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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: Deadeye21 on December 08, 2022, 08:19:53 PM
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With 72 Seasons coming in 18 weeks, I figure I’ll try my hand at doing another deep dive much like I did with Def Leppard earlier this year. There’s plenty to talk about, but I also know it may bore some people so I’m gonna aim to go for once a week with the main releases, but might add an extra one if there are EPs, bonus material worth extra discussion or something I judge to be a less main release than others when it comes to the live material.
Will aim to be a Friday main, Wednesday bonus sort of thing, but will be dictated by work and whatever else is going on in the real world.
Hope to have some people join for some discussions along the way. I know the St. Anger discussions will be fairly interesting.
Table of contents (adding as we go)
Kill ‘Em All: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2946427#msg2946427 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2946427#msg2946427)
Ride the Lightning: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2948546#msg2948546 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2948546#msg2948546)
Master of Puppets: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2950514#msg2950514 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2950514#msg2950514)
Bonus: The $5.98 EP: Garage Days ReRevisited: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2951226#msg2951226 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2951226#msg2951226)
…And Justice For All: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2951763#msg2951763 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2951763#msg2951763)
The Black Album https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2953533#msg2953533 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2953533#msg2953533)
Bonus: Live Sh*t: Binge and Purge https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2954944#msg2954944 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2954944#msg2954944)
Load https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2958028#msg2958028 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2958028#msg2958028)
ReLoad https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2960069#msg2960069 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2960069#msg2960069)
Bonus: Cunning Stunts https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2964012#msg2964012 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2964012#msg2964012)
Garage Inc. One: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2965249#msg2965249 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2965249#msg2965249) Two: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2965615#msg2965615 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2965615#msg2965615)
S&M and I Disappear: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2967674#msg2967674 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2967674#msg2967674)
St. Anger: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2970668#msg2970668 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2970668#msg2970668)
Some Kind of Monster movie: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2972393#msg2972393 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2972393#msg2972393)
St. Anger Live Material: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2973929#msg2973929 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2973929#msg2973929)
Death Magnetic: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2975536#msg2975536 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2975536#msg2975536)
Beyond Magnetic:https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2977739#msg2977739 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2977739#msg2977739)
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Was planning to start next week, but just realising I’ve left one major release off of my list, so Kill ‘En All write up tonight!
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I'll be following!
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Kill ‘Em All - 1983
Tracklisting: 1. Hit the Lights. 2. The Four Horsemen. 3. Motorbreath. 4. Jump in the Fire. 5. Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth). 6. Whiplash. 7. Phantom Lord. 8. No Remorse. 9. Seek And Destroy. 10. Metal Militia
https://open.spotify.com/album/1aGapZGHBovnmhwqVNI6JZ?si=SSTlXeIQRpiEhJXf-rhoOg (https://open.spotify.com/album/1aGapZGHBovnmhwqVNI6JZ?si=SSTlXeIQRpiEhJXf-rhoOg)
They were just a couple of angry teenagers back then. Back in late October of 1981, when a young Danish tennis prodigy named Lars Ulrich put an ad for band members in the local newspaper and met James Hetfield. It wouldn’t be long until they had recruited James’ housemate Ron McGovney and a young Dave Mustaine and started making sound together. Fast, ferocious, loud sound. They quickly rose to local fame, pushing hard with sheer determination. They quickly hit the “openers circuit” in LA, a great spot to be for a young band, started supporting bands like Saxon and soon cut their first demo tape that they called No Life ‘Til Leather. They soon relocated themselves to the San Francisco Bay Area, where they’d just secured themselves a new bass player. An absolute prodigy by the name of Cliff Burton.
Of course, that brief rundown omits the ugly side. They were absolute drunkards, which didn’t suit Mustaine’s violent side very well at all. After a few nasty incidents, the band found themselves needing to make a huge change for the sake of their future. Shortly after signing to a new label called Megaforce Records and making the long trek from California to New York, Mustaine was kicked out of the band and replaced with the then-current guitarist of Exodus, Kirk Hammett. What followed became a career that has spawned 42 years at the time of writing this. A legacy other metal bands could only wish to have. And it all starts with their debut album, Kill ‘Em All.
This album explodes to life with a wall of guitars and cymbals, bass slides and drum fills before we hear a guitar scratch into the first main riff of the album. While many could argue that this isn’t the most sophisticated, grand or complex of Metallica’s album openers, I have to say that this really sets the mood for Kill ‘Em All very well. It’s a massive wall of tremolo picked guitars, so the speed and aggression of this album are already well established from just a few notes. Then you get into Hit the Lights, a great speedy opener that opens with the line “no life ‘til leather, we’re gonna kick your ass tonight!”. What an awesome way to say “we’re here, we’re gonna do what we do, get on or get out of the way” right from the start. James screams his way through the lyrics, a real mission statement for what this album is. The chorus really says it all for their mindset here, “when we start to rock we never want to stop again, hit the lights!”. Kirk’s shredding is on full display here, with some great licks between choruses and verses. The climax of this song is a great jam for the rhythm section while Kirk goes full assault mode on lead guitar. It’s a great album opener, really setting the tone for all that will come.
Since we’ve brought up the name Dave Mustaine, we’ve also gotta talk about some of the controversy. The whole “Dave Wrote ‘Em All” thing. Admittedly, Metallica were in the wrong for using Dave’s material without his permission, but the songs were already staples of their live shows of the last two years at this point. They kinda had to be included.
As Mustaine said on the Rude Awakening live album by Megadeth, there are two ways you can hear this next song. There’s the faster, more aggressive approach from Megadeth and then there’s the slower, extended version by Metallica. As much as I don’t want to turn this into a comparison between Megadeth and Metallica, I will leave it at I massively prefer Metallica’s version, The Four Horsemen. For one, Cliff’s bassline in the chorus is so catchy and then there’s the lyrical debate. The rewritten lyrics by Hetfield about the four horsemen of the apocalypse is a massive improvement over the somewhat juvenile “I want to have a lot of sex” of Mechanix. The galloping riff either side of the bridge sounds better at the slower speed for my taste and I think the bridge section is actually really great. Now, there is the matter of the melodic interlude which is very Sweet Home Alabama influenced and almost does ‘t suit the song at all, but even that I still like. Comparing the final solos, I think I prefer Mustaine’s take on it, but Kirk is definitely no slouch either. The bass drop effect from Cliff that leads into the final gallop riff is definitely a really cool moment too, one that Mustaine never replicated for his recording.
Motorbreath is a decent song, opening with a great drum intro (wait, I just complimented Lars’ drumming). This song is one of only a handful in their entire career without a credit to Lars, being entirely composed by James. This song is about people who like to live their lives on the edge, full speed or nothing. The post-chorus interludes are a cool little change, but I’m not sure they really belong after the first chorus, where it makes a cool switch into the first solo section. Other than that, this one isn’t one I have a lot to say about. It’s a cool song for sure, but one that hasn’t left as grand of an impact on me as a lot of the others from Kill ‘Em All.
Jump in the Fire, on the other hand, is a really interesting song. The riff is composed around the G blues scale and it sounds surprisingly upbeat. This whole song actually sounds pretty upbeat, I love it. This draws heavily upon Metallica’s influences from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, especially Iron Maiden and specifically Run to the Hills. Lyrically, this song is about the Devil trying to tempt people to embrace their darkness and join him in hell. The first guitar interlude is a great section, I’ve always loved the offset feeling of it. The climactic solo is a great one too, but sadly one that commits one of my biggest pet peeves in music and FADES OUT AS IT GETS GOOD!
But, if you’re looking for a great solo, the next track is a huge 4 minute bass solo. Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you to take a moment and remember the genius that was Cliff Burton as we just let Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) was right over us. It’s a very well structured solo, I like that we get a switch up for the second half where Lars lays down a groove for Cliff to absolutely shred over. It’s hard to really say much, but seriously, just go and listen to this track again, it will always be worth the listen.
Something else I love about Anesthesia is how well it transitions into the start of Whiplash. And then, how great is Whiplash! This one is lyrically describing the feeling of being at a Metallica show and the symbiotic nature between the fans and the band. “We do our best, you’re the best, you make it real you know”. This song just has so much going for it, including one of my favourite solos on the album. The third verse does contain an interesting line though. The lyrics have always stated “we’re gathered here to maim and kill”, but James has often sworn that it’s “we’re gathered here to be with you”. I suppose it doesn‘t overly matter though. Another cool lyric change can be found in the last verse, where on the album it’s “we’ll never stop, we’ll never quit, coz we’re Metallica”, but live James often puts it on the crowd and says “YOU’RE Metallica”. It’s just a cool moment. I love the outro here too. Such a great little fast riff.
Uo next is a song that I’d equate to being the filler of the album, Phantom Lord. Man, this is a song that has a lot of elements that I really like, but it’s elements I like within larger elements I really don’t. For example, the intro before the main riff. It feels like it should be the invitation to a much better payoff. Instead, it feels like it just goes dead before the song kinda restarts when the main riff kicks off. Then the verses feel well connected to the choruses, but the little solo turnaround that take the chorus back to ANOTHER reset with the main riff feels like they may have gotten a little lazy with structuring this song. When it gets to the instrumental section, I really like all the parts, individually. However, I feel like the connection from the clean section and the subsequent build out of it is once again released poorly with the big E chords before the solos restart at pretty much the exact same point it was before, just check out a live version (like this one https://youtu.be/ZQzCOcCbmxA). Even lyrically, this one doesn’t feel as mature as any of the others on this album. So what do I like? I really like almost everything instrumentally. I think all these riffs are great, especially the clean section, but I just feel like this wasn’t structured well enough to let it all go together,
No Remorse is the song that starts a long running theme throughout many Metallica albums, the war song! And what a great way to kick it all off. The intro is a great grooving riff with an absolutely blistering solo over the top. As it kicks into the verse riff, the energy dissipates for a few seconds, giving us a brief breather before it all kicks in again. Hetfield’s soaring screams really sit in well on this song for me. I really like the instrumental bridge between verse and chorus here and gamers should definitely recognise the chorus riff here (E1M1, anyone?). It’s actually this instrumental breakdown here that leaves me undecided how I feel. This section and the third verse often get skipped live, but I often feel like this section is skipped unfairly. Other times, I’ll hear it and think “huh, that’s really not as good as I remember it being”. Fun thing is that the end of this section actually features the very first harmony guitar in a Metallica song. The ending of this song is definitely a highlight of the entire album though.
Not as much of a highlight as the song that follows it though. Three simple words, Seek And Destroy! The Kill ‘Em All song that has been featured the most prominently on setlists across the last 40 years. Deservedly so. I don’t think I have to say much about this song, because there’s a very strong chance you’re already familiar with the track. It’s one of the most essential lyrics for any new Metallica listener and if you’re going to a Metallica weekend on the M72 tour, you’re gonna hear this on at least one of the two nights. Also, I really envy you, coz I will not be getting that chance for ages.
Closing out Kill ‘Em All, we have Metal Militia. Man, going back to the album version again after a long time has not done me any favours. This is a song where James’ screaming does not work for me at all. It’s just too high, too dissonant and it just doesn’t work for me. Riffs are very cool though, especially the one used for the intro and the chorus. I don’t care for the solo on this one, but I love the rising pattern that follows it and the transition back into the final verse. The song fades out into some really cheesy sound effects too, which really doesn’t help. I was lucky enough to see this song live on Metallica’s last show in Australia almost ten years ago now and I actually thought it was a great treat, even though it no longer suits James vocally (you can check out that particular performance here https://youtu.be/6MafRlNKtgY (https://youtu.be/6MafRlNKtgY)) pretty cool to see this has made a resurgence on setlists lately, I enjoy hearing it live, but the album version really does nothing for me.
So, Kill ‘Em All. It’s a solid effort for a debut album and they did a lot right. Ultimately, this album needn’t do much more than set up the base on which they would grow their sound and I think it achieves this mission. It doesn’t have a lot of my absolute favourites on it, but it doesn’t really need to either. This album has a few songs I’d absolutely recommend with Hit the Lights, Four Horsmen, Whiplash and No Remorse and one essential listen with Seek And Destroy.
I rate it a 7.5, but what do you guys think of Kill ‘Em All after almost 40 years? Let’s open up a discussion til I deep dive Ride the Lightning next Friday!
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I haven't mixed feelings for Kill 'Em All. I didn't get into Metallica until the 90s and didn't check out their debut until much later and it largely fell flat for me and I think my feels are still the same. There are moments of brilliance but there is also a lot of stuff that is over hyped. Anesthesia should've been left off and Seek and Destroy has worn out it's welcome.
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Ooh boy. Reaper with the hot takes. This is gonna be fun when we get to Load if 90s era was your thing
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Great writeup Deadeye.
I bought Kill 'Em All when it came out. I heard Hit The Lights on my local metal radio show when I was 14. That opening is epic.
They were able to mold all different interpretations of heavy metal music, and deliver an extremely fresh approach. James' vocals are obviously young, but that's part of the charm.
Kill 'Em All is easily my favorite Metallica album, and it's a Top 10 album all time for me as well.
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It really is a great album. I do feel, however, that almost all of the songs I prefer from their late 80's, early 90's live recordings. I still love the album though.
Looking forward to the rest of the stuff! Since I'm a huge Load/Reload fan, it'll be fun discussing those and hopefully won't be too overloaded (no pun) by the debate if they should've stayed thrash, sold out, blah blah that's been done to death.
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I've been wanting to post here all afternoon, so here we are.
First of all, as Tim said, really great write up dude. Loads of good information about the formation of the band, and these songs we know so well. I did want to also add that there was a brief period, before Mustaine joined, that Lloyd Grant was in the band, and he played lead guitar on the original Hit the Lights demo.
Before getting to Kill 'em All I just want to give my background with the band a bit. For me, Metallica were my favourite band, they were the epitome of everything I could ever want in music. As time has gone on they have been usurped by Coheed and Cambria, but they will always remain my first musical love, and I've got the M and A from the logo tattooed on my chest to prove it.
My older brother was my gateway to all things metal and unbeknownst to me, was playing lots of Metallica around me from a young age. This was the late 80s/early 90s, and I think at that point he basically had Ride the Lightning and The Black Album, but those albums were played relentlessly and seeped into my DNA.
When my brother moved out of home I lost touch with metal, as I wasn't really interested in anything other than computer games and football. By 2001 I started my first job, and used to work alongside a guy who used to bring different CDs into work each week. It was mainly hip hop (which was what I was into at the time), stuff like Dialated Peoples and The Streets, but one day he brought in The Black Album. I hadn't heard this album in full for probably 7 or 8 years by that point, and didn't even really know what I was listening to back then, it was just my brothers music. Holy fuck was this an awakening! I was working away listening to this album, thinking "I know all of these songs, how do I know them?". I asked if I could borrow the CD at the end of the day and he said it was fine. Come the end of the week I just knew I had to own this CD, and more Metallica. To this day I have the vivid memory of going to HMV that weekend to buy the CD, I had The Black Album in one hand, and Stoned Raiders ny Cypress Hill in the other (an album I'd wanted for ages). I couldn't afford both so had to choose. That was the moment I became the metalhead I was destined to become, and turned my back on hip hop.
At the same time as I got into The Black Album, Kerrang magazine had released a special 'Legends' issue all about Metallica. I picked it up and read that shit cover to cover, for months. I immersed myself in the band in a way I'd never done before. I also decided I needed to savour this band and their music. I'm so glad I experienced that in a time before streaming, so I don't have their catalogue at my finger tips. I remember deliberating on the order of which to listen to this beautiful band. After listening to The Black Album for months I decided Ride the Lightning was next. From there I bought Master of Puppets, then ...And Justice for All. I knew Load and Reload were divisive, so went to Kill 'em All before tackling the rest of the 90s output.
So here we are, ready to talk about Kill 'em All. By the time I got to this album I'd heard all Metallica's other thrash albums and knew they were unlike any band I'd ever heard. I kinda knew what I was letting myself in for and I loved it all the same.
I truly love this album, and although it's their rawest, the songwriting improved as they grew as a band and the lyrics were far from their best, it has something about it.
It's also not as consistent as the next 4 albums they released, for me. It's an album of highs and, not lows, but distinctly average songs. First to the ones I love, and the ones that will always be in a playlist of my all time favourite songs. Wait, I need to stick the vinyl on before going any further...
Hit the Lights, what a way to start. The speed, the guitar solos, the statement (as you put it Deadeye). Yea it's a little on the nose, but it gets you pumped. Those relentless solos are just pure thrash, and I adore them.
Next, The Four Horseman is my favourite song off the album, and feels like the most mature song. I agree that it is better than The Mechanix, by some ways. The riffs on this thing are just a work of art.
Motorbreath is another straight up rocker, and one that gets you pumped!
Anesthesia is pretty cool for what it is, and I really enjoy it wherever I do listen to it. It always struck me as the sort of thing that was setting them apart from their contemporaries.
It's pretty clear that my faves are mainly the pedal to the metal thrashers, as next favourite is Whiplash.
Lastly (for my faves) is No Remorse. It's slightly more restrained, but every bit as awesome!
The middle of the road songs, for me, are Jump in the Fire, Phantom Lord and Metal Militia. They're not bad as such but I suppose the other songs have something that hints at the greatness to come, whereas those three don't for me.
Lastly is Seek & Destroy. By far one of Metallica's most overrated songs, actually I think it is THE most overrated. I find it a little annoying and I could happily go see them live and not hear thay song, but I think I'm an odd one out for thinking that.
Let's rank them up...
All time classics
The Four Horseman
Whiplash
Hit the Lights
Motorbreath
Pretty rad
(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth
No Remorse
Pretty average
Metal Militia
Phantom Lord
Jump in the Fire
Pretty overrated
Seek & Destroy
I still revisit Metallica, and this album, fairly frequently, and I can't imagine a time in my life where I wouldn't spin this at least once a year.
I know that if I rated my all time top 50 albums Kill 'em All would make the cut, but I could never rate it above the next 4 Metallica albums, for a start.
Tim, I find it crazy to think this is your fave Metallica album, and an all time top 10 record (although I do recall you saying that before). Then again, I can't talk as I'm in the Led Zep countdown thread saying Led Zeppelin I is their best album by a long way, so it's all tastes. I can assume that Kill 'em All was your first Metallica album and gateway into thrash?
Thanks for starting this Deadeye. Maybe if the thread gains enough traction we can convince Kev to do a Metallica Top 40 Thread.
I prefer from their late 80's, early 90's live recordings.
DICKRASH!! *intense soloing
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Tim, I find it crazy to think this is your fave Metallica album, and an all time top 10 record (although I do recall you saying that before). I can assume that Kill 'em All was your first Metallica album and gateway into thrash?
It was definitely my first Metallica album. Like I said, I heard it virtually upon its release. I was 14, maybe just turned 15 at the time. I loved it. I have always loved it. I was in on some early thrash at this time. Mercyful Fate, Tank, Anthrax, that sort of thing.
Oddly, I was listening to other stuff during the RTL/MOP cycles. I think I didn't care for the imagery, the vocals, of heavy thrash metal. I was off into the easier to digest Maiden/Dio, plus I was headlong into my UFO journey. Not only that, but there was an explosion of bands/music at this time in the hard rock/metal genre.
I wouldn't truly get back into Metallica until the Garage Days Rerevisited a few years later.
More on that when we get to it.
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I've gone through Metallica's discography once before around a year ago or so, and I mostly liked it. This seems like a good excuse to check 'em out again!
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I wouldn't truly get back into Metallica until the Garage Days Rerevisited a few years later.
More on that when we get to it.
We will definitely be covering the 5.98 EP. That’s one of my Wednesday deep dives but there’s a lot of cool stuff there I want to talk about.
Glad to have a few people onboard with this one!
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Kill Em All isn't a top5 Metallica album for me or anything but for a debut album I would say it's pretty good. In fact, I would say it's the best debut album from any of the big4 bands within the thrash scene. Some great tunes on there, Seek & Destroy, Hit the Lights, Whiplash, The Four Horsemen, No Remorse and so on. It's a great album that's overshadowed by better albums that came afterwards but overall I still like it.
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I wouldn't truly get back into Metallica until the Garage Days Rerevisited a few years later.
More on that when we get to it.
We will definitely be covering the 5.98 EP. That’s one of my Wednesday deep dives but there’s a lot of cool stuff there I want to talk about.
Glad to have a few people onboard with this one!
Please do Garage Inc and S&M Live as well. They are peak Metallica as far as I'm concerned :metal
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I wouldn't truly get back into Metallica until the Garage Days Rerevisited a few years later.
More on that when we get to it.
We will definitely be covering the 5.98 EP. That’s one of my Wednesday deep dives but there’s a lot of cool stuff there I want to talk about.
Glad to have a few people onboard with this one!
Please do Garage Inc and S&M Live as well. They are peak Metallica as far as I'm concerned :metal
Bro, you have no idea how much content I have to talk about here. Here’s a quick rundown of my table of contents. If anyone knows how I can make links to where each segment starts when this is done, that’d be great.
Bold for the major release Fridays, italics for extra content Wednesdays
Kill ‘Em All
Ride the Lightning
Master of Puppets
$5.98 EP: Garage Days Rerevisited
…And Justice For All
Metallica (The Black Album)
Love Shit: Binge and Purge
Load
Cunning Stunts
ReLoad
Garage Inc. - Yeah, you just said it’s peak for you, but I have less to say about covers than originals
S&M
St. Anger
Some Kind of Monster (Movie and EP) and Liberté, Égalité, Fraternite, Metallica!
Death Magnetic
Beyond Magnetic
Live Magnetic (Nimes, Mexico, Sofia, Quebec, Australian 2 part EPs)
Through the Never (Movie and Album)
Hardwired… to Self-Destruct
Hardwired Bonus Disc (Covers + Record Store Day gig)
S&M2
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Nice dude!
I can share thoughts on all of these releases other than Liberté, Égalité, Fraternite, Metallica! I've literally never heard of that. Googling now.
Glad you're skipping Lulu, best we pretend that doesn't exist.
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Nice dude!
I can share thoughts on all of these releases other than Liberté, Égalité, Fraternite, Metallica! I've literally never heard of that. Googling now.
Glad you're skipping Lulu, best we pretend that doesn't exist.
I think we all know it doesn’t deserve to be on the list. St. Anger is already gonna be a huge discussion.
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I wouldn't truly get back into Metallica until the Garage Days Rerevisited a few years later.
More on that when we get to it.
We will definitely be covering the 5.98 EP. That’s one of my Wednesday deep dives but there’s a lot of cool stuff there I want to talk about.
Glad to have a few people onboard with this one!
Please do Garage Inc and S&M Live as well. They are peak Metallica as far as I'm concerned :metal
Bro, you have no idea how much content I have to talk about here. Here’s a quick rundown of my table of contents. If anyone knows how I can make links to where each segment starts when this is done, that’d be great.
Bold for the major release Fridays, italics for extra content Wednesdays
Kill ‘Em All
Ride the Lightning
Master of Puppets
$5.98 EP: Garage Days Rerevisited
…And Justice For All
Metallica (The Black Album)
Love Shit: Binge and Purge
Load
Cunning Stunts
ReLoad
Garage Inc. - Yeah, you just said it’s peak for you, but I have less to say about covers than originals
S&M
St. Anger
Some Kind of Monster (Movie and EP) and Liberté, Égalité, Fraternite, Metallica!
Death Magnetic
Beyond Magnetic
Live Magnetic (Nimes, Mexico, Sofia, Quebec, Australian 2 part EPs)
Through the Never (Movie and Album)
Hardwired… to Self-Destruct
Hardwired Bonus Disc (Covers + Record Store Day gig)
S&M2
When you make your post click the subject line in the post (for example here it'd be "Re: Deadeye Deep Dices: Metallica (Chapter 1: Kill 'Em All)", the page will reload with the URL going directly to your post in the address bar, you can then just copy that.
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Gotcha, cheers Reaper!
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I've given Kill 'Em All a few listens over the past couple days or so, and I'm enjoying this one a little more than I expected! I'll write a more detailed post about it tonight.
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I think that as great as Kill 'em All is, it's pretty astonishing how much they upped their game in the space of a year. I've often said Ride the Lightning is the best metal album of all time, and still stand by that.
I think a huge part is James' lyrics went from 'we're here to party' to 'we're here to contemplate war, death, afterlife, Egyptian plagues and Lovecraftian horror'.
Well, obviously the songs were significantly better as well but damn, the images those lyrics conjure up.
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I've never been overly impressed by Kill 'Em All. That said, I didn't discover Metallica until the late 1980s, so I pretty much had to go backwards from Justice. And when I did, Kill Em All didn't quite hold up. That said, it's isn't a bad debut. There are, as has been said, moments of brilliance on it. It's raw, loud, and in your face. And back when Metallica was playing these songs for the first night in the clubs, no one sounded like this.
I don't think this defines Metallica's origins however. Despite Kirk playing the parts, Kill 'Em All has Mustaine's feel all over it. He was integral to Kill 'Em All. I truthfully always considered Ride the Lightning to really be the genesis of the Metallica that we knew through the Black Album. KEA, to me, is a nice appetizer until we get to RTL and then to Megadeth's Killing is My Business. That's just me personally though. I think Kill Em All has more in common with Killing is My Business than it does Ride the Lightning.
Anyway, you can't deny the ferocity of Kill Em All. There was nothing like that at the time. Sure, influenced by the stuff in Europe, but taken up a notch and essentially creating thrash metal. Iconic release.
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I listen to KEA now and can't believe how young James sounded. I love the record though, every song to me is a classic. It also reminds me of being 13 in and getting my first CD player. I only had the Black Album on cassette. My parents took me to the store to buy some CD's and I bought KEA and Def Leppard's Adrenalize, both in long-box CD format. :lol My copy of KEA still has my parent's home phone number written on the front of the booklet, as I lent the CD to a friend sometime back then too.
It also is a great way to explain how I discovered the Metallica/Mustaine/Megadeth connection. In 1993, I was a brand new metal fan and knew NOTHING of Metallica's history. I was unaware of metal magazines and didn't have any friends to talk about the music with. So I bought KEA and thought it was weird that a guy named Mustaine wrote a bunch of the songs, but wasn't pictured in the booklet. What is that about? I then saw a Megadeth CD (Countdown to Extinction) at my friend's house and thought it looked cool. It had a pointy logo, like Metallica did. So I got that CD around the same time, read the booklet and was amazed to discover some guy named Mustaine pictured in THAT booklet. I figured it must have been the same guy. I then started going to our town's library to check out metal CD's and cassettes, and also discovered that they had computers hooked up to some "internet" that I could search. I searched for Metallica and came up with some Metallica fan site hosted on Angelfire with 8-bit looking graphics that told the band's history, including the early years with Dave Mustaine. :lol
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I've never been overly impressed by Kill 'Em All. That said, I didn't discover Metallica until the late 1980s, so I pretty much had to go backwards from Justice. And when I did, Kill Em All didn't quite hold up. That said, it's isn't a bad debut. There are, as has been said, moments of brilliance on it. It's raw, loud, and in your face. And back when Metallica was playing these songs for the first night in the clubs, no one sounded like this.
I don't think this defines Metallica's origins however. Despite Kirk playing the parts, Kill 'Em All has Mustaine's feel all over it. He was integral to Kill 'Em All. I truthfully always considered Ride the Lightning to really be the genesis of the Metallica that we knew through the Black Album. KEA, to me, is a nice appetizer until we get to RTL and then to Megadeth's Killing is My Business. That's just me personally though. I think Kill Em All has more in common with Killing is My Business than it does Ride the Lightning.
Anyway, you can't deny the ferocity of Kill Em All. There was nothing like that at the time. Sure, influenced by the stuff in Europe, but taken up a notch and essentially creating thrash metal. Iconic release.
This is kind of me. I got into Metallica in between ...And Justice... and The Black Album. Compared to them, it's hard to get into KEA. I tried to compare it to Twisted Sister and Motley Crüe; two bands whose first album is very... singular sounding in the catalogue, but both Under The Blade and Too Fast For Love seem more fully formed to me.
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I love Kill 'Em All. Just a classic album. One thing I want to say is that I absolutely love Phantom Lord as it doesn't seem to be getting that much love in the posts above. All the songs are classics to me, even Jump in the Fire which has its own charm. I agree that Seek and Destroy is the one song that has been a little overplayed in the live show which ruins some of its appeal.
I also really love Hetfield's vocals here. They are so raw and unrefined and it just works for this music.
You can really feel a real energy and passion in the playing and delivery of this album.
Kill 'Em All isn't my favourite Metallica album but it isn't far off the top.
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I dig KeA, but it never really fit in with Metallica for me. I got into the band with Ride, and then Master came along before I ever heard KeA. For me it was just a big step backward. Like I said, I dig the album, but it's not a classic for me. Typing this it occurs to me that something like that happened to me with Maiden, where after Piece/Powerslave going back and listening to the first two seemed similarly out of place. At the same time Killers remains one of my top three Maiden albums. KeA, not so much. It just doesn't hold up as well as what would come later.
Never got the appeal of S&D. I've seen it countless times and it never really works for me. For all the mystique built up around it it's one of the poppiest things they ever did. Then you've got closing the show with it, house lights up, beach balls bouncing around, it just doesn't really tie in with everything else they've done, either career wise or that night. Strange vibe.
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I bought Kill Em All in late 1983, without knowing a thing about Metallica at the time. There was a rack of newer metal releases in the record store, and I picked up Kill Em All and Exciter’s Violence & Force. I have no memory of why I would have chosen two records with rather terrible album covers. :lol
I got home and listened to Violence & Force and wasn’t impressed with it at all. I then put Kill Em All on the turntable, having low expectations after being disappointed with Violence & Force. I just remember being blown away by those crunchy riffs coming out of the speakers. While Kill Em All is far from being my favourite Metallica album, their sound was so pioneering back in 1983.
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I bought Kill Em All in late 1983,
I ordered it from 1-800- Hot Rocks, which apparently was based in Buffalo. Had a chat with the guy about Talas while he processed my order.
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I bought Kill Em All in late 1983,
I ordered it from 1-800- Hot Rocks, which apparently was based in Buffalo. Had a chat with the guy about Talas while he processed my order.
I’m not familiar with 1-800-Hot-Rocks. The lengths we had to go to in order to get our music. :lol
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When I first started listening to Kill 'Em All, I thought it was alright. A few listens later, I think this album's pretty cool! Every single song has something memorable on it, and I love how fast and intense it is. I think the bass of all things is the best part; the guitar, drums, and vocals are all great as well, but I really like the sound of the bass. It almost sounds like a brass instrument sometimes, but maybe that's just my imagination. My only complaint is that some of the songs sound similar and blend together, but that's a minor issue because it's still consistently enjoyable. I'm going to be ranking the songs and then giving my thoughts about them:
1. The Four Horsemen - This song is really awesome. I love the chorus, the instrumental section that starts around two minutes in, and the "roll call" verse after that. The guitar solo at the end was great. I think the lyrics themselves are a highlight, too; I think they do an excellent job at portraying the Four Horsemen as greatly powerful and ominous entities, and also complements the mood of the music really well.
2. Seek & Destroy - Like TFH, the music and lyrics greatly complement one another, and possibly does that even better. The instrumental parts of this are very satisfying, and the chorus is infectious.
3. Whiplash - This song demonstrates the qualities I enjoy most about this band: Fast tempos, great riffs, and an exciting, intense performance.
4. (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth - This is better than Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure. That's all I need to say.
5. Metal Militia - Very good song overall! I don't have much to say about this one besides that I enjoy the main riff of the song a lot.
6. No Remorse - The vocals are the highlight of this song for me. Hetfield's vocals aren't the greatest I've heard or anything, but his voice suits the music so well.
7. Hit the Lights - What's done in this song is done better by several other songs on this album, but as an intro to the album, it's very well-done.
8. Phantom Lord - Good, but not all that memorable. I really like the clean guitar section at around 2:30.
9. Motorbreath - Nothing to say about this one, honestly. I like it, it's just similar enough to the rest of the album that I don't have much to comment on for this one.
10. Jump in the Fire - This has a kind of commercial feel to it, but I don't mean that in a bad way. It's quite catchy, and sounds pretty good. I just happened to like this one the least.
This marathon is already off to a great start, and I am looking forward to going through the rest!
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Awesome idea for a thread, I’ll post my thoughts tomorrow. I’ve been with them ever since this album.
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Prior to hearing this album, the heaviest/fastest thing I had heard was The Number of the Beast album. Growing up with parents that only listened to country/western, I was slow getting up to speed. The year before, Quiet Riot had become a sensation and so I had albums from them, Ratt, Crue, Scorpions etc. But I was always looking for the next fastest thing. A local radio show had a Metal Shop hour Friday or Saturday night, and I heard Jump in the Fire. Asking friends at school the next day, one was like "that's the SLOW song on the album". He copied a tape for me and the rest is history. I had no real knowledge of music, didn't know lead from rhythm guitar or anything about drums, but it was definitely a case of "THIS is what I've been searching for" and never had that feeling again until 20 years later after getting into Images and Words.
That radio show was great btw, they played whatever album cut they wanted. Later on No Remorse and Ride the Lightning were in rotation. Without any musical knowledge it was hard to process what I was listening to but I liked it. I suppose you could say that Kill 'Em All has become a little underrated today but for the last 40 years I think it generally finishes pretty high on "Greatest Thrash Album" lists. Oh yeah, and James sounds so young on this because he WAS young, 19 when it was recorded. A bunch of 19 and 20 year old kids made this historic record.
My (controversial) ranking of the songs:
No Remorse
Metal Militia
Motorbreath
Hit the Lights
The Four Horsemen
Phantom Lord
Whiplash
Jump in the Fire
Seek & Destroy
Anesthesia
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One thing I want to say is that I absolutely love Phantom Lord as it doesn't seem to be getting that much love in the posts above.
I got to see them play that song live in 2000, which was awesome. At the time, their setlists had become stale in the late 90's and deep cuts weren't ever really played. You knew what they were going to play every night. They did a small mini-tour around Y2K and for the Chicago shows, they broke out Phantom Lord the night I attended, and the next night got Trapped Under Ice.
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My (controversial) ranking of the songs:
No Remorse
Metal Militia
Motorbreath
Hit the Lights
The Four Horsemen
Phantom Lord
Whiplash
Jump in the Fire
Seek & Destroy
Anesthesia
There’s no controversy here. Trust me, while it will take us a little while to get there, I’ve got some massive hot takes coming! We like what we like.p, after all. I’m just glad you’re here to take the ride with me.
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Okay, so Metallica has always and likely will always be my favorite band. KEA is clearly a genre defining album that is essential for any thrash fan. That said, what is to come from Metallica is miles ahead of this one. There are still some gems to be found here though, and overall it is a great debut. I enjoy it much more than any of the debut albums from the Big 4.
Hit the Lights - a solid opener, love the outro part.
Four Horseman - Much better version of the Mechanix, and a sign of where they were heading musically and lyrically. My
favorite track. Love the galloping riff and riff behind the "roll call" part.
Motorbreath - short and sweet with a punkier vibe.
Jump in the Fire - never been a fan, my least favorite track. I really don't like the main riff.
Anesthesia - it's pretty cool to hear it every so often, but I rank it near the bottom.
Whiplash - Thrash Metal at it's finest, absolute classic.
Phantom Lord - I really like this one too, so I'll stick up for it. Love the punkier main riff and the slow part.
No Remorse - Great riffs abound here. My 2nd favorite track.
Seek and Destroy - Yes it's iconic, but I've never been a fan of it. The last 2 riffs before the ending part are the only thing I
really enjoy. The long versions from the Black Album Tour are pretty cool though.
Metal Militia - It's okay, the verse riff kinda bugs me along with James' vocals during the verses.
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I'll play and write up some thoughts as I listen to the album for the first time in a very long time.
Hit the Lights - Iconic for being the very first Metallica song ever released and it's fun when they turn on the afterburners for the end.
Four Horseman - My favorite song from the album. I love that they slowed Mechanix down and gave it some groove. The live version from the Black Album shows is awesome, where they're playing in the round and during the galloping breakdown riff, all four guys run around the stage towards Lars' second drum kit, arrive at the same time and BOOM, right back into the song. I've seen them play it acoustically in 1998 and full electric in 2000.
Motorbreath - Hits hard and fast. Another song I've heard acoustically, but never electric.
Jump in the Fire - I love it. Fun bouncy riff.
Anesthesia - My least favorite song on the album. Cliff is amazing, but I'm just not one for instrument solos.
Whiplash - I'd love to hear them play this live and enjoyed them opening their 2021 club shows with it. Fast, thrashy and a great riff.
Phantom Lord - This song kicks ass and has an awesome riff
No Remorse - Underrated for sure. I'd forgotten how great the riffing is in this song, where they just jammed a bunch of badass riffs together, especially the faster part towards the end.
Seek and Destroy - It's become very overplayed, though it is a fun song. My favorite versions are when Jason would sing the vocals, which adds some grit and heaviness to it. I've always loved the speedy breakdown midway through the song.
Metal Militia - Absolutely furious riffing, with silly lyrics. I like that they let Mustaine start this song off during their 30th anniversary concerts.
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Figured I’d put the question out to you all. I ki da want to let 72 Seasons have a little while to click before I give it a proper review, since these aren’t albums like the Leppard albums where there’s a lot that I haven’t heard. I’m thinking of maybe adding the 40th anniversary concerts after S&M2, just to give me a bit more time. What do you guys think, would you be interested in deep diving those?
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I listen to those 2 shows a good bit, so I would be down for some discussion on those.
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I’m gonna throw out my two cents on (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth. I’ve seen a lot of people on these forums questioning its place on Kill ‘Em All, and IMO, it absolutely belongs because it’s actually a huge part of Metallica’s story. This is the solo Cliff Burton was playing that made Metallica want him in the band, so much so that they moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco for him to join, which is now the city the band is associated with. Kill ‘Em All is an album meant to make a statement to the world that this new form of metal is here to take over the world, and Anesthesia fits that “we have arrived” narrative perfectly, as it’s Metallica introducing the world to Cliff Burton’s talent the same way there were: with this absolutely blistering bass solo. Am I a little biased towards the piece as a bass player whose biggest influence is Cliff? Sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that the story of Metallica can’t be told without (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth.
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I’m gonna throw out my two cents on (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth. I’ve seen a lot of people on these forums questioning its place on Kill ‘Em All, and IMO, it absolutely belongs because it’s actually a huge part of Metallica’s story. This is the solo Cliff Burton was playing that made Metallica want him in the band, so much so that they moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco for him to join, which is now the city the band is associated with. Kill ‘Em All is an album meant to make a statement to the world that this new form of metal is here to take over the world, and Anesthesia fits that “we have arrived” narrative perfectly, as it’s Metallica introducing the world to Cliff Burton’s talent the same way there were: with this absolutely blistering bass solo. Am I a little biased towards the piece as a bass player whose biggest influence is Cliff? Sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that the story of Metallica can’t be told without (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth.
This is a really good point. That and spotlighting that their bass player was one of the more talented ones around. Doesn't hurt to showcase that, particularly in the early-1980s.
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Ride the Lightning - 1984
Tracklisting: 1. Fight Fire With Fire. 2. Ride the Lightning. 3. For Whom the Bell Tolls. 4. Fade to Black. 5. Trapped Under Ice. 6. Escape. 7. Creeping Death. 8. The Call of Ktulu.
https://open.spotify.com/album/05DePtm7oQMdL3Uzw2Jmsc?si=JY2e46wWQRKMfgB53KiO8g (https://open.spotify.com/album/05DePtm7oQMdL3Uzw2Jmsc?si=JY2e46wWQRKMfgB53KiO8g)
In cinema, there’s a trend that most sequels aren’t as good as the originals, apart from a few rare occasions. I find that the inverse is true in music. Ride the Lightning is definitely a worthy sophomore release, one I feel sets up the Metallica formula for at least a few albums to come.
Since the release of Kill ‘Em All, Metallica were playing support shows on a 32 date US tour with Raven that they called the Kill ‘Em All For One tour. This went from July 27th to September 3rd 1983. They would later go out with Raven in Europe for 16 shows in Europe under the name Seven Dates in Hell, starting in February of 1984.
But already, something was starting to change on the Kill ‘Em All shows. According to Metallica’s historical archive for setlists, at least five of the Kill ‘Em All for One shows contained an extended instrumental, known at the time as When Hell Freezes Over (which was the working title for The Call of Ktulu). By the time they got on stage in Europe five months later, three more new songs were starting to make their way into the setlists. These songs were Ride the Lightning, Creeping Death and For Whom the Bell Tolls.
On a break in the touring plan for the Seven Dates of Hell tour, Metallica found themselves in Copenhagen with producer Fleming Rasmussen, recording a collection of seven songs that then became eight at the label’s insistence. These songs became Metallica’s sophomore album, Ride the Lightning.
We open with Fight Fire With Fire, one of the most ferocious songs in the catalog to this day. That being said though, this opens with an amazingly beautiful intro which, surprising no one, was composed by Cliff Burton. Using a lot of 12 string guitars, this creates such a peaceful mood that is almost immediately destroyed by the main riff. These lyrics, written about nuclear war and Armageddon, open the album on such an intense note with Hetfield’s staccato vocal and the jagged riffing beneath. As we step into the instrumental section of the song, Kirk’s soloing is in fine form, but we see that James and Kirk have really stepped up their guitar harmony game since No Remorse. Again, this was probably a Cliff thing, as the record shows that he had a great affinity for classical music and all of it’s aspects. All up, this is still one of their top 5 album openers for me and it really cemented a formula that I love seeing them follow with the epic intros before the main riffs.
Fight Fire With Fire closes on the sound of a nuclear explosion which runs straight into the title track, Ride the Lightning. Man, this is one of my favourite songs of their 80s era. With a guitar harmony into, that is somehow credited to Lars, before running into one of my favourite main riffs on the album, this song just sounds sonically immense. Lyrically, this one is about a prisoner being taken to the electric chair and executed, but with a twist in the last verse that it’s all a dream. The first riff in the bridge section is another that was stolen from Mustaine, which you can hear in Wake Up Dead if you want the Megadeth equivalent. However, it’s the solo section that really gets me going here. Being based over a great riff definitely helps, but Kirk’s melodic solo over the first riff into shred for the second half is such a cool solo. I’d be hard at work trying to think of another solo I thought was better. By the way, those screams you hear in the bridge are actually provided by Lars, which I think is kinda cool. Even the outro is great with how it expands upon it’s simple four note phrase before ultimately leading into one last run through the intro harmony. This is just such a great song, I absolutely love it and I was lucky enough to catch it live back in 2013. It should speak volumes that across the 25 date “By Request” tour in 2014, Ride the Lightning was played 20 times!
Bust out your anvils, boys and girls, it’s time for an absolute classic! For Whom the Bell Tolls is our third track here and man, what a great song it is. Opening with the sound of an anvil being struck to make the perfect bell for this song, we’re very quickly hit over the head with crushingly heavy guitars and a bass lead, one that Cliff lifted from the band he was in before Metallica. The song keeps expanding, adding heavy riff after riff. Kirk has a little melodic lead over what will shortly become our verse before we hear what I’d probably consider to be the main riff of the song. Our lyrics are loosely based on the book of the same name by Ernest Hemingway (if you want more about him, may I suggest you watch this for an informative laugh https://youtu.be/PUB9D78ajmI (https://youtu.be/PUB9D78ajmI)). These lyrics have become absolute classics in the Metallica catalogue thiugh. We get even more guitar harmonies after the first chorus and it all ends with Kirk going insane. Look, it’s not my favourite ever Metallica song, but to try and deny it’s status as a classic is impossible. But, I must say, I don’t think any of Metallica’s bassists ever hit this intro as perfectly as Cliff did here.
Track four was a controversial one upon it’s release. We all know about how people took the Black Album as a sign that they had sold out, but even this early on those accusations were flying. Why? Because Metallica made a ballad. The story goes that one night, someone managed to break in to Metallica’s van and managed to steal Hetfield’s favourite Marshall amp. This, understandably, put him in a pretty bad mood. Fade to Black is, very openly, a suicide song and over the years, they’ve been blamed for writing this as if it were the cause of kids killing themselves. But, they’ve also received hundreds of letters from fans that say that this song has saved their lives, because they felt as if they weren’t alone and someone understood what they felt.
Honestly, I feel that this is one of Metallica’s best composed songs. The intro alone is beautiful and I love the interplay between the melodic verses and that heavy riff for a chorus. Kirk’s leads on this song are pretty much perfect and the interplay between electric and acoustic guitars throughout the verses sounds amazing. But, nothing can prepare you for how great the second half of the song is. The bridge portrays the character taking his life before the other most perfect solo Kirk ever played plays out. This is another song that absolutely defines a part of Metallica. While I may prefer another ballad personally, which we will get to before too long, I think this is probably one of the best songs they ever composed. While I can’t really justify it, I wouldn’t be surprised to read that a lot of people feel the same. Chronologically, this is Kirk’s first writing credit with the band and I can’t think of a better first song to have my name to than this one, Even though it’s another song that commits my cardinal sin in music by fading out the solo, I can actually kinda accept it here and I think it makes for a pretty great closer to the first half of the album.
The second half opens with two pretty deep cuts as far as Metallica’s 80s output goes. Opening with the better of the two though, we have Trapped Under Ice. This is a great short and sharp thrash song about being frozen in ice and facing death. I must say, the riff that bookends the bridge is one of my top moments on the album. I’ve always loved it. The song is based on a riff that Kirk Hammett had brought over from his previous band, Exodus, you can find it at about the 1:46 mark in the song Impaler. It’s short, sharp and to the point, which is great. It kinda feels like the crossover point between Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning in a way, or at least it does to me. I like it a lot, I just don’t feel I have a lot to say about it.
