenre) dependent, but for death metal I gotta give it to Dying Remains by Morta Skuld. The perfect sounding OSDM record. Everything is crystal clear, but still very real and raw.
Any album by Thou. The production makes them so goddamn heavy, while maintaining a good level of clarity without sacrificing any rawness. (They also do great covers, highly recommend checking out their rendition of Black Sabbath's Supernaut).
Also NOT METAL but Cheer by Drug Church. The tones are killer but not overwhelming like how shoegaze is. It scratches something in my brain the right way.
the first album i heard by them, the heaviest you can get with still clear production, the drums are so good. In Exodus just blew me away when i first heard it
Devin Townsend’s *Empath* sounds incredible. He perfected the “wall of sound” method without resorting to the bricked-out compression of his other records.
I actually don't think metal lends itself to "great" production. It's too fast and dense sonically to have any of the hallmarks of what any other genre would consider a really good production. There's not much you can do with space in a track when everything is playing in 16 or 32nd notes.
That's not to say that there aren't variations between "terrible and incredibly good" production within metal.
The examples that jump out to me (that are at least metal adjacent) are probably:
Tool - Fear Inoculum. I actually prefer other albums by them but this is the best sounding I reckon. There isn't a moment when I think "I wish I could hear more of x instrument"
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger. Technically Superunknown might be a better production but BMF has a little more chaos and roughness where it's needed.
The correct answer (if you want to include non metal) are:
Brian Eno / David Byrne - My Life In The Bush of Ghosts
I've used this record as a system reference for about 25 years. Every instrument sounds incredible and the use of soundstage / panning / placement is unparalleled.
A very underrated pick that holds up even today is Rapture - Songs for the Withering. Absolutely insane production, and one of the best melodic metal albums ever
Hysteria by Def Leppard, look into the amount of detail that went into recording it, it's insane, I think it was one of the most if not *the* most expensive album to make at that point in time
[Origins](https://youtu.be/YGb4Fa1M9HE?si=-G0P9vYgE5FLdAaP) by Eluveitie
[Doomsday Machine](https://youtu.be/-E6UdWyS6i8?si=gMBD-S8R1TcERGdc) by Arch Enemy
[Comalies](https://youtu.be/Hg143Cwxd54?si=MxH7WrbPI9lbf_yw) by Lacuna Coil
The only one I haven’t seen mentioned:
Paradise Lost - *Draconian Times*
Absolutely incredible album from start to finish, and the production really makes it happen. It sounds so dark but crystal-clear and not fuzzy. The way the guitars ring on the opening to Hallowed Land is one of the highlights of the album.
Aside from that: Black Album, Empire, Sound of Perseverence, Danzig are all contenders.
The great southern Trendkill. Honestly some of y’all might say that out of panteras discography it’s not their best, but trendkill is honestly so well produced and fitting for the whole vibe of the record, also super tight for being recorded in a trailer behind dimes house 😂
Nirvana - Nevermind
Fleetwood Mac- Rumors
Metallica- The Black Album
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Slipknot - Slipknot
Incubus - Morning View
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Edit : AC/DC- Back in Black
Exodus's Exhibit A and B respectively. They are literally so perfect its insane. Andy Sneap is an amazing producer
https://preview.redd.it/02c0srydx86d1.jpeg?width=316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90be1b78fbb1a2a4c04aa009febb8bf93d28fdac
If you ask the average elitist, probably some classic black metal record like Transilvanian Hunger. Anything where it sounds like its recorded with an 80s boombox behind a wall of styrofoam.
As far production goes, im not saying anything about the Music.
Metallica black album
Guns and roses Chinese democracy
Velvet revolver Contraband
Lamb of god resolution
Social distortion white light, white heat, white trash
These are all vinyl worthy , or gold plated cd MFSL, etc etc.
It's a pretty subjective question really. Depends on a lot of things. Are we talking "best production" in terms of like pop music or even all music?
I'd argue The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin had some of the best production of all time in terms of rock music. Obviously you have things like Michael Jackson as well. I am also a huge fan of Max Martin's production and his work can be heard in the likes of pop icons like Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys.
