I use the same sounds I used on our album for live gigs as well. The only thing I change is dial down the gain a bit (about - 0.5 to -1) and also dial down treble and presence a bit (- 1 to -2) due to a lot of PAs in metal clubs working at their limit and that is when the loudspeakers get shrill.
Otherwise they sound as good live as they do in the studio. But I tune the presets at my homestudio on good monitors in a treated room and they have to sound good really loud AND quite as well.
(regarding the problem the OP had: I guess the main problem here was a bad PA (too much bass and treble sounds like prosumer 15 inch speakers like JBL 835) in combination with a bad sound guy.
The take away here is: hire a good soundguy. At least ONE time for a gig where you have some time for soundcheck to help you find a good tone for future gigs)