The other deep cut is actually James Hetfield’s least favourite Metallica song ever, Escape. This is a song that the record label kinda forced them into making to fill up the time a little more and have something a little more commercial on the album. This definitely doesn’t hit the same as the rest of the songs here, but I actually really like Escape’s intro and chorus. The lyrics here are pretty great, being a bit of a call to individualism and getting to live your life your own way. This song actually features the first proper breakdown in a Metallica song and damn is it cool. Kirk’s solo on this one is a bit of a nothing for me, but I do love the ending with the main line of the chorus being repeated in the lower key. I find this to be a really tight song, but yeah, I can see why they don’t like it that much. They’ve only ever played it once live as part of playing the full album, so, I suppose that’s that.
Oh, but then we get onto probably the most famous song off of Ride, Creeping Death! This song is huge! This is a song directly taken from a passage in the bible. Story is there was a Pharaoh that refused to free his slaves and they weren’t happy, so ten plagues were unleashed upon him and his people that increased in intensity, culminating into the ultimate killing of every firstborn child in Egypt, unless their door was painted in lamb’s blood. The band had watched the film The Ten Commandments one night and found themselves really invested in it. The riffing in this one is intense. I love the verse riff, but the bridge is where it all comes to a head. This was another riff that Kirk brought from Exodus (funnily enough, the book from which this story comes) and an unused demo called Die By His Hand. The guitar harmony that ends it off is another classic Metallica moment in a song that’s absolutely packed full of them. The song has been described as a “mosh pit anthem”, which we will most definitely address more throughout our live deep dives as I think the only live albums this song isn’t on is the S&M duo.
The album ends with the first song that Metallica had unleashed from it back in 83, The Call of Ktulu. While it is an instrumental, this one musically portrays the coming of Cthulhu from The Shadow Over Innsmouth, which was one of Cliff’s favourite books. This song actually starts a long running saga of Metallica songs that has reached all the way to Hardwired about Ktulu. I love Cliff’s bass effects here acting as the actual calling o that the song was named after. My favourite riff in this song has definitely gotta be the bridge that launches the solo though. It’s such an epic sound. I do like some of Kirk’s licks here too, I think it’s a great solo. I really respect this as the first fully realised instrumental. This is the basis from which the rest would take it’s cue and I think it’s just awesome that they decided to give it a shot. The first ending section with the guitar harmonies is a super cool way that the song could’ve ended, but I’m really glad it didn’t all Peter out there as I think the proper ending to this is a perfect motif to end an album on. Also, shout out to that glockenspiel in the return of the intro riff
Of course, I have to mention that the ascending pattern is Mustaine’s riff which you’ll all no doubt recognise from Hangar 18. But, that’s all I really need to say about that.
So. Ride the Lightning. I think this album took all the right cues from Kill ‘Em All and took what Cliff and Kirk could add to the mix and created a perfect follow up. This still isn’t their best 80s album, but I feel like this album will at least crack my top 5 at the end. James’ vocals are in the perfect spot between the growls we know him for and the screams of Kill ‘Em All here, Kirk’s finally composing his own solos that work much better for him than trying to rework what Mustaine did before him, Cliff is an absolute asset and Lars is also super tight here. I feel like most of this is the prototype for what Puppets and Justice would build upon, where as Escape was an experiment in trying to make something commercial that would later be perfected upon within the Black Album.
I give this album an 8.75. There are still rougher edges that would really be ironed out in the coming albums, but this album proved the true start of the Metallica ascendancy.
Recommended listens:
Fight Fire With Fire
Ride the Lightning
The Call of Ktulu
Essential listens:
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Fade to Black
Creeping Death
And now it’s your turn. What do you guys think of Ride the Lightning. I’m keen to hear your thoughts. Catch you in the chat, and be ready to obey your master in a week’s time.
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Absolutely adore Ride the Lightning. It's my #1 Metallica album, and arguably the greatest metal album of all time!
I remember after my initial obsession with The Black Album, I went and picked this up. I love every song and think The Call of Ktulu is probably my favourite. The S&M version is so epic that that version is easily my favourite all time Metallica song! The way The Ecstasy of Gold flows into is just as close to musical perfection as you can get.
Over the years I have grown to view this album as a sort of concept album. I know it was not created as a concept album but for me there is a story that holds these songs together. I posted this in the Metallica thread last year...
Anyone else's head canon that Ride the Lightning is a concept album? So hear me out...
Fight Fire with Fire - young dude is off to war. He's amped up and eager to get out there and show the world what he's made of.
Ride the Lightning - young dude realises that the reality of war is not what he'd imagined and he's just doing his best to survive.
For Whom the Bell Tolls - young dude is dying on the battlefield surround by other poor souls who gave their life for a pointless war.
Fade to Black - young dude is drifting into the afterlife, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Trapped Under Ice - (here's where it gets a bit sci-fi) turns out young dude actually survived the war and was cryogenically frozen, but he is a prisoner in some sort of hospital/research facility. His body and mind were saved, but at what cost?
Escape - young dude realises that he needs to break out of this prison he is in. In doing so he realises that he is not wholly human any longer.
Creeping Death - young dude wreaks havoc on the world and all those he feels who have wronged him (those who sent innocent young kids to fight their wars). This continues for decades, with him losing any part of what once made him human. By the end he has crossed over into the ethereal plane.
Call of Ktulu - now a spirit in the ethereal plane young dude drifts aimlessly trying to find some sort of peace. He soars on the winds of time until he at last finds peace and his existence ends.
That's the imagery that is in my head when I listen to this album.
Make of that what you will :lol
Great post Deadeye, you have added some info that I was totally unaware of. I didn’t know Metallica were playing Ktulu live (as When Hell Freezes Over) back in '83! That's cool as fuck, I wonder if there's any footage anywhere?
You probably knew this as well, but the Seven Dates of Hell tour was in support of Venom. Cronos claims that James took a lot of his stage presence from what Cronos was doing on stage and they came back from Europe with a new swagger to them. I don't know how true that is but there you have it. James' confidence as a front man was growing and maybe that did have something to do with it.
Ranking of the songs...
Epic as fuck...
The Call of Ktulu
Creeping Death
Ride the Lightning
Fade to Black
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Fight Fire with Fire
Trapped Under Ice
Just not as good as the rest...
Escape
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Such a great album, I rank this on par with MoP (maybe even higher). I've never had a problem with Escape, and I'd never thought that it was an attempt at being more commercial until it was pointed out to me.
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As someone who likes Metallica but feels like they are on the outside looking in with respect to many of their fans, I'm baffled by the response to Escape. It's not the worst song on the album (I like it better than both Trapped Under Ice and Fight Fire With Fire) and I struggle with what the "commercialism" is; the actual singing on the chorus? The doubled guitar? That's all it takes to be "commercial"? "Fade To Black" is FAR more a move in the direction of "The Black Album", IMO.
I know what James said about it; those kinds of comments always make me wonder what the fan response would have been had he NOT said that.
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I've never thought of Escape as particularly commercial at all. Like Leper Messiah, for me, it just happens to be the weakest song on an album full of incredible music!
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Like Leper Messiah, for me, it just happens to be the weakest song on an album full of incredible music!
Not really a Metallica fan so I won't be commenting on this thread much but I never got this either. Leper Messiah is one of the best songs on MoP if you ask me. :lol
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Like Leper Messiah, for me, it just happens to be the weakest song on an album full of incredible music!
Not really a Metallica fan so I won't be commenting on this thread much but I never got this either. Leper Messiah is one of the best songs on MoP if you ask me. :lol
Not for the first time, I find myself questioning how you are winning my roulette ???
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Like Leper Messiah, for me, it just happens to be the weakest song on an album full of incredible music!
Not really a Metallica fan so I won't be commenting on this thread much but I never got this either. Leper Messiah is one of the best songs on MoP if you ask me. :lol
Thing is, you’re kinda both right. Leper Messiah doesn’t stick out on Master of Puppets, but on its own it is far from being a weak song. Actually, I friggin love Leper Messiah, but I’d still probably put it second to last. I like it more than one particular song as I look at the track list right now. But, I guess that’s a story for next week, isn’t it?
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Like Leper Messiah, for me, it just happens to be the weakest song on an album full of incredible music!
Not really a Metallica fan so I won't be commenting on this thread much but I never got this either. Leper Messiah is one of the best songs on MoP if you ask me. :lol
Not for the first time, I find myself questioning how you are winning my roulette ???
Maybe it's because I'm right! :neverusethis:
The first half has a cool groove that sticks out from the rest of the album, and I like how it contrasts with the faster second half.
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Like Leper Messiah, for me, it just happens to be the weakest song on an album full of incredible music!
Not really a Metallica fan so I won't be commenting on this thread much but I never got this either. Leper Messiah is one of the best songs on MoP if you ask me. :lol
Thing is, you’re kinda both right. Leper Messiah doesn’t stick out on Master of Puppets, but on its own it is far from being a weak song. Actually, I friggin love Leper Messiah, but I’d still probably put it second to last. I like it more than one particular song as I look at the track list right now. But, I guess that’s a story for next week, isn’t it?
Yea, it's far from a bad song at all. It's just literally every other song on Puppets is God tier
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Like Leper Messiah, for me, it just happens to be the weakest song on an album full of incredible music!
Not really a Metallica fan so I won't be commenting on this thread much but I never got this either. Leper Messiah is one of the best songs on MoP if you ask me. :lol
Thing is, you’re kinda both right. Leper Messiah doesn’t stick out on Master of Puppets, but on its own it is far from being a weak song. Actually, I friggin love Leper Messiah, but I’d still probably put it second to last. I like it more than one particular song as I look at the track list right now. But, I guess that’s a story for next week, isn’t it?
I'm guessing The Thing That Should Not Be is your bottom ranked
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I hadn't listened to Ride the Lightning in full for a long time, so I did that the other day in preparation for this thread. I won't go song by song, but I like the review here. There are a lot of great songs on this album - FFWF, RTL, Bells, Fade, Trapped Under Ice, Creeping Death. I can remember being 13 and buying the album. I wore a Ride t-shirt to a doctor's appointment once and the doctor commented on it, asking me if I knew what the term meant (electric chair) as if I was too young to be representing the band.
As for live representation - they played FFWF at the show I saw in 1998, and I've only seen them do the standard songs (Bells, Fade, Creeping Death) that they usually play at every show. I guess if I had seen them more after 2000, maybe I'd have heard more from the album. :lol
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Every note - no, every 16th note - of this album was burned into my gray matter after listening to it on a Walkman nonstop during the summer of 1984. Such a huge leap in maturity in songwriting from an incredibly young band. As the decades have gone on, I’ve noticed more and more metal sites, YouTube channels, etc are recognizing this album as Metallica’s greatest instead of the 2 or 3 that follow. It has the blueprint of the MOP and AJFA with none of the bloat. Side 1 is one of greatest sides of all time. That crushing rhythm tone James got on this album has never been equaled imo.
Creeping Death/Fight Fire With Fire
Fade to Black
Trapped Under Ice (yes those bridge riffs RULE)
Ride the Lightning/For Whom the Bell Tolls
Escape/Ktulu
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A huge step forward from KEA, Ride the Lightning is an incredible album. It also shows Metallica's melodic side.
Fight Fire With Fire - Amazing intro that descends into thrash nuclear fallout. I love James' staccato bark on the vocal delivery.
The middle harmony section is so good!
Ride the Lightning - The title track is excellent, and the bridge riff is one of my favorites. Kirk plays one of his tastiest solos
here as well.
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Iconic intro, and the lead part that repeats is killer. The chromatic descending riff just before the
verse is so heavy!
Fade to Black - Metallica sold out and did a ballad? I don't care, this is such a great song. The outro is amazing. The live
version from Cunning Stunts is perfection.
Trapped Under Ice - Thrashy goodness here. The bridge riff is another one of my favorites.
Escape - Decent, but definitely the weakest track on the album.
Creeping Death - Another banger here! Love the lyrics and obviously the "die" section. It never sounded better than having
Jason on backup vocals live.
The Call of Ktulu - First (I don't count Anesthesia as an instrumental, it's a bass solo) of Metallica's great instrumentals, and a
great album closer. The final couple of minutes to the end are so good. I would rank it 3rd out of the 4
though.
I rank this one below Justice and Master, but I definitely see why many people have this one as their #1.
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Creeping Death - Another banger here! Love the lyrics and obviously the "die" section. It never sounded better than having
Jason on backup vocals live.
And lead vocals - Jason often took the last verse, which was killer.
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As someone who likes Metallica but feels like they are on the outside looking in with respect to many of their fans, I'm baffled by the response to Escape. It's not the worst song on the album (I like it better than both Trapped Under Ice and Fight Fire With Fire) and I struggle with what the "commercialism" is; the actual singing on the chorus? The doubled guitar? That's all it takes to be "commercial"? "Fade To Black" is FAR more a move in the direction of "The Black Album", IMO.
I know what James said about it; those kinds of comments always make me wonder what the fan response would have been had he NOT said that.
Pretty much my thoughts exactly—having discovered Metallica during the summer of '91, completely isolated from the opinions of others, I immediately gravitated to "Escape" as a standout track on Ride. To this day, I'd still rank it second or third behind the title track and "Fade to Black," although, I think the record is a flawless listen from cover to cover.
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I like how Ride was described as the prototype for Puppets and Justice. For me, I was never really into Kill Em All. Metallica really hit me with Ride, Puppets and Justice. To be brutally frank, those three albums are all I need from Metallica, aside from maybe another handful of songs I'd grab from other records.
Great write-up on Ride. Just put it on to start the day. :metal
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This thread is fun, as it has me going back to these older albums that I listened to so much as a kid, but rarely put on now because i've heard them so many times before. It's easy to fall back in love with the band and albums and remember why I loved them as a teenager and the songs still kick my ass 30 years after I became a fan.
I'm also reflecting on the 3 shows I saw in 1998 and 2000. I've always remembered the setlists being very similar, but looking back at them, I did see a handful of deep cuts live, even though I felt like they always played the same songs over and over.
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Very much enjoying the write-ups, Deadeye...
I like Kill 'em All but for me (ex-post, obviously...I wasn't there to actually witness it) Ride the Lightning was a big step up. I mean, KEA was already setting them apart, and it has a bunch of songs that are, to this day, classics for the band...but for me RtL is where they started becoming "Metallica", i.e. this unbelievable force for (thrash) metal in the 80s. The riffs, the songs and, importantly, the "memorability" of it all is what made them one of a kind in the genre.
Also obviously agree with the idea that this was setting things up for Master...regardless of what album one prefers (it's MoP for me, but RtL is not far behind), they quite literally set a template for the first 4 songs ("side A", I guess we could call it?) that they would be following for a little while ;)
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I've given Ride the Lightning a few listens. My impressions are that it's more consistently enjoyable than Kill 'Em All, though I prefer The Four Horsemen to anything on this album. I'll give my verdict on which album I like better after a few more listens. The standout tracks for me so far are Fight Fire With Fire, Ride the Lightning, and Escape.
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Ride The Lightning is pure class from start to end. Amazing record. The guitar sound is ridiculously great and unique. Sounds like a monster sawing tree trunks. Love it.
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It's a great album and I can't really point to any flaws on it, but I find I don't go back and listen to often. Not sure why. Love the album.
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Ride The Lightning is pure class from start to end. Amazing record. The guitar sound is ridiculously great and unique. Sounds like a monster sawing tree trunks. Love it.
I like that :biggrin:
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Ride The Lightning is just an iconic album. Without a doubt one of my favourite ever albums and a huge part of my musical journey. Just love this album.
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Ride the Lightning is my #2 Metallica album. I have to say though, i always found side 1 much stronger than side 2. And I never could get into The Calll of Kthulu.
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I'm guessing The Thing That Should Not Be is your bottom ranked
It's definitely my bottom-ranked on MoP. Every other song dwarfs TTTSNB.
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I got into Metallica after AJFA came out and had to play "catch up" with the previous three albums. I definitely understand the love for RTL. It's a more mature album than KEA and nowhere near as raw-sounding. I wish I would've been onboard with Metallica from the beginning because I'd love to know how someone who was already a fan felt when they heard the acoustic intro of the album's opener for the first time... And then how they felt 40 seconds later when the brutality of FFWF commenced. :metal
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The first riff in the bridge section is another that was stolen from Mustaine, which you can hear in Wake Up Dead if you want the Megadeth equivalent.
If you believe Mustaine (which is a tough ask...) he wrote a lot more than just that riff for that song.
https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/dave_mustaine_its_obvious_that_i_wrote_parts_of_ride_the_lightning__leper_messiah.html
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The first riff in the bridge section is another that was stolen from Mustaine, which you can hear in Wake Up Dead if you want the Megadeth equivalent.
If you believe Mustaine (which is a tough ask...) he wrote a lot more than just that riff for that song.
https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/dave_mustaine_its_obvious_that_i_wrote_parts_of_ride_the_lightning__leper_messiah.html
Wah, well, seeing as though he reused Motorbreath for FFF on Cryptic Writings, which was always James’ song, it’s a bit of a tough one to just believe Mustaine at every turn. No evidence they even remembered that jam by that point.
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I got into Metallica after AJFA came out and had to play "catch up" with the previous three albums. I definitely understand the love for RTL. It's a more mature album than KEA and nowhere near as raw-sounding. I wish I would've been onboard with Metallica from the beginning because I'd love to know how someone who was already a fan felt when they heard the acoustic intro of the album's opener for the first time... And then how they felt 40 seconds later when the brutality of FFWF commenced. :metal
Oh it was amazing trust me!! Kind of like with MOP too, you're sitting there going (as an ignorant teen) "I don't really like where this is going" to BAM and headbanging glory.
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Master of Puppets - 1986
Tracklisting: 1. Battery. 2. Master of Puppets. 3. The Thing That Should Not Be. 4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium). 5. Disposable Heroes. 6. Leper Messiah. 7. Orion. 8. Damage Inc.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2Lq2qX3hYhiuPckC8Flj21?si=W12_z_uJTX-xZQ5R0tXuQQ (https://open.spotify.com/album/2Lq2qX3hYhiuPckC8Flj21?si=W12_z_uJTX-xZQ5R0tXuQQ)
The rest of 1984 and much of 1985 saw Metallica on the road, playing shows in support of Ride the Lightning. This saw them playing with a lot of different bands like Armored Saint, Exodus, Marillion and even Bon Jovi. It was a great success for them at the time. Fans were showing up and ready for more, more, more!
By June of 1985, Metallica found themselves, once again, in Copenhagen with Fleming Rasmussen at the helm, though he wasn’t the only name considered to produce the second album. Kinda conveniently, seeing as though we’ve just passed 21/12, at one stage Geddy Lee was in talks to produce the third album but had to back out due to commitments to the Power Windows tour. I have to wonder what that would’ve sounded like had it come to be.
By the time Metallica played at the Metal Hammer Festival in September of 1985, new songs were ready to trickle out. First to be played was Disposable Heroes, a longer track unlike any on the album. Come New Year’s Eve and it was time to unveil a song that has rarely been left out since. Master of Puppets.
On March 3rd, 1986, the world was unprepared for the domination that was about to be laid upon them. Fans picked up their copies of the new record, took it home and laid their stylus on Side A.
They would never be the same again.
The sounds of acoustic guitars filled the room, a short chord progression followed by a beautiful melody and build upon with beautiful harmonies. And then the room erupted as this simple acoustic sound was taken over by the sound of heavy electric guitars, bass and drums. And then it all came crashing down into that galloping main riff. BATTERY! Man, this is one of their best opening songs ever. Lyrics about anger and control over a musical backing that screams metal. The chorus, simple but oh so fun to scream along to. This song also has one touch that I kinda wish more Metallica songs had done, by leading back into the intro as the breakdown riff. Kirk’s solo here is in fine form, he’s clearly even been getting better since Ride the Lightning. And damn! That heavy pounding riff that brings us out of the instrumental section, man. So killer! This is easily one of the best openers to a Metallica album and in revisiting this one, I’m wondering if the opener that I view as my favourite will hold up in the end.
But, for as great of an album opener as it is, nothing prepares you for the title track. A song that many see as Metallica’s magnum opus, or their most overrated song of the 80s. Master of Puppets. If you’re a super new fan if Metallica’s, as in you discovered them this year, it’s this song you likely heard first thanks to Eddie Munson’s heroics! This song is about the power of addiction and being unable to stop until it ends up killing you. This song kinda stuck the landing then, coz this is one of the songs that will forever stick in the minds of fans everywhere, thanks in no small part to the two words. Master! Master!
As one of Metallica’s first super extended songs, I really admire how refined this is already. Offering up the beautiful midsection after the second chorus allows the ears a breather before that breakdown smacks you over the head with it’s immense chugging. Also, I believe this may be James’ first released solo and we just gotta love that. This song takes so many twists and turns, and they’re all great. I also really like the little reference to Bowie in here, no doubt a Cliff influence. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, compare the riff at 6:20 to David Bowie’s Andy Warhol. It’s mind shattering how such a nothing song in Bowie’s career can be one of the coolest moments on a Metallica song this huge. This is truly one of the most essential listens for any new Metallica fans. This defines much of the 80s era to me.
As I mentioned in the Ride the Lightning review, The Call of Ktulu started something of an anthology in the Metallica catalogue, being songs based off of the works of HP Lovecraft. The Thing That Should Not Be is the second song in this anthology, and also the first song they ever tuned down for. The lyrics here aren’t so much based upon any one book of Lovecraft’s works, but makes many references to recurring themes and characters within. In terms of composition though, this is actually a really interesting one in the catalogue with it’s half clean, half distorted verses. I really like the prechoruses a lot here, as I find the chorus itself to be heavy but a little dull as a proper chorus. I do love the harmonic lick in Kirk’s solo here though, and I find that the ambient whammy sounds before the third verse remind me a lot of Cliff’s aggressive effects in Ktulu. The final chug jam is kinda cool and I love the flanged scratching sound that pan around in the headphones.
Closing out side A, once again, is our ballad for the album. While I praised Fade to Black as likely being their best ballad, I’m putting it out there right now that Welcome Home (Sanitarium) is my favourite Metallica ballad and one of my most favourite songs overall. Starting with such a great, almost ambient, intro (which actually features a piano to thicken out that low E note) before progressing into one of the coolest clean riffs Metallica ever created. The song is somewhat inspired by One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, with our protagonist being stuck in a sanitarium. The solos and riffs here are what it’s all about for me here, but I definitely love James’ melodic approach to the vocals on this one maybe moreso than on Fade where it seemed like he was struggling to keep it clean. Kirk’s melodic soloing in the verses are great too. But man, it all kicks off after that second chorus. The backhalf of this song is most of the reason I love this song so much. That offset hammer-on riff is so cool and the harmony section that builds up into the ending of the song is one of my favourite moments ever in a Metallica song. With M72 being touted as a “no repeat weekend” tour, this is the one song that I’d be kinda keen to see that promise not kept for. I do find it interesting that the title of the song is technically Welcome Home with Sanitarium being the subtitle.I dkn’t think I’ve ever heard anyone actually refer to this as Welcome Home.
Unlike with Ride the Lightning though, that’s kinda it for the best known songs off of this album. Where Ride kept Creeping Death until second to last, Master of Puppets seems to front load most of it’s biggest songs. Which means for us that we get to dive a little deeper now.
Opening the second half of the album and joining the ever expanding war themed roster, we have Disposable Heroes. Man, this song doesn’t pretend. This is heavy from the word go, with a crushingly heavy intro riff that turns into a quick semi-overture of our verse riff (with the progression of the chorus as a lead) and our pre-chorus. It’s actually really cool how this is set out to me. The lyrics of Disposable Heroes really set out the horrors of war and the draft system. The layout of this one would later be reused to great effect, but we’ll cross that when we get to Hardwired. I actually really love the expanded format this song takes on, where nothing ever quite feels like too much but you still get the full length of it. The highlight here is definitely the bridge and solo section. The vocals in the bridge remind me of Trapped Under Ice with the call and response feel. The solo here is another of Kirk’s best and I really like the repeated motif that gets harmonised on.
I was lucky enough to see this one live on the World Magnetic tour’s second night in Perth. The structure was altered slightly, with the second bridge (post solo) and the playoff of the last chorus being skipped. It made the song a little shorter, but I think it worked. You can hear that exact version right here (https://soundcloud.com/officialmetallica/disposable-heroes-live-october?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=0&si=FA98B336063644709472830F61BB2236&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing (https://soundcloud.com/officialmetallica/disposable-heroes-live-october?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=0&si=FA98B336063644709472830F61BB2236&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing))
This is also a song that was reworked into an acoustic version and I kinda like that a lot too as it’s own entity. While we aren’t covering the Helping Hands live album in this deep dive, I’d recommend checking that version out (https://open.spotify.com/track/3cClZLOM7hI85vz4Qzn55V?si=ZPCBUpo-SIuzpnbWGVAwpA (https://open.spotify.com/track/3cClZLOM7hI85vz4Qzn55V?si=ZPCBUpo-SIuzpnbWGVAwpA))
Onto a song about televangelists and false religion, Leper Messiah. I think this is a great song, though it can easily be argued as the weakest song on the album (not a belief I share btw). I really like the little stabs in the intro, I think the verse riff is pretty great, the chorus is heavy and the lyrics are well written. You really get the idea of how influential the Leper Messiah is over his followers. The bridge section is really the best part of the song again for me though. Featuring a riff that Dave Mustaine reckons he wrote (and there’s bugger all evidence to support that claim) and a nice short solo, it’s another highlight section in an album chock full of them. Despite it not being my least favourite track on the album, I feel like it’s the one I have the least to say about.
But then, we get to the other masterpiece on this album. Cliff’s legacy, Orion. It’s hard to put into words how amazing of a song this is. There are two main riffs and the amazing interlude, three guitar solos and a bass solo, plus plenty of bass leads to go around. Everything here so perfectly encapsulates where Metallica were musically, with the bridge reflecting their more melodic side as seen in Fade and Sanitarium and the harmonies as displayed in Master. I don’t have enough to say about this song because it is so difficult to encapsulate the feeling of how this song sounds going through your headphones in a dark room with your eyes closed. It’s breathtaking. This is beyond a trace of doubt Metallica’s best instrumental and I don’t think it will ever quite be topped. Even the fade-out on this one comes at the right time and lands fairly perfectly. One piece of trivia I can bring up is the fact that this actually used to be the extended instrumental ending to what later became Sanitarium. There is a version of this original demo available on YouTube, called Only Thing. It’s actually kinda cool to hear how these songs would’ve connected and I’d be up to hear a Jew version of Sanitarium live that reconnected these maybe? Check it out here ( https://youtu.be/BPkhkr8xb7I (https://youtu.be/BPkhkr8xb7I) )
I also saw this one on the same show as Disposable and, while it wasn’t perfect, it was astonishing to witness live in the flesh. Through the Never also contains a great live version of it, but we’ll address that when we get there.
The album comes to a close with one of the heaviest songs the band had released up to this point. Opening with an ambient intro, reportedly composed by Cliff, it all comes crashing down into one of the most no BS riffs in Metallica’s history. This is Damage Inc., an ode to senseless violence and absolute destruction. This is the first song with multiple uses of explicit language in the Metallica catalogue and, let’s be honest, at this point you’re all for it. There is a phrase in this song that probably needs to be addressed here, as it will be coming up again. “Fuck it all and fucking no regrets, never happy endings on the se dark sets”. Why bring it up? Well, we’ll get there. As is the case with about 95z of the album, it all comes down to that bridge with it’s absolute belter of a riff to bring it on home. Not my favourite album closer, but it’s certainly up there.
So, that’s Master of Puppets. Damn! What an album! I had a lot of fun going through this one again, and it really puts into perspective once again why so many feel that this is Metallica’s best album. I love them all, or at least qualities of each, so it’s hard to say if this truly is the best thing they ever did. While I have a personal favourite other than this one, this is really an album that I have a great time with every time it comes on. Yeah, there are some songs that aren’t the best, but you take the good and the bad and you get something truly worth coming back to time and again.
You know I have to rate this a 10. I think you’d all probably lynch me if I didn’t rate it a 10. If you din’t agree though, I’m looking forward to discussing it with you further between here and Wednesday when we have our first extra material deep dive.
I was thinking about this the other day as well. If I had one word to describe each of the albums, what would I say? Kill ‘Em All is infancy. Ride the Lightning is progression and I feel like Master of Puppets would be ascension, because this one is where they started to become more known. This one got them massively on the radar, moreso than Ride the Lightning. This album saw the band go on tour and blow Ozzy Osbourne out of the water.
It’s unfortunately also the end of an era…
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MOP was the first Metallica album I bought so the album art and overall vibe is a huge milestone in my brain.
There's a bunch of ground covered. Battery and Damage are absolute metal monsters. The title track and Orion are prog-tastic in a Maiden-y kind of way. Heroes is good too.
There are a few factors that put it behind RTL and Justice for me, though:
TTTSNB is dull (To Live Is To Die did that kind of thing much better). Sanitarium is very similar to Fade but without the emotion - lyrically a bit silly and throwaway too. Heroes and Messiah are fine but I have no real desire to hear them anymore. These feel kinda nitpicky but:
My one solid complaint is the sound. It's such a weird EQ. It somehow has never felt loud or direct to me. I like that it feels a bit polished but there's just not enough crunch or grind for me. Whilst RTL felt like it was punching me about, this feels like it's in next door's garden. Not sure how to put it.
I love James vocals are on it. He really sounds fantastic throughout. He's so listenable and but tight and aggressive at the same time. No other HEAVY vocalist ever really touched him.
The intricacy of the music was also impressive throughout. Justice was too, in a different way, but this had many more nuances. I guess this is down to the Cliff factor but I would like to see them delve into that again, but doubt they ever will.
It's a huge album in the metal catalogue. HUGE.
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I mean, what an album!
This was the third Metallica album I became obsessed with, and every song on the album (bar Leper Messiah) has been my number 1 favourite, at some point in time. It's so consistently great. Although I agree the first side is slightly better, the second side is pretty much flawless.
This album holds a particularly special place in my heart because my first live Metallica experience was Download Festival 2006, where they played MOP, in it's entirety, to mark 20 years since it's release! It's scary to think it's now almost 20 years since 2006 :|
That first live Metallica show is the single greatest live experience of my life. They played 2 songs before the stage went black and they played a short video stating they were playing MOP. I lost my shit, it was like I had an out of body experience.
When the intro to Battery started this pit slowly started to open, mainly me and my buddy opening it. When that riff kicked in I felt as though I experienced it from above, watching it happen below me. I was a man Possessed. I was truly in the moment, and when the song finished it dawned on me "oh shit, now their going to play MOP!". Each song came like that, fully in the moment, then the realisation of what was coming next. I've never felt a rush like it. Fuck, I wish I could relive that.
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This album holds a particularly special place in my heart because my first live Metallica experience was Download Festival 2006, where they played MOP, in it's entirety, to mark 20 years since it's release! It's scary to think it's now almost 20 years since 2006 :|
That first live Metallica show is the single greatest live experience of my life. They played 2 songs before the stage went black and they played a short video stating they were playing MOP. I lost my shit, it was like I had an out of body experience.
When the intro to Battery started this pit slowly started to open, mainly me and my buddy opening it. When that riff kicked in I felt as though I experienced it from above, watching it happen below me. I was a man Possessed. I was truly in the moment, and when the song finished it dawned on me "oh shit, now their going to play MOP!". Each song came like that, fully in the moment, then the realisation of what was coming next. I've never felt a rush like it. Fuck, I wish I could relive that.
Lucky bastard. You Europeans get everything cool!
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Master! Master! a metal masterpiece! Many say it's the greatest thrash album of all time or even the greatest metal album of all time. It's hard to argue with those statements, as this album lives up to the billing. It was the first Metallica album I owned. A friend's older brother gave me his older copy, and it started my journey into the world of metal.
Battery - Another great intro that shifts into a thrash masterpiece. Dat main riff :metal The version from Seattle '89 is pretty
much the greatest thing on Youtube. I hate that they skip the bridge live now, really sux!
Master of Puppets - The main riff is another of metal's greatest. The middle section is incredible leading up to Kirk's awesome
solo. Love the outro with the laughing. This song takes you on an epic journey.
The Thing That Should Not Be - The weakest track on the album for me, but I still enjoy it. Super heavy and dark. It grew on
when they started playing it again in the late '90s.
Sanitarium - Another great ballad (I prefer Fade though). Love the harmony part and how it picks up leading into Kirk's solo.
Anyone remember Mastertarium from late '90's shows? That was kinda fun.
Disposable Heroes - Another epic song here. Love the main gallop riff. I play it often on guitar to warm up my picking hand.
Kirk has another great solo here, and I love the false ending at the end.
Leper Messiah - Nice chunky, heavy riffs that lead into another awesome bridge section. James sounds so pissed off here.
Orion - My 2nd favorite Metallica instrumental. So epic, and the middle section is really beautiful.
Damage Inc - Closes the album out with a banger. The bridge riff is another favorite.
Great album from start to finish, I just happen to like AJFA just a little bit more than this one, but I'll discuss that next...
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Each of the first 4 Metallica albums became by favorite, and this one was certainly no different. Upon hearing the acoustic intro, I KNEW what to expect this time and was all ready for the great headbanging riffs. I can still remember clearly many of the reviews of this album in mags like Metal Mania, Kerrang, etc and everyone was going apeshit. 1986 may have been the greatest year every for thrash as Slayer, Megadeth, Kreator and Dark Angel all released iconic albums that year.
Disposable Heroes for me is absolutely one of Metallica's most underrated gems, it does pretty everything MoP does but also heavier and faster. Leper Messiah is killer as well, so heavy.
And the tour! Between this tour and the Justice tour the band was at their absolute raging peak, James live on stage was otherworldly with his energy and ferocity. Just amazing.
While this ranks slightly below RTL for me, it certainly deserves all the praise and accolades it gets :metal.
Disposable Heroes
Damage Inc
Battery
Master of Puppets
Leper Messiah
Orion
Sanitarium
Thingy
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Puppets is perfect. I prefer Load and RTL to it, but I cannot deny that is their most perfect statement and the songs are exceptionally composed.
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It’s okay I guess.
:biggrin:
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Puppets is perfect. I prefer Load and RTL to it, but I cannot deny that is their most perfect statement and the songs are exceptionally composed.
I thought I’d be coming through with the hot takes, but here it is starting already. Looking forward to having that discussion with you, but we’ve ten years of MetHistory to go yet.
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I'm a bit late to talking about RTL in detail, but better late then never! I was unsure which of the first two albums I prefer, but after giving it some thought, I'm gonna go with Ride the Lightning. The main reason being that I think there's more variety; the fast, in-your-face metal is still there, but every song is distinct in some way. "Fight Fire With Fire" has an acoustic intro before going into possibly the most intense track on the album, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" has a long intro and slower tempo. "Fade to Black" starts off as a ballad and has somber lyrics rather than the angry or aggressive lyrics they usually have. "The Call of Ktulu" is an instrumental track. Every song on here is very good, and much more consistent in quality than Kill 'Em All. (At this time, my favorite Metallica song is still The Four Horsemen, though.)
Song rankings:
1. Fight Fire With Fire - I love how intense this song gets after the also great acoustic guitar intro. It's all the best qualities of Kill 'Em All taken up a notch.
2. Fade to Black - This ballad is executed very well, which is particularly impressive seeing as this is the first time that the band's tried something like this (well, as far as I know, anyway). I love the melancholic tone to this song.
3. Trapped Under Ice - This one feels most reminiscent of the songs from KEA, and it ranks up with the better songs off that album. The frantic, uneasy feel of this song is great!
4. Ride the Lightning - I think the vocals are the highlight of this song. Hetfield does an excellent job of portraying the fear and anticipation the prisoner in this song is feeling, especially in the "Someone help me" parts.
5. Creeping Death - The lyrics give this song an ominous vibe. My favorite part of the song is the chorus.
6. Escape - The music isn't anything special, but I really like the lyrics.
7. The Call of Ktulu - A pretty good instrumental track. There's some pretty cool stuff here, though not all of the song has stuck in my memory.
8. For Whom the Bell Tolls - Good song, but easily my least favorite of this album. There's not really anything wrong with it, I think maybe I'm just not as into it because of the relatively slower tempo. I quite like the chorus, though!
I shall begin listening to Master Puppets soon! I remember the title track being one of my favorites from the last marathon I did, so I'm excited to see how this whole album goes.
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Ah, what the hey, let’s do the first bonus chapter early.
The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited - 1987
Tracklisting: 1. Helpless. 2. The Small Hours. 3. The Wait. 4. Crash Course in Brain Surgery. 5. Last Caress/Green Hell.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6E7Zkpk31fHefblsiMmWdH?si=9g9OZ-UzTRS38sZv9RHblA (https://open.spotify.com/album/6E7Zkpk31fHefblsiMmWdH?si=9g9OZ-UzTRS38sZv9RHblA)
September 1986, Ljungby, Sweden.
It should’ve been a day like any other. Get off the bus, soundcheck, gig, get back in the bus and go to the next stop. That night, Kirk Hammett and Cliff Burton played a friendly game of cards for their choice of bunk onboard. Winning with a draw of the ace of spades, Cliff opted to take Kirk’s top bunk. Defeated, Kirk settled for sleeping up front. In the early hours of that morning, the band awoke to the bus rocking side to side before the bus abruptly landed on it’s side. James, Lars and Kirk joined the crew outside, safely. But not everyone was accounted for. Beneath the bus lay the (at least) unconscious body of Cliff, who had been thrown out the window as the bus jerked. Help arrived on scene and a crane was called to lift the bus, but alas it slipped and the bus fell on top of Cliff’s body. Its unknown which impact did it, but one thing was grimly certain. Cliff was gone.
Cliff was cremated and his ashes were scattered at a ranch in Castro Valley, California. Fittingly, Orion was played at the service. But, what to do now for Metallica? Their future was unclear, but dates were booked and they knew they had to keep going. They were convinced that it’s what Cliff would have wanted. Across the next month, 50 different musicians were considered and auditioned, including Les Claypool, David Ellefson and Greg Christian amongst them all. Metallica were sure to include Cliff’s parents in the decision making process. And it all came down to one man, with whom they would spend their next 15 years. Enter, Jason Newsted. Jason joined the Damage, Inc. tour in November of 1986, with his first show being at the Reseda Country Club on November 8th.
With the tour raging on into 1987, Metallica were invited to play the the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donnington in England. Their record label in the UK, Vertigo, requested that the band release some new music to commemorate the occasion. While the band did seek to bring out some new material, James broke his arm during the course of the tour as a result of a skateboarding accident and couldn’t contribute much to writing. However, one demo was produced from the era that would later prove to yield results (more on that in the next episode). When James’ arm healed, there wasn’t much time left to produce a true successor to Master of Puppets, so the band resolved to record an EP of covers that they loved. Given Newted’s prior experience as a construction worker, Lars’ garage in El Cerrito was soundproofed and turned into a makeshift studio.
Though some early contenders eventually didn’t make the cut (including Parallex’s White Lightning, Signal Fire by Bow Wow and Gaskin’s I’m No Fool), five songs eventually culminated into the release of their first release with the new lineup. The $5.98 EP, subtitled Garage Days Re-Revisited as a reference to the two B-Sides of the Creeping Death single (which I may have skipped while talking about the first two albums, but are definitely going to be focal points of the Garage Inc. discussion). Following the fashion that Metallica had adopted following the rise of the PMRC, this EP shipped with a sticker on it that stated “If they try to charge you more, STEAL IT!!”
(I also neglected to mention the famous sticker from Master of Puppets which read, and I quote, “The only track you probably won't want to play is Damage, Inc. due to the multiple use of the infamous F word. Otherwise, there aren't any Shits, Fucks, Pisses, Cunts, Motherfuckers, or Cocksuckers anywhere on this record”).
Alright, I think we’ve spent enough time talking about the history of this one and all the things I forgot on the last few, let’s get going.
This EP is full of studio outtakes as well as the actual songs, which I really love. The first track actually opens with James humming a bit of a tune and Lars bellowing something or other in the background, before the studio hum cuts out and we’re introduced to our first drum groove of the EP. This is Helpless, another great display of Metallica showing off their Diamond Head fandom. The original was released on Diamond Head’s 1980 album, Lightning to the Nations. This song fits in well with lyrics like Hit the Lights and Whiplash about giving it your all on stage. I love the tone that Metallica have on this song, compared to the original. I think it’s pretty cool how Jason gets a bit of a spotlight on his first track with the band (even if that is because it was in the original track). The filter effect that he uses sounds great too. The “bridge” section is played petty differently to the original, but I think I prefer what Metallica did with it. Kirk’s solo is great and then we get a really cool fade-out. And then we get another outtake with Lars deciding when to stop recording. Helpless has seen a lot of live performances over the years, but it’s pretty rare to find a version that doesn’t cut straight from the second chorus into the solo. I believe it may have only been done in full when members of Diamond Head have joined the band on stage for the song.
Up next, the “scary” song. The Small Hours, originally released by Holocaust on their Hot Curry and Wine album back in 1983. Here’s the weird thing, I went back to listen to the Holocaust version, and I can actually kinda hear James Hetfield from the Kill ‘Em All era mixed with Lars’ voice a little bit. It’s actually really uncanny. So, what do Metallica do differently? Well, their version is a bit heavier with the Metallica tone, but there are a few whammy bar tricks and lead breaks taken out. I think Metallica’s version might be slightly faster in the verses, but it’s way thrasher in the solo section, which I like. Kirk’s solo is definitely better than the original, but I keep complimenting Kirk in this era so, not really a surprise? I feel like everything is a lot more defined in the Metallica version, but that’s probably a lot to do with the change of studio vs live. This is one I actually really like, but it sure doesn’t see a lot of play.
The third song, The Wait, was originally penned by Killing Joke for their self-titled album in 1980. Killing Joke’s version definitely feels a whole smoother than Metallica’s does, with the intro being played on a keyboard. The thing is, the Killing Joke version feels very English Punk with a little bit of pop from the synthesisers, where Metallica’s version takes the source material and makes it into a proper Metallica song. There are so many great moments that Metallica added into their version, like the pre-solo melody and the solos, that really change this song up for the better. I have to hand it to James for taking the original staccato vocal and trying to create a melody out of it. I also really like the effect of James’ vocals. I think Jason sticks out a bit on this one at times and I like what he’s doing. Ditto to Lars, there are a few moments of some really cool drumming here, especially in the choruses. Sometimes, a cover is much stronger and this one is no exception. This one does get around a little more since Robert Trujillo joined the band and actually made it to the main set of the Mexico City shows that we’ll talk about before too long.
Up next is the oldest song in our collection for this evening, Crash Course in Brain Surgery by Budgie. Yeah, look, this one is rough as hell. The one good change that Metallica made was giving Jason the intro. There’s some weird shit of them sounding like they’re absolutely drunk between some stabs. They’ve tuned this one down from the original and slowed it down which makes it just sound a tad darker than the feel I get from the original. Since I really don’t have much to say about this one coz I think it’s pretty easily the worst song on the EP, I used to think the last line of the first verse “knife of words is driving me insane” was “Tiger Woods is driving me insane” for the longest time. I was fairly young when I first heard the song though. Well, this is my least favourite of the EP by far, but I look forward to seeing how I feel about it on Garage Inc. when we get there. This song was played once ever when the EP was released and then never saw the light of day again in a Metallica setlist.
Closing us out is actually a medley of two Misfits songs, Last Caress and Green Hell from the Beware EP. Well, I got something to say. Metallica’s version feels like it’s pretty much just a faster version of the original. I think Metallica’s version is actually a hair closer to being in tune. Last Caress became a pretty big deal for Metallica throughout the late 80s and 90s, but has been a bit less played since the Madly In Anger tour ended. Green Hell, on the other hand, has only been played 11 times total since the EP came out. This one was held back for almost two years after the fact. Since it’s appeared on multiple DVDs, we can talk about Last Caress a bit more later as we get there. As for this version, we get a fairly out of tune version of Run to the Hills, done just as a bit of a gag. It’s kinda fun but also super grating on the ear.
And that’s Garage Days Re-Revisited. I’m not gonna rate it, as it feels like that would be a little unfair. It’s pretty solid, but it’s also not all that impressive. It’s got really rough edges, but it was never meant to be as polished as a true follow up to Master of Puppets should’ve been. I like what’s on offer though and this can be fun to go back to.
This EP helped to bridge the gap between the Cliff era and all that was about to be unleashed. But, we’ll talk about that on Friday. Conveniently, their last album of the 80s will also be our last album of 2022. See ya then!
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By the way, I hope you all had a great Christmas! I actually received the Master of Puppets Tour Pop Vinyl set which I really love. Hope you all got some cool stuff if you observe it.
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Nice review.
I love this EP (and Crash Course is one of my favourites - The Wait is my only skipper).
As my love for Metallica cooled over the following decades, this EP revealed a side to them that I adore still - an incredible covers band! I wasn't aware of the b sides to the singles up to this point and it blew my mind when I started listening to them too.
Funny to me is how/why a huge band can be a great covers band. Maiden, in contrast, are really NOT a great covers band, afaic.
I'd be delighted to get another EP of covers from The Metallicats.
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Master of Puppets is probably my second favorite behind Justice. Those two flip-flop often, but it's one of their best records from start to finish. I have vivid memories of getting this record when I was 13 - I'd bring my little boombox CD player outside, plug it in on the front doorstep and BLAST the album while we played basketball at the end of the driveway, treating the neighbors to copies amounts of FUCK IT ALL AND FUCKING NO REGRETS! DON'T FUCK WITH RAZORBACK!