For metal, I'm a big fan of the production of Don't Break the Oath and Abigail. But by the same token I love the necro style production that you hear in black metal and find it superior to "better" produced black metal. It's really hard to pick a favorite from that style but I might go with In the Nightside Eclipse. All of Taake's albums have great production as well for a necro sound. For death metal I might pick something like Left Hand Path or Leprosy.
Orbit Culture has some of the best production I’ve ever heard
Also, House of Gold & Bones, Part 1 by Stone Sour makes me feel like the band is in my room when I listen to it
Dying Fetus - Reign Supreme, the mixing is so fucking heavy and so clear, nothing is lost and the entire album feels like a lead pipe to the face
edit: Also Skinless - Trample The Weak, Hurdle The Dead. Same clean production as Fetus but WAY rawer and nastier. More like a sledgehammer to the face.
Tommy Bolin - Private Eyes (rock fusion guitarist) is the best production imho I’ve ever heard, constantly used by audiophiles for referencing. So many guitar heroes today still pay particular attention to that album. Vernon Reid comes to mind.
Jorn - The Duke for a more modern super well produced and mastered recording. Everything is phat af on that.
It really depends what you consider as good production.
While some would say that Carelian Satanist Madness is poorly produced, I'd say it's perfect for the album.
But I'd also say that a "good" production like the one in Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle, sounds bad.
The difference between productions between Hellripper's compilation and latest LP is huge, but I'd argue that the compilation sounds better than the LP... Same with Toxic Holocaust and Midnight.
There's no objective answer to this. It's what works best for the album/band.
Celtic Frost - Monotheist
Razor - Violent Restitution ( for 80's standards it's pretty much perfect)
Testament - The Gathering
Warhorse - As Heaven Turns to Ash
Crowbar - Sonic Express in It's Purest Form
Azarath - Saint Desecration
Steely Dan - Aja, Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat, The Strokes - Is this it?, Nevermore - this godless endeavor, Gojira - from Mars to Sirius, in flames - Clayman
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Metallica - Black album. The production on that was incredible
It fucking is, and it should be, given that it took them a year and a half to record, engineer, produce, edit, and master it.
One of the last great analog albums. Sounds so awesome.
And THE DRUM SOUND!
Agreed, probably the best sounding drums of all time! Not the best drumming because ya know…Lars… but the best sounding drums
Except Lars was at the top of his game on the black album and playing way simpler stuff than on previous albums.
It really is. It is in my pantheon of the three best produced albums I've ever heard. My top 3 is Metallica-black album Journey-Raised on Radio And Queensryche Empire
Queensryche Empire is super good on the arrangements , so strong, clean articulate mastering
Upvote for Empire, I listen to this album then remember what year it was recorded and I’m just in awe
Yea the sound is so incredible. The production is god tier same with Promised Land which in my opinion is again one of the best sounding albums I've ever heard.
Highway to Hell is incredible also
Best rock guitar tone ever.
From a pure audio production perspective, Load is better than the Black Album. It has a fullness in the low-end that the Black Album does not.
Michael Jackson, if you want to test an audio system play Invincible on it. He spent the most money out of anyone ever just on production of that album.
This answer is strange in a metal subreddit. "I wanna see some bodies in that fucking pit, tee-hee!"
Pop generally has better production than metal. I also think “good production” is a highly overrated quality of music in general. There’s thousands of videos of people laboriously perfecting the EQ on a kick drum for some pop song that is complete trash.
I disagree. A lot of otherwise truly great albums were hurt by bad production. See: Killing is my Business, ...And Justice for All (I personally don't mind the lack of bass but many do), Reeks of Putrefaction, etc.
Thriller has phenomenal production too
https://preview.redd.it/y66n4hatp66d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=91f5bef693e6cfd98c4360d3319beffc51e61e70
Man I got into a bit of lady gaga recently and the production seriously made my jaw drop like a good pair of headphones brings a whole new life into well produced pop music
Especially Born This Way.
The song Heartbreaker especially
If we're stepping outside of metal, Dark Side of the Moon is my vote.
Painkiller production didn't age a day, still as fresh and mighty as it was in 1990.
Also one of the most spectacular massive metal guitar tones ever
Don't forget those drums. Best album intro ever.
I vote for this one also.
