Hard rock definitely depends on mix. Most of the 80's and early 90's are shot because of the dated production of the time with those hollow guitars and cavernous drums. Some modern remasters of that material seem to subscribe to the brickwalling theory of mastering rather than bringing those mixes up to modern standards, unfortunately. Some of vinyl rips I've come across here and there actually do improve sonically somewhat upon the mix. Hard rock production was definitely better before, and after, that era.
With some of these albums as well, the difference between bringing out the sonics and "ow! my friggin ears!" is thin.
Your best bet is always going to be ArcTan. You can definitely reach for a bit more separation, if you are not getting it, via use of the SLICE rear blend silders, but don't try to create audible artifacts when all channels are running. Also remember that ArcTan places sounds in the soundfield and not in particular speakers and that you're listening for separation and lack of artifacting within that soundfield, not whether that SR channel sounds great on its own. Little things, even using that "recenter" slider a tiny bit every now and then, may work to increase your separation.
I've messed around somewhat with the DeVerb/MoVerb plugins and some heavily reverbed albums (tried it on some Jesus & Mary Chain once - THERE was an experiment!). Your mileage may vary, but using them with some restraint on your source material might help out.
In the end, though, I still believe in "source source source."
Remember that we supplied the "Free Mastering Tools" because we wanted to ensure that the SPEC package itself remained either freeware-based or home-brewed. I agree that there are better paid tools out there, though.
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