Garage Days is a great set of songs, but I was never able to find the original EP in the early 90's. There were a bunch of bootlegs, with bonus tracks of black album demos and those era's cover songs, but the prices were way too high for my broke, teenage self. I did buy a compilation called The Complete Garage Days, which had all of their cover songs from KEA-TBA, plus the Motorhead live sets (basically disc 2 of Garage Inc, well before that was ever released). Before I found that, I would sit up late at night and listen to the local radio station's Mandatory Metallica sets. If they played a cover song that I didn't have, I'd jump up and record the song from the radio onto a cassette tape, so I could at least have a copy. Metallica was my favorite band during those years and I tried to collect as much as I could with a limited budget.
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Master of Puppets is probably my second favorite behind Justice. Those two flip-flop often, but it's one of their best records from start to finish. I have vivid memories of getting this record when I was 13 - I'd bring my little boombox CD player outside, plug it in on the front doorstep and BLAST the album while we played basketball at the end of the driveway, treating the neighbors to copies amounts of FUCK IT ALL AND FUCKING NO REGRETS! DON'T FUCK WITH RAZORBACK!
Garage Days is a great set of songs, but I was never able to find the original EP in the early 90's.
These are the stories I share these writeups to receive!
Also, this EP was out of print between 89 and 2018, so that’s why you could never find it.
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The whole EP is great. I only ever heard the songs as part of the Garage Inc album, but regardless, some of my favourite Metallica songs.
I remember picking up Garage Inc (on fucking cassette!) at a car boot sale, in early 2004. I was skint back then and my minidisc player had broken, so I had a cheap Walkman for on the move listening. I basically put all my Metallica albums on cassette, as it was mainly what I was listening to at this time!
I think I've said before, but I went on holiday to Scotland with an ex girlfriend and her family, in early 2004. All I listened to for that whole week was Garage Inc, and I just fell I love with the whole album. For me it was the first time I'd ever heard of bands like Diamond Head, Misfits, Killing Joke, Mercyful Fate etc. Metallica really owned all these covers, and I can't think of a single one where I prefer the original (OK, maybe Last Caress).
I'll talk about the rest ofthe Garage Inc songs when we get to them, but as for these 5, I'd rank as follows...
1. Helpless
2. The Wait
3. Last Caress/Green Hell
4. The Small Hours
5. Crash Course in Brain Surgery
These songs have been played equally, if not more than some of their studio tracks, and for good reason. They feel different, like how creepy is The Small Hours, whilst still being Metallica.
Helpless starts off strong, and what better band to cover than one of their biggest influences.
The Small Hours is creepy, brooding and had such a different sounding chorus, it's just fucking cool. I love how it picks up at the 4 minute mark and goes in a different direction again.
Saddened to see less love for The Wait. I think the main riff in this is amazing and they do a great job of making this their own. The effects on James' vocals are great, just all around perfection. Anyone remember this being on the School of Rock soundtrack?
Crash Course is probably the only song I listened to less. It's good but definitely not on the same level as the others.
Lastly the Misfits cover. I'm pretty sure Metallica helped relaunch interest in the band and definitely helped them gain even greater notoriety (as plenty of other bands they covered). Without these covers it would've taken me way longer to check out these bands. It's a cool cover for sure, and a good choice to combine two songs together.
I think this helps showcase how incredible Metallica were at picking cover songs, and making them sound even better. Also, how ironic is it that Jason's bass is so audible on this EP.
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Edit - double post
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Love each of these covers, and Metallica definitely make them their own (drunken bellowing in place of the "ooh baby" on Crash Course). I love the loose feel of the production as well, and it just adds to what makes this a fun EP.
I found the original vinyl in a dollar bin in the late 90's at a Flea Market. What a find!
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…And Justice For All - 1988
Tracklisting: 1. Blackened. 2. …And Justice For All. 3. Eye of the Beholder. 4. One. 5. The Shortest Straw. 6. Harvester of Sorrow. 7. The Frayed Ends of Sanity. 8. To Live Is To Die. 9. Dyers Eve.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6jZ1z25PyF4Yd3kHxt9rl1?si=qhuDB44sS0yHHNKo_4jfJA (https://open.spotify.com/album/6jZ1z25PyF4Yd3kHxt9rl1?si=qhuDB44sS0yHHNKo_4jfJA)
…And so, Metallica went back on the road with the European leg of the Monsters of Rock festival, which lasted until the end of August of 1987. From there, the band finally found time to take a short break. In all the chaos that had been the last few years, they had sure earned one. Metallica changed record label onto Phonogram Records, now managed by Peter Mensch, for a tidy £1,000,000.
In January of 1988, Metallica found themselves at One on One Studios in LA with a producer named Mike Clink. They had wanted to use Fleming Rasmussen again, but he had proven unavailable for their planned start date of January 1st. Clink had attracted Metallica’s attention through producing Appetite For Destruction the previous year. However, plans quickly deteriorated. Rasmussen became available 3 weeks into the project, and of course Metallica wanted him after his success on Ride and Master. Rasmussen listened to Clink’s rough mixes on his flight to Los Angeles and when he arrived at the studio, Clink was promptly fired. Clink is credited with engineering drums on Harvester of Sorrow and The Shortest Straw, as well as production on the two cover songs that would be released as B-Sides on the singles from this era.
The band recorded the songs in a live room, recording each instrument separately. Each song was made up of three reels of tape; one for drums, one for bass and guitars and one for any additional tracks, including the vocals. James wrote his parts during the recording sessions, with a few lyrics being unfinished as vocal tracking started. Speaking of the vocals, James opted to go with less of a singing approach and more “yelling in tune”, wanting to have a “hard vibe”. Jason, on the other hand, recorded alone with only the assistant producer present. He felt that the process with Metallica was odd. Of course, we all know how that one turned out.
Getting the elephant out of the room, the mix on Justice is very sterile. As the mix wasn’t under Rasmussen’s control, but rather given to Steve Thompson and Steve Barbiero, the usual Metallica production wasn’t there. Instead, the drum tracks only used the close mics without any room mics, leading to a very “clicky” sound. Then, of course, there’s the bass… or I guess, there ISN’T the bass. At the request of Hetfield and Ulrich, the bass was practically muted. Upon hearing the initial mixes of the album, Thompson and Barbiero were told “take the mix down to where you can barely hear it anymore, and then drop it another 3 dB”. Very few people have ever heard Jason’s recorded basslines from the album, though Rasmussen has gine on record as saying that they were incredible.
With recording bing finished in May 1st, 1988, Metallica went on tour once more with the Monsters of Rock tour of 1988, which took place between May 27th and July 30th. The tour featured one new song, Harvester of Sorrow. It was released as the first single from the album in August 28th, roughly a week before the album was officially released on September 7th.
So, we know that it sounds a bit wonky production wise, but how does …And Justice For All itself sound? Let’s go through it.
Starting on one of the cooler tricks in the production here, Blackened opens with a reversed guitar harmony before laying it on thick with the aggression. You can hear the original here if you’re interested ( https://youtu.be/YJ1vCidA53c (https://youtu.be/YJ1vCidA53c) ). The main riff here is exceptional, one of my favourite mains from the album actually. Blackened is a song expressing the concerns about the state of the environment. It’s heavy as hell and almost reads as a lyric of nuclear war, it really could be taken either way. This follows in the footsteps of many of the songs from Master of Puppets where the bridge is one of the best sections of the song. The single word and echo really hits hard! After the bridge, we get a great melody that builds into a harmony that builds into the start of the solo, it’s actually a really great evolving section. The solo is great, I love how we get a full reset back into the main body of the song. I also really like the way that the main riff gets changed in it’s timing right before the final verse. I can’t tell if it’s James and Kirk changing it up or if it’s Lars’ drumming that changes, but it’s really cool all the same. The ending of the song is a little bit abrupt though. All up, this is an amazing song. I just don’t know if it’s this or Battery that I find to be the more perfect album opener. And it certainly deserved to be the start of Jason’s first album with the band. This was his first (of three total, but we’ll get there) songwriting credits with the band and was actually the song that was written for what would turn into Garage Days Re-Revisited (told you it’d come up later!)
…And Justice For All has to be my favourite intro on the album. Starting so peaceful and tranquil, then building into the aggression, but with moments of harmony within? It’s HUGE! However, straight off the bat, we gotta talk about the fact that this one seems to be a bit clipped in the production stages. You can really hear it throughout various stages of the whole song and it’s rather overpowering. The lyrics here are about political corruption and money basically turning the tides of justice legally. It’s also a song that, while being close to ten minutes long, paces itself very well and doesn’t drag too much anywhere. While I’m not a huge fan of the proper solo section on this one, I love the melodic lead just before it and the re-intro that forms the bridge of the song is such a cool section. It feels like they took one of my favourite tricks from Battery and really expanded upon it here. The song ends up with a great playoff out of the final chorus, I especially like the way the last line of the chorus is reincorporated as part of the outro, just to drive the point home. If it wasn’t for the production errors, I feel like this would be one of my absolute favourites in the Metallica catalog. These days though, I find it hard to really go back and listen to the album version when there are a handful of great live performances I can turn to instead.
The next song is one that Lars absolutely hates, Eye of the Beholder. Despite that, it was actually released as the second single at the end of October 1988. We open on an extended fade-in, before that rhythm evolves into our main riff. The lyrics here are about freedom of speech and civil liberties seeming to be snuffed out a little at the time. It seems rather poignant with the major events in America in the last few years. The problem is, apart from the chorus with it’s freedom breakups, this song is actually a little bit of a filler track to me. It’s certainly not the strongest thing here, it’s probably the weakest actually. I like the play around with the main riff that starts the instrumental section, but even then it’s a bit of a hit and a miss. The harmony is cool though.
What failings Eye of the Beholder had are soon swept under the rug though. As had become tradition over the last few albums and wouldn’t be ending anytime soon (actually, I think there’s only been 3 albums to date that have broken this tradition to date), the 4th track is our ballad for the album. This one starts a little differently though, with the sounds of machine gun fire and explosions before the guitars start up. A brief introduction to one of two main riffs leads into a lead break, then evolves to get the drums in there before a beautiful harmony leads into the first verse. This is One, one of the most important songs in Metallica’s arsenal. This is the first song they ever did a music video for, which again led to the feeling that Metallica were starting to become sell outs. Still, this song is an anthem for all the right reasons. This song really is everything they were up to this point personified in one song. The lyrics are heavily based around the book “Johnny Got His Gun” by Dalton Trumbo, in which a young American soldier is hit by an artillery shell in the First World War and subsequently winds up in hospital as a quadruple amputee, but also missing his ears, eyes, mouth and nose. He’s conscious through it all as well, so he continuously prays for death. The music video contains many clips from the film, which meant that Metallica had to keep paying licensing and royalty fees. In the end, they straight up bought the rights to the film and now DVD copies of the movie actually have the One music video as a bonus feature. I read somewhere that the back half of the song, where it goes totally heavy, is based on the cycling rate of an AK-47. It’s such a killer song and if you don’t know it, you’ve been doing Metallica wrong. Kirk and Lars are at their best here, for sure. One was released as the third and final single from Justice in January of 89 and remains one of Metallica’s most played songs live to this day.
The current standings for top 5 most played Metallica songs live (since we’ve now covered them all) are Master of Puppets at 1722, Creeping Death at 1601, Seek and Destroy at 1575, For Whom The Bell Tolls at 1571 and One at 1566. I wonder how those standings will look after the M72 tour…
Anyway, back to …And Justice For All. Up next is The Shortest Straw. This is a really cool song all about blacklisting and discrimination. This is actually the song that Lars used in his anecdote about how the songwriting went for this album. “These were our ‘CNN years’. I’d read something about blacklisting, we’d get a title, ‘The Shortest Straw’, and a song would come out of that”. And what a song it was. This song has another great intro, but it’s the main riff that I really love on this one. There’s a lot going on and it all makes for a pretty great song. I love James’ vocal line, I love the use of double bass to bring out the end of the verse. And then we get that transition into the chorus! Man, that’s a great hook. I also really love the duelling lines that almost act as a secondary chorus of their own. The build into the first solo is another fantastic instrumental section. The thing is, it feels like they weren’t all that big on bridges on this album, where Master of Puppets had been dominated by amazing ones. Here, we just get that “pulled for you” section between the two solos.
This song is one that didn’t get played live all that often, though it did get included in the list for Guitar Hero: Metallica. During the motion capture, Lars had to relearn the intro and it’s odd timings again which led to this iconic video. Watch it for the laughs, man. ( https://youtu.be/SCJajVY_ucI (https://youtu.be/SCJajVY_ucI) )
Up next, our first single. Harvester of Sorrow is the second shortest song on the album but also the slowest in tempo. Nonetheless though, it’s a great song. The main riff is super heavy, the subject matter of a man who suffered childhood abuse and ends up falling into madness and killing his own family. It’s exceptionally dark and I feel that a faster pace would not have done this song it’s due justice (pun intended!). It’s also a really well paced song, with our intro serving to really set up the main riff perfectly well. This was the first song off of the album I caught live and I’ve actually seen it twice. The instrumental section following the solo was an absolute blast to see. I like the solo on this one, though it seems Kirk has never actually played it straight live. Harvester is another one of my lower ranked songs for the album, but all up, it’s pretty decent. It’s a song that I think benefits from being performed live, which we’ll talk about a few times next year.
And now we reach the trilogy of deep cuts. Starting it off, The Frayed Ends of Sanity. This song is pretty straight up about paranoia and schizophrenia. The lyrics here do hold an interesting piece though, as it references two future songs, The Struggle Within from the Black Album and “this nameless feeling” which isn’t too far removed from The Unnamed Feeling from St. Anger. This one is notorious for being the song Metallica held off from playing live for the longest time. James said it was “because he’d get bored playing it” but let’s be honest, these riffs are absolute bangers. There’s a lot of different changes and odd structures to the instrumental section here. This song is really dominated by the riffs more than the lyrics. And I think that’s for a good reason, as the instrumental section really is shown off as the true star of the show here. Of course, we can’t overlook the “all we own, we owe” chant that was teased for many years over many shows. It’s actually a really great song. Maybe a little overhyped when it was finally played live, but it’s a great song. A shout out to all the ticket holders for Helsinki on the Metallica By Request tour in 2014 for finally getting this one over the line and into the set.
Up next is another nearly ten minute song and the final entry in a trilogy of epic instrumentals over the first four albums, To Live Is To Die. Opening with a beautiful classical guitar intro before the heavy riffing kicks in feels symbolic of living the dream before the harsh reality kicks in. This song is a tribute to Cliff Burton, who is credited as one of the songwriters here. Some of the riffs here are taken from jams they had with Mustaine in the band and the middle section, the heartbreaker that it is, was reportedly based on a riff that was included in Cliff’s final bass solo. I love the sound of the melodic breakdown here. The effects make it sound like it could be included in a news reel and ending it off with that amazing solo by James (my second favourite solo in the entire album) is powerful stuff.
Though this song is classed an instrumental, there is a spoken word passage. “When a man lies, he murders some part of the world. These are the pale deaths which men miscall their lives. All this, I cannot bear to witness any longer. Cannot the kingdom of salvation take me home?” The first line can be found in the movie Excalibur, the second can be found in the book Lord Foul’s Bane, but the second half was written entirely by Cliff.
To Live is to Die ends on the acoustic piece once more, though it is abruptly cut off as Dyers Eve begins, once again showing off the harsh reality of Cliff’s life being brought to an abrupt end. We are now into the final and shortest track of the album though, one that screams aggression from the moment it starts. This is lyrically a rant from James to his parents, who were Christian Scientists by faith and chose to “protect” their son from the outside world, which kinda just broke his world when he was finally out on his own, not at all helped by his father leaving and his mother dying at a young age. This song is pretty much the pinnacle of thrash for Metallica though. The verses are absolutely soaked in double bass and the downpicking patterns that James and Kirk are putting out at this tempo are pretty much the direct cause of RSI for many guitarists. This song has my absolute favourite solo from …And Justice For All, once again employing the use of repeated motifs that I loved so much about the solo from Disposable Heroes. This is all about aggression and you can feel the unkempt anger in James’ words all throughout.
And that’s …And Justice For All. It’s easily deserving of a place in the upper echelons of any Metallica fans album rankings. Despite all the production errors that didn’t give Jason the chance to make a proper impact on his debut album and kinda overpowered the song in spots, this is nothing shy of fantastic. There are a lot of progressive elements here and a ton of really long songs that you can feel are lashing the limits of the groundwork that their first three albums had given them, I think this is very much the upper limits of what they could do with this particular style. I give it a 9, because even with all of these issues, it’s hard to hold back on how great it truly is.
Metallica supported …And Justice For All with a huge tour that lasted from September 11th 1988 until October 8th 1989. This included their first visit to Australia, where they were one of the very first major headlining bands to ever reach Adelaide. It was their first all headlining tour ever.
Infancy, Progression, Ascension, Domination.
And that’s it for the 80s, much as this is the last writeup for 2022. I’ll see you all next week for Metallica’s big entry into the 1990’s.
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I love Justice. It's always been my favorite album of theirs - so angry and aggressive, with amazing riffs throughout the entire record. I recall buying a bootleg live show simply because it had them playing Eye of the Beholder (and Leper Messiah) and I wanted live versions of the songs.
Blackened remains my all-time favorite Metallica song, and I got to see them play it in 2000 on the Y2K Millenium mini-tour that they did. I remember going apeshit when the intro started. Sadly, this was around the time where they took the little bridge section out of Battery and Blackened after the solos when they would play the songs live. I love those parts, where they come out of the solo and jam on the main riff a couple of times, but at least I got to see them play my favorite song live.
The Seattle 89 shows will always be the pinnacle of Metallica, showing the ferocity of their live playing. I still hear Harvester of Sorrow on rock radio more often than One, which works for me!
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Ah... AJFA, my favorite Metallica album! Yes the production is weird, but it works for the album. It would be nice to have a little of Jason's bass though. From start to finish this is an amazing album, and there is nothing here I don't like.
Blackened - Another awesome intro that goes into one of the all-time riffs! :metal Love the lyrics. The bridge section leading
into the harmony part is so good. It's my favorite Metallica song too!
AJFA - Another solid title track. Love how the intro theme is repeated in the middle and how Lars builds the pace up on it.
Eye of the Beholder - I would love to hear this live again. I was surprised they didn't play it at the 30th anniversary shows.
I like the weird timing parts of this song, and Kirk has a really nice solo here.
One - The song that put them in the mainstream. The dark video is really cool. Obviously, the 2nd half of the song is
incredible. The machine gun kicks section, Kirk's memorable solo, and the harmony part all slay.
Shortest Straw - Killer main riff on this one. Probably Kirk's craziest solo. My 2nd favorite song on the album.
Harvester of Sorrow - A fat, heavy, and groovy tune. Probably my least favorite song on an album full of incredible songs, so it
is still awesome. Love the part were James barks "Infanticide"!
Frayed Ends of Sanity - Another killer main riff. The whole instrumental section after the 2nd chorus is sublime, including
Kirk's solo.
To Live Is to Die - My favorite of their instrumentals. Loads of great riffs, and the middle section is incredible! Mikael from
Opeth said if wasn't for the clean part, Opeth would not be around.
Dyers' Eve - What a way to end the album with this thrasher! James spits venom on this one. Incredible riffs!
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Excellent album. I remember it came out on double vinyl as it was long album. Two discs in one slightly-wider-than-normal sleeve.
I have to say, I was amazed that they didn't add a "Now! With audible bass guitar!" mix when they re-released it. Amazed.
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It’s probably safe to say the follow-up to Master of Puppets was one of the most highly anticipated metal albums of all time. Again, quickly became my favorite at the time. I LOVE the sharp snap of the snare. IMO this album is #1 for drumming, riffs, solos, and lyrics in their catalog, but some songs drag too much. Dyer’s Eve is among their most underrated songs. This era was the peak of my fandom. Still remember how excited I was getting the cassette, but not liking the 2D logo.
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How have I not contributed to this thread yet.
Kill Em All is probably the album whose release I wish I could have been around for and plugged into the metal scene at the time for the most. I like it plenty now, but I can only imagine what it was like to drop the needle and hear Hit the Lights (one of my favorites). Four Horsemen and Seek and Destroy are iconic for a reason, though I prefer the former of the two. Anesthesia is so cool just for being on the record in the first place, and Cliff is obviously a monster player. Whiplash and Metal Militia are also highlights for me.
Ride the Lightning is an album that for a long time said I preferred to Master of Puppets, though I'm not sure I'd still say that today. It basically set the template for the classic three album run that it started. I don't understand why Fight Fire With Fire seems to be held in noticeably less esteem than Battery and Blackened, that song fucking rules :metal. Fade to Black might be my favorite Metallica song. So powerful with that lyric-less chorus, and Kirk's last solo gives me goosebumps every time. Creeping Death is the signature Metallica live song as far as I'm concerned, the Die chant with a stadium full of people is just crazy. Ktulu is probably my least favorite of the three instrumentals from the early era, but that's more to do with the quality of what was still to come than any issue with Ktulu.
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I'll try to post a little more tomorrow, but I love Justice. Its probably a little less consistent than the previous two albums, but it is also Metallica at their most progressive and technical (especially Lars). I love to try and follow his drum patterns on this album. James also just sounds so pissed, and I love it.
Justice took longer to click than any Metallica album I'd heard up until this point. Initially I basically liked Blackened and One. I kind of always had a soft spot for Harvester as well, as it's one of my brothers all time favourite Metallica songs.
As the years pass though I find it's the Metallica studio album that I revist most. I pretty much love every song but the main highlights are the one-two punch of Blackened and the title track, Harvester, Shortest Straw and To Live is to Die. The rest of the songs are no slouches, but those specific songs resonate. I've over done it with One over the years, so the shine has come off it a bit.
The two epics are probably my most played Metallica songs over the last two years, they really are phenomenonal.
I personally never had too much of an issue with the production.
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Justice is probably my favorite record of theirs and the production, while not good, has never detracted from my enjoyment.
And Dyers Eve is my favorite Metallica song. Wish Lars would at least try to play it right when they played it live but such is life I guess.
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I like production on it. Sounds like no other album and is heavy AF. Best sounding Metallica album along with RTL, imo.
Given that one of the four is basically missing from the recording, though, I'd be fascinated to hear a quality version with Jason on it.
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Justice is probably my favorite record of theirs and the production, while not good, has never detracted from my enjoyment.
And Dyers Eve is my favorite Metallica song. Wish Lars would at least try to play it right when they played it live but such is life I guess.
I’m afraid it’s not super possible physically. There’s a lot of tricks that went into making that song what it is
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Justice is probably my favorite record of theirs and the production, while not good, has never detracted from my enjoyment.
And Dyers Eve is my favorite Metallica song. Wish Lars would at least try to play it right when they played it live but such is life I guess.
I’m afraid it’s not super possible physically. There’s a lot of tricks that went into making that song what it is
Lars ‘89 could definitely have played Dyers Eve live pretty close to the studio version. It’s fast but honestly not terribly difficult to a drummer who’s been playing stuff like Battery live.
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Oh I know how much work went into the editing.
But still. Either at least try to play it right or just don’t.
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Either at least try to play it right or just don’t.
Probably why it hasn’t shown up since Melbourne on November 20th, 2010. It’s actually the second least recently played track after Eye of the Beholder. To Live is to Die and Frayed have actually been played more recently than it has.
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Just listening to Justice for the purpose of thos thread and think I might go ahead and order it on vinyl.
It's not my all time favourite Metallica album but it's the one I just want to keep revisiting over the past few years. I think a huge part is the fact that Lars' drumming is just at it's most interesting, of any of their releases.
It makes my mind wander to a reality where Cliff didn't die and they continued to play more technical metal. I know that sort of thing has been discusses to death but thinking about the fact Metallica (my all time favourite metal band) could have made even BETTER music is enough to make fantasy run away with me.
But yea, Justice is fucking incredible.
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Either at least try to play it right or just don’t.
Probably why it hasn’t shown up since Melbourne on November 20th, 2010. It’s actually the second least recently played track after Eye of the Beholder. To Live is to Die and Frayed have actually been played more recently than it has.
I think I have a knack for picking favorite songs that don't translate well live. Dyer's Eve and Fixxxer are my favorite Metallica songs and neither can be played live for various unfortunate reasons. And my fav PoS song, Idioglossia is also a song that just doesn't work well live.
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Christmas-related stuff has distracted me from my writeup on Master of Puppets, so here we go now:
When I first started listening to this album, I thought that it'd be my least favorite of the first three albums. Now it is my favorite Metallica album. Pretty fascinating what just a few listens of an album can do, huh? Something I find interesting about this album is that it uses almost the exact same structure as Ride the Lightning, yet it remains distinct. They took the formula that made RTL work and polished it to a high shine, while adding pieces of new and creative parts here and there. This album will probably end up being one that I always come back to without ever really getting old. In fact, I've only just gotten to AJFA a couple days ago because I've listened to this album so much (and speaking of that, there are at least two or three full listens of MoP unaccounted for on my Last.fm profile, I've listened to this one a lot over the past week or so).
Song rankings:
1. Disposable Heroes - Every part of this song is awesome. "Back to the front!" has been stuck in my head for days, I keep finding myself singing it. This may very well be the song to dethrone The Four Horsemen as my favorite Metallica song... and the same can be said about the next song on my list.
2. Master of Puppets - This is almost tied with Disposable Heroes. This song has some of the most memorable parts of Metallica's discography up to this point. The pre-chorus is amazing, possibly up there with some of the best that I've ever heard. The guitar solo is quite good, and Hetfield's singing is suitably menacing and energetic.
3. Leper Messiah - I'm surprised this song ranks low on a lot of people's lists for this album (from what I've seen, at least). I think this song rocks! My favorite part is probably the last chorus, the drums get very intense!
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) - I think Fade to Black feels more melancholic and emotional, but in every other way I would say Sanitarium is superior to that song. I hope I'm not being too boring by mentioning the chorus as the highlight again, but these guys know to make a really good chorus!
5. The Thing That Should Not Be - I really like the ominous mood this song has. It's one of quite a few Metallica songs where Hetfield's vocals fit so well with the music and lyrics. I also like the slow build-up to each chorus, which then further builds to "In madness you dwell!".
6. Battery - An exciting opener in the vein of Fight Fire With Fire. The intro is really good, and the whole vocal performance is memorable.
7. Damage, Inc. - Not much to say about this song. The intro could maybe be a little more interesting, but other than that, it's a solid heavy track to end off the album.
8. Orion - This is a nice instrumental, but other than the quiet bass section in the middle, nothing particularly stands out to me. Still good, though! As an instrumental track, I'd rank it above The Call of Ktulu.
Currently on AJFA now (I've gotten in around 5 listens thus far), and my early impressions are that Blackened > AJFA > EotB > One is one of the best four-song runs I've heard in a while. And the rest is pretty good, too!
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re: Justice
GREAT write up on that record. It is my favorite Metallica album, without question. I am sure, had Jason's basslines been added, it would have been even better. I have the box set, and I listen to the rough mix pretty regularly to just hear it a little, but I know that despite James saying the Jason just doubled his guitar lines -- there is more there. There's no way Jason Newstead would have simply played what James did. Intimidated or not, he was there to pound. We'll never know, but it doesn't hinder my enjoyment of the record. It never has. I love the album just the way it is.
I wish my parents would have let me see the tour. I was just barely a teenager, and we had no money, so it likely wouldn't have happened, but having Queensryche on Mindcrime opening for Metallica on Justice would have been the pinnacle for me. And "One" was just so...impactful on MTV. What a wise move to do a video for that song. Edgy, thought provoking...evil. Perfect.
For me, Justice is the last great Metallica record. I feel like they achieved a "prog-thrash" genre with this album. Going as fast and complicated as they could. And to me, it's pure bliss. I totally understand them not really knowing where else to go after this. The record is just iconic. I know folks love Master and Lightning, but to me, pinnacle Metallica is ...And Justice for All.
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Master of Puppets- Maybe the most important album in the history of heavy metal. Metallica took what they did on Ride the Lightning and refined it further, and the result is a murderer's row of metal classics. Battery is a bone-crushing opener, and it's followed by maybe the quintessential Metallica song in the title track. Thing is easily the low spot on the album for me (and I'd take every song on RtL over it too), but Sanitarium is another iconic track. It's telling that two songs as strong as Leper Messiah and Disposable Heroes are reduced to deep cut status. Orion is Cliff at his finest
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Metallica (The Black Album) - 1991
Tracklisting: 1. Enter Sandman. 2. Sad But True. 3. Holier Than Thou. 4. The Unforgiven. 5. Wherever I May Roam. 6. Don’t Tread On Me. 7. Through the Never. 8. Nothing Else Matters. 9. Of Wolf and Man. 10. The God That Failed. 11. My Friend of Misery. 12. The Struggle Within.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3dck2tBxGfxj9m3CguDgjb?si=mzbyN5ekTuSJQ565u7gTsw (https://open.spotify.com/album/3dck2tBxGfxj9m3CguDgjb?si=mzbyN5ekTuSJQ565u7gTsw)
The Damaged Justice Tour saw Metallica out on the road from September 1988 until October 1989. It was the band’s most successful at the time and boasted an awesome setlist which could easily be described as the best of for the 80s. While we can get into their legendary performance in Seattle a bit more next week in our second bonus content round, it’s safe to say that this was something Metallica could truly be proud of. It was no secret that they were becoming a force to be reckoned with live and this just cemented it further.
During the process of making their fifth album, Metallica’s management contacted Bob Rock to mix the album. He had become notable for producing Motley Crüe’s Dr. Feelgood album amongst some other huge records, but had also been in attendance for Metallica’s show in Vancouver on the Justice cycle. He accepted the job but stated “I don’t just want to mix it, I want to produce it”. In his first meeting with the band, he laid it all out on the line. “I’ve seen you play live, I’ve listened to all the records, and I don’t feel like you’ve really captured what you do live in a record yet”. This piqued Metallica’s interest, especially to James and Lars who had always been the captains at the helm, deciding where and how everything should go. This time, they felt they had a fifth member who was there to get the best out of them.
So, they got together and somewhere between October of 1990 and June of 1991, Metallica and Bob Rock made history. Many changes were implemented from how …And Justice For All was done. For one, the plan was to write a much more straight-forward and cohesive album as a response to the progressive overload. Jason’s bass was something that was hugely readdressed after it’s notable absence. They were no longer recording separately either, with a lot of the bed tracks for the album being recorded live.
Demos of the songs were completed in September of 1990. Enter Sandman would be the first song written, but the last to receive lyrics. Bob Rock had expected this to be an easy production, but instead it was a nightmare for the band and him alike. Bob often changed the schedules and routines, to the point that Metallica swore never to work with him again after this production was over, which is definitely not how it ended up but again we’ll get there. Kirk, Lars and Jason all also went through divorces at the time, which Kirk feels influenced their performance as they “tried to take the feelings of guilt and failure and channel them into the music to get something positive out of them”.
The album was recorded at One on One Studios in LA, though a week of overdub work also happened at Little Mountain Studios in Vancouver. It was re-mixed 3 times and cost over a million dollars.
Five singles were released from the album between July 1991 and February of 1993. Enter Metallica, more commonly referred to as The Black Album. The album sold 650,000 copies in it’s release weekend and was certified platinum within a few weeks. The Black Album topped the charts in Australia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Germany and New Zealand. It also reached numbers four and five in Finland and Austria. By 1997, the album had been certified diamond. The Australian Recording Industry Awards shows the album has been certified platinum 11 times and the American records show that 15,776,000 copies have been sold to date. Even more recently, Sandman has cracked 1,000,000,000+ streams.
So, the music behind that amazing black cover, is it worth all these accolades? Take my hand, we’re off to Black Album land.
We open with Metallica’s most overplayed song of all time, Enter Sandman. It’s weird, I am so over this song but every time I listen to it, I still have a great time. I think this works well as the start of the album as it still offers a great build into the main riff as we’ve had on previous albums, though it also shows off the more simple approach that this album will be taking throughout it’s runtime. The lyrics deal with nightmares, though original ideas for the lyrics featured crib death and a dysfunctional family. I think this song displays some of the best guitar tones in Metallica’s entire catalog especially in that main distorted tone. Mixed in with massive drums and great bass, straight off the bat this sounds like one of the best produced albums they’d done to date. I wish Kirk would put those little fills from the ending back in though, those lines sound great.
Up next is Sad But True, our first downtuned song since The Thing That Should Not Be. This song is really heavy, even if it’s easy to feel like it’s not quite as metal as songs on the previous albums. Lars keeps to the standard rock beat for most of this one which, coupled with the main riff, gives this song a very bouncy feel. This song is about people and their inner demons that eventually completely take over their lives. This is one of my favourite main riffs on the album, but it’s another song that has been massively overplayed over the years. This song also feels like a great example of how strong James’ vocals are on this album. That signature Hetfield growl is on fine display here, especially in those “hey”s. I feel like the structure of the solo section also took a page out of the book of The Shortest Straw but spent a bit of extra time on making it perfect, with the guitar solo, vocal bridge (that’s actually part of the chorus revisited) and then second guitar solo back into the third verse. The difference here is that the chorus reprisal is handled differently, taking three main lines and adding some vocal harmonies in the background that I really love, and also making it connect to the closing verse a lot better.
Holier Than Thou, the third track on the album actually has the most interesting history for any track in the record. In Rock’s original vision as the album was beginning to take shape, this song was not only the lead single from the album but also the album opener. It was something of mass debate between the band and Bob Rock. I feel that ultimately the right call was made, as it’s pretty perfect in the third slot. This intro is one of the closest riffs to 80s Metallica on display here, though it’s not quite reaching the pace that they would’ve had it at on Master or Justice. I love the use of the talkbox effect that brings in the riff before the whole band gets in on it. There’s actually a lot to love in this song, from the vocal harmonies and guitar fills in the second verse to a great solo from Kirk and that rebuild after it. However, my favourite part of the song is actually the harmony right before the solo, it’s such a great section. The lyrics here are, as the name suggests, the “holier than thou” attitude that people seem to exhibit. Apparently, Bob Rock thought the lyrics were directed at him, though Hetfield penned them more generally at people in the music industry who are always quick to point the finger. There’s an absolutely lethal bite to this song and I absolutely love it.
Uo next, our traditional track 4 ballad, The Unforgiven. Opening with a reversed sample from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (I’ve heard some people suggest it’s directly from The Ecstasy of Gold, Metallica’s intro tape) before coming into a riff that very much gives me “cowboy western” feels. The Unforgiven actually flips the formula from previous ballads on it’s head by opting for a heavy verse/soft chorus approach, which I feel is a great idea to play around with. I’ve heard several different meanings surrounding this one, one of which turns this into the first of two pseudo-sequels to Dyers Eve by being about Hetfield’s childhood and feelings of maybe having lost a lot of himself through the Christian beliefs that his mother’s side of the family held and his father leaving at a young age. I love the more sensitive side of James’ voice that comes out in this song. I also think this solo really is one of Kirk’s best, even if this was completely different to what he had planned to do and this was really an outburst after having to replay the solo so many times. I have to say as a brief aside, sometimes yields the best results, seeing as it’s what brought about Bruce Dickinson’s Number of the Beast scream. (Maybe I should do Iron Maiden next?). Anyway, this is a song that I have never found a perfect live version of. In my opinion, this is a song that is very much amplified by the studio tricks like the extra harmony layers throughout the ending. It’s such a great song though, it might even be my favourite of the five singles from the album.
Uo next, Wherever I May Roam. This one starts with something I really want to talk about in general from the Black Album, which is the use of different instrumentation. This song starts with the most obvious example of it being there, with sitars and a 12-string bass providing that low cracking sound, but there are so many great examples of it on the record.
Roam starts off properly with exploding snare drums straight into the main riff and man, what a great riff it is! This song is about life on the road, and it seems so appropriate to have that eastern feeling to it all to almost symbolically show off that “well-travelled” feeling. It’s an absolute banger of a track too with a few great instrumental sections as well. The pre-chorus is one of my favourite sections here, the “anywhere” vocal line just has so much cool emphasis, but that last chorus has such a great feeling to it too. I especially love the final line before the title line playoff, “carved upon my stone: my body lies but still I roam”. The harmony on this song is really cool, but this is definitely Kirk’s best soloing on the album for my mind. The real question is wether the first or second solo is better. I’m a first solo kinda guy, but there’s plenty of second solo people out there.
Opening up a run of deeper cuts, we have Don’t Tread On Me, which is kinda the closest thing to a title track that this album has due to the album cover. See, the don’t tread on me moniker is taken from a flag that dates back to the American Revolution in 1775. Also on that flag is a coiled timber rattlesnake on a field of yellow (which looking at it now gives me 72 Seasons vibes, they should bring this song back on M72!). The same snake was then featured on the cover of the Black Album, so for me, this song is pretty much the closest thing we get to a title track.
We open with a rhythmic pattern before Kirk adds the chorus of America from West Side Story to the mix. We then get our main riff before James comes in with a powerful vocal. I feel this song is about pride in America and defending liberties at home, but written in context of the snake itself being the main subject. I love the chorus here, it’s probably my favourite chorus on the album. It’s another song that’s got a real edge to it. I love the slightly swung hi-hat groove from Lars, I think the riff is killer. The solo is pretty great, but there’s a really cool variation on the main riff right after it that really brings it home for me. For a song that the band seem to deride as the filler track, I think this is an absolute banger. And that in itself should speak to how great this album is.
Here we have a rarity that I’ve gotten to see live at both of my Metallica shows so far and one of my favourites from the album, Through The Never. This song is pretty direct about what it’s all about in it’s first verse. “Questions pending the limitation of human understanding”. It’s about the exploration of the universe and how many of the questions we may have will never be answered as the limits of human understanding may never actually allow us to understand what we do find. The main riff here is super simple, but it’s a killer riff. Kirk’s soloing here is another really cool one, which definitely ranks highly in his solos of the 90s for me. This bridge also has that Master of Puppets effect for me, where it is easily the highlight of the whole song for me. The bridge riff alone is probably the second best riff on the entire album and the panning “on through the never” is just an awesome sounding effect. It’s one of my absolute favourite tracks from the Black Album and I get really pumped up every time I hear it.
Then we get to the longest song of the album. Nothing Else Matters. I feel like we’ve all heard this a million times. It’s a great song, but man, is there anything left to even say about it? This song features a tambourine in the intro, as well as some twelve-string guitars and an orchestra. I think that’s probably the most important thing to ask about in this song for a historical context. The score for the orchestra in this song was written by a man named Michael Kamen, who was primarily a film composer known for having worked on Highlander, Die Hard and the James Bond film Licence to Kill, but he had also worked with Aerosmith, Pink Floyd and Queen on massive songs and albums of theirs. He came into the fold through Metallica’s management and during a meeting with the band mentioned that “it would be kinda great to maybe do a live show with your songs and a symphony”.
Another interesting thing to note is that this song does not contain any tracks recorded by Kirk Hammett. James had written this song privately and had never intended for it to be a Metallica song until Lars pushed him for it. Kirk didn’t learn it until the touring cycle for the album was about to begin and it actually didn’t emerge onto the setlists until March of 1992 while the tour had started properly back in October of 1991. I think it was actually the last song from the album to be introduced that was played in the Wherever We May Roam cycle of 91-93. The song is about the feeling of missing home and loved ones while out on tour. I think it’s a great ballad, I play it live in my own solo sets sometimes, but this doesn’t reach the heights of Fade, Sanitarium or even The Unforgiven in my book.
Of Wolf and Man is up next, boasting the best main riff of the album. Admittedly, taken at face value, the lyrics for this one can seem pretty silly and straightforward as being just about a wolf or a werewolf. I’m fine with this personally, it’s good to have something a little more lighthearted given what the song following this one will be about, but I know some people don’t like it and have come up with their own interpretations. My favourite of which is that the wolf here is a metaphor for someone being intoxicated. The intro slaps hard and I really like the way that the main riff takes a minute to come n at full force. James’ vocals are great on this one and the chorus is kinda great here. I love the solo and I think this one offers another great bridge, which you all know I love. Of Wolf and Man is a great song, but I think most of it is said best just by hearing it. The chorus has a really cool clean guitar passage under the vocals at points, just to bring up more interesting tidbits.
Next, we have a very dark song and the first time we will hear Metallica tune down to what would become their standard live tuning of Eb, The God That Failed. What makes this song so dark is that it’s all based in a true story The song is based around looking to God to heal the world, but finding no such relief. The God That Failed came from James’ experience with Christian Science, which holds that God will heal you if you are to be healed and bars consulting doctors or other 'unnatural' assistance when sick because "your body is just a shell". Both of Hetfield's parents died of cancer and James felt that God didn't intervene to save them as their faith made them believe. "The healing hand held back by the deepened nail, follow the God that failed".
It’s kinda great to hear a drum and bass intro after everything else that has come up over the course of this album. I love the panned start on the intro riff, which also contains the sound of James cocking his lever action shotgun beneath it. I can really feel James giving this lyric his all. I think this is my favourite solo from Kirk on the whole of the Black Album, the whole song ranks up there as one of my favourites from the album as well.
We have arrived at likely the deepest cut from the album, the second of three songs to have a Jason Newsted writing credit (probably the one most associated with him), My Friend of Misery. My take on the lyrics here is that it’s abkut someone trying to help everyone around them but keeps making problems for themselves in doing so. I personally feel like the verses are a bit boring, but the chorus is absolutely awesome. Still, for a song that Jason submitted as being an idea for the instrumental of the album, it’s no surprise that the instrumental middle section of this song is an absolute highlight. The bass riff with the volume swells is awesome, so is the clean section that leads into a really cool harmony solo. Kirk is in fine form for two blistering solos on this one. I really love that chorus riff, making for another of my favourite riffs on the album. Probably my second most favourite non-main riff, actually.
At last, we come to the closer of the album. The Struggle Within. The intro for this song is just amazing, I can kinda hear it as being a call to arms, kinda like the last minutes before a war in a movie. These lyrics were written and performed on the last day of recording. James had run out of steam for writing lyrics, which is totally fair given there are 12 songs on the album, and he has since admitted that the titular “struggle within” is the trouble that he had coming up with lyrics for this song. I think it’s a fantastic closer. The pace harkens back to something that could’ve been on Master with the vocal aggression of Justice. The solo is a belter, and my absolute favourite riff on the album is played straight after it for pretty much only one go around. The other thing I find really cool is that this song could also have been a pretty great album opener if they had extended out the intro, as Metallica showed off in 2012 when performing the Black Album in it’s entirety but back-to-front live for it’s 20th anniversary. Check it out here, I think you’ll agree. (https://youtu.be/9vCJDxsKvEM (https://youtu.be/9vCJDxsKvEM) , starts at around 16:21)
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And that is the Black Album. Yeah, this thing goes hard! I think it deserves every bit of praise it gets. I know that some fans think it’s a total betrayal, but I see it more as an evolution. There was only so far they could go with the sound that they had in the 80s, which was brought to its pinnacle on …And Justice For All. While they likely could have had another album of long, progressive songs under their belt, I feel that this was the right path to go down. I actually think it’s a more cohesive album than Justice ever was. I give it a 10, even if there are songs that are massively overplayed because they’re overplayed for a reason. My one word summation for this album would probably be Supremacy given how long this stayed at number one and how much of an impact it still holds for them today.
Coming up next week, Metallica’s first live release, Live Shit: Binge and Purge. This will see us going back in time to the 1989, but also features two full shows from the Wherever We May Roam tour. Catch ya on tour next Friday.
(Apparently, there’s a character limit, so I may have to cut things into two posts going forward)
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The Black Album was foundational for me getting into music in the first place. Growing up I never really was at all. As I got into middle school (~200-2001) I gradually started getting into some rock music, both recent past (Nirvana, early Green Day) and at the time current (Disturbed, Linkin Park). A couple of my friends cobbled together a band and played the school talent show and a couple graduation parties. The lead guitar player was pretty decent and had a gorgeous Steve Vai signature guitar, and when they added Enter Sandman to their repertoire I remember watching him play that solo and thinking it was just about the coolest thing ever. I bought myself The Black Album on CD and it didn't leave my portable player for the whole summer. Eventually a coworker heard about my new favorite album and gave me Master and Justice and I was off to the races. I understand being a metal head at the time and feeling betrayed by the shift in style, but I still think this album is great. Are the hits played to death... absolutely, but only because they're great songs. And a lot of the deep cuts are at least good, if not better. I'm particularly fond of The God That Failed and My Friend of Misery.
Because I became such a Metallica fan, I spent the early part of my high school years frequenting the official Metallica forums. At some point there was a "Recommend other bands for Metallica fans" thread and someone was effusive in their praise of this song The Glass Prison by a band called Dream Theater. That's how I first heard about and decided to check out DT, which eventually led me to the forums on dt.net, and 20 years later here I am :lol
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At last, we come to the closer of the album. The Struggle Within. The intro for this song is just amazing, I can kinda hear it as being a call to arms, kinda like the last minutes before a war in a movie. These lyrics were written and performed on the last day of recording. James had run out of steam for writing lyrics, which is totally fair given there are 12 songs on the album, and he has since admitted that the titular “struggle within” is the trouble that he had coming up with lyrics for this song. I think it’s a fantastic closer. The pace harkens back to something that could’ve been on Master with the vocal aggression of Justice. The solo is a belter, and my absolute favourite riff on the album is played straight after it for pretty much only one go around. The other thing I find really cool is that this song could also have been a pretty great album opener if they had extended out the intro, as Metallica showed off in 2012 when performing the Black Album in it’s entirety but back-to-front live for it’s 20th anniversary. Check it out here, I think you’ll agree. (https://youtu.be/9vCJDxsKvEM (https://youtu.be/9vCJDxsKvEM) , starts at around 16:21)
I LOVE that riff after the solo, just like you do and always forget that it's there.