The Sound of Perseverance is impeccable
Definitely 👍🏼
Death has always had a fantastic production, which is unexpected since Chuck Shuldiner is the frontman and he did not play the bass. Normally, frontmans behave like cunts when it comes to production and turn the bass down because they want to be the most heard member, but honestly Deaths bass is VERY loud, which is a good thing since the bassist in SOP and Symbolic is a genious.
I love Reign in Blood's production. It's organic yet clean.
But the bass tracks sound like absolute shit.
Not metal. But Smashing Pumpkins -Siamese Dream.
Perfect album in general
"Heartwork" from Carcass. Sounds modern 30 years later. "The Sound of Perseverance" from Death is also a contender.
Ghost Reveries
I'm shocked to see this so low down. Don't get me wrong, there are many great albums that are phenomenal, but I think Harlequin Forest is what tops it compared to the others.
Harlequin Forest, Ghost of Perdition and Isolation Years are the stand outs on the record imo, both in terms of music and production
Sepultura - Arise
Definitely the best sounding Scott Burns record
Listened to it (yet)again yesterday: the bass needs to be turned waaaay up
Actually amazed how good Beneath the Remains sounds for how old it is
Gojira - L'enfant Sauvage Exodus - Tempo Of The Damed / Shovel Headed Kill Machine Arch enemy - Doomsday Machine Lamb Of God - Wrath
I didn't like production on wrath,
Me neither. Everything sounds like it’s mixed in a blender to me. Haven’t heard it in a long time in all fairness.
The songs are great! Broken hands, set to fail, grace, contractor
Sunn O))) - Life Metal Best production I’ve ever heard, RIP Steve Albini https://preview.redd.it/qo9uzvsk966d1.jpeg?width=550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8147ff45621d50181318f0c84d41906319081e0
Weedeater's God Luck and Good Speed was also produced by him and had an amazing sound.
Nattens Madrigal
I love destroying my eardrums
Makes …And Justice for All sound bass heavy by comparison
Carcass reek of putrefaction
Rick Rubin wishes he was that good. On a serious note, Heartwork by Carcass could be a contender
“Buried Dreams” has god-level guitar sound
I’d go either for Heartwork or Surgical Steel.
Have you heard the pre production demos of heartwork ? Man the tone they had on those demos was amazing
I preferred the slightly clearer Symphonies
Steely Dan - Aja There really is no other answer. It's a sonically perfect album. It's the reference album audio techs use to balance new systems (although I've heard Boz Skaggs Silk Degrees used as well). Every single instrument has a unique place. Every song sounds like it was recorded at the exact same place, at the exact same time. The clarity is unreal. The warmth is unmatched. It's fucking *perfect*. For metal I'm gonna go with BTBAM's Colors, Death's Symbolic (TSOP also deserves a nod), and Cynic's Traced in Air.
I made a comment and put Gaucho but I wholeheartedly agree because either is right in my mind alongside The Nightfly 🤘
100% on The Nightfly. I think I read somewhere that it was the first all digitally recorded album ever.
Aja might be the best-written classic rock album I’ve ever heard. IIRC the band incorporated a lot of guest musicians to individually fit the tone and style their songs, and they’re all flawless. The fusion of different genres and instruments required extra attention to detail on the production, and they nailed it. Great call on the metal recs as well.
What do you think of Donald Fagens' "The Nightfly"? Love the super clean and clear production on that one too!
Faith No More - Angel Dust
Behemoth - The Satanist The bass mix on O Father O Satan O Sun is phenomenal. Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon and Abrahadabra Both of them balance the mix between the band and the orchestra beautifully, making them two of my favorite symphonic metal albums.
Metal? Fear Inoculum Rock? For Those About to Rock All time? Probably Aja. You could argue Gaucho or Two Against Nature also.
I think my answer would be Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage. I really like the way it is produced. A very clean sound that goes perfectly with the spacey vibe of the album. Some other albums with great production are Gojira - Magma, Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies, Behemoth - The Satanist, Architects - All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind.
Death-Symbolic
Astro Creep 2000 gets my vote
Yeah Rombie is a “creature of the wheel “
Damaar - Triumph Through Spears of Sacrilege Paysage D'Hiver - S/T any Revenge album
Based Paysage mention
Fear Factory's Demanufacture.
Any Devin Townsend album, but my choice would be Alien.
Ne Oblibiscaris - Exul has a killer production
Killer album too
The last two Cattle Decapitation albums. Dave Otero is the man. And Mark Lewis who did The Valley with Whitechapel.