The Black Album is what got me into heavy metal. A friend told me I had to hear this new song, and played me the live version of Enter Sandman from Tushino Airfield. The power of that song, the sound of the electric guitars - it truly changed my life. I got a cassette of this album afterwards and listened to nothing else for a year. And I'm serious about that - it was the only music I wanted to hear when I was 12 years old, listening over and over and over again. I remember having a bunch of shirts from this era as well as I got into the band.
It's still a very heavy album, even if it's not thrashy. There's a few faster paced songs and tons of monster riffs throughout the record. I can't add much after your giant review.
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I LOVE that riff after the solo, just like you do and always forget that it's there.
It's still a very heavy album, even if it's not thrashy. There's a few faster paced songs and tons of monster riffs throughout the record. I can't add much after your giant review.
I love the version on the end of Metallica’s official live videos in 2021. Jump to about 6:39 in this video and tell me why the hell they couldn’t have just done this on the album? https://youtu.be/hQMUEYahBy8 (https://youtu.be/hQMUEYahBy8)
Agreed. It’s a massive album. I think it’s at this point they started to realise they could make heavy songs and slow down a bit. They didn’t have to be at 250 BPM the whole time to make a good song.
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This album is and was everything. It has got to be the album I have listened to most in my life. It changed everything for me, and without it who knows if I'd be posting here on DTF. I mean probably, but still.
I can't think of an album that has been a better gateway drug into the world of metal that any other. So many millions of my generation and younger generations were drawn in by this perfect album. From my experience, the experience of countless friends over the years, and so many musicians I've read interviews with, it all started here for so many. For most it was Enter Sandman that started insatiable lust for a style of music that made them feel THIS WAY. It was like a drug. Music had never made me feel this way before. I miss the days when I would just have an album on repeat for days/weeks/months, and this was the ultimate.
I can't imagine another metal album ever crossing over into the mainstream like this juggernaut did.
Before we even touch on the iconic songs, the production on this album is just off the charts. It's perfection and I'm savouring the thought of buying it on vinyl and playing it loud for the first time. Everything just sounds suitably huge on this record, the perfect back drop for the world domination that was to come. It astounds me to thos day that it sounds as good as it does. I've also come to appreciate how vital Bob Rock was to all of it. He really pushed the band in a way they weren't used to (and hated) but the results speak for themselves. Rock had a vision and deserves more credit than he gets.
But the songs. Fuck! The songs. I can tell you that I love each and every one of these fuckers and they all need to be played over and over, to every new generation. I can't pick a favourite because they are essentially all my favourite, even if I've heard them too many times.
These songs were also the first time music painted a visual picture in my minds eye. I can see a dusty cowboy roaming, an old man who has endured so much, a man with primal urges of a wolf etc. James' lyrics and vocal delivery took me on a journey, the drums pounded my heart and the guitars fuelled my soul. The first side of the album is just loaded and Sad But True, The Unforgiven and Wherever I May Roam hold a special place. Back in the day I found The God that Failed and My Friend of Misery to be the duds, but I love them now. The Struggle Within was alwaysca song that only I felt I truly loved. Its the perfect 'sprint to the finish' to end the album. That solo that hits after James says "STRUGGLE" is just so damn good.
I suppose if I had to rank it'd probably be...
Wherever I May Roam
The Unforgiven
My Friend of Misery
Sad But True
The God That Failed
The Struggle Within
Nothing Else Matters
Of Wolf and Man
Don't Tread On Me
Through the Never
Holier Than Thou
Enter Sandman
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Here's my dilemma with the black album: I don't like it. But what a great list of tunes that is, twosuitsluke, eh?
The black album was the first to come out after I'd become a fan. I vividly remember listening to it for the first time, and I remember the utter befuddlement I felt at James's singing on Nothing and Unforgiven.
I also remember how disappointed I was when I saw them live for the first time (1992: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/metallica/1992/nec-arena-birmingham-england-1bd6ed2c.html). It was all so removed from the dangerous and edgy performances I'd seen of the Justice and Puppets tours. And the 20 minute version of Seek and Destroy? Just awful. I've only seen Metallica in the flesh three times to this day, despite them being one of my favourite bands, and I don't think I've ever felt a real connection to them live although that says more about me than them, of course.
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Also, this EP was out of print between 89 and 2018, so that’s why you could never find it.
Although it was available in this set, released in 1990: https://www.discogs.com/release/1116190-Metallica-The-Good-The-Bad-The-Live-The-6%C2%BD-Year-Anniversary-12-Collection
I actually still have the set although I think I'm missing the poster. Edit: nope, no poster. And wow, the records smell like I just got them from a second hand record shop :heart
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The Black Album alienated a lot of old fans, but also brought a ton of new fans to the table. They toured for so long behind this album. For me, it is a well-produced and well-crafted album. I don't think it is as dumbed-down as many people make it out to be. A few of the songs still have quite a few parts. There is not a ton of speed here though, and James as a lyricist and vocalist makes a huge leap on this album.
Enter Sandman - Take a main riff and build the song all around that. The intro works very well. Obviously this song has been
played to death, but it is iconic.
Sad But True - This song sounds huge with the production on the album, and it gets into a nice groove.
Holier Than Thou - Pretty cool main riff and the harmony part leading into the solo is nice. I like the just drums and bass
section before the main riff comes back in too.
The Unforgiven - This song has an epic feel, and Bob and Lars pushed Kirk, and he came up with a really solid lead section.
Wherever I May Roam - My favorite song on the record. Love the main riff and the middle eastern feel. The tom and snare
groove of the verses is really cool. The harmony section is awesome too. The outro, especially live is
great too.
Don't Tread On Me - Never been a huge fan of this song, but it's not terrible. The verses are cool, but the chorus is a little
clunky for me.
Through the Never - Solid main riff and I love the "on through the never" section. Great solo from Kirk. Probably my 2nd
favorite song on the album.
Nothing Else Matters - Love the intro that builds from the open string pattern. Definitely the biggest leap for James vocally.
The vocal harmonies sound really nice. James' outro solo brings the feels too.
Of Wolf and Man - Another song that builds off of one main riff. The "I feel a change" section is really cool.
The God That Failed - Another great heavy, groovy song here. Has a nice chorus and James sounds great on these lyrics
relating to his childhood.
My Friend of Misery - Epic song built around Jason's dark bass riff. The middle section is really good. The chorus is really
interesting with the way it fits in with the rest of the song. It's in F# while the rest of the song is in Am.
I could do without the cowbell on the chorus though. I love the way Lars picks it up in the outro to end
out the song.
The Struggle Within - Sweet intro that goes into a solid closer that picks up the tempo a bit.
Overall, it's a solid record that made Metallica a household name.
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So, the Black Album. I realize how many people love it, and it DOES have good catchy song-writing, but it was the most disappointing album of my life up until that point.
The thing that bothers me most I guess is that every song has the same drum beat, and to a lesser extent the same guitar solo (with some notable exceptions). James overdoes the "Yeah"s and the way he ends each vocal line was meme-worthy at that point. But I don't begrudge the success they achieved by going this route, it sure as hell beats having a bunch of cringey glam bands as the leaders of "metal".
My Friend of Misery
Wherever I May Roam
Through the Never
Sad But True
Of Wolf and Man
Enter Sandman
Holier Than Thou
Struggle Within
Don't Tread on Me
The Unforgiven
Nothing Else Matters
The God that Failed
And for Justice:
Dyer's Eve
One
Blackened
The Frayed Ends of Sanity
The Shortest Straw
Eye of the Beholder
And Justice for All
To Live is to Die
Harvester of Sorrow
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it's interesting about "points of view". I was familiar with Master and ...And Justice at that point, and liked it not loved it. I thought that Justice had promise, but that Metallica was a one-trick pony and I wasn't a huge fan of that trick (thrash in general is not my thing). I recognize TBA for what it is in terms of their career, but I also viewed it as an example of how great that band could be. That album showed me they were the real deal (at least Hetfield and Ulrich). I still want the next step: I want to hear either the band, or James solo (preferable), do an album that is in the vein of, say, the live "Tuesday's Gone" from the Garage, Inc. set. Acoustic/electric, more lyrical...
But this record really opened the door for me for Metallica. Except for St. Anger, I prefer everything from TBA to after over that which came before, but it really explained to me why Metallica is as big as they are.
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Except for St. Anger, I prefer everything from TBA to after over that which came before, but it really explained to me why Metallica is as big as they are.
We shall certainly get there soon enough mate. We haven’t yet hit my favourite album and we won’t for some time yet.
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Liked it a lot when it came out. The stretch into more melodic areas didn't bother me at all, while it did a lot of my mates. They deserve the success they got with it. Totally did what they set out to.
I still think some of the parts are great (the Through the Never riffs are just perfect) but my enjoyment of it wore off a long time ago. These days I find it dull as ditch water. I don't even like the sound.
If I were to play a song from it, I'd choose Struggle Within or Sad But True.
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it's interesting about "points of view". I was familiar with Master and ...And Justice at that point, and liked it not loved it. I thought that Justice had promise, but that Metallica was a one-trick pony and I wasn't a huge fan of that trick (thrash in general is not my thing). I recognize TBA for what it is in terms of their career, but I also viewed it as an example of how great that band could be. That album showed me they were the real deal (at least Hetfield and Ulrich). I still want the next step: I want to hear either the band, or James solo (preferable), do an album that is in the vein of, say, the live "Tuesday's Gone" from the Garage, Inc. set. Acoustic/electric, more lyrical...
But this record really opened the door for me for Metallica. Except for St. Anger, I prefer everything from TBA to after over that which came before, but it really explained to me why Metallica is as big as they are.
I absolutely believe this is going to happen at some point. He's already shown that he appreciates and works well in that vein, so I think it's just a matter of time. Probably after the 72 Seasons tour
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Sorry a bit behind.
Justice - this was a first day buy for me (on cassette). I worshiped James Hetfield after this album came out, he was a metal god to me. I was playing lots of guitar at this time and I used to spend hours upon hours in my bedroom learning all his rhythm parts then I would play along to the album pretending I was James....great times and memories..
The Black Album - on release day this was a huge let down. But it was Metallica so I persisted and continued to listen to it but some of it has never really clicked. The production and sound was awesome, probably the best sounding album of the time. The improvement in James vocals was the next biggest thing, he does sound massive on this album and other albums going forward from here. Overall though the songs were just too samey and one dimentional compared to what came before.
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Live Sh*t: Binge and Purge - 1993
Setlists:
Mexico ‘93:
Enter Sandman, Creeping Death, Harvester of Sorrow, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Sad But True, Of Wolf and Man, The Unforgiven, Justice Medley, Bass/Guitar Solos, Through the Never, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Fade to Black, Master of Puppets, Seek and Destroy, Whiplash, Nothing Else Matters, Wherever I May Roam, Am I Evil?, Last Caress, One, So What/Battery, The Four Horsemen, Motorbreath, Stone Cold Crazy.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6TXWP5SAhTB9P0GN4tOT0B?si=kI2mo0zIQbeoXoVvxzqoAw (https://open.spotify.com/album/6TXWP5SAhTB9P0GN4tOT0B?si=kI2mo0zIQbeoXoVvxzqoAw)
San Diego ‘92:
Enter Sandman, Creeping Death, Harvester of Sorrow, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Sad But True, Wherever I May Roam, Bass Solo/Orion Jam, Through the Never, The Unforgiven, Justice Medley, Drum Solo/Battle, Guitar Solo, The Four Horsemen, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Fade to Black, Whiplash, Master of Puppets, Seek and Destroy, One, Last Caress, Am I Evil?, Battery, Stone Cold Crazy.
Seattle ‘89:
Blackened, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Harvester of Sorrow, The Thing That Should Not Be, Bass Solo/To Live Is To Die Jam, Master of Puppets, Fade to Black, Seek and Destroy, …And Justice For All, One, Creeping Death, Guitar Solo/Little Wing, Battery, Frayed Ends Jam/Last Caress, Am I Evil?, Whiplash, Breadfan.
If there’s a band that best thrives on the road, it’s Metallica. These days, it seems that hardly a year goes by without Metallica being on tour. It seems that these days, we’re never too far away from the next live album or livestream from the band thanks to the wonders of modern day technology. Hell, thanks to the nugs.net service, we have great sounding audio from just about every show from 2004 onwards. But, back in the day, we weren’t quite so lucky. Such an event was few and far between for most bands and became something of a special event. For bands like Rush, live albums at this point could have been used to bookmark different eras in the band’s history.
For Metallica, our first live release was nothing short of special. Packaged as a miniature road case and including a recreation of the snake pit pass, a photo booklet of tour photos, a stencil of the new “Scary Guy” logo and 3CDs and 3 VHS tapes of live footage, Metallica unleashed Live Sh*t: Binge and Purge on November 23rd, 1993. The CDs contained audio of their shows in Mexico City, recorded over five nights between February 25th and March 2nd, 1993. VHS tapes 1 and 2 contained footage from Sam Diego on January 13th and 14th, 1992, while the third tape was recorded on the Damaged Justice tour in Seattle on August 29th and 30th of 1989.
Alright, so starting with the audio only segment from Mexico City, 1993. I enjoy it well enough, but I don’t come back to this one all too often. I find that the mix is a little bit dry for my liking and even in headphones, Kirk’s solos early in the show seem to be a little faint under Hetfield and Newsted’s rhythm section. The benefits that I find in the Mexico City shows over the San Diego shows are a little bit more in terms of a slight personal preference. Something from the two Black era shows that really tend to bore me are the solo sections. What I like here is that the Bass and Guitar solos are merged into one single segment. I enjoy the little teasers within the segment and I really like the way that Jason and Kirk come together on a jam of Dazed and Confused and then they use it as a handover point into the guitar solo from the bass solo. The last repeating melody from Kirk is something that I wish I knew what it was. He plays it both solos from this era that we have here. I’d be fascinated to know what it’s from, if anything. I really like the 12-string sound during the clean sections of Fade to Black here, which is a real unique difference on this version that isn’t on the San Diego performance or any subsequent live releases from over the years. Also unique to this portion of the release are Of Wolf and Man (which happens to be one of my favourite tracks on this release), Nothing Else Matters (which debuted nearly two months after the San Diego shows), So What (a cover of a song by Anfi-Nowhere League which was a b-side to the Sad But True single, which I will cover on the Garage Inc. review) and Motorbreath (which is performed really well here). I think this is a pretty cool show, but as I said, I rarely revisit this one. I’d give it a 7 personally.
Now, San Diego, a little over a year before. This one is actually pretty cool. I really like the idea of the 20 minute MetalliMovie that lays out the Metallica journey up to that point. I think the mix on this portion of the collection is actually way better and maybe a tighter performance. I actually love the song choices in this one, even if I do miss Of Wolf and Man from Mexico City. What I dislike here is that there is a lot more time taken up be the momentum killing solo sections. That isn’t to say that I think the solo sections are terrible, heaven forbid. I think the instrumental mastery that Jason, Kirk and even Lars show off in their segments are really cool. I also really enjoy James playing drums during the drum solo. I just wish these sections were shorter. I have to say that my favourite song on both Mexico City and San Diego is actually the Justice Medley. Hearing so many great parts stuck together like that is actually a really cool arrangement and I’m undecided which show had the better performance. I almost love the Orion interlude being performed, though I think Jason’s way of playing it is different and actually feels kinda wrong on the ear to me. Now, of course, we have to bring up the fact that Seek and Destroy was waaaayyyyyyy overcooked here. Jason singing it is cool. Stretching the song out to double the length with just a lot of Hetfield getting the audience to sing the title over and over again isn’t. It just loses me after the first couple of minutes. I also really don’t like that they abandon Master of Puppets right before it gets to the best section of the song. Still, many of the songs here are nothing shy of amazing. Through the Never, One and Battery are among my absolute favourites here. One is particularly cool, with James and a Kirk having a bit of a guitar duel after the harmony section. The stage design on this tour was pretty cool, but I feel that the way that the show is filmed never quite reveals how enormous this one was. It was fully in the round and even had the snake pit in the middle, which allowed for lucky fans to be within the stage area itself. I wish it had been shown off a little more, but it felt like way too much of the show was close shots on the band or the crowd and never so much about the staging. Nonetheless, I give this one an 8.5.
We close off this collection with a show that ranks among most fans’ favourites. Seattle ‘89. I’m not gonna lie, I can see exactly why so many say that. The aggression that was merely felt within the albums seems to completely fuel the band onstage here. As easy as it would be to be greedy and feel like “they didn’t play Ride the Lightning or Damage, Inc.”, I honestly feel that this is a perfect setlist to sum up the 80s era. Blackened is way beyond Enter Sandman as a concert opener, without doubt. I find a very interesting parallel to be drawn here, trying to work out wether or not certain songs were best performed on the Justice or Black touring cycles. There are certain songs, like The Four Horsemen and Fade to Black, that I feel are much better through the San Diego performance. I also have to quickly go back and mention Lars’ run between drum kits on Horsemen in San Diego. Then you get the obvious comparisons with Master of Puppets and Seek and Destroy, where I feel that Seattle are perfect performances. Of course, Master being opened up with that fantastic jam on To Live Is To Die only sweetens the deal. For me, …And Justice For All is easily the best song out of all three shows here. Lady Justice, or “Doris” as they always called her, being destroyed is just such a captivating moment made even better by such a great performance of such an awesome song. And what’s more, Jason and Kirk have fantastic solo spots here. “But Deadeye, you said they bored you on Mexico City and San Diego, what’s changed?”. Well, I feel that they’re better positioned within the setlist and don’t kill any momentum. Hell, the ending of the bass solo perfectly builds out of an immensely heavy version of The Thing That Should Not Be and flawlessly into Master, as I mentioned. Kirk’s feels like such a natural continuation from the ending chaos of Creeping Death, gives a little bit of a reprieve with his version of Hendrix’s Little Wing and then kicks back into high gear for an absolutely blistering version of Battery! The encore is great here, I certainly prefer Breadfan as a closing song to Stone Cold Crazy. On the subject of covers though, I know why it was done, but I wish they could have played the full version of Am I Evil? here. I love the stage design of the Damaged Justice tour, especially with the ruins all over the stage for the back half of the show. This is one that I pretty much have to give a perfect 10. Even if the picture quality wasn’t perfect back then, I’m so glad we have this show documented forever and always.
And yeah, that’s Live Sh*t: Binge and Purge! It’s inconsistent, but it’s brilliant for a first live release. Naturally, the first one is never going to be perfect. It definitely shows Metallica in their natural habitat, though I feel that the upcoming live releases will be even better. We’ve certainly got some memorable ones coming up in the next few weeks. It’s certainly hard to rank Binge and Purge on the whole, given that each show sounds and looks so different, so I’ll let my rankings stand for themselves individually.
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I've never really tried to compare the shows in the Live Shit box against each other. My first exposure to it was finding the CD's at the local library in and copying them to a tape sometime in 1994. I'd ride through the neighborhood on my bike listening to the Mexico City shows on my walkman. It was the first time I'd heard Am I Evil and some other songs that weren't on the first five records.
Seattle 89 will always be my favorite - so raw, aggressive and powerful. The video of the San Diego show really shows them at their peak, commercially. I love that they troll the audience by playing the new hit song first, making those new fans sit through another three hours of live Metallica to get their money's worth. My favorite bit is definitely Lars' run from one drum kit to the other during Four Horsemen. It's one of the cooler synchronized sections - everyone jams, Jason skips around the stage, James is already in position....when Lars sits down, they come right back into the song with a giant BOOM and a matching headbang.
Also, the drum solo on that tour was a lot of fun, with James playing the other kit and both of the guys jamming and having fun. The Justice Medley is amazing and I love James' description that it's just a big rhythm guitar solo, with almost every awesome riff on that album jammed in.
I never got the box set until 1999, when my ex girlfriend bought it for me. It was always too expensive, priced around $80-$90. After it came out on DVD, I sold the original set. I had no use for it anymore and it was sitting in a closet.
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I begged my parents for this box set one year for Christmas, and they got it for me! All of it is pretty awesome, but I definitely wore the Seattle '89 tape out. I've said it on the Metallica thread, but Battery from Seattle '89 is my most watched video on Youtube. They were at their height as a live band on the Justice tour, and this show is a perfect document of that.
San Diego and the Mexico City CDs are great as well. The San Diego tape is well worn too. I can remember listening to the Mexico City show on many long road trips. I never have used the scary guy stencil though ;D
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Load - 1996
Tracklisting: 1. Ain’t My Bitch. 2. 2X4. 3. The House Jack Built. 4. Until It Sleeps. 5. King Nothing. 6. Hero of the Day. 7. Bleeding Me. 8. Cure. 9. Poor Twisted Me. 10. Wasting My Hate. 11. Mama Said. 12. Thorn Within. 13. Ronnie. 14. The Outlaw Torn.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6ndH0UlQbyCOVqByMXXhdV?si=rt2i3rr6S_q4q0QN2BvTCw (https://open.spotify.com/album/6ndH0UlQbyCOVqByMXXhdV?si=rt2i3rr6S_q4q0QN2BvTCw)
The Black Album touring cycle lasted from October of 1991 until July of 1993 without a break. And then they were back on tour from May 30th to August 21st of 1994. And once more between August and September of 1995. But, the 1995 tour had a notable difference, two new songs. A bluesy hard rock tune called 2X4 and something much heavier called Devil’s Dance. Neither of these would prove to be the lead single from the next album though, actually neither would prove to be singles at all. In fact, the latter isn’t even from Load, but we will discuss that in the ReLoad chapter.
These songs were just two out of an accumulative 27 that would be released over the next two years, all of which would find Metallica heading in a very different direction from anything they had done before. The world’s biggest metal band were now looking down the barrel of hard rock, blues and even a little bit of country with their latest endeavour. The lyrical style would change to something a little more introspective and personal. Their lethal edge of guitar sounds turned a little softer, tuned down into Eb instead of E. Lars’ signature frantic pace and double bass drumming now turned into something more laid back but with a certain nuance that still made it his own.
So why? Why did they betray themselves? Well, putting it simply, this is what Metallica always did. Explore the boundaries, push the envelope and try to provoke a reaction. As Lars himself said “this album and what we’re doing with it - that, to me, is what Metallica are all about: exploring different things. The minute you stop exploring, then just sit down and fucking die."
I’m also reminded of a particular quote from Neil Peart, which I believe was in the Grace Under Pressure tour book. “We felt that, after Moving Pictures, we could do anything - which, of course, meant that it was time for a change”. After The Black Album, I feel they had already proven that they could take their thrash roots and go commercial by simplifying it. They were on top of the world and they could’ve done anything, so it was time to do what they wanted to.
Load released to mixed reviews, for sure, but it was still a commercial success. The album sold 680,000 copies in its first week and spent four consecutive weeks at number one. This was their biggest opening week to date and was the biggest debut for an album in 1996. The album has gone 5x Platinum in the US, 2x Platinum in Australia and either Platinum or Gold worldwide. But, yet, many fans see the Black Album as the cutoff point before Metallica was “just ok” or absolutely awful moving forward. It’s also Metallica’s longest album to date, even longer than their double album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, though shorter than Garage, Inc., but I don’t really think that counts since the second disc is a compilation disc.
I pause here pose to you a question; if it weren’t for the Metallica name on the cover, would Load be as loathed by the masses as it was? I tend to think not. I grew up with the Black Album, Load and ReLoad (plus a single with the studio, demo and live versions of One on it), so I didn’t know Metallica as the thrash kings first, which puts me in a unique position that I could hear the album without the bias from the start. As a result, I’ve come to love Load and ReLoad as their own entities. I feel like the Load duo deep dives will be more of me trying to convince you of why these albums are worth another listen.
The album opens with Ain’t My Bitch. This song seems to do away with the grand build that has been present on every other album that preceded this one, but I think this definitely works for Load. I think this song sets up on a vibe that could’ve been a leftover from The Black Album. It’s a great riff and lyrically opens the album on a great vibe. This is a song about simply not giving a damn about other people’s problems. The song did spark controversy because people thought the word “bitch” was being used in the more modern term, being a derogatory term for a woman, but instead James is employing it as a metaphor for a problem like “bitching and moaning”. Kirk uses a slide for his solo in this one, which gives it an extra cool vibe. I actually really like the pre-chorus and the way it evolves on the last rendition of it. I think this is actually a banger of a song to get started on and we can straight away hear that James’ voice is in fine form.
Second, 2X4, the song they had played live as a teaser for the album. This one starts with a pretty cool drum fill from Lars that launches right into a bluesy rocking riff. I’m very glad that I find this song so good instrumentally, because these lyrics really fall into the category of lyrics that are kinda just there to let James spit out syllables. The song is really about relentless anger and violence, but the lyrics are a little out there. I do love the harmonised backing vocal in the first half of the pre-chorus though, the “friction, fusion, retribution”. I think the song is a romping good time, though there’s not really anything all that notable about it. I believe that James has a section in the middle of the solo too himself on this one, at least he did live.
The House Jack Built is one of the four songs that have never been played live from the album. I really hate this fact, as it’s one of my favourites. The intro is definitely a unique one, opening with a building section with a vocal refrain before kicking into one of the most strange and unique riffs from the album here. The verses are really demented with the longer sustained notes over a more simplistic riff that reminds me of Ride the Lightning for some odd reason. I actually really like the extra effects added to the second verse there. The chorus has some of my favourite lyrics in a Metallica song, though I think most would be quick to discard as filler. “The higher you are, the farther you fall. The longer you walk, the farther you’ve come. My body my temple, this temple it tilts, step into the house that Jack built”. I believe the lyrics are actually about being in the throes of addiction, hence all the strange effects and the darker toned lyrics. The solo here is really cool, I believe that it’s actually James playing it too. The solo is soaked in a talkbox, enough to make Richie Sambora jealous. It’s a fantastic song and easily one of my favourites from the entire Load duology (don’t worry, I’ll be making my single disc album at the end when we have ReLoad reviewed).
Until It Sleeps was the first single from the album, which I find to have been a strange choice. In typical Metallica fashion, the 4th track of the album means it’s a ballad, but this one sits differently. In a move that I’m sure delighted Jason, the verses prominently feature bass, while the choruses and bridges bring in the heavier guitars. Much like The God That Failed, this song is about James’ mother’s struggle with cancer and this lyric can either be taken as a reflection of his emotional pain about it, or her physical pain as she died. I really like the tone that Kirk uses for his solo here, a bit more dialled back but still super punchy. The refrain that he ends off with when James comes back in with the “I don’t want it” is a lead that I’ve always really liked from the album. This is definitely a more unique song in the Metallica catalogue, but I really like it. I still think that it was perhaps an odd choice for the first single, but it definitely deserved some recognition.
Did you guys like Enter Sandman? Do you wish that they did Sandman again? Well, check out King Nothing! Opening with a little more ambience than it’s predecessor, King Nothing starts up with the bass before leading into the main riff of the song, which is a great rocking riff. Where Sandman took some lyrical cues from nursery rhymes and what I’ve always called “the bedtime prayer”, King Nothing wears it’s direction on it’s sleeve, opening with the closing stanza of the “star light, star bright”poem. This song is centred around the idea of being careful what you wish for, with the titular King Nothing being someone who just wanted to “play the king” without caring about anyone or anything else. Ultimately though, his castle’s just a lie and it leads to his downfall. I prefer the solo from Sandman, for sure, but I feel like the pre-chorus of King is much cooler. And if you think I’m just saying that I think King is similar, James literally sings the words “off to never never land” as the track fades away. This was the last single from the album, but in my opinion it should have been the first as this, along with Bitch, is one of the few that still harken back to the pre-Load era.
Onto a personal favourite, the second single released from the album, Hero of the Day. I actually can’t quite put my finger on why I love this song so much, but it just really hits the spot for me. James has said that this song was written about children who look outside of their homes for heroes when they should be looking inside at their parents. It’s a song that I have always felt was really optimistic. Those who played in Puppies_On_Acid’s roulette might remember my personal EP was centred around me needing to get some help for anger issues in 2021, well the second verse was something else that really got me through that period. “The fist i’ve made for years can’t hold or feel. No, I’m not all me, so please excuse me while I tend to how I feel”. And of course, the bridge of this one is just amazing. Lars brings back the double bass for a proper heavy feel and I really love the vocal effect of the first and third line backing the second and fourth lines and harmonising for the third and sixth. It sounds so cool! It’s hard to explain why I love it, but this song just rocks!
Closing out the first half, we have Bleeding Me. This is one of the best songs Metallica did in the 90s and it still stands up today. This is such a big building song, starting with one of the most laid back verses of them all. Kirk whips up a great lead as a bit of a bridge before we delve back into the second verse. This chorus hits hard, it might be my favourite chorus on the album in fact. James excels vocally on this song, as does Kirk with his different techniques for this song that add so much texture. He adds volume swells and natural harmonics plus a bit of slide to craft something a little unique and great on the ear. Lyrically, I believe this song is about searching for something better but being stopped at every turn and try as you might, you may never reach the happy ending you’re looking for. Jason Newsted believes that the song is about mental torture. All I know is that between the 4:48 and the 7:18 mark lies one of the coolest sections of the whole era. Best bridge riff, Kirk’s best solo, all firing on all cylinders! If you’re only going to take in two songs from Load, do yourselves a favour and start here. This was played a lot in the 2008 festival tour, a few times on World Magnetic and then once each on the 30th and 40th anniversaries. It was brought back for a few shows in 2022 though, so there may be hope for it on M72
To be continued…
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…And we’re back!
The second half begins with Cure, the second of four unplayed songs. This one opens with a cool drum groove and a pretty groovy riff. One of the more unique vocal approaches on the album sees James opening this one with more of a spoken word feel over the opening riff. This song is actually a really cool groover of a song all around, I really like the pre-chorus and chorus feels, especially with a lot of the harmonised vocals. Jason even brings a bit of different technique into this one and plays a bit of slap bass for the bridge. This one is about searching for “the cure”, which is actually not a direct medicine but more about trying to find something that satisfies us in our day to day lives. Unfortunately, many people choose the wrong “cure” in their lives and need to get actual cures for the damage they cause. As much as I do like this song, it is a bit of a filler entry for Load as a whole, but it’s worth a listen anyway. That chorus riff is pretty cool, I must admit.
Next up, a song that ranks critically low in my ranking of Metallica’s work, Poor Twisted Me. This song bores me to tears, man. This is pretty much just about someone who wants everyone to feel bad for them, nothing super deep. Unfortunately, the riffs are boring as hell and I really take nothing from it. Kirk’s solo doesn’t even save it. It’s just dull and repetitive. Metallica have only ever performed this song acoustically. I really don’t dig the effect that James’ vocals are drowned in either. My one compliment to the song is thank god it’s short. It’s the second shortest song on the album, only just longer than the next track.
Onto something much better, Wasting My Hate, something I guess I was doing to the last song. This song is based on a story that country singer Waylon Jennings told James about an experience he had on holiday. The story goes that he was in a bar in Jamaica where a local just kept staring at him, which really got in Jennings’ nerves. He later found out that the local was just high as a kite and thusly Waylon had just been wasting his hate on the guy. Well, this kicked James into overdrive and gave us another great song from Load. Wasting My Hate lyrically takes the stance of “you’re not worth my time, I’m not going to waste the effort hating you.” I love the riff in this one and the short is short, sharp and to the point. There’s no frills here, with Kirk not adding a solo to the song (first time so far that a Metallica song hasn’t had a solo at all, I hope this doesn’t become something they adapt to a full album…) but honestly, this song doesn’t need it at all. I love it, this one also showed up for both anniversary residencies and that main heavy riff should be fairly familiar to anyone who attended any show on the World Magnetic tour, as they actually used it as a little teaser at the end of those snows.
Speaking of Waylon Jennings though, we get a bit of a country song next with Mama Said, the third single released from Load (again, what was up with the choice of singles on this album?). This one is dominated by James’ vocals and acoustic guitar. This is a bit of an autobiographical song, speaking to the regret that James felt for not getting to spend more time with his mother. I really feel the twist at the end where the son returns home to see his mother again, but only finds her tombstone. It’s actually a really sad song and James really leans into the emotion of it all wonderfully well. I think it’s actually a really powerful song, one that I’m currently learning for my own solo acoustic sets (shameless self-promotion, sorry not sorry). Another one really worth the listen, but this one takes a bit of ignoring the Metallica name.
Hey Stadler, I think this song’s for you, something more lyrical. I definitely believe this is what a James Hetfield solo album would be more like.
Up next, proper deep cut territory and unplayed song number three. Thorn Within. I LOVE this song and I hate that it’s almost hidden amongst the rest of Load. This is so heavy, has a killer main riff, has a brilliant James solo and would almost certainly be championed on Magnetic or Hardwired. I feel that this song is about basically being the lightning rod and taking the blame for everything even if you’re not the one at fault. Everything about this song is awesome and I rarely, if ever, hear anyone talk about this one. James takes both solos on this song and it’s a great showcase of his lead prowess. The harmonised vocals all throughout are so cool, the chorus is another one of my favourites from Load and gets stuck in my head all the time. This is worth a revisit, or a first listen if you’ve never made it the whole way through Load. It’s a hidden gem that really shouldn’t have been hidden.
Up next, unplayed song number 4, a song about a fictional school shooting at the hands of a man named called Ronnie. I really like the main riff here, that little broken bend sound is so different and so cool. Admittedly, this one is another bit of filler, but I actually really like the song and may have taken inspiration from this for the title track of my hard rock EP that’s coming up later this year. There’s just a great vibe to it, going in a bit more of a country rock direction again, but done really well. It’s another one lacking a proper guitar solo, but I just have a lot of fun with it. “All things wash away, but blood stained the Sun red today” is a really cool lyric. I also really like Lars’ unique drumming in the bridge here.
The crown jewel of the second half of Load is definitely The Outlaw Torn though. Their longest song ever written, to the point that it actually had to be cut down to even fit on the album. This is such a deeply emotional song about losing someone who means everything to you and trying to find a replacement that never arrives. Some have said this song is about Jesus Christ and God, others have theorised it’s about Cliff, but any way you look at it these lyrics and the so g are great. I love Jason’s bassline that serves as most of the instrumental in the first half of the song. Kirk’s echoed leads are a little unsettling, but he definitely nails the feeling of the song. That main riff is huge, but the bridge is probably my favourite lyric of the album and one of my favourite lyrics ever “If I close my mind in fear, please pry it open. And if my face becomes sincere, beware. And when I start to come undone, stitch me together. And if you see me strut, remind me of what left this outlaw torn”. James has a great solo to close out the album on a high note, but I think Kirk’s solo is a little bit of structured noise rather than a solo. This song is the other one that you have to check out if you’re going to only check out two songs. There’s an extended version featuring the uncut ending available on the The Memoey Remains single. A bit of extra James solo never hurt anyone right? Enjoy! (https://youtu.be/84uiuDiofhw (https://youtu.be/84uiuDiofhw))
And that’s Load. I dislike one song and I either enjoy or really like the rest. There’s something to love in thirteen of the fourteen tracks for me and I really feel like this gets a bum rap. This is Metallica doing what they wanted to do and it sounds great. I think what it boils down to at the end of the day is that it doesn’t sound like the classic thrash that people were used to and people weren’t ok with a little innovation. I personally love the album and I’d give it an 8.5 without doubt, which actually puts it ahead of Kill ‘Em All and only slightly behind Ride the Lightning by .25.
Infancy, Progression, Ascension, Domination, Supremacy, Dilution.
I feel dilution is the right word because they were softening a bit in their force and their tone and it was starting to divide the fan base quite a bit as well. But, I’m firmly in camp “it’s great” where others may not be. Where are you in this album? Let me know your thoughts, I’m keen to see the discussion on this one.
Next Friday, we’ll be discussing ReLoad. I had Cunning Stunts up first, but that would be in chronological order, not release order. Actually, what do you want to hear about first, ReLoad or Cunning Stunts? Another one where I’d be keen to hear from you.
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Load - Bleeding Me, The Outlaw Torn. Two awesome songs that I still love today. Until it Sleeps is ok. The rest of the album is just pedestrian filler. On the whole just a major disappointment.
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Load - Bleeding Me, The Outlaw Torn. Two awesome songs that I still love today. Until it Sleeps is ok. The rest of the album is just pedestrian filler. On the whole just a major disappointment.
As you can see, I totally disagree.
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Load - Bleeding Me, The Outlaw Torn. Two awesome songs that I still love today. Until it Sleeps is ok. The rest of the album is just pedestrian filler. On the whole just a major disappointment.
As you can see, I totally disagree.
Yeah, that is cool. Enjoy your writes ups and well done for doing this and I am sorry I disagree with you.
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Yeah, that is cool. Enjoy your writes ups and well done for doing this and I am sorry I disagree with you.
It’s what it’s all about right? Differing opinions make for better conversation hey? Why do you see it as so ‘pedestrian’ to use your own words?
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I just feel all those songs on Load, apart from the nearly untouchable Bleeding Me and Outlaw Torn are just not engaging. I say pedestrian because they really sound like a band just going through the motions. There is just something missing from these songs that fails to make them really appeal to me. I was there on day one for the release of this album and have listened to it 100s of times over the years but overall I find that the magic is just missing on this release.
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Yeah, fair enough. I don’t know, a lot of this still gets me going. It’s definitely not the classics, but I love it. Thorn Within, Wasting My Hate, House Jack Built, Bitch, a lot of solid songs that just scratch a different itch for me that it can’t reach for others. It’s fair enough. It definitely isn’t for everyone.
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I agree with all that you said (though I have a higher opinion of Poor Twisted Me). Load was the first album released by them after I had become a fan so it was extra special to me being that I was 11 years old and still only had a few albums to my name. I played it endlessly and I guess my youthful ignorance came in handy because there was no feeling that they were doing something different...it just sounded like a new Metallica album and I was all over it.
Until It Sleeps is perhaps their most haunting single (maybe even overall song). I know One has some very heavy subject matter, but Sleeps just hits harder because it feels so much more personal. Also I agree that House and Thorn are incredibly underrated and deserving of higher praise. Two very cool songs that fly under the radar with most fans (even the ones that like Load).
There are so many gardening references over these two albums in the lyrics...it's actually kind of fun to find them all. James was really digging deep for lyrical inspiration and it's my absolute favorite stuff that he's written.
And production-wise, I know the Black Album gets a lot of praise, but the Loads (and also Garage Inc.) are to me, the best produced stuff they've ever made. There's a lot more panning on this album (and the first in which both James and Kirk did rhythm guitars I believe) and vocal effects which elevates it a bit (and the snare is not as crackly as on TBA).
Overall, Load is brilliant. I honestly can't understand how fans of music in general could dislike it, aside from any gatekeeping "metalheads". It is my favorite of theirs along with RTL, and the Metallica album I would take to a desert island if I was forced to choose.
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I agree with all that you said (though I have a higher opinion of Poor Twisted Me). Load was the first album released by them after I had become a fan so it was extra special to me being that I was 11 years old and still only had a few albums to my name. I played it endlessly and I guess my youthful ignorance came in handy because there was no feeling that they were doing something different...it just sounded like a new Metallica album and I was all over it.
Overall, Load is brilliant. I honestly can't understand how fans of music in general could dislike it, aside from any gatekeeping "metalheads". It is my favorite of theirs along with RTL, and the Metallica album I would take to a desert island if I was forced to choose.
It's the same for me. I became a fan in 1991/1992 and this was the first time that there was a brand new Metallica album. I was 16 when it came out, and my dad stopped to buy it for me on his way home from work while I was in high school. I was confused as hell when reading the booklet - only snippets of the lyrics were there, and the band looked so different. But musically, I was taken on a wonderful ride. It's dark, moody, and the lyrics are amazing. There are still some great riffs in each of the songs. James' vocals are fantastic, and he still has some rougher edges and aggression in them, even though the album is not thrash metal at all.
I agree with the big writeup - so many of the songs are awesome. I remember The Loop in Chicago debuting Until it Sleeps, and the rock radio stations were playing the song once an hour. I had just learned to drive, and my car only had a radio, no tapes or cd's. So I'd drive around over and over, listening for the song to come on again.
The metalheads in my school hated Metallica after this, and I'd proudly wear my jacket with a Metallica back patch, being drawn into conversations about "old Metallica," having to defend my favorite band. I've always loved this album and will defend it forever.
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I don't think I'm going to engage in the "they sold out, these albums suck, etc etc" talks.
So I got into Metallica near this time (more on that after the Reload post) and this was the first era of Metallica I fell in love with. While I also, equally, love their older stuff, I hold Black Album - ReLoad in high regard. Yes there are some filler songs, and yes they drastically changed their sound, so much so that it's hard to call these albums metal as opposed to heavy rock, but there's so much heart and experimentation.
I was listening to the album on the train ride to work this morning and was hearing so many really neat production decisions they made. Just extra layers of guitar, vocals, sounds here and there that add to the song that wouldn't exist in the mentality of a live band recording a straight forward song. I also really like the James on the left, Kirk on the right mentality here. It obviously wouldn't have worked for their thrash/ultra tight phase, but it works perfectly here. With Kirk doing stuff, often, a little different than James so that it fills out nicely and adds great textures and atmosphere.
I won't say too much more since it's been said, but I will say that since S&M, songs like Hero of the Day, Bleeding Me, and Outlaw Torn, I really prefer with the symphony. The album versions are good, but the S&M versions are just so much better.
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Great writeup Deadeye! I will share my thoughts on this album/songs when I have a chance, but I do love this record. I'll just throw this out for discussion though. Take away the album booklet (I thought the cover was fire when I first bought it :D) with all of the weird glam band shots and whatnot, and the haircuts, other than a few cuts, a lot of it is not that far from the Black Album. I remember Kirk saying, "Metallica is about the music, not the length of our hair". They had to defend themselves and the image change in this era. It's interesting to hear James talk about this era now, and how he went along with stuff but hated it. Lars and Kirk were steering the ship on the image stuff. I think the big image change added so much to the dislike of the album.
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Still really like Load and it (or Garage Inc) is usually the Metallica I reach for. A much better album than Black, imo, which the appeal had already worn off for me by the time this came out.
It sounds really natural to my ears. The slide guitars, warm but massive sound (that still had the Metallica guitar weight that has since all but disappeared), occasional country flavour, great vocals, lyrics, big drum sound.
It gets a lot of stick but if they made an album half as good as Load these days I swear everyone would be like "they are so back!!!!!"
Great record. Justice > Garage > Load and that's all I need.
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Lars himself said “this album and what we’re doing with it - that, to me, is what Metallica are all about: exploring different things. The minute you stop exploring, then just sit down and fucking die."
This is ironic considering after Metallica's next few albums were relative flops (compared to the Black Album), they went to basically playing it safe for the next 20 years.
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I've also seen a bunch of interviews/statements by James over the years talking about Load/ReLoad and it was really sad. They kind of highlighted how insecure he actually is and was very impacted by the backlash/negative reaction to those two albums and has adopted a similar mentality to the fans. It's a shame, unless he really was just phoning it in for both albums, which I can't see.
I also think that insecurity will be why we never get a solo acoustic album from him.
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@Deadeye21–man, your observations on Load are spot on and really resonated with me.
You know, I'm a bit older than you (came on board with Justice), and I was (then, and still am now) definitely in the minority with Load as I considered it a pretty ballsy left turn from the moment I heard "Until it Sleeps" on the radio.
Don't get me wrong, there will always be a special place in my heart for the first 4 Metallica albums, but over the past ten years, Load/ReLoad are the 'Tallica albums I keep returning to.
At this point, if we decided to go all 'desert island' on this topic, I think Load would be my choice hands down.
It's far from flawless, but I feel that way about every Metallica album. That said, the highs ("Hero of the Day," "Bleeding Me," "Outlaw Torn") are easily amongst my favorite output from James & Co.
And even the tracks I initially considered filler ("Ronnie," "Poor Twisted Me," "Thorn Within") I enjoy now. In fact, when I throw this on, I always listen cover to cover.
As far as "Mama Said"–you were spot on. When Stadler talks about his hypothetical James solo LP, THIS is the vibe I want it to be. I've gone from 'shoulder shrug' to thinking that "Mama Said" is the band's best ballad over the past 25 years.
The lyrical content on this album (and, to a lesser extent, ReLoad) has always resonated with me, but in recent years I have found a deeper level of appreciation for James' lyrical and vocal output from this era.
One final note: the idea that this album was a flop or that it divided fans (not that you said it did, Deadeye21, but it's a critique I've heard over the years) has always been lost on me.
At the height of alt-rock/grunge, Metallica, this (former) long-haired metal band from '80s, put out an album that sold 5 million copies. The band may have lost fans, but they found a ton of new fans (just like The Black Album).
At the end of the day, I consider this an artistic high-point for Metallica. I've always gravitated towards bands/artists that mutate and morph, shifting from one era to the next (e.g., Kiss, Bowie, Dylan, Rush, Radiohead, the list goes on...), and thanks to the Load/ReLoad albums, I put Metallica in that camp as well.
Good stuff, Deadeye21! I can't wait for the next installment!
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Great writeup Deadeye. I'm not quite as high on quite as many songs as you are, but Bleeding Me and The Outlaw Torn are both top tier and there are a few other strong tracks as well (Until It Sleeps -> King Nothing -> Hero of the Day is a great three song run). There are a few filler tracks for sure, I feel like there was one really great album's worth of material between this and Reload.
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I really liked Load when it came out, and still have 7-8 songs in rotation from Load/Re-load, a few things bug me about the albums. The amount of riff recycling is pretty high (such as main riff of Fuel is the pre-chorus of Ain't My Bitch; alot more examples on Reload). I can never decide if that is genius or derivative.
Also the plodding, mid-tempo on some of the songs. Some songs it works well on (King Nothing, Outlaw Torn), but for alot it doesnt. When they play 'The Memory Remains' live these days, they up-tick a little bit, and it gives the song a bit more life and feel, especially the Iommi-esque guitar bridge.