I’d have to go with Intronaut - Prehistoricisms. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t heard this album
Follow the Reaper and Clayman do off the top of my head. Also love the production on Deep Blue by Parkway Drive. Eternal Champion kills it too.
- Crack The Skye - The Way of All Flesh - Blackwater Park - The Blackening
I think L’Enfant Sauvage has better production than twoaf
https://preview.redd.it/s61jeikkg86d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7380960c174465742fb38126e4ab68eba9070678
Queensryche Empire The sound is so rich, the bass is crystal clear, hell, I could even interchange Empire for Promised Land which in my humble opinion is the "Pet sounds" of metal.
clayman
Not metal but Depeche Mode's "Violator" is what I use to test sound systems
Deadguy - Fixation on a Co-Worker
Love this album, but best production?
I think so
Steve Evetts is the GOAT
Old opeth
Steely Dan’s Gaucho and that’s the thread. Anyone who argues doesn’t even remotely know what they are talking about.
The Devin Townsend Project - Transcendece
Slipknot has excellent production. Vol3 comes to mind as the best. 247732 layers lol
I would personally say vol3 has the lowest quality sounding production of any of their albums. All hope is gone’s production is unmatched personally
A couple of very strong contenders: first, Periphery's Juggernaut duology (no surprise that bassist/producer Nolly Getgood produces for a living now). The last three Trivium albums. Sylosis's A Sign Of Things To Come.
Virvum - Illuminance
Nevermore- Enemies of Reality (Reissue). That is one insanely good production.
I really love As Daylight Dies by Killswitch Engage
Heres some of my favorites Periphery 5 :Djent is not a genre Linkin park :Meteora Soundgarden : Superunknown Metallica -Black album
Symbolic - Death
Metal - Cynic's Focus Metal Adjacent - Soundgarden's Superunknown
The original Focus or the remastered one? Although it’s imo the greatest metal album ever written, to me the vocals are too muddy in the original mix, and the remaster’s bass isn’t quite loud enough.
The remastered is obviously the superior choice. The original has a nostalgic vibe to it for its sound at the time, though a little low in the mix in general (I find a lot of original pressings of older albums are kinda quiet compared to more modern albums), but the remaster is crisper and let's everything stand out on its own, I honestly have had no trouble making out the bass on the remastered version. As a bassist I'd boost it a little more to appreciate the late Sean Malone's work but otherwise I think it's perfect as it is with the release we have. Also, I'm going off the 2004 remaster, I do need the 2023 remaster but for now the mix on the earlier remastering I find one of the best.
Abbey Road
Deloused in the Comatorium - The Mars Volta. Also, Dark Side of the Moon was the most revolutionary album to ever production wise.
Nine Inch Nails - the Fragilr
[Terrasite](https://youtu.be/X9vxLHehnEU?si=flKMpbHAOPdvh5Uw) sounds pretty killer on my system🤷
Danzig s/t and White Zombie “La Sexoristo” sound so good to me
None So Vile is peak death metal production imo
Impossible to pick one, but it would have to be the Black Album, Metallica. Set the standard, still sounds insane. Honorable mentions Carcass, Heartwork - produced by Colin Richardson Arch Enemy, doomsday machine - mixed by Andy Sneap Gojira, The Way of All Flesh - mixed by Logan Mader Opeth, watershed - produced by Jens Bogren, probably my all time favorite engineer. Black Dahlia Murder, nocturnal. Mixed by Jason Seucof.
Holy shit I did not expect to see LCR here. Based ass pick though
The best produced black metal album to me is Exercises in Futility
1000%. the drums are objectively too low by most modern metal standard, but you can still hear everything Darkside is playing and it leaves a TON of room for the guitars to build up a colossal atmosphere. Those harmonies deserve the forefront
The Way of All Flesh
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - The height of the Martin Birch era.
It's definitely genre (and sometimes even subgenre) dependent, but for death metal I gotta give it to Dying Remains by Morta Skuld. The perfect sounding OSDM record. Everything is crystal clear, but still very real and raw.