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Load was my first brand new Metallica album too. I was 12 or 13 at the time. I remember seeing the creepy video for Until It Sleeps and really loving the song. I remember getting more and more into death metal along with other metalhead friends, and many of them starting to drop off the Metallica bandwagon, and slag the band. I always defended them and stuck with them, as they were (and most days still are) my favorite band. I read an issue of Guitar World when Reload came out that described the Loads as Metallica still crushing with their particular Hammer of the Gods sound, they had just changed the shape of the mallet a bit. That fitting description always stuck with me.
The production on the Loads is really good, and they used a lot more effects and sounds than before. James sounds great in this era too. Lars definitely simplifies things, but the drums sound great as well. Now to the songs:
Ain't My B**ch - Solid opener, never really cared for the slide solo, but I like the song overall.
2x4 - I have always really loved this song, with it's simple but crushing main riff and swagger. The bluesy middle section is
really cool too. I wish they would play this one more, the last time was like 2000.
The House That Jack Built - Love this dark track. The verses with that riff and James' vocals are unsettling. The chorus is
pretty neat too. Wish they would play this one...
Until It Sleeps - Another dark, moody track that sounds kinda Alice In Chains-y. I think this was a good choice for the first
single, since the video concept and song work so well together. They could've just rolled out King Nothing first,
but they took a chance with something that would be more polarizing.
King Nothing - To me, a better version of Sandman. Kirk's dissonant, repetitive lick boars in your head. Always liked the video
for this one too. It just grooves better overall than Sandman.
Hero of the Day - Unique song for Metallica, as the main part is in Ab major and has a uplifting, bouncy feel. From there it
descends into a thrashy madness though. Kirk has mentioned really liking his simple solo in some
interviews. It works for the song, and I like this song overall.
Bleeding Me - One of the epic tracks, and it is so good! Kirk's solo here is great, and the bridge section riff is my favorite riff
from the album.
Cure - One of the deep cuts that I really like as well. The chorus riff is cool, and the vocals over it add to what makes it
interesting.
Poor Twisted Me - This song sucks! My least favorite Metallica song of all (I don't count Lulu as a Metallica album though).
Wasting My Hate - A short track that is probably the most aggressive thing here. Really like the dissonant riff under the
verses.
Mama Said - It's okay. I too envision it as a James solo record idea, as it doesn't really fit with the flow of the album.
Thorn Within - Another really sweet deep-cut. The main riff starts like STP's Sex Type Thing. The verses are really cool and
unique. Love the James solo on this one.
Ronnie - I like the main riff, but the song goes nowhere for me...
The Outlaw Torn - What a way to close out the album! The weird intro leads into an epic riff. James' vocals here are so good.
I love Kirk's solo as well. Love the outro part, and it was cool when they would do part of it in the middle of
King Nothing live.
Overall, there are a few clunkers, but I really like this album. Once you get past the image change in the booklet and the short hair, you have a set of pretty solid hard rock/metal tracks.
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ReLoad - 1997
Tracklisting: 1. Fuel. 2. The Memory Remains. 3. Devil’s Dance. 4. The Unforgiven II. 5. Better Than You. 6. Slither. 7. Carpe Diem Baby. 8. Bad Seed. 9. Where The Wild Things Are. 10. Prince Charming. 11. Low Man’s Lyric. 12. Attitude. 13. Fixxxer.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0Ip2GlQPoAIgdkqCO2YkMa?si=h5d-OHmXQeaVkugnw7MwNA (https://open.spotify.com/album/0Ip2GlQPoAIgdkqCO2YkMa?si=h5d-OHmXQeaVkugnw7MwNA)
Metallica hit the road with the Lollapalooza touring festival of 1996 between June 27th and August 4th before starting up the Poor Touring Me cycle for Load between September 6th and May 27th, 1997. Across 125 shows across Europe and North America, Metallica started to sprinkle in a taste of the next album. Devil’s Dance came back from the 95 tour, but making it’s introduction over a handful of dates was a work in progress of a song that would soon be known as Fuel.
It wouldn’t be long until Metallica found themselves back in the studio. Between July and October of 97, Metallica completed the other half of the songs that they had written between 93 and 96. The original plan for Load had been to make a double album, but the plan was ultimately scrapped. They had already started recording some of their more simple songs to get a feel for the studio before they decided to leave, which was what had become Load. ReLoad would be some of the more energetic songs that had been left over.
Might as well get this bit out of the way. Infancy, Progression, Ascension, Domination, Supremacy, Dilution, Continuation.
Whereas Load started with a straightforward jam with Ain’t My Bitch, ReLoad opens with a short vocal phrase, vigorously spat out by James. Say it with him now, “gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which I desire!”. Man, Fuel is a great song. Lyrically an anthem to fast cars and fast living, musically 50 bpm faster than the fastest track on Load. There’s a proper Metallica soul to this one that harkens back to the Black Album era, with a bit heavier of a guitar tone to boot. It’s a song that fires on all cylinders from the get-go. My favourite part of this song is easily the jam after the second chorus and on through the end. That jam section has a great build to it in my opinion. It’s a song I’ve heard a thousand times and I always enjoy coming back to.
The Memory Remains sees the album start to slow down a little, but keep a jamming vibe to it. Memory is almost like Metallica’s take on Sunset Boulevard, where the character is a celebrity that is fading into obscurity and it’s driving them mad. I sometimes wonder if Metallica felt that their back catalog was as risk of going this way, as the lyrics mention Fade to Black a few times. It’s pretty cool to hear the mention either way though. This song holds the distinction of being the first and so far only original song of Metallica’s with a guest vocalist. This one features Marianne Faithfull, who sings the “na na na na” bridge sections. Marianne was living in Ireland at the time and James, Lars and Bob flew to Dublin to record her while the band was on a summer tour in 97. It was actually Bob Rock who suggested that she would feature on the song, as James had that melody kicking around for a little while but was struggling to find lyrics. Their engineer suggested that it sounded great as just a little “la-la” melody and James started envisioning an older voice there. While I do enjoy Faithfull’s voice in the song, I much prefer this song live with the audience singing that section at the top of their lungs.
Devil’s Dance is our third track here. We’ve mentioned this one a few times now, so it’s great to finally talk about it. This is a real dark and heavy number, tuned down in D standard (where only The Thing That Should Not Be and Sad But True had ventured before). A lyrically simple track about temptation but I find it to be so hooky with it’s riff. I feel it’s actually almost a perfect way that that one worked out. I really want to point out the really cool pitch shifted chorus vocal underneath the second verse, just because I really like it. What I find a little weird though is that for such a heavy song, it feels like a lot of the time only James’ guitar seems to be going throughout much of the verse. Sadly, for a song with the history of being played for two years before the album came out, this one doesn’t really have a whole lot to be said about it. I definitely enjoy it in the moment, but other than the bass intro and the main riff, I feel this one doesn’t leave all that much of an impression ultimately.
Reload, the sequel album that contains a sequel. You know it, time to talk about The Unforgiven II. Opening with the same reversed horn sound as the original, The Unforgiven II takes a very different approach, almost reversed to what the original had done structure wise. II starts with a riff that reminds me of the opening lead to Iron Maiden’s Children of the Damned before it softens into a clean riff with almost a country twang to it. My interpretation of the lyrics is that the character from The Unforgiven finds another person much like himself and he’s trying to determine if he can be open about himself. I feel it ends very optimistically, especially given the slide from minor to major at the end. I think that the original might be a better song, but this is far more emotional. I really love the way that a few motifs from the original start to get introduced at the end of this one too. A great way to do a song sequel, in my opinion.
Did you know that Metallica won a Grammy for best metal performance in 1998 with a song from ReLoad that isn’t Fuel? Yeah, one of the songs that I find really bland here, Better Than You, is a Grammy winner. Metallica has never played this one live either. I find it to be a bit of a wasted track though, as the riff isn’t terrible but it just never goes anywhere. Kirk’s several solos don’t really elevate it at all and then ending it three times was a bit lame. I’d still much rather listen to this one than Poor Twisted Me, for sure, I just find this to be a weak song.
Speaking of weaker songs, what the hell is Slither? According to many fan surveys, this song is often voted as the worst. However, I do kinda like a lot of elements here. I think that pre-chorus is actually a really cool lift and I like the chorus lyrics a lot. I think it’s a little too obviously trying to rip off Sandman in it’s main riff, although I kinda like the harmony they do based off of it that brings in the solo. Speaking of Sandman, much like King Nothing uses the “off to never never land” tagline in it’s fade-out, I can hear Kirk starting up something that sounds like one of the Ain’t My Bitch riffs in the fade-out here. This is definitely lesser than Netter Than You all up, but I prefer the verse riff from which the song takes it’s name.
Alright, back to the good stuff. Carpe Diem Baby! Might be easier to skip to the part where I say that the one thing I don’t really love about this song is the “I-I-I-I-I” trailing vocal thing during the pre-chorus. This song is an absolute banger with one of the best main riffs on the album, some of James’ best singing and one of the best breakdowns post-Justice in my opinion. Oh, and James has the solo which ends with that awesome little harmonised run. Lyrically, this one is about exactly what it says on the tin. Live your life to the full because you’re only gonna get one shot. I love this one a lot. Might be my second favourite on the album.
Bad Seed doesn’t suck either. This was the lowest tuned song thst Metallica had ever done until Invisible Kid happened, with this one being in Drop C#. To me, this one talks of greed and someone getting openly mocked for being honest. The cough at the start gives me major Sweet Leaf vibes, as does the overall heaviness of the main riff. It’s a shame they never actually played this song live actually, I feel like it would’ve gone down rather well in concert. Kirk’s bluesy solo really rips here and I like the way that the lead carries on into the bridge.
Where The Wild Things Are is a mixed bag for a lot of people, one that I fall onto the positive side of. This is Jason’s third of three writing credits with Metallica and one of the most intriguing songs on ReLoad. That shimmering clean guitar tone leading into such a heavy riff is really cool. The vocals are quite catchy roo. My interpretation of this song is that it’s a bit of a cautionary tale about trying to hide the harsh realities of the world from children and the twisted perceptions they could get because of it. My favourite thing in this song is the bridge, it’s so unlike anything else Metallica has ever done and it works so well. Mind you, I could say that about the whole thing from my perspective. So different. So good.
Prince Charming is another cool little hidden gem. This one is one I’m not really sure what it’s trying to be about, but I get a real “everything bad in the world is my fault and I’m proud of it” kinda vibe. Bit of anarchy never went wrong on a Metallica album right? This is a 6 minute song and every bit of it ricks. I do think there’s a little bit of an …And Justice For All reference in here which is actually kinda subtle but also great to hear. I think the chorus is catchy as hell too. Kirk shreds it here and that main riff is really fun! Not a lot to say but check it out, this is another one of those Thorn Within tracks where it’s buried amongst the rest of ReLoad but it’s really damn good!
And then we have a song that definitely gets a bollocking that I don’t feel like it deserves called Low Man’s Lyric. I think the only reason people are so down on this one is the inclusion of David Miles on the Hurdy Gurdy. And yeah, I guess it’s a little out there and definitely far from what you’d expect from Metallica. But, it gives this song a unique quality that I have come to love. And then, it’s really not about that to me. There’s so much beauty and sadness in James’ lyrics here that is so masterful. The song is about a homeless man who struggles with drug addiction and suffers through his life. In fact, this is somewhat of a suicide letter. The song is amazing in my opinion, offering up a surprisingly heavy bridge for being played almost entirely on clean guitars apart from the tiny little hint of overdrive that Kirk uses in his solos. This song really is amazing and deserves another spin. I’d love to see Metallica bring this one out next time they do an acoustic show.
Attitude is ok. The lyric is a bit of a companion to Carpe Diem Baby in a way. This is basically a “yeah, I’m a rebel and I’m gonna wreck your day just for a bit of fun in my own”. I just don’t feel there!s much to this one. I like some of the riffs here, but it does feel like maybe the lyrics could’ve been a little better. “Just let me kill you for a while” has an edge to it, but it also just sounds a little cheesy to me. Mind you, the backing to the pre-chorus is kinda cool. Another pretty decent harmony section in this one, but the song itself has not been one that’s fully grabbed me over the years.
Not like the ending to this era has, anyway. We definitely seem to agree that The Outlaw Torn is the best song on Load, so would it be a stretch to say the same for Fixxxer here? Holy hell. This song has everything, the ambient intro, the killer hook of a main riff and all the emotion James could make me feel! This is a song about child abuse and trying to deal with the trauma years later. James uses the idea of the voodoo doll and the jabbing of the pins as a crux point to say “I’m not going to be my father, I’m going to be better and break this cycle”. The riffs are killer, the chorus is fairly damn close to perfect, I love the solo where I feel Kirk played his heart out with the slide. Everything on this song is damn near perfection. Easily my favourite song on the album, and judging from the crowd reaction back in 2021 when this song finally got played live, I’d say many people agree!
And that’s ReLoad. I feel like this is much more of a mixed bag than Load due to it being much less consistent. And yet, it’s got the energy. We’re back to Metallica with some edge that was lacking from Load. I’d give this a 7.25. It’s not quite on the same level as Kill ‘Em All for me, but only just behind it.
As for my single disc of Load, this is the tricky part. I think I’ll go with something like
Fuel
Ain’t My Bitch
The House Jack Built
The Unforgiven II
Carpe Diem Baby
Wasting My Hate
Bleeding Me
Prince Charming
Where the Wild Things Are
Thorn Within
The Outlaw Torn
Fixxxer
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1jne5hdJUXe4snFz0DnuJ1?si=fH8JTJYiRDmL7pTh8LU3wA (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1jne5hdJUXe4snFz0DnuJ1?si=fH8JTJYiRDmL7pTh8LU3wA)
What about you guys, what is your ultimate Load edit? Be keen to hear your thoughts on that and ReLoad.
Next week, Cunning Stunts!
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I've always felt like Load was the more cohesive album and Reload was the leftovers. I just listened to the album this week in advance of your upcoming post and remembered that I enjoy more songs than I thought:
Fuel, Devil's Dance, Better Than You, Slither (yes, I like this song more than Carpe Diem Baby), Where the Wild Things Are, Prince Charming, Attitude, Fixxxer. I'd take Mama Said over Low Man's Lyric any day though.
This was also my first Metallica experience live - they played a big open field/fairground west of Rockford, IL in the summer of 1998. Jerry Cantrell and Days of the New opened. This was when Chris DeGarmo was in Cantrell's band - at the time, I didn't care for Queensryche, but I can say that I saw him play live. I remember hearing some of the big AIC songs. Metallica came out and I got to see my favorite band live after being a fan for 6-7 years. They played a great set too.
The album reminds me of being 17 years old, turning 18, graduating from high school and in the last summers before I left for college.
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You chimed in a few times in my Queen discography, so my apologies for not commenting here sooner. I remember ordering '….And Justice For All' and the self titled Kingdom Come album via my then wife’s Columbia House membership. I’d heard of Metallica because Jason Newsted was from (then) nearby Gull Lake. Not the best introduction for me. So ‘tinny’ and ‘metallic’😉 I did change gears with the video for ‘Enter Sandman’, bought The Black Album, and enjoyed the hell out of it.
I remember buying 'Load' and giving it a few spins. It was OK, but the band isn't quite in my 'comfort zone'.
Just thought I’d also ‘well done’ with your more than in depth breakdowns of each song. :tup And…..pardon my ‘ignorance’, but I knew absolutely nothing in regards to Cliff Burton until reading this thread.
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Here we go with part II of the what was to be a double album, ReLoad. I remember in interviews the band saying these songs aren't the leftovers, just the songs that weren't ready when Load was released. I think many people felt like they were the leftovers, or a lot of it was. As with Load, some of Metallica's best production. Now, onto the songs:
Fuel - It's a really great opener, and probably the biggest live mainstay from the Load era. It starts the album out on a high
note. I actually like the demo version (Fuel for Fire) better than the Reload version. Love the double bass groove and riff
of the chorus.
The Memory Remains - I really like this song a lot as well. Really cool main riff. Love how it opens with just James and guitar
and also, the ash to ash, dust to dust section before the main riff comes back in. The Marianne Faithful
vocals fit the lyrical vibe of the song, but I agree about that part sounding so much better with the
crowd live. This one had a cool video too.
Devil's Dance - Here comes the heavy track, and this is my favorite of their slower, heavy tracks (Sad But True, Thing, Dream
No More, Harvester). Love the intro part, and the chorus is solid. I like Kirk's whacky solo here too.
Unforgiven II - This is my favorite of the 3 Unforgivens, and it's really melodic. The verses with James on the B-bender tele
sound great. James' vocals here are so good, and the outro with the nods to the first part is excellent.
Better than You - This song is okay, not great, as the chorus gets annoying. I can't believe they won a Grammy for this song.
Slither - I am strangely drawn to this interesting track, but it is quite uneven. The Sandman riff part isn't great, but I like the
verse riff with James' vocals. The "see you crawling" part is cool, but I don't really like the "don't go lookin for snakes"
bit. Still, overall, not great.
Carpe Diem Baby - Love how this song starts and the main riff is pretty interesting. I like this one too. The solo with the
harmony part at the end is really good.
Bad Seed - Big, fat groover with the main and verse riffs here. It's okay, but doesn't move the needle much for me.
Where the Wild Things Are - This is such an interesting and underrated track in the Metallica catalog. This is my favorite from
the album. The verses rule, and the bridge section is really cool. Great leads from Kirk. It would
be interesting to hear live, but not sure how well they would pull it off...
Prince Charming - This is like a greasy rocker on steroids. The chorus is solid, and the bridge part is nice too. I'm kinda
surprised they never played this one live. I know a lot of people would love to hear it.
Low Man's Lyric - I actually really like this one too. Another unique song that I think works pretty well. The lyrics fit the vibe
of the song really well.
Attitude - I've always had a soft spot for this song, and I love the looseness of how it starts. It has some nice riffs and the
"why cure the fever" turnaround is nice. Overall a fun, uptempo song for me.
Fixxxer - Just as with Load, this song is an awesome closer to ReLoad. The main riff is dark and so good. Epic chorus, and the
outro where the drums pickup the tempo to the end is awesome. They finally played it live!
Overall, there is a lot to like here. As the 2 albums are constructed in reality, if I could only pick one, I would take ReLoad. I just like a little bit more here. Both have their fair share of awesome songs and clunkers, only one has a Poor Twisted Me though. ;)
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Also, which is the better closer? The Outlaw Torn or Fixxxer
I lean Fixxxer, but both really are great, epic tracks.
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Hey all, just an update to say that I am currently away on a short little holiday. Cunning Stunts is coming, but it might be next Monday or Tuesday instead of the regular Wednesday/Friday release schedule I try to keep to. Sorry!
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There's a section of the metal audience that does seem to cling on to this "everything heavier than everything else" idea as being the One True Metal. Load and ReLoad show Metallica tempering the heavy with other shades and textures - you can't listen to stuff like King Nothing or Carpe Diem Baby and argue that it's not heavy - I used to blast those songs out at full pelt and trust me, they're heavy. The 90s grunge explosion was adapt or die for established bands, and Load/ReLoad is the sound of Metallica adapting, and doing so successfully. These are unfairly maligned albums, as they're two of Metallica's best. Still, I guess some people prefer St Anger...
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I'll keep this brief but ReLoad is not just responsible for my love of Metallica but probably my journey into heavy music in general.
I distinctly remember being around 13. I was learning drums only because I loved the movie That Thing You Do and wanted to be a jazz drummer after that, despite not listening to jazz. I remember going to my first drum lesson saying I just wanted to learn jazz and not rock or anything else. My mom loved old music but never really had much on around me, so I wasn't exposed to much growing up outside of movies/tv shows.
Then one day I was getting ready to take a shower and walked by the TV which was on MTV or VH1 or whatever played music videos back then and The Memory Remains came on. I just dropped everything I was doing and was stunned. I got some of their albums and then I remember watching Reload, Rehearse, and Request with Matt Pinnfield sometime later.
Obviously my drumming goals changed, and everything else about my approach to music changed. Granted, Memory Remains probably wouldn't make my top 50 anymore, but that song opened the damn flood gates.
I really love a bunch of these songs, despite the filler. Fixxxer remains in my top 5, and Where the Wild Things Are is one of my favorites by them as well.
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I just dropped everything I was doing and was stunned. I got some of their albums and then I remember watching Reload, Rehearse, and Request with Matt Pinnfield sometime later.
I LOVED that show and remember watching it over and over.
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I just dropped everything I was doing and was stunned. I got some of their albums and then I remember watching Reload, Rehearse, and Request with Matt Pinnfield sometime later.
I LOVED that show and remember watching it over and over.
I appreciate them trying to make the request part seem interesting but failing miserably.
"Any requests?"
"Yea...this is a long shot...and I dunno if you're prepared to play it.....but is there any chance you'll play.....Enter Sandman?"
"...Yea, I think we can somehow pull that off."
But seeing the acoustic set and Low Man's Lyric was especially cool.
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I haven't chimed in about Load/Reload, so here we go...
When I got into Metallica, via the Black Album, folloby the first 4 records, I read a lot about Load/Reload and the way the albums divides fans. On top of that, my older brother used to talk about the crushing disappointment Load was for him.
I was hesitant to give the albums a listen and actually heard S&M way before Load and Reload. I consider S&M to be my all time favourite live album, and my first exposure to songs like Fuel, The Memory Remains, Hero of the Day were on that record. I adore the S&M versions, and in every case feel they are superior to the studio versions.
Because of this I have a bit of a weird relationship with both albums. As I said, I find all the studio versions lacking and it definitely impacts my view. The Load/Reload songs I've come to love are ones such as King Nothing, Unforgiven II, Low Man's Lyric. These are all great songs and the albums themselves aren't bad.
I think the 90s was great for Metallica due to the explosion of The Black Album and the release of Garage Inc and S&M. For me those are the real successes of 90s Metallica, and Load/Reload have become an afterthought for me.
Anyone else have a similar experience?
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Cunning Stunts - 1998
Setlist: So What, Creeping Death, Sad But True, Ain’t My Bitch, Hero of the Day, King Nothing, One, Fuel, Bass/Guitar Doodle, Nothing Else Matters, Until It Sleeps, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Wherever I May Roam, Fade to Black. Kill/Ride Medley, Last Caress, Master of Puppets, Enter Sandman, Am I Evil?, Motorbreath
Poor Touring Me is one of two tours that really helps to prove a rule to me: Don’t skip the Metallica show even if you didn’t like the album. Some songs are much better live and you still get to see plenty of old stuff to make it worth it. This is a record that helps lay that out for all to see.
Cunning Stunts was filmed live at the Tarrant County Convention Centre in Fort Worth, Texas on May 9th and 10th of 1997, but released in December of 1998. These were towards the very end of the Load cycle, at the point were Metallica were set to head back into the studio to finish the other songs that would become ReLoad.
As I said before, Binge and Purge is far from my favourite Metallica live album, but it was a great way to start. I feel that the success of that box set allowed them to keep going and showing what they did best, which is being a live band. Their second concert film, Cunning Stunts is a great example of why Metallica live albums are as awesome as they are.
The show foregoes the usual symphonic intro and opens with the band walking onto the stage in full view of the audience and opening with a brief jam, which on this particular night was the instrumental for the, then unreleased, Bad Seed. James engages with the crowd briefly and the show opens properly with one of my least favourite Metallica covers, So What (more on why later this week!). What I do really like about this particular recording of the song is seeing the house lights turn off and the concert lighting kick in during the third verse. It’s quite cool seeing that transition happening while the band is already in full force.
The second song here is Creeping Death. While I’m not a huge fan of them cutting most of that iconic intro out, I have to admit that this is a great performance of the iconic track. Jason’s backup vocals are strong as steel, Lars’ drumming is tight and energetic, Kirk is in fine form and James nails the vocals. This is the tour where he started getting away from the iconic growls and started heading in a more clean direction, as witnessed in his approach to the vocals on Load, but his voice is still strong. The bridge is a powerful moment as it should be, and as a personal note, I feel the need to mention that I love the camera work on this show a lot more than the San Diego segments of Binge and Purge already!
“I’ve got an announcement to make. We’ve come here to KICK YOUR ASS!” Looking at this show, I feel this promise was kept! Third song, Sad But True. The main body of the song is played a tad slower than it’s counterpart on Binge and Purge, but I’m all for it. This song just has such a heavy bounce to it that I absolutely love. The lighting in the chorus is really cool, illuminating the audience in the seating with a strobing light to some of the quicker rhythms. I’m way more into this song on this release than I am on Binge and Purge and actually more interested in watching it here than seeing it played live nowadays.
More great crowd banter from James precedes a three song run from Load. Back to back, we have Ain’t My Bitch, Hero of the Day and King Nothing, which make up the majority of the “new” songs in this release. Listening to Bitch here, I find myself wondering why they haven’t played this one again more recently. It translates really well to being played live and it has a huge energy! It’s also really cool to hear Jason stepping up on the vocals for a little bit of the last pre chorus. Hero of the Day isn’t anywhere near as good as it will be on S&M here, though that really isn’t a very fair comparison to make. Best moment of the song is definitely the bridges though. It’s so cool hearing James and Jason doing that delayed doubling thing live. The ambience of the King Nothing intro having the stage doused in smoke is an awesome visual. Jason spends a lot of this song playing off stage right in front of the crowd. This is another song that’s just immense live though, and I’m glad it seems to have come back on and off over the years.
Uo next is our sole representative of …And Justice For All, One. The opening explosions are a little bit hard to see, as the camera keeps spinning, but what we do get to see is nothing like the pyro displays of today where it’s practically a fireworks show. However, this performance of the song is awesome! I love the clean tone that James and Kirk have here and having Jason’s bass tone stick out rather than being buried throughout the song is fantastic! Lars slays the double bass showcase that is the second half of the song, Kirk absolutely nails the cleaner solos (though drops it a little bit for the heavy solo) and this has to be one of the best James “noooo”s. The harmony section is awesome too!
“We’re gonna play an extra new song, like next record new”. We get a bit of a special treat here with an early performance of Fuel. This doesn’t have the finished lyrics yet, in fact the first verse is repeated. The instrumental is mostly what it would be on ReLoad though. It’s actually kinda cool to see the song this way, a little less completed and a lot more raw. Thankfully, the “ooh, yeah-heh” is here, but it’s still not quite as strong as the take used in the studio version. Worth a watch actually.
And we come to the bass and guitar doodle. So, you’re probably thinking “yeah, Deadeye’s gonna hate this since he hates the ones on Binge and Purge”. Actually, not at all true. This is, by far, my favourite solo section from any Metallica live release. What Jason does in his bass solo here starts melodic and beautiful and then becomes an expanded version of the original idea for My Friend of Misery. Jason is sitting on one side of the bridge that crosses over part of the stage for the duration of the solo. When Kirk joins in, he sits on the other side of the bridge. They jam on Friend for a little bit, before switching into a little bit of Sanitarium and ending with the opening bars of Nothing Else Matters.
From there, Kirk plays the intro solo to the song and James joins in. Kirk drops out and we get the first two verses as a straight solo performance from James, with Kirk coming in to play his lead riff in the third. Lars and Jason return for the fourth verse and the song continues from there. It’s a really cool moment when James kicks his stool over as he kicks into his solo. Instead of playing the song through to tit’s usual ending from the album though, James rings out the last note as Lars and Jason begun the next song.
That song is Until It Sleeps. This one is interesting live. Jason’s backing vocals don’t really land right for me in the choruses and the dynamics of the song feel like they work a lot better in the studio than they do live. This is another one where the S&M version a few years later would work so much better for me. Kirk’s solo is really cool here though. I just feel that Wasting My Hate or Bleeding Me that they had been performing at other shows of this tour would’ve been a bit more worthy of committing to tape here.
Jason gives another quick solo here, cramming up the Wah before our second song from Ride the Lightning for the evening kicks off. For Whom The Bell Tolls is always awesome to see, though I think the intro here is a little flat. It seems like only Lars is playing those guitar stabs and it just feels a little weak. The rest of the song is a killer performance though. The opening lead sees Kirk walking through the crowd, much like Jason has a few times now. The middle harmonies sound strong, but one of the coolest moments occurs at the start of the second verse. “It’s the last time you will”, all stage lights cut to black and then come in perfectly in sync with the next note. So cool! Kirk plays around with his whammy bar for a little bit afterwards and that’s the song.
Another cut to darkness leads to the sitar intro of Wherever I May Roam. This is a banger of a performance. Lars’ toms sound huge throughout the verses and James’ vocals sail right over the top of it. The harmonies are tight, Kirk’s solos are beautifully executed, James even takes a quick stroll through the audience during the solos, performing the last chorus from his small b-stage on the ground. Another really solid performance in a night jam packed with great performances.
Another powerful moment for this one is Fade to Black. Kirk’s opening solo is probably never performed better than on this one. James sings this one so beautifully, matching the shimmering clean tones magically. The heavy instrumental choruses are absolutely banging here, as is the back half of the song. I can’t put into words how much I love Kirk’s closing solo here. This is a step down from Seattle, but I’d put it above San Diego for sure!
If you’re getting a craving for more of the older stuff after that though, the next song has you covered. Apart from something that happens in a few songs time, the Kill/Ride Medley is one of the defining features of Cunning Stunts. This is perhaps not as strong of an arrangement as the Justice Medley, but I think the performance more than makes up for it. This performance combines the first verse and chorus of Ride the Lightning, the intro through to the chorus of No Remorse, the first two verses and choruses of Hit the Lights, the bridge of The Four Horsemen and most of the post-solo structures from both Seek and Destroy and Fight Fire With Fire into one huge medley of old school deep cuts! It’s sadly the only taste of Kill ‘Em All we’re given in the main set here, since other shows on this tour did also feature Whiplash, but hey, this is insanely cool. Kirk’s solo from No Remorse is never going to be something I don’t want to see in a live show, so there’s that. The breakdown gallop from Horsemen is super heavy at this slower pace, which is definitely set up well with the climb down from the pitch of Hit the Lights. Great to see Kirk getting into the backing vocals a bit on this one too. Lars’ double bass in the Fight Fire With Fire segment is strong! Definitely the track I recommend everyone checks out if you’re only listening to the show.
For anyone watching this on DVD, this is where you’ll need to change discs, so I guess now is the time to talk about the stage design. I love the stage here, it’s actually one of my favourite Metallica stages to date (I haven’t seen what M72 will look like yet though, so I wonder if there’ll be any major changes?). This is another “in the round” stage, meaning it takes up most of the arena floor. Within the area of the stage are the crew areas, where the guitar changes are occurring from. We have moving light towers, we’re about to see that there are extra drum kits on elevators, there’s even a second stage built on the ground, as I’ve mentioned, so that the band can be playing directly in the audience’s faces. It’s actually really awesome to look at. Lighting isn’t all that impressive though, with most of the songs being lit in solid blue with a few effects here and there on certain songs, but I digress.
Our last half hour opens with another jam. This one based on Leper Messiah. James plays random noises over the top of it, but the cool thing to watch is Jason gets in the second kit and kinda plays with Lars, a bit like James does on the San Diego show. This is just how the encore opens up though, as we’re about to kick into another cover. Last Caress, without Green Hell, is a shirt and sharp two minute jam that gets us right back into the action. I think it’s performed well, but both Binge and Purge versions were better.
James has a cool little singalong thing with the audience here, doing a weird little machine gun rapid thing. Then we’re into the next song,
Here we have Master of Puppets, or at least half of it. This is something I really hate about most of the 90’s shows is that Master was cut off after the second chorus way too often. In 2000, they did a cool little thing called Mastertarium, where they’d play Master up to the end of the second chorus, then Sanitarium to the end of the third solo and straight back into the third verse of Master. That’s cool. What we have here isn’t that, and boy how I wish it was. This version is awesome, the audience interaction is great, but it feels like they just cut it short for no reason!
Where the clean section of Puppets should be, Metallica instead opt to begin Enter Sandman. This performance is fine, I guess. I’m kinda bored of hearing the song live already as I’ve been getting started on something coming up in about six weeks. But yeah, this is Metallica doing their biggest song again. As you’d imagine, it’s a tight performance, as it should be after six and a half years of playing it at every show to that point. But what makes this particular performance spectacular is worth going through it all for. The “Destruction Scene”, as it’s come to be known, is an amazing spectacle where everything goes absolutely wrong during the ending of the song. We start with people swinging from the rigging, have Uris and flash pots going off, have someone falling off one of the rope ladders, a guy on fire, and ending with towers falling down! It’s a hell of a thing to see and I’d absolutely hate to see it happen for real. But this one is all staged and everyone is fine, so I love it! It was a staple of the Poor Touring Me cycle that makes it really fun to watch this performance of Sandman.
And now that everything’s kinda broken, we see lightbulbs suspended from ropes lighting the stage. Lars starts grooving away on the drums and we get a jam that ends up with the opening riff to Cure. Kirk changes out to one of his coolest guitars, the “Wavecaster”. It’s an acrylic body with the stuff from a lava lamp in it. Looks dope.
So, from there, we get an even shorter version of Am I Evil?, skipping the intro and leading straight into the main riff. This is a really cool performance, but I must be going crazy coz I’m hearing a little bit of the St. Anger ping to the snare here. The show ends with Motorbreath, but without the drum intro. This is my favourite performance of the song all the same though. I think the tone from this tour really suited the song well and Jason getting the crowd going in those post-choruses is really cool.
And that’s Cunning Stunts, a great way to spend 130 minutes. I think it’s easily my number 2 of the 3 concert films we’ve looked at so far, slotting in just under Seattle (which is still one of their best shows to this day) but mikes above San Diego. I think the performance here is excellent, I think the cinematography was handled much better and even though I miss songs like Through the Never and Battery, I think this is a better setlist. I’m not really rating the live shows, but I will keep a ranking of them as we go. Catch you all on Friday when I dive deep into Garage, Inc.
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Great review of a great VHS/DVD. I watched the VHS plenty of times back in the day. The Kill/Ride Medley is awesome, and this is my favorite live version of Fade to Black. Watching it now makes me miss Jason for sure. The "stage mishap" during Sandman was pretty cool too. I remember a friend going to see them on this tour, and him telling me about it. Then we realized it happened every show and was staged.
1998 was also when me and another friend started getting into tape trading and eventually torrenting bootlegs. Still have a box full of tapes at my parents house. Some of the quality was rough, but man I loved hearing this band's live recordings. I remember getting a few shows from this tour. The Moline show was a highlight, as they busted out Shortest Straw, even though James botched some of the verses. Now I have tons of Metallica shows stored on a hard drive.
Also, I had a music store near me that carried those bootleg import cds. I definitely bought way too many of those for too much money. I had like all of those Garage Days bootlegs and some other shows from over the years. Fun times!
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I believe I sold my Cunning Stunts DVD a number of years ago when I purged a lot of my collection. Fun fact - this was one of the very first DVD's that I ever purchased in the early 2000's. I remember going into Best Buy and being amazed that you could get live concerts on DVD, rather than just VHS. I bought Cunning Stunts and Iron Maiden's Raising Hell, along with a couple of films. DVD's were really fucking expensive at the time too, being so new.
I really enjoyed the live show and felt it was a good representation of late 1990's Metallica. Jason's My Friend of Misery bass solo stood out, as did the Kill Ride Medley. I also loved that they played Ain't My Bitch, which wasn't really featured after that tour, in favor of the singles from Load.
This was when they decided to start their shows with cover songs as a nod to old-school fans. On the Black Album tour, they trolled fans by playing the big hit song first (Sandman) and forcing them to sit through 3 hours of other Metallica songs to get their money's worth. This time, they started with songs that only old-school fans would recognize, which carried through to the Reload tour (I saw them open with Helpless) as a way to again troll their newer fans and reward long-time fans.
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"Poor Touring Me" was my first time seeing Metallica in person at Chicago Rosemount, I was either 15 or 16. I think they were there for 3 or 4 nights. We scored floor seats right by the stage and high-fived both Hammett and Newsted as they were running around the figure 8 stage. They closed with Motorbreath with the four lightbulbs swinging around, which was frickin awesome (it has become one of my favorite Metallica songs lyric-wise).
And of course the pre-show sweater puppet sans-sweater contest was a real highlight for a 15-y/o kid from the burbs. Great job by the Rosemount Camera crew on that one.
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I'm so far behind on so many things here, so bear with me on this one a bit.
During my Queen discography bit, I came across some videos by Lonn Friend on Glenn Hughes page (Deep Purple bassist) for the premiere night of their 'We Will Rock You' North American stage show in Vegas in 2004. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc2weYyqn6Y
I just bought Lonn Friend's 'Life On The Planet Rock' paperback two weeks ago. https://www.amazon.com/Life-Planet-Rock-Backstage-Debauched/dp/0767922085
A lot of great stuff on the early days of Metallica, Guns 'n Roses, Hustler magazine, Alice Cooper, etc.
It is not a 'man, we got stoned and drunk and did this and that' type of book, but a 'well, they called me up, they came over and we partied and then we played the demos of the 'Black Album' in my car' type of writing. He only let's go of 'secrets' years after those secrets were made public.
Seeing Kevin DuBrow brings a big tear to our eyes. He sat with my wife and I for a couple of hours on two separate days at the Paris Hotel..... we still don't know why. Maybe because my wife was a knock out (to me anyway) or that we just said 'Hi' had some placards, and didn't fawn over him. And then we started talking Queen nonalbum B sides and such. So many women came along and well....you know....and he'd take a pic with them, and then apologize after sitting back down with us.
Him apologizing!
The premiere night, he was begging to get on stage with all the 'heavy hitters'. He was clean at the time, and was apologetic about his earlier troubles.
A year later, Quiet Riot performed in Towson, my wife got him to autograph the 'C'mon Feel The Noize' 45. Nine months later, he'd relapsed and OD'd.
oops....sorry...... on with the show...
Speaking of which....shame on KevShmev for not allowing any 'Garage Inc' tunes in his countdown. ;) 'So What' would have been a Top Twenty track, and, surprisingly, 'Stone Cold Crazy' (I despise 99% of Queen covers) would have been Top Five.
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Cool stuff DragonAttack! Thanks for sharing that find with us!
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I love Cunning Stunts. Minus MoP being cut in half of course.
It still had that unpredictable quality that Metallica had back in the day but they were less "ROAR ANGRY ALL THE TIME" which was fine with me.
I wish they'd go back to that unpredictable quality.
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Garage Inc. - 1998
Tracklisting (Disc One): 1. Free Speech for the Dumb. 2. It’s Electric. 3. Sabbra Cadabra. 4. Turn the Page. 5. Die Die My Darling. 6. Loverman. 7. Mercyful Fate. 8. Astronomy. 9. Whiskey in the Jar. 10. Tuesday’s Gone. 11. The More I See.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0vshXZYhBkbIoqxyC2fXcF?si=1jQij88_QRit1dqNg2caUw (https://open.spotify.com/album/0vshXZYhBkbIoqxyC2fXcF?si=1jQij88_QRit1dqNg2caUw)
Given the way this album works, I thought I’d break this chapter into two releases as well, since I know I won’t be able to fit it all in one go anyway.
During the early days, when Metallica only had a small handful of original tunes at their disposal, they naturally filled out their setlists with cover songs. Songs by Diamond Head, Savage, Sweet Savage, Blitzkrieg and more often saw live performances in Metallica’s first year together and would continue to stick around for many years to come, as we’ve seen over the course of our live chapters here.
When it came to the release of the Creeping Death single, Metallica needed B-Sides. What came from that was the original Garage Days Revisited (not Re-Revisited as was released in 1987). There they released Am I Evil? and Blitzkrieg. And from there a whole other side to Metallica opened. They released the $5.98 EP as their first release with Jason and between Justice and Load, every single came armed with a new cover or two to pay homage to the bands that inspired them to get to where they were.
So the day after the last North American date of the Poor Re-Touring Me cycle (the tour in support of ReLoad), Metallica found themselves in the studio once again, but this time it was different. The band started recording brand new covers from the “usual suspect” bands like Black Sabbath and The Misfits, plus a cover of a cover with Thin Lizzy’s take on an Irish Traditional tune. But they also expanded the repertoire and added some Nick Cave and Bob Seger to round out the mix.
As Lars commented the band wanted to do something different after three pretty serious albums in a row, starting with the Black Album and then Load and ReLoad, and the process would be easier by working with covers, especially as there was starting to be a tradition of taking other people's songs and turning them into something very Metallica, different from what the original artist did.
So how would this process turn out? Are these songs worth the listen as part of Metallica’s catalog, or are they merely a means of putting out more material without having to compose it themselves? Let’s take a listen!
The album starts with Free Speech for the Dumb, originally released by Discharge on their 1982 album, Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing. Discharge’s version is a very frantically paced punk song. Short, sharp and to the point. Metallica’s version slows it down and has Kirk expand the solos out a little. I’m not a huge fan of the tone he uses on the lead parts though, which I had thought was a reference to the original for the longest time but am now finding was just an odd choice. Lars’ drum parts lack the cymbal work from the original, which makes it feel a little too much like a loop. James and Jason’s rhythm sound is nice and punchy though and James’ voice is sounding even better than on the Loads.
It’s Electric is the newest Diamond Head cover in Metallica’s catalog but one of the songs that was on the original setlists way back in 1982. This song, like many other Metallica Diamond Head covers, comes from the Lightning To The Nations album from 1980. The tones on this version are a lot more modern and the production is much cleaner than the original. I think this one really suited James’ voice for 1998. It’s a short song, but it’s a great rocker. This does sit at the bottom of the Diamond Head trilogy for me, as I really love the other two songs, but I enjoy listening to this one plenty. To me, Free Speech for the Dumb is almost more of an intro track where this one sets the tone for the album properly and serves as a far better album opener. Kinda like Regression to Overture 1928 in a way.
Sabbra Cadabra, while taking the name of only one song, is a medley of two tracks from Black Sabbath’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (the other being A National Acrobat, which serves as this song’s bridge). I know it’s going to sound like a blasphemy, but I way prefer this medley to both of Sabbath’s original versions. I think the guitar tones just sound much stronger and what the song needed from Sabbath. James is in top form here, with some impressive notes in the choruses. The main riff to A National Acrobat does seem like it served as a direct inspiration to a key riff from Fade to Black when you hear it with the Metallica tone too. Such a banger!
Turn the Page, originally by Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band on the Back in ‘72 album, is a perfect example of example of what Lars was saying about taking a song and making it a Metallica song. While the original song is very good, Metallica’s version is something else entirely. Kirk replaces the saxophone melody with slide guitar, and the whole thing is just taken to a different level with the infusion of Metallica’s style from the Load era. James sings this with such a soul to his performance that it feels he could’ve written these lyrics himself. I believe he said in one of the interview clips from the 40th Anniversary shows that “Turn the Page could've been written for us, it’s the story of our lives!”. While it’s not one of my favourite Metallica covers, it’s definitely one that’s worth a listen. This was one of the three singles released from Garage Inc. and it reached number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Charts for 11 consecutive weeks.
Up next is a much more simple song, Die Die My Darling by The Misfits. This one doesn’t really have much to say about it. This has a very A/B structure to it that doesn’t really change. Once you’ve heard a third of the song, you’ve pretty much heard it all. James’ voice is what carries it all as the riff is very simple. It’s a cool enough song, but I really gotta be in the right mood to take this one onboard.
Well, let’s get into a weirder choice here. Loverman, by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Man, this one is different. They try to stay true to the original quite a bit here and it does feel like a very good cover of the song, but I just find it to be an odd choice. It’s a great display of James’ vocal range, for sure, but this song just doesn’t work for me at all. I find it very skippable. It’s way longer than it needs to be. I do really like Jason’s bass tone in a lot of spots here though. The ending with the synth is pretty cool though.
Still, if Loverman is the price of admission for the next song though, I’ll take it for Mercyful Fate. This is an 11 minute medley of four songs from Mercyful Fate’s Melissa album and a fifth from their self-titled EP, being Satan’s Fall, Curse of the Pharaohs, A Corpse Without Soul, Into the Coven and Evil. Holy shit. Straight off the bat, this is straight up awesomeness. Amazing riffs, great vocals featuring Jason and Kirk backups, fantastic drumming and killer solos! Man, Mercyful Fate is easily Metallica’s best cover as the mastery of this medley is a composition unto it’s own. The transitions between songs hit so naturally while defining the start and end points for each song. Nothing feels forced or lazy, it all feels like it’s always been there and simply spliced together. Even points where songs are married by a sustained note serve to only build dramatic tension, as can be felt in the intro to Into the Coven. If Metallica want to do something very special on M72, I hope they consider digging this one out live. Easily the standout track from the first disc of Garage Inc.
Following that behemoth is my second favourite cover from this disc, Astronomy by Blue Oyster Cult (surprise, they did more than Don’t Fear the Reaper!). This has such an atmospheric build to it during the first few verses before coming in with one of the coolest transitions into the heavier sections! It’s a full on harmony section and it’s not the only one there is either. Vocal harmonies and group chants, thick heavy layers of guitars and some of Kirk’s best soloing for the first disc. There are even some moments that feel particularly progressive. Kt’s hard to put into words just how much I like this one, or why, but this has always been a favourite for me.
Whiskey in the Jar. Man, what a great cover! It’s nit often you get a track where it’s a full James lead, but we’ve got it here. Man, James’ lead tone here absolutely rocks. This is another song that just really fits the Metallica wheelhouse like a glove. I’d say for many that this would likely be the ultimate version and I’d be amongst them. James’ solo is absolutely a highlight, but I also want to highlight the vocal harmonies in the third verse. I love how nice they sound. I love Lars’ groove in the choruses with such a cool feel when he goes to the rack toms. This is my third favourite, but I’m sure it would be right up top for most listeners. This was also released as a single, it went to number one on the Rock and Metal chart in the Us and actually won a Grammy for best hard rock performance in 2000 (the single was released in February of 1999). It’s a cover of a cover, with Metallica taking inspiration directly from Thin Lizzy’s cover years earlier, but they still found a way to make it their own.
Tuesday’s Gone is the only song on this disc to not have been recorded in those 3 weeks in 1998. Rather, this one comes from a particularly special radio broadcast from December of 1997. On this broadcast, Metallica were joined by a wealth of guest musicians including Pepper Keenan, Jerry Cantrell, Jim Martin, John Popper, Les Claypool and Gary Rossington. During the performance, everyone got together to play this classic Lynard Skynard track and have a bit of an extended jam on it. While I feel the track is maybe a little long, I’m really glad it’s here for the diehard fans to listen to, but I find the original Lynard Skynard version a lot more digestible. You can tell they kinda run outta ideas vocally after a while, they I do like the little bit of them singing the chorus of Free Bird for a little bit. Cool to have the jam, but I just don’t come back to this all that often, even though I’ve been covering the song in my own setlists for a little while now.
The final track of this disc is The More I See, originally written by Discharge. The original song is a quick paced punky number, where Metallica have taken it’s simple origin and turned it into a real heavy bastard of a song. I’m kinda surprised that the original band weren’t a bit more like Black Sabbath from what Metallica did to this song. Metallica’s cover is based upon the extended version with the opening drum fill and elongated intro. I like this one a lot. It’s a good heavy jam to end off with, and going back to that punky sound to end off with kinda brings it a title full circle to Free Speech in my opinion. We end off with what a call a “turn tape over” kind of jam, which is just a rather atmospheric jam. It’s actually a really nice touch, which reminds me of the Run to the Hills jam at the end of the $5.98 EP, just this one was done right! I’ve since found out this is a jam of Bridge of Sighs by Robin Trower, but I always thought this was an impromptu jam.
And that’s the first disc of Garage Inc.! There’s still a lot more to talk about though, so come back tomorrow for a look at disc two, which acts as more of a compilation than a new album. I used to think that this wasn’t peak Metallica and rather just a “we’re keeping the ball rolling” kind of release. Damn, was I wrong. This disc holds some of James’ best vocal performances of all time and some classic tunes that many people now associate with Metallica! The guitar tones are a great evolution from Load, though still with the same kind of mixing which sounds straight out awesome.
Since it would be unfair for me to score this as a Metallica album, being that it’s not their material, what I’ll do instead is rank these tunes from favourite to least from this disc.
Mercyful Fate, Astronomy, Whiskey in the Jar, Turn the Page, Sabbra Cadabra, It’s Electric, The More I See, Die Die My Darling, Tuesday’s Gone, Free Speech for the Dumb, Loverman.
Catch ya tomorrow.
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Tuesday’s Gone is the only song on this disc to not have been recorded in those 3 weeks in 1998. Rather, this one comes from a particularly special radio broadcast from December of 1997. On this broadcast, Metallica were joined by a wealth of guest musicians including Pepper Keenan, Jerry Cantrell, Jim Martin, John Popper, Les Claypool and Gary Rossington. During the performance, everyone got together to play this classic Lynard Skynard track and have a bit of an extended jam on it. While I feel the track is maybe a little long, I’m really glad it’s here for the diehard fans to listen to, but I find the original Lynard Skynard version a lot more digestible. You can tell they kinda run outta ideas vocally after a while, they I do like the little bit of them singing the chorus of Free Bird for a little bit. Cool to have the jam, but I just don’t come back to this all that often, even though I’ve been covering the song in my own setlists for a little while now.
I love the start of this; I can do without the jam. This is the trigger for my repeated comments that I would love to hear a James solo album where he does a batch of songs in this vein.
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Agreed Stads. I’d love to see it happen. I’m thinking it’ll be James’ endgame when he’s too old to keep Metallica-ing
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Man, I absolutely adore Garage Inc. As I think I mentioned before, I first heard the album almost exactly 19 years ago. I was going on a week's holiday to Scotland with my girlfriend at the time, and her family. A few days before I found it on double cassette at a car boot sale.
I was pretty hard up back then, on an apprentice wage, and my minidisc player had died on me the previous year. That Walkman saw me through at least another year and a half, until I got my first mp3 player.
Any way, that whole week trip to Scotland (we drove up there and visited a lot of places, so lots of time in the car) I played Garage Inc on repeat! I miss those days where I could listen to an album for a week! I could never do that now, but back then it was a simpler time.
We'll get to disc 2 later, but I love almost all the songs on here. Deadeye, I agree with you about Loverman being a skipper, it is the only song that does little for me. It's Electric, Sabbra Cadabra, Turn the Page, Mercyful Fate and Astronomy are particularly strong.
I love the variety this disc throws at you. I also feel that Metallica just make these songs their own in a way that it's kinda hard for the original songs to hold up against them.
I know Garage Inc wasn't included in the Metallica Top 50 Songs Thread (gutted) but if it was, you better believe most of these would make the list. Mercyful Fate is actually my #1 Metallica song! The riffs in that thing are off the chart and the drums just sound colossal.
I really just think this album has something for everyone and it helped me start to explore the world of metal. When I first heard it I was still fairly new to metal, and was in my honeymoon period with Metallica. I knew Black Sabbath and Misfits (being into punk as well), but this record helped me start to explore these bands that influenced my heroes.
I remember reading through the tape inlay, with all the information about the bands they covered and realising I was just starting to scratch the metal surface. It was an exciting time and it fuelled that love of discovering new bands.
Let's go for a full disc rank
1. Mercyful Fate
2. Astronomy
3. Turn the Page
4. It's Electric
5. Sabbra Cadabra
6. Die Die My Darling
7. Tuesday's Gone
8. Whiskey in the Jar
9. Free Speech for the Dumb
10. The More I See
11. Loverman
Oh, also thanks Deadeye, this thread had me watching Cunning Stunts for the first time in at least 15 years this week. It was the first live performance I owned of Metallica's, and I used to watch it loads back in the day.
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Agreed Stads. I’d love to see it happen. I’m thinking it’ll be James’ endgame when he’s too old to keep Metallica-ing
I'm here for it (hopefully ;))
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Agreed Stads. I’d love to see it happen. I’m thinking it’ll be James’ endgame when he’s too old to keep Metallica-ing
I'm here for it (hopefully ;))
I was hoping we'd be there already by now, to be honest.
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Agreed Stads. I’d love to see it happen. I’m thinking it’ll be James’ endgame when he’s too old to keep Metallica-ing
I'm here for it (hopefully ;))
I was hoping we'd be there already by now, to be honest.
Metallica being over, or James doing a solo album?
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I've been listening to each album as you do the writeups, but I haven't had time to digest Garage Inc. lately. I remember going out to buy this at midnight from the store, the day of the release. I was in college and walked to the main street where the record shops were. Bought it, went back to my dorm room and stayed up for an hour listening to it, despite having class the next morning.
I've never really spent time with too many of the original version of each song (with the exception being Mercyful Fate), but I love the Metallica versions. I think they made great choices too, going for deeper tracks than standard hits from each artist.
I agree with Free Speech being just a short intro track. It's Electric is a complete rocker and James sounds great. Funnily enough, Megadeth covered this on the Rust in Peace tour and released a live version as part of the Warchest box set. Sabbra Cadabra is one of my favorites from the first disc and has a great swing to it.
Turn the Page is fantastic and the famous quote from Lars is that this song is James Hetfield through and through. They turned this song into what could be a Metallica original. Absolutely amazing and this one was all over the radio back then. When I saw them in 2000, Kid Rock came out and sang it with them.
Die Die - eh, it's alright. A fun little punk cover. They opened with this song in the early 2000's when I saw them. Loverman - completely skippable. I find this one to be their most boring cover.
Mercyful Fate - this was my intro to the band (MF). Amazing riffing throughout this medley and, James pulls off a great performance, singing naturally instead of trying to sound like King Diamond. Later on, I got into King's vocals and listening to the originals.
Astronomy - my other favorite on the disc. I believe they said this one came from Jason, who recommended covering it. They made it nice and heavy with great vocals.
Whisky in the Jarro - eh, I'm not a big fan and find it to be a bit overplayed by now. Kudos to them making it sound like a Metallica tune again.
Tuesday's Gone - I never really listen to this one, but it's nice that they didn't go for one of Skynrd's hit songs.
The More I See - another quick little closer. Not much else to say, but I think this is better than Free Speech.
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Agreed Stads. I’d love to see it happen. I’m thinking it’ll be James’ endgame when he’s too old to keep Metallica-ing
I'm here for it (hopefully ;))
I was hoping we'd be there already by now, to be honest.
Metallica being over, or James doing a solo album?
James doing a solo record. But to get one it seems like we'd need the other, so that sucks.
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Just as a brief aside here folks, I know I definitely want to cover the song I Disappear, but my question is do I make a single song Monday night review, or tack it to S&M or St. Anger? And if I tack it on, to which one?
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I would say cover it with S&M, it's much more of a kin to No Leaf Clover and - Human than it is St. Anger.
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I would say cover it with S&M, it's much more of a kin to No Leaf Clover and - Human than it is St. Anger.
Closer time wise too. I agree.
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'Turn The Page'.....Seger's best version is from 'Live Bullet' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9G6Ec1DDlc For those who don't know it, it probably gets played on the oldies or classic radio stations a couple of times a day.
I've enjoyed Metallica's version throughout the years. I watched the video for the first time today. To say my jaw dropped when I saw Ginger Lynn appear would be an understatement!!! :o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPOTEs_yTJo
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Great write up Deadeye.
I am a huge fan of Garage Inc (disc 1). My absolute favourites are: Astronomy, MF, and Turn the Page with Sabbra Cadabra closely behind. If included in the Metallica countdown those 4 tracks would easily make my top 50. I also really enjoy Tuesday's Gone.
I'd also say that in the last 10 years, I have listened to these songs more than any other Metallica songs, in some ways this is my go to Metallica these days. As much as the music is awesome James vocals on these tracks are some of my favourite singing of his ever.
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I too love this album. They are a ridiculously good covers band.
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Tracklisting (Disc Two): 1. Helpless. 2. The Small Hours. 3. The Wait, 4. Crash Course in Brain Surgery. 5. Last Caress/Green Hell. 6. Am I Evil?. 7. Blitzkrieg. 8. Breadfan. 9. The Prince. 10. Stone Cold Crazy. 11. So What. 12. Killing Time. 13. Overkill. 14. Damage Case. 15. Stone Dead Forever. 16. Too Late Too Late.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0vshXZYhBkbIoqxyC2fXcF?si=6JS1lIcyRiyFAy80erlFFQ (https://open.spotify.com/album/0vshXZYhBkbIoqxyC2fXcF?si=6JS1lIcyRiyFAy80erlFFQ)
So, the 90s were a time when a lot of bands released a B-Side album. Anthrax had Attack of the Killer B’s, Megadeth had Hidden Treasures and Def Leppard had Retro Active, amongst many others. Metallica, on the other hand, were a band that thrived on cover songs to boast a unique B-Side to their singles, so such an album of extra deep cut originals was never on the horizon for Metallica. Or, at least, so it seemed.
With the release of the 11 new cover songs on their way, Metallica took a little bit of extra care. They realised that the original $5.98 EP was now out of print and that there were many fans who had likely only ever picked up the albums that wouldn’t have some of the older cover songs. So the decision was made to stretch Garage Inc. into a double album, with the second disc serving as a neat little package of all these B-Side covers.
I’ve already covered the first five songs as their own review, so I won’t waste your time with those. Instead, here’s the link to my review of Garage Days Re-Revisited in case you’d like to Re-Revisit those songs! https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57970.msg2951226#msg2951226
Am I Evil? is area, striking contrast with the production from Ride the Lightning suddenly hitting straight after the $5.98 EP. This is where it all began for Metallica recording cover songs, serving as a B-Side to Creeping Death alongside the next track, and it’s still such an iconic track. I will always love that military marching rhythm of the intro and the little guitar lead that follows it. For me though, I vastly prefer the back half of the song to the opening two verses, which is sadly the main part that you’ll see played in Metallica shows. This is another Diamond Head cover originating from the, you guessed it, Lightning to the Nations album! It’s interesting how this song is composed though, as the second half feels like a much different song to the other two sections. However, that solo is a banger, and I love the galloping rhythms supported by Cliff’s bass. Not a favourite song overall, but I do enjoy listening to it whenever it comes on.
A cover of Blitzkrieg by Blitzkrieg follows. This is a short, aggressive rocker that I’ve always really liked. This song fits right in with Metallica’s early sound, with really punchy riffs and simple yet effective vocal lines. The original version is a little slower but overall, this is a very faithful rendition of the song. This is one of my favourite solos that Kirk has ever done for a cover, especially with the whammy section and the harmony towards the end of it. This is another song where we get a fun little studio outtake at the end, featuring James burping and Lars talking about how he “f###ed up in one place”. Sadly, this is actually the final performance we get to talk about from Cliff, so I should mention that his presence on this song is very much felt and makes the song much better.
Next, we head into the Justice era with a cover of Breadfan, originally by Budgie from their Never Turn Your Back On a Friend album. Metallica’s version appeared on the Harvester of Sorrow and Eye of the Beholder singles. Production wise, this deviates a bit from the Justice album as you can actually hear bass if you listen out for it. James’ voice and the overall tone of the song stays very much within the Justice era though. It’s a particularly simple song with it’s verse, riff, verse, solo arrangement. However, it’s within the solo section that this song is best on the studio version. As witnessed in the Seattle Binge and Purge show, Metallica never plays the clean section of the solo live, but it’s actually my favourite section of the song by a lot. Kirk’s melodic leads are so tasteful and I really like the clean tones and harmonies that end the section. Truly a shame that Metallica have never played the song in full.
Up next, another Diamond Head cover that stems from that same album! This one is The Prince and honestly it’s got some damn cool riffs and really ominous lyrics. This is just thrash central and absolutely suits the Justice vibe. This one was a B-Side to the Harvester and One singles. The intro is basically No Remorse on steroids and the verse riff is just an absolute classic. The harmony section is such a cool interlude too. This is another great song, but it just doesn’t hit the same beats as Helpless or Am I Evil? to my ears. Still, the fact of the matter is, Diamond Head wrote some damn good songs on that Lightning to the Nations album and Metallica covered them gloriously.
Our next cover comes from between albums with a cover of Queen’s Stone Cold Crazy from Sheer Heart Attack. Metallica originally covered this song for Elektra’s 40th anniversary compilation, Rubáiyát, and later used as the B-Side for Enter Sandman. This cover actually saw Metallica win their second ever Grammy in 1990 for best Metal performance. This song speeds up an already pretty quick song, seeing James spit out Freddie’s lyrics at a rapid fire pace. Other than that, it’s a fairly faithful performance until the last verse where, in a very Metallica fashion, James changes the lyrics from “rubber tommy water gun” to “fully loaded tommy gun” and dropping the F bomb twice. DragonAttack will have my head for this, but I feel that with the almost acapella nature to the verses, Hetfield’s bark fills the space with much more audacity and authority than Freddie’s original take did. That said, Kirk’s solo is not as good as Brian May’s and I don’t think it ever could be been. I was lucky enough to see Metallica play this one at the second Perth show in 2010. Still a damn cool song, and it segued right into Whiplash like it was just the next part of the same song!
So What by Anti-Nowhere League is next. Goddamn it, I truly do not like this wart of a song. This is just vulgarity and lewdness for the sake of it and I just do t get the appeal. This was released as the B-Side to Sad But True. The lyrics cover bestiality, sexually transmitted diseases and alcoholic and drug related activities. Solo is decent, the crew clearly have fun with this one. I hate it. Good for anyone who does like it. Next song.
Killing Time. Ah, much better! Written by an underrated band called Sweet Savage which featured a guitarist by the name of Vivian Campbell (as in Dio’s and Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell), this was a nice, short and punchy number with some banging lead guitar sections and a great chorus. This is a song that Metallica were covering all the way back in Ron McGoveney’s garage while Dave Mustaine was still the lead guitarist! James’ voice is the perfect one to cover this song having heard the original. You can quite clearly hear Jason’s voice covering the titular vocal lines. Lars extends the intro a little, with James and Kirk adding extra guitar leads that were not part of the original. Kirk shreds all throughout this one and it stands as one of my favourite covers on this release. Definitely the better of the two originally recorded for Black Album singles.
And then we reach the final four tracks, or as they were known on the Hero of the Day extended single, Motörheadache. So the story goes that for Lemmy’s 50th birthday in 1995 (god rest his soul), Metallica played a special gig, all dressed up looking like Lemmy in his signature stage costume and fake warts. On the Hero single, Metallica released 4 tracks that were recorded to 2- track tape during the rehearsal sessions. Three of the songs would be taken from the Overkill album and a fourth from Bomber, but all 4 would be taken from the year 1979!
These four tracks open with Overkill, meaning we start with another great Lars drum intro. Jason’s got a different bass tone here to match in more with the famous tone produced through Murder One (don’t worry, we’ll get to that song soon enough), and it sounds really tight. James, on the other hand, does not sound quite right here. I feel like he’s trying to do a Lemmy impression, but it just isn’t quite right. As expected, the bass shines through a lot on this mix. It’s really a rhythm section show until Kirk solos. Lars keeps that double bass pumping the whole time. James very clearly loses his place during the third verse. One of the complaints that I had about the song Better Than You was that I hated the fake ending stuff around, but I actually kinda like it here. Feels very right in it’s own way.
Damage Case comes straight in with its bluesy feel. This is one that I don’t really feel all that much for. It’s fine enough in the moment, but when you realise that we live in an age where one can easily look up the vastly superior version from 2009 where Lemmy sings with the Metallica guys, there’s no real need to visit this version too often unless you’re listening to Garage Inc. as we are here. It sounds like James and Kirk get a tradeoff in this one and I really like Jason’s bass fill. Here’s the better version in my opinion for anyone interested ( https://youtu.be/jF8kmiGHBOw (https://youtu.be/jF8kmiGHBOw) )
Stone Dead Forever has a really cool intro, with the bass leading to the drums leading to the guitar thing. This one feels different, which is right being the song from Bomber. The intro feels like it’s out of time, though it’s actually how the song goes. This is another one where James fairly obviously drops the lyrics a few times., but also another one where Jason gets a few moments to shine. It’s definitely another James solo here, with it actually sounding like the exact tone used on 2X4 at a few points. I think if this was done as a proper studio version instead of this rehearsal track, this would’ve been a real favourite.
The final song of the whole two disc package is Too Late Too Late and I actually really like this song. The riff is so punchy, James’ vocal approach finally feels like it’s hitting the right strides and I actually really like the chorus. I think it’s a great way to end this whole experience in a higher note. Jason’s backing vocal embellishes the title line perfectly and it feels like this is the one that the guys had the most together at this point on the day. And hey, we end the album with a James solo, how awesome!
Overall, I wish these had been done to the same quality as everything else on the album, as it kinda lets the songs down. Cool to have the rehearsal footage, but I feel I’d come back to these a lot more if it was James singing the songs in his regular voice and actually fully singing the lyrics instead of stumbling over it all, I think these would be the best four tracks on the album. Instead, I kinda get burned out listening to James force it and keep dropping words.
And that’s it. That’s Garage Inc.‘s second disc. Some really great stuff, some real average stuff and one song I absolutely loathe (I’d take Poor Twisted Me over So What any day!). It almost serves as somewhat[ of a time capsule when we go from Ride to Justice to Black and end with Load era material. Worth a spin for sure.
Alright, let’s rank these.
Blitzkrieg, Killing Time, Helpless, Stone Cold Crazy, Breadfan, The Small Hours, Am I Evil?, The Prince, The Wait, Too Late Too Late, Overkill, Last Caress/Green Hell, Stone Dead Forever, Crash Course in Brain Surgery, Damage Case, So What.
That’s it for this one. Catch you sometime next week for our next live bonus chapter where we look at the groundbreaking S&M (and I Disappear).
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Great write-ups. I love Garage Inc. Disc 1 quite a bit and think it works really well as an actual, full album with good pacing that you wouldn't expect from a covers album. It's Electric is probably my favorite on there, with Mercyful Fate, Astronomy, and Tuesday's Gone being other favorites.
Disc 2 is also a great compilation of all their previous covers. Blitzkrieg is certainly a highlight, and I also love So What! (the song that wrecked James' voice and caused him to re-examine his vocal style), Killing Time, and The Prince. One of my favorite live Metallica moments is in this video at 1:28:45 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v7oK3oG0sY&ab_channel=FabianEXP84) where James downpicks the absolute fuck out of that post solo riff.
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So What by Anti-Nowhere League is next. Goddamn it, I truly do not like this wart of a song. This is just vulgarity and lewdness for the sake of it and I just do t get the appeal. This was released as the B-Side to Sad But True. The lyrics cover bestiality, sexually transmitted diseases and alcoholic and drug related activities. Solo is decent, the crew clearly have fun with this one. I hate it. Good for anyone who does like it. Next song.
I am totally with you on the vulgarity and lewdness for the sake of it. 99% of the time I hate/despise stuff like this. Not here! :huh: And it would have scored highly in the countdown if allowed. Don't ask me why (oops, wrong artist)
Our next cover comes from between albums with a cover of Queen’s Stone Cold Crazy from Sheer Heart Attack. Metallica originally covered this song for Elektra’s 40th anniversary compilation, Rubáiyát, and later used as the B-Side for Enter Sandman. This cover actually saw Metallica win their second ever Grammy in 1990 for best Metal performance. This song speeds up an already pretty quick song, seeing James spit out Freddie’s lyrics at a rapid fire pace. Other than that, it’s a fairly faithful performance until the last verse where, in a very Metallica fashion, James changes the lyrics from “rubber tommy water gun” to “fully loaded tommy gun” and dropping the F bomb twice. DragonAttack will have my head for this, but I feel that with the almost acapella nature to the verses, Hetfield’s bark fills the space with much more audacity and authority than Freddie’s original take did. That said, Kirk’s solo is not as good as Brian May’s and I don’t think it ever could be been. I was lucky enough to see Metallica play this one at the second Perth show in 2010. Still a damn cool song, and it segued right into Whiplash like it was just the next part of the same song!
Sacrilege!!!! :lol
Maybe a bit surprising, but you're not going to get much of an argument from me.
Basically copying/pasting my comment from the countdown thread:
There's a handful of covers of a certain band that I actually like and admire (two by Tommy Johansson that TAC passed along to me that were :hefdaddy :hefdaddy). The rest....I get about 15-30 seconds in and 'click, that's enough'.
And then you have 'Stone Cold Crazy' Seeing the rehearsal footage for The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert ..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w21_dD8c0-k&t=27s ..... with James, Toni Iommi, Sir Brian May.....Roger Taylor discussing the set list with James, James and Tony briefly at a bar....
And then that performance!!! :tup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JNz7QlYwk4&list=PL598E5638FC92B022&index=3
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I would have ranked it at #1 in the countdown. I think back to that time, and was blown away by the fact that a band as big as Metallica would release a Queen cover, and do it so damn frickin' well. There's a lot of care that was put into their version. They also had to tread carefully with this one. The admiration is more than apparent. :tup
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I already had the majority of the disc 2 songs on a bootleg compilation (The Complete Garage Days), but I was happy to have officially released versions and sold off the bootleg. These were the songs that I was dying to have early on in my fandom. I'd sit up late at night listening to Mandatory Metallica at 10pm on my local rock radio station. They would play a 3-song block, and often included the rare cover songs. I'd jump out of bed and quickly record the song on a tape.
Am I Evil / Blitzkreig - Am I Evil has become a staple, though the only time I saw it played live was by Battery, the Metallica tribute band who actually opened for Metallica on the Garage Inc. tour. Blitzkreig is one of my favorite covers of theirs.
Breadfan / The Prince - also awesome covers. I've always wanted to see Breadfan played live, since that's such a great riff. The Prince is a song I usually forget about, but when I listen to it, it always kicks my ass.
Stone Cold Crazy / So What / Killing Time - A fun trio of songs. Stone Cold Crazy bores me lately, but I like that it's a faster, heavier version than the original. It was fun hearing James sing this during the Freddie Mercury tribute concert. So What - I love it! I don't care that it's vulgar, it's fun as hell. My favorite memory of this song is the bet that the band had in the 90's. They'd always dare each other to play this on a television appearance, and they eventually did on some European MTV awards show, also playing Last Caress. Someone in the band (James) won some money for that one. Killing Time - another awesome cover and one that is overlooked, yet is always another ass-kicker.
Motorhead songs - I like them, but usually only jam to Overkill. Lately, I want to hear the originals, since we no longer have Lemmy around. But they're a nice tribute to the band and they do them justice.
I'm glad that Metallica pulled all of these songs together for an official release and expanded on it with the first disc of all new cover songs.
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I too love this album. They are a ridiculously good covers band.
Definitely agree with this! They made these songs their own in most cases.
Disc 1 - A great mix of stuff to be found here, and the production is awesome as well. Mercyful Fate is the clear highlight. As James put it on the tour, "12 minutes of Satan". The Sabbra Cadabra mash-up with A National Acrobat is really well done as well. Not a huge fan of Loverman like most have mentioned, but everything else is solid.
Disc 2 - Blitzkrieg has always been my favorite Metallica cover, with Breadfan not too far behind. Hearing the full version of Am I Evil on the tour was awesome as well. Killing Time is also another great cover. The Motorheadache stuff is cool, with Overkill being the highlight. I love the swagger of Damage Case too. Great to have all this stuff compiled in one place.
The liner notes are great too. I read that booklet so many times.
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S&M - 1999
Setlist: 1. The Ecstasy of Gold. 2. The Call of Ktulu. 3. Mater of Puppets. 4. Of Wolf and Man. 5. The Thing That Should Not Be. 6. Fuel. 7. The Memory Remains. 8. No Leaf Clover. 9. Hero of the Day. 10. Devil’s Dance. 11. Bleeding Me. 12. Nothing Else Matters. 13. Until It Sleeps. 14. For Whom the Bell Tolls. 15. -Human. 16. Wherever I May Roam. 17. The Outlaw Torn. 18. Sad But True. 19. One. 20. Enter Sandman 21. Battery
https://open.spotify.com/album/1OZaosC2RtsE2TEqLziwAD?si=nJWKP58FRUmw6O_vzPiOug (https://open.spotify.com/album/1OZaosC2RtsE2TEqLziwAD?si=nJWKP58FRUmw6O_vzPiOug)
I Disappear - 2000
https://open.spotify.com/album/7cJ4oRwyJ5BU1oj29AquOM?si=JpjtRWpGS6C9vX4Btu6KTg (https://open.spotify.com/album/7cJ4oRwyJ5BU1oj29AquOM?si=JpjtRWpGS6C9vX4Btu6KTg)
So back in the Black Album deep dive, I mentioned an absolute legend named Michael Kamen who composed the string arrangements for Nothing Else Matters. Even back then, he had planted an idea in the minds of Metallica. “Why don’t you try doing a concert with a symphony orchestra?” He remained friends with the bands throughout the course of the decade, but it seemed the idea had come and gone.
And then, one day in 1998, Michael got a call. “Metallica is interested in your idea!”. An idea, almost eight years down the trail, finally looking to come into fruition. And so the collaboration began. Setlists began to fly, arrangements were being composed and rehearsed, things were getting into full swing. A few songs were discussed that didn’t make the cut, including both Unforgiven songs, Through the Never, Fade to Black, Harvester of Sorrow, Low Man’s Lyric and, surprisingly, …And Justice For All. Wasting My Hate remained on the setlist for the show until a week or two beforehand. Metallica also offered up two brand new songs, completed just for these shows.
We know that a young Metallica would’ve turned their nose at this kind of show (except for Cliff Burton who’d have likely been all for it) and many old school metal heads would have opposed of the orchestra, but this album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard charts and went Platinum within 2 months of being released. I think it’s fair to say that many of us would look at this album now as a bit of a live masterpiece for the band. I certainly do. So, shall we take a look at those two mights from April of 1999?
The concert opens with The Ecstasy of Gold, as it always has. Except this version was performed live by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and it sounds so energetic in comparison to the original recording. As much as I love the sound of Ennio Morricone and I miss the operatic vocals from the original, I just hold a special place for this performance of the song.
The first member of Metallica to hit the stage is James, who starts up The Call of Ktulu. For a song that hadn’t been played in 14 years, this is a hell of an opener that makes a powerful statement. Opening with an instrumental like this puts the focus on the music without James’ vocal overwhelming it. Jason’s bass line is definitely different to what Cliff did here, making it very much his own but also allowing extra room for the orchestra to handle those moments where Cliff’s distorted bass mimicked Cthulu’s screams. This is a song that I really love with the symphonic arrangement. I’d almost dare to say it’s even better than the original. Turns out the Grammy board would agree, as this won best rock instrumental performance in 2001 (don’t ask me how, given that the track was released in November of 1999 and it was my belief that all nominations had to be from within the year of release). The harmony section towards the end of the song sounds so thick and awesome with those added orchestrations!
As the coda of Ktulu comes to a crescendo, Lars begins the four count straight into Master of Puppets. And what’s even better, it’s the full version of the song again! Hooray! James’ voice comes in strong, very much still in that second vocal peak we talked about from Garage Inc. the year before. The orchestra provides some great support lines during the main song including some of those great Kamen stabs, but I think their presence is best utilised in the melodic section. Opening with Marimbas doubling James’ clean riff and then providing a beautiful backing melody under the harmonies and James’ solo, this section was purpose built for a show like this. They also help to build tension in the bridge before Kirk’s solo perfectly. I also really like the moment where the violins join in on one specific lick.
From the 80s straight into the 90s. Of Wolf and Man is up next, or as James calls it on the DVD “Of Wolfgang and Man”. This is another song where the orchestra excels at building extra tension. This one probably doesn’t have the best parts for the orchestra, but it still sounds awesome. Jason and James howling never fails to bring a smile to my face here.
Another song that I feel the orchestra adds a lot to is The Thing That Should Not Be. The ominous intro feels like a horror movie score, the cellos add a lot of extra weight to the heavy chug of the distorted guitars. They even add more melody which helps to break up a lot of the dull monotony of the original. This is a slightly shorter version of the song where the second verse is removed from the song, with the final verse being placed into the second verse section and having the solo lead straight into the final chorus. This is the version I reach for more often than not if I really feel like hearing Thing. Kirk doing those scratches from the end of the song live is a great moment.
Kirk gives off a short doodle of that stereotypical funeral song that I cannot for the life of me think of the name of. I thought it was Funeral March of the Marionettes, but it turns out that was the part of the Black era solo that I wanted to know the name of. Anyway, that turns into Kirk playing with his whammy bar mimicking the sound of an accelerating engine that gives way to James giving those fateful words that we all love. “Gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which I desire!”. I really like the symphony adding to the second main riff the way that they do, but this is a song that I don’t think benefited as much from the symphony accompaniment as others. The second and third choruses are solid, but I think they kinda ruin the jamming nature this song generally has. Not a fan of James’ “ooh yeah-heh” here, but I do like his “burn motherf###er burn” right before the solo.
Being the newest original albums at the time, Load and ReLoad do get a bit of a spotlight here. The Memory Remains is up next and this one definitely works better for me with the symphony. It adds a great vibe to the song, embellishing the riff nicely instead of getting too far away from what makes Memory what it is. I absolutely love the sound of the symphony in the “na na na na” sections though. I think this really is the ultimate version of the song. I really like the ending where the band cuts out and the symphony keeps doing their thing with the audience singing along.
And then we get to the big song that makes this more than just another live album. No Leaf Clover. This is one of only four songs where Metallica does the heavy verse, soft chorus structure and it’s one of my favourite of the lot. That heavy riff right before the verse is such a cool jam and the verses feel really uplifting, even more so with the symphony behind it. I love the effect that James uses on his vocals at the start of those choruses. Kirk’s solo is great, and the breakdown is so heavy. I love that they’ve already used the riff here at the start of the song as an orchestral motif, but double down on it for the breakdown. This is honestly just an awesome song and again, I was lucky to see it back at that first show in 2010, just minus the symphony throughout. Metallica still play this one on and off to this day and I’m glad they do coz it’s an absolute banger.
Hero of the Day is our firer proper ballad of the show, coming in a whole 8 songs into the set. As I mentioned in the Cunning Stunts deep dive, I think this one is definitely the best live version of the song and probably the best version of the song overall. Opting to keep the drums for the second verse while the orchestra keeps playing beautiful melodies behind it all, the main verses feel like they belong in a film soundtrack while the heavy bridges are still given some extra punch. James and Jason still nail the bridge call and response section, though I wish Jason’s mic was a little louder in the mix. Other than that, perfect!
Why stop there with the new songs? Devil’s Dance with added strings sounds even more dangerously alluring than the original. This is just awesome, once again giving a song that left little impression in the studio a much bigger presence live. The band plays really tight, although they’re quite easily outdone by the symphony here. If this is what Hell sounds like, I’d love to hear Metallica’s version of Heaven!
Closing our main set wonderfully is Bleeding Me. We talked about this song at length during the Load review, coming to an almost universal conclusion that this is one of the two best songs on the album. This is another one that’s amplified by the rich tones of the orchestra. There arrangements add another layer of almost melancholia over a great song that Metallica are already having one of their best performances of. I love James having a bit of a moment vocally before that heavy section kicks in, which straight off the bat is embellished by cellos so heavy you’d think you were watching an action scene in a James Bond film. I love the orchestra backing that last heavy moment before it goes back into the clean riff again. It’s a great way to close the first half!
This marks the intermission for the concert, something that I believe is fairly common for orchestral shows. This is also where CD1 ends. What an excellent first half we’ve had with deep cuts and new material!
The second act begins with a choice I wouldn’t ever think of as an opening song, Nothing Else Matters. This is a great version, with the orchestra playing the parts from the album, with the first verses and chorus sounding almost exactly like the Elevator Version that was released as a B-Side. There’s not really much to say other than “it’s Nothing Else Matters”. I think the version on this album is much better than S&M2, making this likely the definitive version, but that’s about it. James plays this one on an acoustic guitar, which makes the ending solo sound really different. A distorted acoustic tone. Neat! The band skip over the final verse of the song, but still play the outro from the album.
Next up, another ballad. Until It Sleeps. I don’t know why, but the first orchestral flourish here feels almost Japanese to my mind. This one is a better performance from the band than the version on Cunning Stunts and the orchestra really help to alleviate the totally empty feeling that the verses had on that live version. I really like Kirk’s solo even more here than on the album, which is different seeing as though it’s the same part. Another definitive edition to be found right here!
Now we’re finally back into the heavy territory with For Whom the Bell Tolls. I’d have liked this a lot more if the symphony had doubled the bass riff here instead of staying with their own thing, though I do love that they lead into the second riff before James and Kirk get there. The interplay between the band and the orchestra in the lead sections is amazing! Nothing really beats the original on Ride the Lightning, but I definitely enjoy this.
The second new song of the evening kicks off next. -Human (Minus Human) feels almost like a spiritual precursor to everything that made up St. Anger in just a few years time. This slower tempo heavy groove of a riff in drop tuning feels like it would have been right at home on the album amidst songs like Some Kind of Monster and My World. However, we get a solid snare, fairly decent lyrics and something resembling a solo. This song was only ever performed at the original S&M shows, but it’s a very solid rocker. The orchestral intro lays it on heavy as well. Not really as much to say on this as No Leaf Clover, but it’s definitely no slouch.
Wherever I May Roam is up next. Kirk plays the sitar intro live, which is a very cool moment especially offset by those cinematic strings. This song always felt adventurous and cinematic to me on the Black Album which is definitely heightened by those strings, with the choruses and the harmonic section being some of my favourite moments here. You’re probably getting sick of me saying “it’s great” by now, but this album is just so full of absolutely fantastic performances.
This next song is definitely not an exception and I’d be lying if I didn’t say this was my favourite song on the whole album. The Outlaw Torn is our final track from the Load era and this is a perfect bed for the orchestra to go all out and construct one of the best scores of them all for the evening. James’ vocals are damn near perfection, as are his solo sections. Jason’s bass is so thick and strong. Lars keeps a nice strong groove going and Kirk’s solo is much better here than it was on Load. This is just amazing and probably the best live song of the entire 90s era in my opinion. It’s marvellous!
Then we have Sad But True. It’s another solid performance, but I don’t think this one benefits from the orchestra all that much. This is meant to just be a heavy and kinda ugly song, so sticking extra melodic layers on top of it kinda dilutes the original intention of the song for my ears. Don’t get me wrong, I think the arrangement is cool, I just don’t think this was necessarily the right choice for the setlist as it is.
The sounds of gunfire and explosions erupt through the PA for the only pre-recorded track of the night. While this performance doesn’t feature any pyro showcase for obvious reasons, this version of One is allowed to be one of the best by the added melodies and harmonies that just add to the tragic tale the lyrics portray. That said, I don’t know that what’s happening for the heavy bridge and onwards is necessarily the right choices to make in this arrangement. I do like hearing the Timpani and Cellos hitting the machine gun chugs hard with Metallica though. I think this is another great ”no” section for James and I absolutely love the orchestra nailing that harmony section with James and Kirk.
Enter Sandman is next and again it’s nothing all that special. I feel like the big three songs from the Black Album don’t really excite me all that much anymore unless something spectacular happens (like Cunning Stunts and Through the Never) or I’m actually there to witness it. This arrangement kinda feels a little bit generic, like if you’ve been paying attention to the orchestra throughout the show, you’ve got a fair idea of exactly what this is going to sound like put over this song. It’s easily my least favourite track in the whole album just because it doesn’t push the envelope in any way. Favourite moment of this particular performance is actually the ending, where we get a little teaser of the ending of Phantom Lord. Makes me wonder what a full version of a Kill ‘Em All song would’ve been like. We sadly still don’t officially know to this day.
But every single twinge of indifference that I felt for Sandman is repaid in full by the intro alone of the next song. The closing song for an amazing evening of music is Battery, but with an orchestra only intro that is easily my favourite moment of everything on this setlist. The symphony alone was amazing, but Metallica gives an absolutely fantastic performance of this song and I feel that the arrangement for this song is just about flawless. Do I wish they’d have done the bridge before the solo? Yeah. But man, that’s pretty much just looking a gift horse in the mouth at this point. Everything here is pushed to eleven and it’s amazing! Metallica even incorporate the ending of Damage, Inc. into the song before everything is said and done. What a way to close a concert!
It’s easily the best Metallica live album we’ve covered so far. It might technically be the best of them all, but for now, I have a different favourite that is yet to come. Current live ranking is S&M, Binge and Purge Seattle, Cunning Stunts and on the bottom is Binge and Purge San Diego.
It’s truly amazing how on top of their game they were here, given that just under a year from the performance date and less than six months from the album’s release, Metallica started the lowest point in their careers. We’ll cover all the Napster controversy and negativity that started here in about 2 weeks time when I cover the Some Kind of Monster movie, but for now, let’s dig into the song from which it all stemmed. I Disappear.
I Disappear is the only non-album single to date for Metallica. This was written for the soundtrack of Mission Impossible 2. The music video for this is absolutely top notch, by the way and I really recommend watching it. ( https://youtu.be/nYSDC3cHoZs (https://youtu.be/nYSDC3cHoZs) ). This song definitely takes a step away from where they were with the Load era, going for a much more simplistic approach. The lyrics are also written in a very simple vain, with the verses mostly repeating a single line before a repeated refrain and then the same line again. The chorus is super atmospheric though, which sounds really good. It’s interesting to note though that everyone’s favourite snare sound from Lars is already stating to rear it’s head a full 3 years before St. Anger. The production on this is pretty poor too, compared to the golden age they had throughout the 90s. Kirk’s solo is really nothing to write home about either, being a simple repeated motif. I sound very negative on this, but I actually really like the song and think people should definitely check it out.
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Great write up dude.
I will start by saying this is easily my favourite all time live album, it is just flawless.
I mentioned earlier in the thread but for me S&M was actually the first time I'd heard any of the Load/Reload songs. You'd said about some of these songs being the definitive versions of certain songs. I totally agree, specifically with Fuel, The Memory Remains, Hero of the Day and Outlaw Torn. I'd also agree with you on this version of Ktulu! The S&M version is probably my all time favourite Metallica song.
That first 20 minutes of music from Ecstasy>Ktulu>Puppets is hands down the best 20 minutes and three somg run the band ever recorded. Just everything about it is chill enducing.
If there is anyone reading this that hasn't heard S&M, you need to rectify that now. It's a game changer and the best live album ever recorded.
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S&M is just so killer. I wore the DVD of the show out when I was a kid. The setlist was fantastic and the arrangements were perfect.
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S&M is a great show for sure. I agree that there a few songs that don't really work. Fuel and Sad But True are the 2 that standout as not great choices. I also really hate the dropping of the bridge in Battery. That part would have sounded great with the symphony furiously pounding away as well. Interesting to know what other songs were considered, as I had never read about that before. Fade to Black is the biggest omission to me. Maybe they just couldn't make it work, but that song seems like a ringer for this treatment. There are a few others that would be interesting outside of the instrumentals, Disposable Heroes could be cool. The Struggle Within with the intro part is another interesting one along with the at the time 2 Unforgivens. I like both of the new songs as well, with No Leaf Clover being the better of the 2.
All in all, a really good album that I still revisit fairly often.
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S&M is probably my favorite live album at this point. It set the standard for how I want orchestra's utilized in these situations. So often a band (metal) will play with an orchestra and the orchestra is either doubling the keyboard or doubling the guitar or playing some basic chords. Kamen was just such a genius in how he made the orchestra a distinct 5th member of the band with its own personality that complimented (mostly) the songs without just being an added layer.
That sadly didn't carry to S&M 2 but we'll talk about that later.
Speaking of songs that should've been played but didn't, I feel like My Friend of Misery would have been killer.
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I'm behind on my listening to keep up with this thread! I'm going through S&M now, but will put my current thoughts below:
When S&M came out, I was SO into it. I was 19 and loved Metallica. METALLICA WITH AN ORCHESTRA! YEAH! As I got older, my interest in this album really faded a lot. I felt like the orchestra was just crammed into some songs. Master of Puppets does not sound good to me with the symphony and hearing it now just annoys me beyond end. Some songs really work (Fuel, Outlaw Torn), some don't. What aggravates me even further is that we never got non-symphonic versions of the Load and Reload songs, and that feels like a wasted opportunity. I did like that the DVD had the option to turn off the orchestra track, but I sold it when I purged a lot of my collection, and only have the audio cd's now. Honestly, if I want to hear Metallica live, I'll reach for Live Shit or bootlegs from the classic era.
I respect them for doing it, but I always compare it to the studio album that the Scorpions did with a symphony at the same time, and that album came out so much better.
Re-listening now and I forgot that James cracks up during Thing that Should Not Be and then goes immediately back into evil James mode. I love that. I have the volume low, so I can tune out the orchestra a little as I listen. The non-thrashy songs have more space for the orchestra to push through and carry some melody. I just wish that they also put out a regular version of the show or recorded one of the Reload tour shows so we could have standard live versions as well.
** Edit - 4 songs away from finishing S&M. There were less older songs than I remember. For some reason, MoP just grates on me on this album and it often colors my opinion of the album. In reality, I do generally like it, even if the orchestra could be utilized better in some areas. I like when they double the riffs like on Fuel or Bells and give a big low-end crunchy riff a higher pitch. I'll have to listen more closely sometime to see if that happens more often in areas where I've never noticed it before.
I Disappear - I was still in college when this came out, and I remember racing out to get the MI 2 soundtrack for a copy of this song. I think I sold the CD off well before I ended up ripping my collection to digital, so I actually don't have a copy of it anymore. I really liked the song then and don't really have anything bad to say about it. It was fun to have Metallica contribute an extra song somewhere.
I do recall a story that the Load/Reload sessions produced 30 songs. They released 27 of them on the albums, two on S&M and I Disappear was the final song released.
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St. Anger - 2003
Tracklisting: 1. Frantic. 2. St. Anger. 3. Some Kind of Monster. 4. Dirty Window. 5. Invisible Kid. 6. My World. 7. Shoot Me Again. 8. Sweet Amber. 9. The Unnamed Feeling. 10. Purify. 11. All Within My Hands
https://open.spotify.com/album/0HKpzK9ZoJ0oVA43E5gewM?si=8OWuf655TjeYogjcd-mQFw (https://open.spotify.com/album/0HKpzK9ZoJ0oVA43E5gewM?si=8OWuf655TjeYogjcd-mQFw)
S&M had proved to be a risk that would pay off and Metallica quickly adopted No Leaf Clover as a part of their regular setlist for their touring throughout 1999 and 2000. But tension was growing within Metallica. Jason Newsted found himself in a tricky place, becoming unhappy with the lack of output he was allowed to give to songwriting. Deciding to do a side project called Echobrain, James put his foot down saying Jason could either commit 100% to Metallica or he would be outed from the band.
On November 30th, 2000, Jason would play his final song as a member of Metallica. Fittingly, the song would be Fade to Black.
Metallica reconvened at an Army base in San Francisco called The Presidio to begin working on their eighth album in 2001. After several unproductive sessions and arguments, James would step away from the band and check himself into rehab, primarily for alcoholism but also citing other addictions. Recording would not reconvene until May of 2002. The songs recorded in those sessions became St. Anger and would be a great representation of the hardships the band were going through at the time. Which is the nice way of saying that this album is very rough.
From a not-so-great mix to the much memed snare sound, St. Anger definitely has more than its fair share of flaws, many of which hold this album back for many people. This deep dive is going to focus on the album as is, but I’m also going to share my take on what I feel would have made these songs a little better from a songwriting perspective. I’m not going to say “this needed to be mixed better” or “would have been better if Lars’ snare had been on”. I won’t even bring up the awful lack of guitar solos. This is saying with more or less exactly what was here, this is what I’d do.