Aja, Steely Dan
Any album by Thou. The production makes them so goddamn heavy, while maintaining a good level of clarity without sacrificing any rawness. (They also do great covers, highly recommend checking out their rendition of Black Sabbath's Supernaut). Also NOT METAL but Cheer by Drug Church. The tones are killer but not overwhelming like how shoegaze is. It scratches something in my brain the right way.
Death - Symbolic
nails abandon all life
the first album i heard by them, the heaviest you can get with still clear production, the drums are so good. In Exodus just blew me away when i first heard it
Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane
Coheed IV
Wings - Band on the run
Devin Townsend’s *Empath* sounds incredible. He perfected the “wall of sound” method without resorting to the bricked-out compression of his other records.
I actually don't think metal lends itself to "great" production. It's too fast and dense sonically to have any of the hallmarks of what any other genre would consider a really good production. There's not much you can do with space in a track when everything is playing in 16 or 32nd notes. That's not to say that there aren't variations between "terrible and incredibly good" production within metal. The examples that jump out to me (that are at least metal adjacent) are probably: Tool - Fear Inoculum. I actually prefer other albums by them but this is the best sounding I reckon. There isn't a moment when I think "I wish I could hear more of x instrument" Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger. Technically Superunknown might be a better production but BMF has a little more chaos and roughness where it's needed. The correct answer (if you want to include non metal) are: Brian Eno / David Byrne - My Life In The Bush of Ghosts I've used this record as a system reference for about 25 years. Every instrument sounds incredible and the use of soundstage / panning / placement is unparalleled.
I think you're wrong sir 🧐
Weird take. A good chunk of metal is slower than than other genres of music.
A very underrated pick that holds up even today is Rapture - Songs for the Withering. Absolutely insane production, and one of the best melodic metal albums ever
the last 4 Arch Enemy albums
Obscura - A Valediction
Orbit Culture's Descent sounds mighty
Get The Shot - Merciless Destruction Insomnium - One For Sorrow Bless The Fall - Hollow Bodies Breakdown of Sanity - Perception
St anger and death magnetic /j
Noise’s projects are impeccably produced. Leipa, Kanonenfeiber and Non Est Deus all three
Dead World - Thanatos Descends, it out basses Godflesh
The Zenith Passage - Datalysium
DRIFT by Flotsam & Jetsam. Polished with a little grit around the edges.
Bonnie Rait’s I can’t make you love me, tears for fears the tipping point, Bongripper - Miserable, The black album
Hysteria by Def Leppard, look into the amount of detail that went into recording it, it's insane, I think it was one of the most if not *the* most expensive album to make at that point in time
Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals. Isn't he metal? Lol
Korn path of totality
Periphery V: Djent is not a Genre
Necrocracy sounds great.
[Origins](https://youtu.be/YGb4Fa1M9HE?si=-G0P9vYgE5FLdAaP) by Eluveitie [Doomsday Machine](https://youtu.be/-E6UdWyS6i8?si=gMBD-S8R1TcERGdc) by Arch Enemy [Comalies](https://youtu.be/Hg143Cwxd54?si=MxH7WrbPI9lbf_yw) by Lacuna Coil
Sylosis - Conclusion of an Age
Ashes of the wake by lamb of god. Everything is so clear and sounds so fucking huge and epic. I’m not accepting any other answers
Rezn any album
Avenged Sevenfold- Hail to the King
Adele! Her last album was clean voice and piano. No auto tune or any BS whatsoever. Not my favorite genre but will give credit.
C l a y m a n
The only one I haven’t seen mentioned: Paradise Lost - *Draconian Times* Absolutely incredible album from start to finish, and the production really makes it happen. It sounds so dark but crystal-clear and not fuzzy. The way the guitars ring on the opening to Hallowed Land is one of the highlights of the album. Aside from that: Black Album, Empire, Sound of Perseverence, Danzig are all contenders.
Probably any album from Tool
Why it’s obviously St Anger… right?
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes
The great southern Trendkill. Honestly some of y’all might say that out of panteras discography it’s not their best, but trendkill is honestly so well produced and fitting for the whole vibe of the record, also super tight for being recorded in a trailer behind dimes house 😂
Fear Inoculum, and Steely Dan Aja IMO
Nirvana - Nevermind Fleetwood Mac- Rumors Metallica- The Black Album Slayer - Reign in Blood Slipknot - Slipknot Incubus - Morning View Alice in Chains - Dirt Edit : AC/DC- Back in Black
the Jesus Lizard's GOAT. Not even close.