Frantic is the album opener this time around. This actually starts things off rather well in my opinion. We get a good bit of pace setting before setting up the main riff. James’ grit is a lot more present than it’s been on the last few albums. I like the clean pre-chorus a lot, if I’m honest, and while I know that it really is a goofy lyric, “frantic tick tick tick tick tick tock” works for me. It’s not a stretch to say that this is probably the best song on the album for many people and there are times where I’d certainly agree. I think the only thing I’d change here is that I would perhaps change the last pre-chorus to being a fully heavy version of it, something akin to how the last chorus of I Disappear is fully distorted. The outro here is a great rocking jam moment and I feel like it maybe could’ve been a little longer.
Up next, the title track. This features a great build up in the intro and some pretty tight double bass drumming from Lars. The verses are a little uninspired though. The chorus features a nice call back to Damage, Inc. with the “f**k it all and f**king no regrets” tag from the third verse being St. Anger’s chorus line. I must say, this song feels pretty boring by being 7 minutes long and pretty much just being a loop since the verse lyrics never change. The bridge, on the other hand, is a perfectly serviceable lyric that I find to be a real crucial point in understanding a lot of this album’s central message. I think if we had gotten a different second verse, this would’ve been a bit better as a song. The problem with it really is the amount of repetition here. Maybe less of the build between verses.
Some Kind of Monster is hellishly long for the content it provides. I do like the main riff, and I don’t hate James’ rhythm part in the second riff even if I don’t care for Kirk’s lead over it. This song takes almost two minutes to reach the verse riff! Unfortunately, even once we get there, it feels like this song just doesn’t have that much to say. The “are we the people?” refrain is a decent enough moment or at least would be if James delivered it a little better vocally. Some of the verses are very clunkily written and I don’t feel we needed four of them. I could quite happily go from the first verse to the prechorus and chorus and then straight into the fourth verse. However, I must say that this bridge is a total banger! The riff that brings it in and out is possibly one of my favourites of the entire album and that “ominous, I’m in us” line is pretty awesome. Even the official edit version found on the Some Kind of Monster EP doesn’t scratch the itch quite right. Also, what the hell is that ending? Come on guys!
Dirty Window is a song that you may have heard recently, having been brought back for the 40th anniversary shows and then sticking around for the 2022 tour dates. This song does a lot right for me, following a few trends set up by Frantic, such as the clean pre-choruses that make the main chorus lines much heavier. I especially like the little half time feel that leads to the second half of the verses. Where this song gets a bit bogged down is the instrumental section. Lars’ drumming changes this up nicely, but (breaking my own rule for the first time here) having heard the live version, this section is so clearly building up to the song’s closing bridge by adding the “I, I, I” backing vocals. I’d have almost been happier if those backing vocals weren’t added in the earlier instance and we got a little bass fill or really anything else there. Otherwise, yeah, really solid song.
Which is something that I can’t say about the next track, Invisible Kid. Tuned low enough to be a Djent riff, this is another song that follows the problems of St. Anger by being so damn repetitive. We easily could’ve had half the verse lengths. Two out of three chorus segments work well for me, but I don’t like the whole “open your mind/heart, I’m beating right here” bit. The “I’m OK, just go away” would’ve been a better chorus as it’s an intriguing part. Third verse is just the first one repeated another two times, we get all three segments of the chorus again and then a really clunky transition into the first jam section and the bridge. Yuck, that bridge. James tried something here that really didn’t pay off and ends up irking me. Oh, and then we get a fourth verse. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but it’s the second verse repeated again! Holy hell, this song had a lot of potential, but I really can’t put my finger on how I’d save it. A lot of repetition and a chorus fragment too many goes a long way to put this well on the bottom of my list, ending up as number 100 of 109 in the ranking’s for KevShmev’s top 50 rundown on my end.
In a result I’m sure a few of you will find surprising, I think My World is actually a banger. I like virtually everything about this song, I think the verse break and pre-chorus both work well. The chorus, while a bit lyrically lacking, is nice and punchy. The first bridge section is a good lyric, I like the inclusion of the backing vocal that changes the second bridge section a little each pass. This song works for me in almost every way. What am I changing? Get rid of the “enough’s enough” during the outro. That’s it! I genuinely enjoy this song and wish they’d have played it live!
Shoot Me Again is another song that I’ve always found to be a highlight of the album. I really like the strange wah and scratching thing that Kirk adds to the intro here, I think the main riff is very bouncy and I even like the subtleties of the guitars that sound like a vocal harmony. This is a lyric that very much feels like Metallica’s take on karma and standing strong through a lot of the criticism they’ve had over the last few years. The back and forth with the echo that kicks off the bridge section is a really cool moment and I actually really like the almost rapped “wake the sleeping giant, wake the beast” lyrics. Metallica trying something different that works really well for me. Now, what am I changing? I’d maybe have gotten rid of the first verse break section, though I’d keep the second with the “take a shot” backing vocal. That’s really it. All the shots I take, what difference did I make? Another one that I turn to when I think of “good songs” on St. Anger.
Sweet Amber has a really badass main riff. I can’t fault the main riff when it’s played at full speed feel. I’m not so much of a fan when they add the higher octave in the verse. Weirdly, the pre-chorus here is almost a direct rip of the pre-chorus from St. Anger. The repeated verses are here again, but at least here they are repeated within the confines of that verse section and then the next verse changes. Still feel like it’s a bit lazy though. I like the “using what I want to get what you want” line and I can easily get suckered into the instrumental jam section here. They have only played this song live once, but this means that there is a version of the song with a solo. Seemingly controversially, I don’t believe it’s needed. Get some more lyrics in those verses and we’ve got a decent song. I quite like the payoff of the choruses asking “how sweet are you? How sweet does it get?” with the ending of “it’s never as great as it seems”.
The Unnamed Feeling remains one of my favourite St. Anger songs. Interetingly, this serves as a ballad for the album, retaining the heavy verse/soft chorus structure of The Unforgiven and I Disappear. It’s really hard to put my finger on what I love so much about this song. To many, this is easily just noise. I think the build-up to the first verse is very well structured, I think the lyrics are great, I think James’ vocal performance is damn near perfection for the song and the subject matter. Speaking honestly, this bridge is extremely therapeutic to scream out after a bad day. Try it. No notes here. This is up there with Frantic as one of the best songs from St. Anger.
The same cannot ever be said for Purify. This has salvageable moments, but goddamn is this terrible! If you don’t already agree with me, just listen to the chorus. Ouch. Problem is, the lyrics are kinda decent in the verses, something lacking from many of the other songs. I will say this though, the instrumental bridge riff is my favourite riff on the album, so I hate that it’s wasted on this song. The ending is another great jam, somewhat like Frantic at the start of the album. What would I do? Take those two instrumental sections and the verse lyrics and make something actually good out of it.
We end with All Within My Hands, a song which you probably know quite well but sounding nothing like this. This is thr original version of the song which later got turned into an acoustic rocker, which within itself is quite good and we will get there when we discuss S&M2. I actually really like this version though and it’ll be interesting to have to compare the two versions at the end of this. I definitely enjoy the hybrid clean and heavy verse sections, especially with the transition in the second verse with the sustained “all with in my”. I think the chorus is brutally heavy and the bridge is another great grooving riff. Can we agree though that shouting “kill” 37 times was maybe not a great way to end the album and yet also the most fitting thing for St. Anger?
Holy crap, it’s been a loud 75 minutes. I kinda enjoyed revisiting this album though. It’s definitely the bottom of my rankings for Metallica albums here and would only be second to bottom if we were talking Lulu, but I still enjoy listening to it sometimes. It’s anger. It’s therapy. It’s pain but it’s channelled into art. I can’t in good conscience give it more than a 6.75, but it’s worth the struggle.
Infancy, Progression, Ascension, Domination, Supremacy, Dilution, Continuation, Destruction. I think this is the album that cemented for many people that the old Metallica was perhaps too far gone to return to their former glory. For then, it certainly seemed so.
And there we have my late dive into St. Anger. Sorry for the wait guys, it's been a busy work week and I've been rehearsing fora gig this afternoon (I can post a clip of a Post Malone cover in the chat if anyone cares). As much as I want to hear your thoughts on the album, I'd love it if you undertook the challenge I did and tell me what you'd change without adding solos or fixing the production.
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I rewatched Some Kind of Monster recently, for the first time in well over 15 years. A few thoughts/comments...
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I think St Anger, the album, is Metallica's reaction to Slipknot breaking through in the mainstream. For the first time in their career, they weren't at the forefront of metal and were out of touch with what the new generation were into. Slipknot literally hit a steel drum as part of their sound, their lyrics were hate fuelled and they didn't really incorporate solos in their music.
I think this was Metallica, for the first time, not following their gut and trying (and failing) to stay relevant. The lyrics are some of the worst Hetfield ever wrote, but maybe it was their attempt at "If you're 555, then I'm 666".
On top of this though, you can see in the early part of the movie that James struggles to loose some creative control. He's being pushed by Lars, Bob and Kirk to work collaboratively, and is clearly struggling with it. Add into the mix he has a camera in his face and he looks like he's trying hard to be psyched about music he thinks is subpar.
The lyrics on St. Anger are some of their worst, and I always thought it was all on James, and he'd lost the ability to write like he used to. In hindsight, it seems it may be more that in working collaboratively they were all working on and submitting. James appears like he's trying not to be overly negative and say anything that Kirk and Lars submit lyrically is shit, but let's be honest, some of it is.
Kirk writes to line "My lifestyle determines my deathstyle". This is just one of many lines on this album that left me all 'WTF?!'. To expand on what I said above I also feel the album is an experiment in letting go of their past process and trying something new. Were I in James' shoes, I'd have said fuck it, come on then let's try it, even though I know it's going to flop. James doesn't get off scott free though as he was in crisis and having a crisis of identity as well. It feels like the perfect storm to create a bad album, and it needed to happen to be able to move forward.
I've rambled but these are some of my thoughts on the creative process, and why it ended up the way it did. Did they ever make a collaborative album like this again? I'd be surprised if they did.
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I've tried to find something to like on St. Anger many times since it came out, and after 20 years, I just have to accept that I will never like it or anything on it. If it was listenable, then I'm sure there would be something that sticks out that I'd want to return to, but the harsh nature of the sound makes it impossible to even appreciate what are probably some good parts. The remake done by some random band on youtube with edited arrangements and better production shows what could've been a passable album, but as it stands, it's probably the worst album I've ever heard by any band.
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St Anger might be their most honest album, and showed they had a little but ultimately nothing else to give.
Some good songs here and later in their career, but creatively they were spent. What a fantastic run and still see them whenever possible.
Great write ups Deadeye
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St Anger might be their most honest album, and showed they had a little but ultimately nothing else to give.
I totally agree. It's a god damn honest album. Doesn't mean it's good, but it's very honest. And the documentary made me appreciate it, even if I don't actually enjoy it.
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Strangely, I also enjoyed re-listening to this album on Friday, knowing that this post was coming. I found myself tapping my foot and enjoying some of the riffs.
At the time, I didn't know what to think. It was a weird record coming from my favorite band. I remember driving my 1972 Mustang across the state of Illinois to my friend's wedding, windows down (no air conditioning) and blasting this album while lamenting that I missed the DT/QR/FW tour, which was happening the same weekend. I spent some time trying to enjoy it that year, but just couldn't find much to like outside of Frantic and St. Anger. I used to watch the DVD with the live album rehearsal performance because it sounded a lot better.
As I re-listened to the record on Friday, I noticed a lot of the riffs, and I recalled how they went, despite not having seriously listened to the album in 10-15 years. But it's so disjointed - there are some really good riffs all over it, but they don't go anywhere, or they're dropped in favor of a different verse riff. The songs are way too long. Still at the very bottom of the Metallica record rankings, but it was fun to give it a spin and see if I could pick up on anything that I liked about it.
One of the comments above about James being more collaborative and not wanting to say anything negative is a great way to explain the record. There is zero self-editing or trying to really hone in on things and the songs just become this amorphous blob of music.
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Some Kind of Monster – 2004
Let me preface this by saying, this is easily skippable for many readers. If you don’t want a blow-by-blow of the film, don’t read this and I’ll see you next week when we talk about the EP by the same name and the Le Bataclan concert.
Still here? Then let’s talk about Some Kind of Monster.
The intention was simple enough, as it started out. Metallica hired documentary directors Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger to film the process of recording their next album so that the footage could be used to promote the forthcoming album. It certainly made sense; they were still at the height of their game. But what the cameras captured instead was something much more destructive than their signature sound.
As we begin our feature presentation for the evening, the text on screen spells it out. The internal relationships were at an all-time low, the Napster campaign had fans screaming for blood and the band had not released a new album since 1997 (if we’re talking ReLoad). With a brief montage of the band performing Seek and Destroy over the years, we’re into Some Kind of Monster.
We open in January of 2001 with James, Lars, and Kirk in therapy with Phil Towle. It’s been nine months since they’ve played together, and they are already questioning if they’ll be continuing as a band. Alas, the next few scenes take place at the ex-Army base Presidio, including setting up a mobile studio and some of the early jamming that took place. This is intercut with shots of the three guys showing off their passions outside of music, which gives a small insight into who they are as people. The first riffs we hear from the band are early versions of what would become Some Kind of Monster, including some of the lyrics and melodies that would make the final song. But we are also introduced early on to something that twosuitsluke was talking about, the decision to get the whole band involved in writing lyrics.
We get a look into a rejected song here, Temptation. It’s not all that good, but given the hook of their new single today, I thought I’d bring it up since this was one of my initial reactions. We also get a really cute scene of Lars’ son ‘playing drums’, which then cuts to Jason Newsted explaining why he left the band. “The biggest heavy metal band of all time and after all the choices we’ve made about squillions of dollars and squillions of people. And this? We can’t get over this?” James explains his position on things as not wanting anyone to leave the band and that his way of loving things is to suffocate them. A little bit of the meaning of All Within My Hands revealed.
Half an hour in, we get the inciting incident to the rest of the film. James and Lars start fighting over a drum groove which ends up with James slamming the door closed behind him and the next thing we see as an audience is the report that James has gone to rehab. The band would not play together at Presidio again.
The next little while is spent with Lars’ father where we listen to some pretty awful unused tracks, including the echo chamber track that absolutely bombs. “If I were your advisor, I would say ‘delete that’”. Lars and Kirk continue the therapy, even though James has been gone for three months, but we do get a discussion where Lars feels that Metallica could be over, saying that if James walked away he’s not fully sure he’d be surprised by the decision. There’s some footage of Dave Mustaine playing with the band while Lars discusses that he’s not sure that he was ever completely close with James but wants to help him to be the best that he can be. We spend some time with Kirk on a ranch in Northern California where he says that for better or for worse, things will sort themselves out.
One of the more iconic moments from this documentary begins at the 42:38 mark, where Dave Mustaine is invited to one of the therapy sessions. This is a really sad scene to me, with Dave feeling like he is a failure even through all of his success because of his departure from Metallica. He talks about a lot of the hardship that had occurred in his life thus far and it does make you feel for the guy a little. But he also remarks that “this isn’t done, because someone very important is not here”. Which I think all of this sets the tone for where we are at this point in the film. Kirk and Lars go to Jason’s gig with Echobrain. James has been away for six months at this point, and he checks in with the guys, saying that he needs time to repair his family before he’s ready to come back to being “James from Metallica” again. Lars is starting to let it all boil into anger.
We see James again at the 52-minute mark, meaning he’s been out of the film for about twenty minutes, but out of the band for almost a year. It’s been 14 months since filming began. The first discussion is whether or not to end the film. James feels as though there’s a ‘bigness’ to Metallica that scares him. Once James returns, there’s an imbalance and uneasiness between him and Lars. Another 6-8 weeks have passed before the band were ready to actually play together again, but the moment that they do start up again is here for all to see, and it is a good moment. We’re now at Metallica’s new studio, HQ. This is where every single album since St. Anger has been recorded, and it’s cool to see the place in a semi-unbuilt phase.
Next up, we get the band writing Frantic, with Kirk pitching “birth is pain, life is pain, death is pain” and the infamous “my lifecycle determines my deathstyle”. However, all the creative energy does start getting destroyed by James’ recovery schedule, which dictates that he can only work between noon and 4pm. James starts trying to ask the other guys not to listen to the work and make decisions without him (part of which I actually agree with), but Lars is very against this notion. This pretty quickly turns into Lars raging at James that he feels that James is controlling, and he fears that he’ll be pushed away the same way Jason was.
We get a bit of fun with the MetClub coming to an ‘open day’ at HQ and competing for a chance to play a song with Metallica. This is intercut with James and Lars saying that they aren’t happy playing with each other and wondering if there’s enough of a connection to make it worth continuing to hold on for something better.
There’s a fascinating discussion where the ‘no solos’ thing comes up. Bob fights for there to not be a rule over whether or not the solos will be in or out as a blanket, Lars pushes for there to not be any since he feels they’re dated and Kirk says “let’s see if they fit”.
Then they record some really stupid radio ads. Metallica hate it, but their manager points out that they’re doing it so the radio stations won’t turn against the next album, which inspires the opening line for Sweet Amber. There’s a great change of attitude as James messes around while recording some vocals. There’s a further discussion of maybe Jason would like to rejoin the band, but Bob Rock points out that he feels there will never be a truly permanent bassist in Metallica. We also hear the beginnings of a great song we’ll discuss very soon, currently under the title of Shadows of the Cross.
Then there’s a recap of the Napster controversy. Man, I cannot be bothered to recap this. Basically, while they were recording I Disappear, they found out a version of the song was already leaked on the radio because someone had put it onto a peer-to-peer file sharing site, specifically Napster. But through discovery from the lawyers involved, it was discovered that the artists made absolutely no money. While it was absolutely incorrect for someone as rich and famous as Lars Ulrich to be the face of this movement, a good point was raised that these sites would be potentially career killing for newly emerging artists and Lars went to put a stop to it. Nowadays, we have Spotify. And .001 of a cent per listen is so much better than nothing at all, right?
There’s discussions on touring which basically lead to James saying that he wants to do it, but he’s scared to do everything for the first time again. But from here, it starts turning into a more productive vibe. It’s very interesting to take note of the part where Kirk said that they had 30 songs written for the album, but it was decided that only songs that received votes from all 4 band members would make the final cut. We then hear Sweet Amber, All Within My Hands, St. Anger and a bunch of unused material. Cliff Bornstein, their manager, says that they should put out an album that made people feel that there was no let up. This reaches a clicking moment where they agree that there isn’t anything that can’t be made better from what they had shown off.
We get an auction scene where Lars sells off a lot of the paintings that he owns and were shown off at the start of the film. At this point, Phil’s therapy starts going off the rails and Metallica decide that there’s a finite point where he won’t be needed.
Our final half hour deals with MTV Icon and introducing a new member of the band. Lars admits that since they hadn’t actively been seeking a bass player in all of this time, people had thought Metallica couldn’t find anyone. There are some huge names involved in the audition process, though the movie spends a lot of time with Robert Trujillo. It seems fairly obvious from the get go that Rob fits in really well. We get a taste of Bellz with Twiggy Ramirez, Chris Wyse, Scott Reeder, Eric Avery and Pepper Keenan as well, but none really sit in the pocket the same way that Trujillo does. Lars makes an offer to pay Rob a million dollars to accept the offer to join the band, which he takes of course.
Phil is finally released from his long term contract with the band, which is a great moment of solidarity between Lars and James. They play at MTV Icon, decide on St. Anger as an album title, even though Lars wants to push for the album to be called Frantic, but is easily shot down by everyone else in the room. They film the St. Anger video at San Quentin, as well as playing a full show there where James explain what anger has meant to him over the years and why he’s very glad to have had the music in his life.
We end up with a shot of equipment being put into road cases, a discussion of making something angry with a positive energy and then it all ends up with a montage of Metallica playing Frantic on stage in huge stadiums in the summer of 2003.
Holy shit, this was a long watch! I’m glad I went through it again. It makes me so grateful to have everything that we have after S&M, knowing that I Disappear could have so easily been the last new song we ever heard from Metallica. They’re still here and kicking but only because they suffered through this together and came out stronger on the other side. Did this piss some people off? Yeah. Did they get an even bigger backlash because they were open about it? Yeah. Am I glad to have this though? God yes. To rewatch this on the day where If Darkness Had A Son was just released as the third single from an upcoming album, the 3rd released since Robert Trujillo joined 20 years ago? It’s insanity. Long live Metallica!
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I actually just started watching that the other night on Netflix out of boredom. I need to finish it sometime. Having listened to St. Anger last week, I felt it might be an interesting watch again.
At the time when the movie came out, I hated it. I hated seeing my heavy metal heroes reduced to a fractured, weird band that needed a therapist. I was 24 at the time. Nearly 20 years later, I can understand it more, having dealt with parenting, family issues, stress and anxiety in my own life. I think the most telling moment of your review is James' comment where he can't be "James from Metallica" at the time. He's gone on to state that about his sobriety - when they're on tour or active as a band, he needs to be JAMES FROM METALLICA, the big heavy metal frontman all the time. But coming off of the tour, he has a hard time coming down from that mode and being "James, husband, father, guy who washes the dishes." When I read interviews where he discussed that, it all kind of clicked for me and I understood why he was abusing alcohol and went to rehab. That also is one of the reasons for their adjusted tour schedule that started afterwards - two weeks on tour, then two weeks off. James would fly home and be the family guy, as opposed to spending months on the road where that transition was harder to handle.
I'll try to finish watching the movie, but I got bored during the scenes with Lars and his dad. Looking back, I can credit them for being so open and honest about where they were, even if it turned a lot of fans off. It does help to explain why St. Anger came out the way it did.
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St Anger might be their most honest album, and showed they had a little but ultimately nothing else to give.
I totally agree. It's a god damn honest album. Doesn't mean it's good, but it's very honest. And the documentary made me appreciate it, even if I don't actually enjoy it.
It wasn't enough to raise the ratings in the Top 50, but for me, the DVD where they played the entire live album is ESSENTIAL. I don't like the music, but I can't name more than a handful of bands that would have the balls to do something like that, especially with an album that controversial.
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I actually just started watching that the other night on Netflix out of boredom. I need to finish it sometime. Having listened to St. Anger last week, I felt it might be an interesting watch again.
At the time when the movie came out, I hated it. I hated seeing my heavy metal heroes reduced to a fractured, weird band that needed a therapist. I was 24 at the time. Nearly 20 years later, I can understand it more, having dealt with parenting, family issues, stress and anxiety in my own life. I think the most telling of your review is James' comment where he can't be "James from Metallica" at the time. He's gone on to state that about his sobriety - when they're on tour or active as a band, he needs to be JAMES FROM METALLICA, the big heavy metal frontman all the time. But coming off of the tour, he has a hard time coming down from that mode and being "James, husband, father, guy who washes the dishes." When I read interviews where he discussed, that, it all kind of clicked for me and I understood why he was abusing alcohol and went to rehab. That also is one of the reasons for their adjusted tour schedule that started afterwards - two weeks on tour, then two weeks off. James would fly home and be the family guy, as opposed to spending months on the road where that transition was harder to handle.
I'll try to finish watching the movie, but I got bored during the scenes with Lars and his dad. Looking back, I can credit them for being so open and honest about where they were, even if it turned a lot of fans off. It does help to explain why St. Anger came out the way it did.
Maybe because I was older at the time, and I wasn't a "in at the start" fan of Metallica, but I LOVED SKOM. I can't remember exactly why, but at the time I actually bought a copy for my therapist to watch (not because of the music or the band, but I think it was because of some of the discussions). I haven't watched it in a while, but I may revisit it at some point.
Another example of what I LOVE about Metallica even when I don't care for the music; you compare Metallica to bands like AC/DC, Van Halen, even Guns'n'Roses or Kiss, and they have the balls of elephants for airing the dirty laundry so bluntly.
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I loved SKOM. I've seen it a bunch of times and I couldn't really tell you why. I saw it for the first time in a small theater in San Francisco.
Obviously Torben steals most of it with his few scenes, but it's just such a raw and unrelenting documentary.
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Haven't had a chance to comment on St Anger, so I will start there. I'm early into college, and finally my all time favorite band has something new coming out. I remember hearing some of the clips and hearing part of Frantic from the MTV Icon broadcast. I was so pumped for St Anger. Was I let down when I picked up the album? Yes and no. I definitely enjoyed the aggression I was hearing. Elements of the production work well with that. I like that guitars and vocals are not super clean and pristine. The looseness to all of it works for me. The snare sound is definitely grating. The songwriting is a mixed bag though. A lot had changed in the hard rock/metal world since Metallica released an original album. There are definitely some nu-metal influences here just as peers like Slayer and Anthrax had already been experimenting with. There is a lot of that "drop-D" down-tuned open string, 3rd fret, 5th fret pattern in a lot of the riffing. Here are some thoughts on the songs:
Frantic - Solid opener with some good riffs. The lyrics never bothered me (searchin for donuts, bah na na :laugh:). The outro
section is really cool too. Had this at #43 on my top 50 list.
St Anger - Great main riff, and I like everything here. It just goes on too long though.
Some Kind of Monster - There are a lot of good ideas here. The "ominious" section is cool. I like a lot of the intro stuff too.
Somewhere in between the edit version and the album version would be the sweet spot. The edit
version does sound really good though.
Dirty Window - My favorite song from the album. #36 on my top 50. Love the main riff and the "Projector" section is nice too.
Invisible Kid - Oh boy is this a slog... Torben Ulrich said it best, I would delete that. The outro part is okay...
My World - This one is okay. I'd say it's middle of the road on this album. I like the bridge section.
Shoot Me Again - Here is another one I that I enjoy. The groovy main riff is nice, and I like the chorus section here. Lars does
some nice stuff here too.
Sweet Amber - This is a good track that made my top 50 at # 48. Some cool riffs here, especially the bridge riff. The
whammy pedal sounds on the pre-chorus work well too.
The Unnamed Feeling - Really like James' vocals on the verses, and overall this song is decent. The middle instrumental
section has some clunky bits though.
Purify - Ehh... not so much... I agree that the bridge riff and outro part are good, but the rest is a dumpster fire.
All Within My Hands - Pretty interesting track that I like okay. The pre-verse and verse sections are pretty
cool, and I like the main riff too. I agree that the "kill" outro is a pretty fitting way to end this.
Overall, I get what they were going for, especially after seeing Some Kind of Monster, but it just doesn't come off that great. Still, I do like some of what is on offer here. I don't revisit this too often, and it is definitely at the bottom of their catalog (I don't count Lulu). Every once in a while it scratches an itch to hear a more modern, raw Metallica.
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Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, Metallica! – 2016
Setlist: 1. The Four Horsemen. 2. Leper Messiah. 3. No Remorse. 4. Fade to Black. 5. Frantic. 6. Ride the Lightning. 7. Blackened. 8. Seek and Destroy. 9. Damage, Inc..
Some Kind of Monster EP – 2004
Selected Tracks: 5. Motorbreath. 7. Hit the Lights. 8. Some Kind of Monster (Edit).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYpinmVSqho (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYpinmVSqho)
https://open.spotify.com/album/4t0oscNTGJkXiIB2uqZYWg?si=-hkTBOKqQzK_wNvY4GMLSg (https://open.spotify.com/album/4t0oscNTGJkXiIB2uqZYWg?si=-hkTBOKqQzK_wNvY4GMLSg)
St. Anger was officially released on June 5th, 2003. Oddly enough, though 4 singles would ultimately be released, none of them preceded the album’s launch date.
As we would see in the Some Kind of Monster film, Metallica unveiled their new bassist Robert Trujillo at MTV Icon, which took place on May 3rd of 2003. Fittingly, the first thing they played together was a career highlights medley, starting with Hit the Lights before moving into Sandman, Blackened, Creeping Death and closing with Battery. They would also debut Frantic that night. The band were certainly invigorated, seemingly miles beyond the people that we see in SKOM. The medley is truly awesome to behold, so check that out if you’re not familiar with it already. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N19SXG-5YfI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N19SXG-5YfI))
Between the 18th and the 22nd of May, Metallica took over the Fillmore in San Francisco. Here, the boys would play songs that they hadn’t played in a very long time (either in full or at all), including Hit the Lights, Sanitarium, Phantom Lord, and Ride the Lightning. Rob’s diehard fan status had helped him to push the band into different directions with their setlist choices. Immediately following the release of the album, Metallica were headlining major festivals in Germany. They would then continue with a festival tour across Europe.
But what we’re here to talk about today is something a little unorthodox that would prove to be a great promotional move. On June 11th, Metallica played three intense club shows across three different venues in Paris, playing a different setlist at each venue. We have at least one song from each, but we shall talk about the first and third shows a little later.
For Record Store Day 2016, Metallica dug deep into the archives and decided to release the show from a venue called Le Bataclan, which started at 6pm that day. Unfortunately, you may now know this venue as being the site of a mass shooting at an Eagles of Death Metal concert in November of 2015. This release is dedicated to the French people with a liner note that reads “In your hands is a recording from back in ’03 at Le Bataclan, a legendary Paris club that unfortunately became even more legendary for all the wrong reasons this past November. We decided to release this particular show – which was one of three hot & sweaty next level club shows we played in Paris in one day on June 11th to promote the release of ST. ANGER – as a statement of love, support & solidarity pour la famille Metallica en France!”
This won’t be the last time we talk about RSD2016, but we’re still about 13 years too early in the story to get there yet. For now, let’s discuss this awesome show.
This show opens with 4 China hits counting into The Four Horsemen. From the get-go, you can hear the band is in fine form, with James’ voice being very prominent. He’s hitting the high notes, Lars is holding time well and the guitars are crisp and aggressive (just the way we like ‘em!). The bridge features Rob and Kirk on backing vocals which sound great. The audience is charged up from the start and it makes the whole release feel strong. I have to say that, while I love another version of Horsemen that we’ll get to soon a little more, this is a ferocious performance that I think is a great opener to this show.
With a swell of feedback and a quick “bonjour” to the audience, we’re thrown straight into a Master of Puppets deep cut with Leper Messiah. This is a great cut that hadn’t been played all too often, only recently being brought back for the first time since 2002. Lars is tight on the double bass for the transition sections and this is where Rob’s bass tone is starting to stick out a little more in the mix, sounding very right to compliment James and Kirk’s tones. The bridge and solo are strong, with Kirk absolutely nailing it here. The transition fill back to the main riff makes me laugh a little, as for whatever reason, Lars doesn’t play it and instead James just kinda scats it, with the band coming in perfectly on beat and carrying on as if everything was normal.
James gives a little speech here, saying how it’s great to be back and with everything that’s happened in the years between visits to Paris, you can really feel the sincerity there. Not stopping with the deep cuts, the band launches straight into No Remorse. Hot damn is that intro heavy! I’m trying not to gush too much, but this is a really strong performance all up. They choose to skip over the middle solo and third verse, instead going from the second chorus into the closing bridge section. I actually prefer that these days, as I feel the middle section slows the song down unnecessarily and in a way that doesn't fit the song well. But, as much as No Remorse is awesome, they run the outro tail straight into the intro of Dyers Eve for a quick jam and that’s nothing short of fantastic.
Fade to Black is one of the only two staple songs in this setlist, but it’s no less fantastic. James’ clean tone on this is immaculate with a light shimmer to it. Those chorus riffs are huge too, but not as strong as the bridge. James hits this bridge with so much conviction and the harmony between the two vocal sections is beautiful. Kirk is amazing here, though he does improv a lot of this particular performance of the solo. Still, the ending line is tight and even if it is improvised, he does nail what he does with it.
Being that they were into full swing supporting St. Anger at the time, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that we get at least one new song. It’s funny, when James sets up with the “who has the new album? Do you like it?” line, it almost sounds like the audience predominantly says “no!”. They jam a little bit; Lars plays a drum groove that sounds like the intro pattern to All Within My Hands and it sounds like it might be James that starts messing around with the Some Kind of Monster bridge. Then they introduce the song. “This is the French version of the song, this is called Frantique!”. And we’re off into an extra heavy version of Frantic. The snare drum is still set up like it is across the rest of this set, so that’s a plus. James seems to struggle with the verse pace a little bit, but otherwise, this is a pretty good performance. This is before Kirk added in solos to the song, but again, we’ve got a version of that coming up! The ending jam is a nice and heavy moment.
Up next, Ride the Lightning, which we recently exposed in KevShmev’s list as my favourite Metallica song. For the most part, I think this is a solid version of it. It’s definitely more rocking than last time we talked about a live version of this one (being just a verse and a chorus on Cunning Stunts), I think James sings it well enough here and Rob brings a solid weight to the track that I definitely appreciate. The bridge riff is still a favourite moment, as does the main part of Kirk’s second solo. But I think Kirk kinda drops the ball on this one a little bit and changes it up a little too much. Then the third verse sees James lose his place in the lyrics, start trying to make it up but ultimately admit that he forgot the words. It’s actually kinda funny, but I’ve always enjoyed the “wakened by horrid scream, free from this frightening dream” plot twist. Kinda fun to hear James say “there they are” when he gets back into the chorus at least.
The familiar sounds of the Blackened intro tape provides a moment of reprieve before an absolutely ripping version of the song comes to rip heads off. Lars’ double bass fill bringing in the second verse is insanely tight! Admittedly, I’m a little bummed that they changed the main riff’s tail a little bit from this point on, but when you’re taking it all in live, it doesn’t really matter. This absolutely rips. The only downside is I don’t really care for Rob’s backing vocals in the bridge. The harmony section is really tight, and while Kirk flusters the slower section of the solo, the fast part is really good. Sadly, the progressive change to the main riff that precedes the third verse on the album version is gone for good at this point.
We get a two song encore after this, starting up with a song that would remain the typical closer until the 2015 Lords of Summer Tour, Seek and Destroy. This is right around the time where they started tuning it down to D Standard (Same tuning as Sad But True and the studio version of Thing That Should Not Be), so this has a little bit of extra ballsiness too. Kinda the same as I said with Sandman in the last reviews, Seek is starting to be one of those songs I can skip over easily because it’s such a staple that nothing all that different really happens with it all that often. The solo section here does absolutely rip though and it sounds as if James gets a few lead lines to himself. It’s something I do love about the Madly In Anger With the World Tour though, Metallica weren’t afraid to change up the status quo of their shows and ended up having 15 different songs close at least one show over the course of a year and a half.
Damage, Inc. is our ultimate closer here. We do get a false start though since Lars doesn’t wait for the guys to tune back to Eb Standard. But, once we get into the swing of things, this is a hell of a set closer. James doesn’t sing this one the best, missing a few lines and being a little flat, but they were still only just getting back into the game at this point and I’m happy to have those rough edges here and there. The bridge is fittingly heavy, and Kirk absolutely slays this solo. What a way to mark that they were back and meaning business!
Of course, you noticed that we have a few other songs to talk about. Interestingly, both were used as closing songs at the other two shows that day. Firstly, Motorbreath from the 1pm show at Le Boule Noire. This opens with James dedicating the song to the road crew for making three shows in one day happen! Then Lars starts up a fill. Interestingly enough, it almost feels more like a crowd hype fill than the original Motorbreath intro. Other than that? Yeah, nice. James sings it well, sounding a little less haggard than the main show, which makes sense being from the first show. Kirk shreds, everyone’s very on point. I think it’s another performance that’s better than the version found on Cunning Stunts for sure.
And then we have Hit the Lights from the 10pm show at Le Trabendo, which opens with the simplest of introductions. “Yeah, riff!” and straight into it. This is a very high energy performance from the guys, possibly the second best we have of them all from that day (my vote is on No Remorse as the number one). James’ scream on the “with all our SCREAMING” in the third verse reminds me a lot of where he ends up on the album version of Frantic, which sounds great. Kirk gives a blistering version of the ending solo, and that’s where we leave it for the live portion of this deep dive.
The Some Kind of Monster EP offers us one extra track that is worth a look. Some Kind of Monster (Edit). This version of the song significantly shortens the song, firstly removing half of the clean intro and then a lot of the opening jam elements from the album version, flowing from the main riff straight into the first verse. Sadly, it retains all four verses and the “yeah! yeah!” bridges between them. It removes most of the “are we the people?” pre-choruses though, which I think sets up a great duo of lines between the pre and the main chorus, forming a singular question between them. Sadly, this version also gets rid of the best part of the song for me, which is the bridge section. I like that it shortens the intro, that’s fine by me. I like that this version also has a replaced snare sound, which definitely makes this song a lot more listenable. But there are a few too many sections removed that I really like to make this worth calling the definitive version.
Well, there you have it. My look at the officially released material from the St. Anger era, or at least what I have here since there are some other great songs available on the other singles that I don't have. Anyway, up next, Death Magnetic. See you Friday.
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Here are some thoughts on the Some Kind Of Monster movie:
It is really a tough watch for me seeing my favorite band on the brink of breaking up. James has always been one of my favorite guitar players, and seeing him in the state he was in was tough. I kind of agree with Jason on the having to hire a therapist bit. A lot of the stuff with Phil makes me cringe, and I hated that my favorite band had to go through all that. Thankfully they got through and are still making music! Hopefully some of the Presidio material will get released at some point too.
That MTV icon show was pretty terrible, except for Metallica performing. That medley was awesome (Lars got a little off on Battery though), and hearing a bit of Frantic for the first time was awesome. I missed Jason, but I think they made a great choice with Rob.
I have bootlegs of the Fillmore shows and the France club shows, and I revisit those a good bit. The band sounds great and they were playing great sets. The Madly In Anger tour is where they started varying the setlists more from night to night. They didn't play that much from the new album though. Outside of Frantic and the title track, only a few other songs were played, and other than Dirty Window only a couple of times. This tour also saw the live debut of Dyers Eve, which was pretty cool too (even if Lars doesn't attempt the double bass verses).
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I'd never heard the Bataclan show before - for some reason, I think I associated my dissatisfaction with St. Anger to the live show too. "If the album sounds like that, they must be playing like shit," is probably what my 23 year old brain thought. At the time, I put Metallica on the backburner and got into a lot of other bands and genres, like progressive metal and melodic death metal.
I just checked out the Bataclan set and that is absolutely rocking. Some great, energetic performances from them. I liked how they broke out a lot of old songs again on the tour, since they weren't playing much of the new album live.
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Hey guys, been a long day. Will do Death Magnetic tomorrow morning, AWST. Sorry!
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In 2017 I tore my achilles and was single at the time. So my dad moved in for the first few weeks after the surgery, and we had some good bonding TV watching (I couldn't do much else). 'Some Kind of Monster' was one of the movies we watched, and converted my dad to a huge Hetfield fan after seeing his vulnerable side in the movie and doing regular dad stuff like like going to his daughters ballet class.
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Death Magnetic - 2008
Tracklisting: 1. That Was Just Your Life. 2. The End of the Line. 3. Broken, Beat & Scarred. 4. The Day That Never Comes. 5. All Nightmare Long. 6. Cyanide. 7. The Unforgiven III. 8. The Judas Kiss. 9. Suicide and Redemption. 10. My Apocalypse.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3bK58rVcWBh3V3vxMLzi0V?si=0QO6ecIHRBqTbPwDMXBTIg (https://open.spotify.com/album/3bK58rVcWBh3V3vxMLzi0V?si=0QO6ecIHRBqTbPwDMXBTIg)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu46pbIEAtU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu46pbIEAtU)
Metallica’s Madly in Anger with the World Tour lasted from November 3rd, 2003, to November 28th, 2004. They played 135 shows all over the world, including Australia and Asia, though the Latin American leg of October 2003 was unfortunately cancelled. Given the lengthy touring schedule, the band resolved to take 2005 as a recharge year, which only saw Metallica play two shows at AT&T Park, opening for the Rolling Stones.
But this break gave them time to re-evaluate their creative options. Would they continue to play in the style of St. Anger? Would they go back and make another melodic album like the Loads? Who was going to produce it? Was Bob Rock still their go to guy after everything they had gone through together in the last few years? Ultimately, they opted to begin the process with a new producer, Rick Rubin, in early 2006.
But this didn’t stop Metallica from being out on the road, with shows throughout 2006 and 2007 offering a release from the structure of the studio sessions as well as proving to be building blocks in their songwriting process. Rick Rubin had encouraged the band to go back to their roots and I like to think that playing the entire Master of Puppets album each night in 2006 helped them to get back to that. The touring cycle also saw Metallica visit South Africa for the first time.
With more festival appearances booked for 2008, something began to stir. On August 9th, at Metallica’s headline performance at Ozzfest, they debuted a new song called Cyanide and announced that their new album, which would be entitled Death Magnetic, had been completed, mixed, and mastered. Despite being the first song debuted live, the first single would be released 12 days later, being The Day That Never Comes. Five days later, they released My Apocalypse for streaming on their website. Cyanide was finally released on September 1st, only eleven days before the album’s release on September 12th.
Critically, the music on this album is heralded for Metallica sounding like Metallica again. Unfortunately, the album also has the reputation for being the worst produced in Metallica’s catalogue, which is admittedly very true. These tracks are absolutely brick-walled; just about everything is pushed to be far too loud in the mix and then mastered to be even louder. It’s for that reason that many fans (admittedly, myself included) prefer the mix released as DLC for the game Guitar Hero: World Tour (which also ported to Guitar Hero: Metallica, which released in 2009). Because I don’t want to yammer on too much about the production, I have linked the YouTube video with the Guitar Hero versions at the top in addition to the Spotify version, which I believe contains the original master. Please note, however, that this review will be dealing with the solos of Suicide and Redemption as served on the original album. I have found a version of the album that has corrected itself to use the correct album solos from this mix, however it should be noted that Guitar Hero released two versions of the track which contained an extended solo from either James or Kirk, instead of combining both like on the album. Thought we should clear that up just in case.
The first sounds we hear on Death Magnetic are a synthesized heartbeat, leading into a clean intro that slowly introduces the bass and an additional lead guitar that reminds me of the intro to Sad But True. This quickly ramps up into our main riff for the album’s opener, That Was Just Your Life. This song follows in the footsteps of songs like Battery and Blackened as a thrashing album opener. James maintains a frantic pace with his vocals, with the extra “I deny” at the end of each verse reminding a lot of the “never” verse endings from Blackened. I think this is a hell of a way for Metallica to re-embrace their thrash roots for the first time since Justice, offering up so many of the different things that made the 80s albums so great, but with a modern twist. For the first time since 1991, we have Metallica rocking in E standard. I think the transition riff with the progressive harmony is awesome, Kirk’s main solo here is decent, but I think the best feature of this song all up is the harmonised solo that leads us back into the final chorus. This song is awesome, and actually made its way to number 5 on my top 50 countdown.
The End of the Line starts with an intro that definitely harkens back to For Whom the Bell Tolls. The structure of the verses vocally reminds me of Creeping Death too. Meanwhile, the riffs are punchy as hell! It’s another banger that does the “we’re back” thing really well. There’s an extra line of vocal on the Guitar Hero version that isn’t at all featured on the original album, as well as a few extra guitar dubs that I haven’t heard before, which make this song a little bit stronger in a few places. The breakdown after the second chorus is another great moment here, with the bass and both guitars locking into the same riff in different positions and creating an awesome harmony. Admittedly, this isn’t one of Kirk’s finest solos for the album, but that’s kinda the only real downside to this song. Even the clean bridge is a great moment. Another huge song down and we’re still just getting started.
Broken, Beat & Scarred is a song that I feel sums up the transition between St. Anger and Death Magnetic into a great singalong lyric. It also just kicks ass, if we’re being totally honest. The main riff of this one walks the line between Metallica and Tool for me in all the right ways. This lyrics deal with having the strength to get back up when everything’s trying to hold you down and calling to show your scars. I think the interesting thing about this particular song is that, because we have the full demos, we can see that the final version of the chorus is actually inferior to what they had originally. The instrumental section of this song is insane. James’ riff supporting Kirk’s solo is nasty in all the right ways and I think Kirk is on fire for this solo, I even love the way he does the divebombs and allows for the rhythm to shine in a few spots. The second riff that comes out of this section before the final chorus (and then revisited after the chorus) is strong too. I would definitely recommend checking out the demo, because there are a few alternate lines that could’ve served the song very well. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUu7dArduTg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUu7dArduTg))
The Day That Never Comes is really a sequel to both Fade to Black and One instrumentally, and yet holds its own as a damn powerful song. James’ lyrics paint the picture of just waiting for things to get better, knowing they probably never will. That is until the final lines of the song, which suggest to me that the subject decides to stand up for himself and make things better. While the melodic section of this song is great, I think this song’s biggest strength is the instrumental back half, where James and Kirk just go at it with riff after riff and some tight harmonies. This solo contains one of Kirk’s best licks on the album and a little callback to Motorbreath if you listen closely to the rhythm guitar during that big moment in the solo. Fantastic song! I hope we get something like this on 72 Seasons in a few weeks.
As the highest ranked of the two songs that made KevShmev’s official countdown, All Nightmare Long is a song that most of us are likely well aware of. And for good reason, coz this song absolutely slaps. This is the third song in Metallica’s HP Lovecraft series, this time being about the Hounds of Tindalos, which as James explains was a “Crazy mindf**k about these wolves which hunt you through your nightmares and the only way to escape is to stay with Angels. You can’t even escape in your sleep”. This song is just massive and dark. It’s one of the heaviest songs on the album. The Guitar Hero version uses a very different effect at the start of the verses which makes me feel a little uneasy in all honesty. This is the song that I made mention of in the Some Kind of Monster movie review as having started life as Shadows of the Cross, and honestly, this is just way better. Everything in this song is evil sounding, especially that riff after Kirk’s first solo and the descending patterns after the second. The chorus is perfect for the song (my favourite of the Lovecraft songs, in fact), I love the way the bridge cuts out to start the final chorus with that sharp breath in. Everything here is just next level. It’s almost like what St. Anger could have been with a few solos and a better snare drum.