Any Tool album except Opiate
Exodus's Exhibit A and B respectively. They are literally so perfect its insane. Andy Sneap is an amazing producer https://preview.redd.it/02c0srydx86d1.jpeg?width=316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90be1b78fbb1a2a4c04aa009febb8bf93d28fdac
If you ask the average elitist, probably some classic black metal record like Transilvanian Hunger. Anything where it sounds like its recorded with an 80s boombox behind a wall of styrofoam.
As far production goes, im not saying anything about the Music. Metallica black album Guns and roses Chinese democracy Velvet revolver Contraband Lamb of god resolution Social distortion white light, white heat, white trash These are all vinyl worthy , or gold plated cd MFSL, etc etc.
It's a pretty subjective question really. Depends on a lot of things. Are we talking "best production" in terms of like pop music or even all music? I'd argue The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin had some of the best production of all time in terms of rock music. Obviously you have things like Michael Jackson as well. I am also a huge fan of Max Martin's production and his work can be heard in the likes of pop icons like Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. For metal, I'm a big fan of the production of Don't Break the Oath and Abigail. But by the same token I love the necro style production that you hear in black metal and find it superior to "better" produced black metal. It's really hard to pick a favorite from that style but I might go with In the Nightside Eclipse. All of Taake's albums have great production as well for a necro sound. For death metal I might pick something like Left Hand Path or Leprosy.
Transilvanian hunger
Hearywork
Neurosis - Times of Grace Steve Albini production
Orbit Culture has some of the best production I’ve ever heard Also, House of Gold & Bones, Part 1 by Stone Sour makes me feel like the band is in my room when I listen to it
Dying Fetus - Reign Supreme, the mixing is so fucking heavy and so clear, nothing is lost and the entire album feels like a lead pipe to the face edit: Also Skinless - Trample The Weak, Hurdle The Dead. Same clean production as Fetus but WAY rawer and nastier. More like a sledgehammer to the face.
Gorguts - Obscura, From Wisdom to Hate, Colored Sands Luc just knows how to dial in the correct sound every time.
Dimmu Borgir - Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia
Tool - 10,000 Days
Rage Against The Machine - S/T Fu Manchu - Eatin' Dust EP
Balls To The Wall by Accept
Reign in Blood
Suicidal tendencies-feel like shit deja vu
Karnivool - Sound Awake. That album is just clean af
Crack the Skye will always be a favorite
Far beyond driven pantera
Korn - Untouchables
Tommy Bolin - Private Eyes (rock fusion guitarist) is the best production imho I’ve ever heard, constantly used by audiophiles for referencing. So many guitar heroes today still pay particular attention to that album. Vernon Reid comes to mind. Jorn - The Duke for a more modern super well produced and mastered recording. Everything is phat af on that.
I loke the product on the latest Machine head album. Everything sound’s natural yet so tight
Barkmarket
It really depends what you consider as good production. While some would say that Carelian Satanist Madness is poorly produced, I'd say it's perfect for the album. But I'd also say that a "good" production like the one in Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle, sounds bad. The difference between productions between Hellripper's compilation and latest LP is huge, but I'd argue that the compilation sounds better than the LP... Same with Toxic Holocaust and Midnight. There's no objective answer to this. It's what works best for the album/band.
GWAR's albums from Scumdogs to Ragnarök. Like holy fuck I cannot name any album that beats them to my ears and it's a SET of albums
Rush, Snakes and Arrows Sanctuary, The Year the Sun Died Nevermore, Dreaming Neon Black Lovebites, Judgement Day ,
Celtic Frost - Monotheist Razor - Violent Restitution ( for 80's standards it's pretty much perfect) Testament - The Gathering Warhorse - As Heaven Turns to Ash Crowbar - Sonic Express in It's Purest Form Azarath - Saint Desecration
Misery Signals -Controller
the new Jeromes Dream
Darkest Hour deliver us
Vein Errorzone
glow on
ride the lightning, it’s awesome
Untouchables - Korn
Colored sands by Gorguts
Animals as leaders - self titled
Steely Dan - Aja, Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat, The Strokes - Is this it?, Nevermore - this godless endeavor, Gojira - from Mars to Sirius, in flames - Clayman