Next up, Cyanide. This one is a great song with a lovely bounce from Rob and Lars. Everything about this song is great, from James’ vocals to the main riff to the use of Morse code! Kinda like Rush’s YYZ, Cyanide’s intro uses Morse code for its rhythm, opening with the much more well known . . . - - - . . . pattern that spells out SOS. We drop back into a clean bridge after a transition that feels pretty proggy to me. This is an ominous section too, with the heaviness dropping in and out. This is another fantastic Kirk solo for Death Magnetic, evolving perfectly with the tension of the rhythm section behind it (which is also freaking awesome). We culminate all of that into a short harmony section and then we’re back into one last reset into the final pre-chorus and chorus. It’s those resets all throughout that feel so fresh with this song in all honesty. I feel this one really should have been the lead single rather than Day, because to me, this song features all the different things that make Death Magnetic so great.
We get a beautiful piano and string reprieve here, before we open into The Unforgiven III. This is the final entry for now into the Unforgiven series, and this might actually be my personal favourite of the three, even though I ranked the original higher. I think this song has a hell of a lot to offer, with a killer main riff and a vocal performance that sounds more emotional than the original. The bridge is a deeply moving moment, serving as the ultimate climax to the trilogy. James’ vocals on the album kills me every time, though the sentiment behind this will be even more haunting in a few reviews time. Kirk slays the solo here too! The only problem with this track as I see it is that there’s no Western sound effect at the start of the track, making it the odd one out of the trilogy in that regard.
The Judas Kiss is a hell of an intro to kick us back out of the ballad territory. This is another hugely badass song with even more great riffs to bang your head to. It’s a really different track for the album, feeling right alongside it’s counterparts but also having a very different energy that I can’t quite describe properly. Here, the inverse of what I said about Broken, Beat & Scarred’s chorus comes true, where the original chorus of this song was pretty lousy and the album version absolutely decimates it in every way. Everything about this song rules out loud, including the nice little vocal around in the middle of the solo! The bridge here is my second favourite of the entire album, I love the way James sings it and the alteration to the bridge riff absolutely sells it. Again, the Guitar Hero version is slightly different, with an extra vocal layer or two, especially felt within the choruses and the bridge. Damn, this song kicks ass!
Now, up to this point, …And Justice For All had been the final album to contain an instrumental with To Live Is To Die (even if it does have that spoken word passage). With as much of an 80s throwback that Death Magnetic has been so far, it only seems right that Suicide and Redemption breaks the 20-year instrumental drought. This is really a medley of a lot of the extra riffs that didn’t make it to the album put together, but it’s got a lot of greatness to it. While the studio version fades in, I like the Guitar Hero version that opens with Rob’s bassline setting the pace for those stabs. The main riff is a bit on the meh side, though I do like the first bridge that it throws in between the two main riff sections. Where the song really starts to pick up for me is when it dives into that clean interlude with Kirk’s beautifully melodic lead and the harmonised section. This then leads into a re-intro, a nice dark lead from James and then an amazing double solo, featuring James’ solo for Death Magnetic, which is an absolute banger. The riff following this is really cool with a nice tight pace. The interesting thing is that this song actually contains a bit of a drum solo for Lars, with a whole riff towards the end of the song being structured around a series of drum fills. It’s kinda amazing. The thing that really lets this song down in my opinion is that the ending feels very stretched. Bar Mercyful Fate on Garage, Inc., Suicide and Redemption currently holds the record as being Metallica’s longest song, and it feels a little undeserved. All the same, a commendable effort.
My Apocalypse is our album closer this time around and it’s my second highest rank song from the album. Hell, I think this might be my second favourite album closer after Fixxxer. Why? I feel like this song takes a lot of the stakes of the album and wears them on its sleeves. This feels tense, it’s almost exploding all throughout! James gives one of his best vocal performances of the album in this song and I think the entire mid-section between the second chorus and third verse is actually the best section of the album. From Kirk’s proggy riff to the staccato bridge and the solo to the darkness of that harmonised riff and the final bridge section of the album that marks my favourite bridge of the entire album, I think this song just kicks so much ass. I saw this at that show in 2010 and I’d kill to see them play it again.
There we go, that’s Death Magnetic. Here’s the part where I risk losing a hell of a lot of respect for these writeups, but this is my (PERSONAL OPINION ALERT!!!) favourite Metallica album. Maybe it’s because I got into the band at the time this was released, and this album’s tour was my first proper concert. Maybe it just ticks a whole lot of my boxes in the right ways. Maybe it’s my personal opinion and I just straight up love the album?
“But Deadeye, all the songs are over 7 minutes long, the album is too long”. Yeah, but all of that is filled with content that warrants being there. I called out a lot of songs off St. Anger as not providing enough content to warrant the length, as I did with the ending of Suicide and Redemption. The rest of this album is packed with great riffs, awesome vocals with fresh lyrics and Kirk shredding like there’s no tomorrow which almost feels like a compensation for the lack of shredding on St. Anger. Rick Rubin pushed Metallica to get back to their roots for this album, and by god did they succeed. This is a total 10 for me.
Infancy, Progression, Ascension, Domination, Supremacy, Dilution, Continuation, Destruction, Reinvention. I feel like Metallica reinvented themselves here and got back to what they did best.
How do you feel about Death Magnetic? I know you probably don’t love it anywhere as much as I do, but where do you stand with it all?
I’ll be back during the week to discuss Beyond Magnetic, which contains four extra tracks recorded during the Magnetic sessions but left unreleased.
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I have been hot and cold on Death Magnetic. When it came out, I loved it - from the first listen to The Day that Never Comes, where the middle stomping breakdown (Love is a four letter word) sounds like Metallica again. They sounded tighter and the songs were much better than St. Anger. I hated "The New Song" when it debuted live in 2006, but was glad to hear them break it apart and make more cohesive songs with it on the album. There are great riffs all over the place and I love the faster tempos. I do think some of the song lengths could have been trimmed and Rick Rubin's involvement didn't do much for me aside from reminding the guys to get back in the headspace of how they wrote songs in the 1980's.
The production ruins it, which is why I have periods where I feel cold towards the record and don't want to listen to it. But again, this thread has me revisiting it and even with the crappy production, I'm enjoying the songs again. I need to get a copy of the 2016 remix, which they adjusted for streaming/digital purchase.
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I am firmly in the Death Magnetic is a great Metallica album camp, production aside. I can remember watching a lot of the studio updates and stuff. When they debuted Cyanide live, I really liked what I heard. I remember reading pre-album release reviews and the album being described as the missing link between Justice and the Black Album, and that really got me excited. I think that is a very good description of the album. The songs are longer and progressive like Justice, and there are a few more melodic moments that would fit on the black album. Unlike St Anger, nothing feels overly long. The songs have enough twists and turns to keep me engaged. This album is chocked full of great riffs and Lars has some great drum moments as well. If I can enjoy the original Vapor Trails mix, then I can enjoy the Death Magnetic album mix, but holy ear fatigue Batman! Why did they mix it so hot! Let's get to the songs:
That Was Just Your Life - The intro is not bad, but man, when that main riff kicks in... I can still remember hearing this for the
first time and being blown away! Classic James riff! It's a great album opener with a lot of awesome
parts.
The End of the Line - This is probably my least favorite song on the record, but I still do enjoy this one. The clean bridge is
really nice.
Broken Beat & Scarred - Love the intro and the picking on that verse riff is nice and intricate. The melodic "rise, fall..." part in
the verses is great too. This one has a solid chorus as well. It has a ripping Kirk solo in the awesome
middle section.
The Day That Never Comes - This is a solid Metallica ballad, with a great vocal from James. The "love is a 4 letter word..."
section is a great transition to the instrumental workout in the back half. There is so much to like
in that back half. Killer stuff!
All Nightmare Long - My favorite song on the album. Love the main riff! This one has a great chorus, and the middle section
with riffs from "The New Song" slays. What a banger here!
Cyanide - Pretty cool track with a Wherever I May Roam vibe, especially with that chorus riff. The middle section is solid too.
The Unforgiven III - I didn't really like this track at first, but it has grown on me over the years. The intro into the clean guitar
is really nice and sets the stage for something epic. I do love the "forgive me" section and where it picks
up to the end.
The Judas Kiss - My 2nd favorite track on the album, and it has so many good riffs. The "bow down" chorus and riff is so
good! The middle section is great, with a lot of twists and turns, and this is my favorite Kirk solo on the
album. Just great stuff!
Suicide & Redemption - The return of an instrumental, and I think this one flows really well. The melodic section stands up
with the ones from the past, and that riff where it picks up post-solos in the outro is indeed, awesome.
My Apocalypse - Awesome album closer that brings the speed and aggression. That old-school Kirk riff is so good, and the
staccato bridge with James spitting venom is killer. Great way to close a great album.
I love this record! I don't love the production, and hopefully with a reissue they will clean that up, but the songwriting is tremendous.
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I also saw them for the first time (finally!) on this tour in Charlotte, and here is the setlist:
That Was Just Your Life
The End of the Line
For Whom the Bell Tolls
The Four Horsemen
One
Broken, Beat & Scarred
Cyanide
Sad but True
Turn the Page
The Judas Kiss
The Day That Never Comes
Master of Puppets
Fight Fire With Fire
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Encore:
Too Late Too Late
(Motörhead cover)
Phantom Lord
(dedicated to Ron McGovney)
Seek & Destroy
What a great show! I was stoked that they played The Judas Kiss, and Phantom Lord was a nice surprise.
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So for this thread I went back and listened to DM for the first time in years.
Yea...I do not like this album. Obviously the production is bad, but so is the playing. James is mostly fine on guitar and Rob is there I guess, but Lars sounds awful and so does Kirk. James' singing is also really meh a lot of the time.
I think in most of the songs there's 1-3 moments or riffs/melodies that I genuinely like. Usually an intro, sometimes a vocal part, and often just one riff. So the album isn't 100% devoid of anything I can enjoy, but I just cannot get into these songs.
As I type this I realize that the instrumental must've been deleted from my album at some point. Not sure why. I don't remember liking it much either though.
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Beyond Magnetic – 2011
Tracklisting: 1. Hate Train. 2. Just a Bullet Away. 3. Hell and Back. 4. Rebel of Babylon.
[url]https://open.spotify.com/album/6umaXKrRVHRgUH7nsxM9eg?si=U9BMPuzeQOWuA_uD3DdmAw/url]
Jumping ahead a little here, post tour for Death Magnetic. We have a hell of a lot of live material to talk about in the next few weeks, given that there are 4 commercially available shows from the World Magnetic Tour, plus the FanCan from Copenhagen, plus the two Australian exclusive EPs (which I plan to cover on Monday night in preparations for going off to Melbourne for Megadeth and Trivium concerts!).
Anyway, all this is to say that we’re slightly overshooting where we are actually up to chronologically. Following the World Magnetic tour, more about that in the coming weeks, Metallica went back on tour with The Big 4 with their colleagues and fellow thrash metal founders Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer. This took them across Europe and included a few dates in America. Metallica then went off to India and Abu Dhabi before finishing the year with a massive celebration with four nights at the Fillmore. This was it. 30 years of Metallica being summed up across four shows that were jampacked with guest performers and deep cuts. And as if these shows weren’t already special enough, Metallica also pulled out four extra songs from the Magnetic sessions that hadn’t made the album. Lars made the promise that these songs would be “coming soon to an inbox near you” to the club members in attendance, and on December 13th, 2011, they were made publicly available for download on iTunes under the name Beyond Magnetic.
Here is the original statement that was put out about this release, which I feel summarises the whole release rather well.
“During the Death Magnetic album sessions in 2007 and 2008, we originally recorded 14 songs. When it came time to pick the songs for the final album, we decided on 10 songs that you've all come to know over the last three years... Some of you may have heard bits and pieces of those other songs on 'Mission Metallica' (remember 'Mission Metallica'?!) or heard rumors about them during the recording process, and wondered, 'What ever happened to those other four songs???.' We kept them in the vault and decided to pull them just for this special celebration, so here are the four leftover tracks from the Death Magnetic sessions. They are ROUGH mixes, unfinished to their original degree of mixing from March '08. These four songs were released as a gift to our closest fans, the members of our Fan Club, to enjoy. Now they're being made available to you.”
And now, 12 years on, here are my thoughts on this EP.
Hate Train is a thunderous opening to the proceedings. These opening few riffs are huge, leading into a Kirk solo that should be familiar to anyone who followed the MetOnTour videos back in the day. The verses come out swinging with some great vocals from James. The chorus here is a nice melodic break, though I feel James is a little out of his wheelhouse vocally here. The riff that opens the verses feels a lot like a sequel to Fuel stylistically to me. The instrumental opens up with an awesome lick from Kirk before pounding out a few very cool riffs that I wish had been a part of the main album. Lyrically, I’m not a huge fan of this one, but I really like it instrumentally. I do really like the change to the final chorus and I love James’ final high note here. I think this could’ve been on the album with a different lyric. The soloing here is better than End of the Line, and some of the riffs here are a real shame to miss out on.
Second, Just a Bullet Away. This opens with a really intriguing intro before hitting you over the head with the main riff. This is heavy, this is dark, this is damn near proggy. I like the lyrics a lot here too, painting a picture of walking the line of suicide. It pairs really well with the dark riff. The choruses work to paint the desperation of the situation in a great way. Now, the best section of the song is definitely the instrumental section, featuring a beautiful clean riff and some of the coolest guitar harmonies that could’ve been featured on the album. Following this, we get a solo from James before the closing verse and chorus. I actually really like the way it just cuts out on the last word, being “stop the voices in my head”. This one is possibly my favourite song from the EP, though I’m not sure where it would fit onto Death Magnetic.
Next is a song that takes a bit more of a ballad form, Hell and Back. This is the song that saw the most live performances, being played over the course of much of the Black Album's 20th anniversary in 2012. There’s an uneasy nature to the clean riff, but the release into the chorus is nothing short of cathartic. Lyrically, this song is about the temptation of the dark side, at least in my interpretation. The verses and choruses are already a banger, but the bridge with its simplistic riff is really powerful, and coupled with the second riff here, it’s possibly my third favourite bridge of the era. Kirk’s solo is a bit of a meh spot, but all up this is a total banger, and I can see why they chose this as the song they toured with.
Rebel of Babylon is the closer of this collection and it’s an intriguing one. This one was inspired by the life of Layne Staley. The clean intro verse is a nice touch, but the main riff here is much better. I really like the pre-chorus line, “let this dark shine, don’t let it burn out tonight”. The chorus has an odd feel to it, though I do find it to be a very powerful chorus all the same. But, it’s the instrumental section where I feel this song really gets to shine. The evil sounding chords beneath Kirk’s soloing is an awesome moment that leads into an evil harmony that then leads into another heavy riff that I believe was once a fully fleshed-out bridge section. Then we make our way out with another verse and another chorus. Not the most cohesive song here, but certainly one that’s worth checking out just for that harmony section.
I used to wonder if there was any songs here that I would trade for anything on Death Magnetic, but I can honestly say on this listen-through that I don’t believe there is. Death Magnetic remains my favourite album to this day, and I don’t know that there is anything here worth trading for anything off of it.
But that’s just me. What do you guys think? Anything you’d prefer to trade? Let me know what you’d have put on your version of Magnetic and get ready for a tour de force through the many live albums released from this touring cycle. We’ve got a lot to go!
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Beyond Magnetic is one I listened to a few times when it came out but never beyond that. I think I'll replay it today to see what my current thoughts are. I remember being completely underwhelmed by it and understanding why they never made it to DM but maybe time will have changed my opinion a bit.
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Listened to this today.
It's not great. Hate Train has some cool ideas and good moments, Bullet Away is not very good, Hell and Back is not a bad song actually, and I couldn't stand Rebel of Babylon.
Just can't get into the writing or playing (minus a few exceptions) during this era.
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Orgullo, Pasion y Gloria - 2009
Setlist: 1. Creeping Death. 2. For Whom the Bell Tolls. 3. Ride the Lightning. 4. Disposable Heroes. 5. One. 6. Broken, Beat & Scarred. 7. The Memory Remains. 8. Sad But True. 9. The Unforgiven. 10. All Nightmare Long. 11. The Day That Never Comes. 12. Master of Puppets. 13. Fight Fire With Fire. 14. Nothing Else Matters. 15. Enter Sandman. 16. The Wait. 17. Hit The Lights. 18. Seek and Destroy.
Welcome to the start of our World Magnetic tour deep dives! Let’s do a quick recap of where we are so far. The Death Magnetic album released on September 12th, 2008. Metallica then embarked on a tour for two years from October 17th, 2008 until November 21st, 2010. All in all, they played 187 dates on the tour, including stops in Asia, Australia and South America, as well as the standard European and North American markets. To this day, it stands as one of Metallica’s most successful, taking in $217,245,629 at the box office.
The tour was rather extensive, seeing Metallica visit venues and countries they’d rarely, if ever, visited before. There were several North American and European legs, scattered in between which were huge shows in Mexico, France, Denmark and Bulgaria, amongst many many more. Today, we are starting with the first shows that we have available from the tour, with today’s release coming from three nights in Mexico City. They hadn’t played in Mexico for ten years, but returned to very receptive fans that helped them to sell out three nights at the Foro Sol stadium.
The DVD of this performance opens with a bit of a documentary, showing how excited the fans were to see Metallica return to Mexico City. This then cuts to just after the house lights have turned out, with The Ecstasy of Gold blaring over the PA and the band getting ready to take to the stage. Their first song of the evening is Creeping Death, which is an energetic opener for sure. The band is in tight form, and I can clearly hear that James’ voice has improved since the Le Bataclan show in 2003. While not as gritty anymore, he’s hitting the notes cleanly with conviction and authority. The bridge is a great showcase of how large the audience is, with a sea of fists and voices repeating “die! die!”
Next up is Bellz, which opens with a great solo from Rob. I’ve always liked it when this song shows up at the front of the show, like with Seattle ’89. Even being a mid-tempo song, it just has such a great vibe to it. Quite clearly the Mexican fans agree with me, as there are lots of great shots of the audience throughout this one. I guess now is a fair time to say that, while I definitely miss Jason’s backing vocals on a song like Creeping Death, I think Rob’s playing feels like a much tidier fit for the band live, especially in the modern day. Kirk has an extended solo out of the studio outro, and we’re dropped straight into Ride the Lightning. This performance of the track is even tighter than Bataclan, which was better than Cunning Stunts. James doesn’t completely lose his place in the lyrics, Kirk’s solo is a lot closer to the album version (and absolutely nailed at that) and I love hearing the crowd chanting along with the beat during the first half of the solo. Kirk absolutely smokes the second half, it’s amazing to take in. Overall, this is one of my favourite live versions of the song (though we haven’t gotten to my actual favourite yet).
Three songs in, but all of a sudden we cut to a few news reports. It’s important to note that this DVD is really a compilation of three nights and, in all honesty, this show doesn’t actually exist. As Lars says in this first interview portion (which does draw on a little too long for my liking), they played a different setlist every night that they were in Mexico City, so we fdo get a good bit of variety.
Up next, still from the second of three nights, is Disposable Heroes. While this does feel slightly slower than the album version, I think it’s slightly heavier with the semitone lower tuning and the slightly slower pace. James sounds awesome in the prechorus sections and I really love Kirk and Rob’s backing “back to the front” lines. Kirk’s solo on this one is performed masterfully, not to mention the harmonised lines throughout. It’s cool to me to see this song performed in its entirety, as the version I saw them perform in 2010 omitted the reprise of the bridge after the solo and the extended final chorus. I can honestly say that I prefer the shorter version, as that short lead section in the final chorus just doesn’t land for me quite as well live.
A fantastic opening segment leads into a massive pyro display without the band on stage. We even get a few fireworks shooting up, as well as the flash pots on stage. As that subsides, we’re left with a red light on stage and James and Kirk starting up the only Justice song in the feature presentation, One. This is a song that they perform at nearly every show, so I feel like I’m able to skip over this. However, what I will say is that I think I prefer the performance from Cunning Stunts for this song. It’s not to say that I think this is a bad performance, it most certainly isn’t. I just like Cunning Stunts a little more, as I think Jason’s bass tone on that concert was perfect for the song and there’s a few extra lines of backing vocal that he provides there that Rob doesn’t. Also Lars’ double bass game was vastly improved for that show compared to this one.
Up next, James dedicates a song to the Mexican fanbase and talks a little about doing your best and endurance before coming straight out with “coz what don’t kill you makes you more strong”. Boom, straight into one of the three Death Magnetic songs for the main feature tonight, Broken, Beat & Scarred. This isn’t quite as good as the studio version and it’s pretty much because I feel that Kirk and Rob don’t hold up the tagline of the verses enough. They do sound strong for the “show your scars” in the chorus though. For those of you watching along, can I just point out how cool James’ guitar looks on this one? The best part of this one live is easily that kick off into the solo onwards. The final chorus is huge, even with James missing the first line. The solo is badass, that altered riff that we end up on is nice and heavy. It’s a solid performance, I just prefer the song on the album.
And now we take in another interview. Sadly, the powers that be opted to not add subtitles and all the fans are, naturally, speaking Spanish. I can feel these fans are passionate about the band, but unfortunately, I can’t follow the course of this. I do like this guy’s mask though.
We’re treated to a little ReLoad action with The Memory Remains. This feels a little low energy to me, but it’s a good performance of the song. The strongest part of this version is not the band, it’s hearing the audience singing along to Marianne Faithfull’s section even after the band have stopped playing. This has become a natural feature of the song, but I love that moment. Always feels cool.
We are now 8 songs into the set, almost halfway, and we finally get a Black Album cut. It’s almost impressive they held out this long. Sad But True opens with James singing the chorus acapella, before leaving it to the audience to finish it out. Then we get the band coming in heavy. This is another song that I prefer from Jason’s time with the band as I just feel like James tries to sing this too cleanly now and so much of the edge of this song comes from the grit in his vocals. Are there other songs where this is the case? Definitely, but this is the one where it’s the most aggravating for me since their live tones can never feel as strong as the wall of guitars that were on the album version. This is followed by Rob’s short bass ‘solo’, which is just him dropping the tuning progressively.
Here we get another short clip, this one being about changing the setlist every night. This is a very cool clip that helps to explain the process that goes behind the setlist. Lars talks about the idea that the 90s saw them being “too well-oiled of a machine that they seemed to lose their humanity”. I like it. I’ve always appreciated that they do this because it means you can see them at multiple shows and not know what you’re getting apart from the handful of staples that they will definitely be playing. With M72 around the corner, I’m excited to see how much further they can take this concept.
James teases the intro of …And Justice For All before launching into The Unforigven. As far as I can tell, the next handful of songs are from the first night. This one also seems to be lacking something live, even being performed really well. I don’t know that this song ever translated perfectly live, even on the original Black Album tour back in the early 90s. I certainly can’t knock the performance here though, it’s top notch. Everyone plays their parts really well, I like James’ voice in the chorus especially. I honesty cannot put my finger on what I feel is lacking either. This just isn’t quite the way I want to hear the song.
All Nightmare Long is up next. This is brutally heavy with that extra semitone drop. James’ voice is perhaps not as beastly as it is on the album, though he is still giving it his all. I really like that he lets the audience do the “1, 2” from the album leading into the second verse. His second verse is definitely stronger than the first for my liking. Something that I think is going to be really interesting is the fact that we have a performance of this song on all of the main releases we’ll be talking about from this tour, meaning we can get a great picture of how this song changes over the course of the tour. As it is, this sets a nice high bar to compare to in our coming deep dives.
Another interview, of course. I skipped this time, being another fan clip in Spanish meaning that I can’t get a whole lot out of these.
The Day That Never Comes is our final Death Magnetic song for the main show. This is a really good performance, right up there with the opening segment of the show. I think this might be the song that James sings the best on this show, and it might be one of my favourites from the latter half of the set. The main instrumental section is actually really fun to watch with the band interacting with each other. I love the shots of James and Kirk standing together playing those harmonies. Kirk nails the solo and it’s just a great time all around.
As the last note of Day rings out and turs into feedback, Lars starts his 4count into Master of Puppets. This cannot compare to the performance from Seattle ’89. I don’t think any version other than the original S&M can ever top it. That said, it’s another solid performance but I love the way the audience gets to sing parts of the verses for themselves. I really like the delay on James’ high note in the second verse ending. Making this version better than the previous Mexico City/San Diego and Cunning Stunts versions is the fact that we get the whole thing. Yes, the fantastic middle section is here in all its glory! I think this is one of the last times I’ve heard James actually say “fix me” directly before the solo, instead of being weird and saying “pancakes”. Kirk nails the solo, the Bowie riff is tight and there you have a sold performance of Master of Puppets.
We get a great clip about bootleg merch in Mexico that James actually has a lot of respect for here. There’s some real cool stuff on display here.
Something I loved that started on the World Magnetic tour’s set structure is that Metallica would play either One or Day into Master before playing one of their thrashiest songs (Battery, Damage, Blackened, Fight Fire With Fire or Dyers Eve were the usual culprits) before Nothing and Sandman closed out the main sets. Coming from the second night, we have Fight Fire With Fire, and a blistering performance thereof. I think this is actually faster than the album version, which doesn’t throw James even remotely. I think he actually sings it better here than on Ride, giving it a little bit more energy and emotion than the monotonous staccato delivery on the original. Kirk nails the solo and then has a cool stare down with James for the harmony. Lars delivers on the double bass for the drum break before the final verse. It’s a killer performance of the song.
Now, it’s fairly obvious that no matter what else any of these shows bring, we are always going to get Nothing Else Matters and Enter Sandman. We’re also going to have a few other staples make it to every show, but these two are particularly egregious in that there’s hardly any variables to talk about with them. They are so dialled in that I’m fairly sure Metallica themselves go on autopilot when this block rolls around each night. Because we have so many other and, in my opinion, better songs to talk about, we can assume that these two were well performed and move on, right? If anyone actually wants to discuss a particular rendition of either, we can. I have still watched them as part of each show, I just choose to skip over them in the reviews to save character count and save you from reading the same exact review each time. Cool? I will, however, say that I love Kirk’s clean intro solo before Nothing and I kinda like seeing Rob and James start Sandman on their knees. Right, let’s move on into the encore.
There’s another short clip here of the fans with different bits and pieces. I believe these are the fans that won the meet and greet passes for these shows.
The World Magnetic tour saw Metallica play a cover song at the start of their encores. I got to see Stone Cold Crazy at my show, but this encore from the third night opens with The Wait by Killing Joke. This is a pretty rare cover to see come up, so it’s pretty cool to have a properly released version of it here. I really enjoy this song here, though I can see why it’s not up there with Breadfan and Stone Cold Crazy as a song they play constantly.
The encore would generally then go to an early thrash song, either something from Kill ‘Em All o, if you're lucky, Trapped Under Ice. On this show, it happened to be Hit the Lights that occupied this slot. Now, I’m well aware that, much like we hear on the Some Kind of Monster EP, Metallica didn’t always play the full intro to Lights, often picking up directly from the main riff. And that’s what the DVD claims they did here, but fan shot footage from that night confirms that this was one of the rare instances where the full intro was indeed played. Anyway, this is hands down the best live version of the song that we’ve heard so far. James nails the vocals, Rob and Lars keep very tight time together and Kirk’s solos, while not necessarily the album solos, are a great showcase of what he does best.
We go through our final cutaway clip here, looking at Metallica meeting the fans and signing some merch. It’s a nice moment.
We end our main presentation with Seek and Destroy, tuned down to D standard. This is another one I don’t really need to comment on all that much. This is a great closing song, going back to the very beginnings of the band, but also giving the audience a very simple phrase to yell back to the band. I do like seeing this one on the DVDs though, because I love the way that the band decide to turn the house lights back on so they can properly see the audience in front of them. It’s awesome to watch the crowd jumping up and down to the beat. Seek is followed by a quick teaser of Wasting My Hate and that’s our show.
I think this is a hell of a show, but the constant back and forth with the interviews and fan clips does destroy the pacing for me. It’s extremely distracting, and without subtitles, it’s completely unwatchable for me. Had this been a straight concert, I’d have had no qualms ranking this 3rd behind Seattle ’89 and S&M, but I feel like the ‘compilation’ setlist does make things a little unfair.
But that’s not even all there is for this one. While this is the main crux of the show, we have 16 extra songs ready to watch. I’m about to slot in disc 2 and go for a double dip deep dive for this release. Join me in a moment for that one!
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Orgullo – Disc 2
1. That Was Just Your Life. 2. The End of the Line. 3. Holier Than Thou. 4. Cyanide. 5. Blackened. 6. Helpless. 7. Trapped Under Ice. 8. Turn the Page. 9. The Prince. 10. No Remorse. 11. Fuel. 12. Wherever I May Roam. 13. Harvester of Sorrow. 14. Fade to Black. 15. …And Justice For All. 16. Dyers Eve.
I guess part of making a compilation setlist work is having all the songs to make it up, and we already talked about the songs coming from three different shows. Now, the question is, what do you do with all the songs you didn’t use. Well, if you’re Metallica, the answer is, apparently, to make a second compilation setlist of everything that didn’t make it to the main show.
On the first night in Mexico City, Metallica started with the tour’s usual opening 1-2 punch of That Was Just Your Life and The End of the Line, both from Death Magnetic. The thing is, That Was Just Your Life seems to work much better at indoor venues with its spectacular laser show. Nonetheless, I think the combination of these two Magnetic tracks creates an awesome duo to open concerts with. The harmony section from Life live is an awesome moment, as is the intro to End of the Line with James and Rob playing the response line of the intro. These songs don’t get quite the same reaction as Creep and Bellz do as openers, but I kinda prefer them personally. The guys seem to have a lot of fun playing these two and it's quite fun to watch, even if it doesn’t make for the best audience response.
The editing on this disc is a little jumpy in spots. What we have here is only the “leftover” songs that didn’t make the compiled main set. What we have here is actually in order of how each of the three nights were originally performed, which leads to odd moments like this one, where Holier Than Thou used the last note of Creeping Death as a hold to its start. On this DVD, the feedback from that last note comes from nowhere and it’s a weird edit. Anyway, here’s a Black Album deep cut that gets fans rocking out. I feel like James doesn’t nail this one vocally, which may be the reason it didn’t make it to the main setlist. Lars also drops a few beats here and there. It’s a shame though as some of the crowd shots for this one look awesome and the quick riff into the solo is a great moment.
On night one, Cyanide was the song that followed BBS. This one being a single at the time definitely helped it to garner some popularity by then, and the grooving tempo leads to some cool chants from the crowd. This is probably my second favourite performance of a Death Magnetic song from these shows. I feel like the interplay between Rob and Lars at the start of each verse is really felt much better live than it is on the album and it’s just a song that James nails live. I’d be quite interested in seeing this one make the list for a few M72 shows. The bridge has such a great vibe live that it would be a shame not to see on the setlist again.
With a lot of the later portion of the main set being the same each night, the next song we get to see is Blackened, which took the place of Fight Fire on night one. They perform this song so well and the crowd eat it up so much that I’m surprised that this isn’t the song they chose to use in the main set. Lars’ double bass is on point and it’s really cool seeing the pyro light up on the word “fire” in each chorus.
Night one’s encore featured Helpless as the cover and Trapped Under Ice for the thrashy tune. I like Helpless a lot, I think they perform it really well, especially Rob with a few tight fills during the prechoruses. Sadly, this is an abridged version which leads from the second chorus straight into the closing solo, bypassing the middle section entirely. I think this is a better cover than The Wait and I’d have found it a better choice for the main set, but I digress. Trapped is great too, featuring a solid performance from Lars and Kirk, though I think the vocals may be just a little too high for James here. This sure doesn’t stop him from giving it his all. I’m really glad we have an official live version this song.
With the majority of the main set having come from the second night, we only have three songs left to talk about from the second show. These are preceded by a quick clip of Lars saying the first night was one of the best shows they’ve ever played and feeling like it can only get better. James and Kirk talk about the different vibe between indoor and outdoor crowds.
Ok, the only main set tune we have here is Turn The Page, the Bob Seger cover. This one kinda feels wrong in a stadium, though Metallica do play it very well here. For me, this song just seems to work better indoors. Kirk’s lead tone from this tour really grates on my ear while he’s playing slide though. It’s a shame because James nails this vocally.
And we’re straight into the encore from night two, opening with The Prince. This is a very odd song but I’ve always loved the version from the Justice sessions, and I think this is a very well performed version of the tune. James sings this song way better than I ever thought that he would at this point, Kirk nails the solo and the whole band stay on top of the almost progressive transitions very well. No Remorse seems to be the perfect song to couple with it, as I’ve always felt the structure of the intro and verses of both were quite similar. Remorse isn’t a usual contender as an encore, but it really works here. This is the shorter version that we were introduced to on the Bataclan show and its performed even better here, even without the Dyers Eve intro jam for an outro.
What I really appreciate with the extra clips on this disc is that they are all about how great the shows have been from the band’s perspective and they help divide the shows by night. They don’t offer the fan’s perspective as much as the main set’s do, but I prefer them.
Fuel replaced Bellz on that third night, making for a very fast opening duo. The energy is very apparent from the get go here and the crowd are strong. The pyro blaze during the instrumental bridge is a beautiful sight! This is strangely one of the best performed songs overall, even if there are other songs that I’m more up with because they’re deep cuts that really speak to me. James nails this one vocally and Kirk’s solo is very powerful.
In an interesting move, they played Wherever I May Roam directly after this, which certainly brings the tempo down a lot. It’s also an odd choice to use an intro tape for the third song in the set imo, but you get that. Where I felt that Page was the wrong song for a huge crowd this is very much the right one, almost standing to further glorify the touring life as the song itself does. It’s another well performed track that I wish had been in the main set, though I suppose that would mean giving up Ride the Lightning and I don’t like that trade enough. Kirk is on fire, and I would almost dare to say that the third night sees him at his most energetic.
Another slower tempo song with massive energy comes for us in the form of Harvester of Sorrow. Did you know that Justice songs sound better with bassz/ Coz they really do. This is crushingly heavy, and you really have no choice but to love this performance if you care about the song at all. Everyone’s on point and it’s just a great performance that stacks up well next to Seattle for me.
Interestingly, Kirk’s usual first solo spot of the night is somewhat here? It starts but then cuts out, but it also starts somewhere in the middle of it? I don’t fully understand the logic here. Anyway, we move on to possibly the biggest song that I’m surprised was cut out of the main set, Fade to Black. I feel like someone mentioned here about Kirk having really singable solos back in the day, and that is really showcased on this performance where the crowd is actually singing the opening solo to Fade to Black at the top of their lungs. It’s a huge sound that has to be admired. I love James’ clean tone on this performance and I think this could be his best vocal performance of the song. Kirk is on fire all throughout this third night so, I think it’s fairly safe to say that this is a killer solo too.
The last two songs for the whole collection both come from …And Justice For All. Firstly, the title track, which made a huge comeback in the setlist in 2007 after not being played in full since 1989, or at all since 1993 in the Justice Medley. James doesn’t deliver it with quite the grit of the original but he get heavy during those choruses. The whole performance is really tight, with Lars nailing the short descending patterns of the second intro. It’s amazing to think this song this song really didn’t get much love from the band until Rob started pushing to play it because they absolutely nail it here. The reprise of the intro is my favourite moment of the second disc without doubt!
The final song of this entire collection is also likely the least performed today. Dyers Eve. Holy shit, they actually did it. Lars doesn’t give this all the inhuman double bass work of the original, but he still holds his own here. James gives a more melodic performance, rather than the unbridled anger of the album version, but it totally works. As far as Kirk is concerned, by having this as the last song on the second disc, we are very much saving the best for last. This is just unreal to be able to hear a live version of and everything here is fantastic.
And that’s it! Next up will either be Francais Pour Une Nuit, or the Six Feet Down Under twin EPs. These live reviews are the path that we’re going to be heading down for a little while here, but that’s fine by me if it works for you all.
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Six Feet Down Under – 2010
Tracklisting: 1. Eye of the Beholder. 2. …And Justice For All. 3. Through the Never. 4. The Unforgiven. 5. Low Man’s Lyric. 6. Devil’s Dance.7. Frantic. 8. Fight Fire With Fire
https://open.spotify.com/album/6PZnDE9gWetRTjw3pHbodW?si=CNK9POTBS9mNYFPlIN5f0w (https://open.spotify.com/album/6PZnDE9gWetRTjw3pHbodW?si=CNK9POTBS9mNYFPlIN5f0w)
Well, I’m very excited right now. Tomorrow, I’m going for a quick trip to Melbourne to ctach Megadeth and Trivium at their Knotfest sideshows!
Seeing as I’m about to go see some shows on Australian tours, I thought it would be kinda fun for me to tie in a few of these here writeups and visit two EPs that you may not be aware of, both called Six Feet Down Under. These EPs are Australian exclusives from 2010, released to commemorate the band’s first Australian tour since 2004 (man, imagine only waiting six years). This first eight track release combines two songs from each of Metallica’s prior Australian tours from the Damaged Justice tour in 89, Wherever We May Roam tour in 93, the Poor Re-Touring Me tour of 98 and the Madly in Anger with the World tour in 2004.
This collection opens with some lower quality recordings, sadly. Many of these recordings are from fan recorded bootlegs which haven’t stood the test of the time quite as well as other live recordings. What we have to start with is Eye of the Beholder from their show at the Festival Hall in Melbourne, which until 2018 was the only officially released live recording of this one. The energy of the performance is great, but it’s actually quite interesting to hear people in the audience singing along and having one person remark that “James doesn’t need to sing” because the crowd is giving the prechorus and chorus everything they have. I don’t know if it’s something to do with the recording, but it almost sounds like the pitch of this recording is ever so slightly higher than the album version.
The second track, also taken from that same show is …And Justice For All. For me, it’s fairly cool to be able to hear the audience perspective of this since we’re now so familiar with the huge performance of this song from Seattle on the same tour. Jason has almost a bit of a bass solo before Lars starts the iconic drum groove. The audience is all in on the vocals alongside James, who sounds really strong on this song. While this is still a lower quality recording, it does sound fairly decent, considering the age of the tape at this point. There’s a constant squeak but you can learn to tune it out. The performance itself is what matters and they sound like they played just as well as they did on the main release from this tour.
The next two come the Black Album tour. I find it hard to listen to Through the Never as the graininess of the recording is quite overwhelming. James sounds a little beyond his prime trying to sing this one, though the recording does not help matters. The solo and bridge do sound pretty good on this though. Next is The Unforgiven from Melbourne and, while it’s a lot more stable of a recording, this sounds pretty off to me. Kirk’s clean tone is not as dialled in as it is on Orgullo, Pasion y Gloria (I can now mention the tones between eras) and James doesn’t sound like he’s hitting the right notes in a few spots. Kirk’s solo is fairly decent and I like a bit of the extended outro, but all up, it feels a little underwhelming. As I said last night though, I don’t think this song ever translated correctly live.
Back to Perth for two songs from ReLoad. Fun fact, these were actually recorded three months and ten days before I was born. Anyway, up first is Low Man’s Lyric in an almost fully acoustic style. The first thing I notice with this recording is how much cleaner it is, as we’re finally moving into the era where they recorded every show from the soundboard. The next thing that occurs to me is that this song COULD be great if Kirk didn’t use whatever effect he is using on his acoustic to try and sound like the hurdy-gurdy from the album. There’s a moment where he turns it off and it sounds beautiful. But I digress. This song has always been a James showcase and it remains a great James showcase. This remains the only official live version of the song and listening to this makes me wish they’d bring it back for the next Bridge School or All Within My Hands benefit gig.
The other track we have from this tour is Devil’s Dance. Jason’s distorted bass tone sounds evil here and that carries over to the rest of the band. James’ vocal gets lost at a few points but I honestly like this performance a lot. The solo isn’t perfect, but it’s not too bad. Would have liked a bit more backing vocal from Jason here, like what he does on S&M, but otherwise it’s just cool to have another recording of this one.
And then we pick it up almost six years later in 2004. First up, we have Frantic from a Big Day Out sideshow in Sydney (hey hey, festival sideshows. This does tie in perfectly!). The extended jam intro is a really nice touch, and I like Lars starting up the rapid snare hits to get the crowd engaged, though I wish the band could have just locked into this instead of stopping and restarting the song. James sings this much better than he did on the Bataclan recording, though they are a few months into the Madly in Anger tour at this point. Recording wise, this is the clearest quality recording of the bunch as far as the band is concerned, though I feel like the audience does get a little lost. Now, what’s particularly cool about this performance is that Kirk has added a short solo after the bridge and this is one of my favourite performances of that solo. It’s cool how they tried to make up for some of the mistakes they made with the album on tour. Another example of this being that Lars has his snares on…
The last song of this lot is actually taken from the opening song of their headline set in Brisbane. This is Fight Fire With Fire. It’s not the cleanest performance of the song by quite a stretch, but I do like having this for the collection. I think the performance was a little better on the Mexico City shows that we looked into last night, especially in the solo, but all in all, this isn’t too shabby. This is only the first song of their third concert from that year, so taken into consideration it’s not too bad. Kinda cool to have the EP end with James asking the crowd “are you feeling good?” considering that the whole point was to get the Aussie fanbase ready to see them on tour.
This is definitely worth checking out, but I feel the second EP is stronger. We’ll have a look at that in the next chapter.
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Before I post my review of the second Six Feet Down Under, I wanted to go back and add the liner notes from the original, as I just found my copy on CD this afternoon.
"Do you want to add a note?" asks Marc at the office. "We've never done this before...."
Well here's your note . . .
Short version of the story: The folks at our record company Down Under asked us to come up with something they could put out to inject some sort of local favour into our upcoming last run of World Magnetic tour dates, which, of course, just happen to be in Australia and New Zealand.
We sat around and scratched our heads, stared at each other (that's scary!!) and then someone came up with the novel idea to release a couple of live tracks from every Trans-Tasman(!!??) tour we've done in our career. It all seemed like a great plan until we figured out that it wasn't until 2004 that we started full multi-track recordings of all the shows. Duh!
So we turned to the ever increasing network of you, the fans, who are always there for us. Before we knew it, we had some pretty decent bootleg options and as we delved further into this, realised that we had the opportunity to release songs that never before had been released as "live b-sides." What a concept!!
The now not-so-short story is that we have eight songs here, two from each tour in 1989, 1993, 1998 and 2004. Please don't sue us if we're wrong, but as far as e can tell none have ever been released before as a "live b-side" on CD. Okay, okay, yes, we know that ...And Justice For All came out on iTunes as a bonus song on "something-or-other" . . . we're not counting that in our "b-side" tally . . . this is our little "note" after all!
We also are aware that some of these songs are in somewhat rough shape (that may be putting it kindly), but it certainly captures the spirit and energy that comes in the wake of our Down Under visits. As we used to say in the past way tooooooo often, please don't take any of this too seriously. It's all part of the fun!!
Enjoy.
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Six Feet Down Under Part II – 2010
Tracklisting: 1. Blackened. 2. Ride the Lightning. 3. The Four Horsemen. 4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium). 5. Master of Puppets. 6. …And Justice For All. 7. Fade to Black. 8. Damage Inc..
And so it went that Metallica came to Australia and New Zealand for the final run of the World Magnetic tour (yes, I know, we’re way ahead when we still have a few full shows, plus their bonus tracks, to cover from before this but I did explain it at the top of the first disc). With setlists offering some deeper cuts alongside their new material and greatest hits, it seemed only natural to document the first part of the tour, at least.
Metallica offered up an impressive catalogue of songs to choose from in those first few dates (sadly, missing their two shows in Perth by only a few days, otherwise I’d probably be on an official release, dang!) and they offered the task of choosing the eight song tracklist onto the fans through their official website.
It probably shouldn’t come as any surprise that every track came from 1988 or earlier.
Opening this collection is a ripping version of Blackened from their first of three shows in Brisbane. Right off the bat, you can hear the audience going crazy for this song. This energy is absolutely carried by the band, though it seems that Lars isn’t quite as strong on his double bass work as Orgullo made it seem. Still, the few moments where James lets the fans take over the chorus and the pause into the bridge section show the audience having a great time. I think Rob does a better job of the backing vocals in the bridge here, and James sounds strong all throughout. Kirk’s solo is a little messy here though. The song trails out with James playing around with a little riff and then Kirk’s clean tone kicks in as the track fades out.
Secondly, my favourite song in the discography, Ride the Lightning from the second of two shows in Auckland. I appreciate that they kept an excerpt of James’ speech here, as it does help to set the vibe. “I hope you know all of Metallica’s songs, coz we’ve got some old stuff for you right now”. The New Zealand fans sound strong as they take over the third line of the chorus, and even stronger in the “hey! hey!” that echoes throughout the start of Kirk’s solo. I like the first half of the solo better on this version than on Orgullo, I think he comes damn close to nailing it here, though he gets thrown off at the start of the second half. You can hear him trying to recover it until he eventually kicks in at the most iconic phrase.
The Four Horsemen from their early standalone show in Sydney is next. James teases this next song by saying that the next song is from Kill ‘Em All and that there are four of them on stage. This is a really energetic performance of Horsemen, leagues ahead of the Bataclan version. You can hear an older James giving his best shot to some of the high notes from the original and making it work. I also really love the “die” rally between Rob and James after the second chorus. The gallop is tight and heavy here, which is always a good sign. The audience here is not as strong as other tracks on this EP will show them to be, but the chant before they do get their moment in the choruses. Kirk nails the iconic solo and there you have one of my favourite versions of the song!
Appropriately, we have a 4th track ballad next. Welcome Home (Sanitarium), taken from the first show of the Australian run in Melbourne is fantastic to hear. There’s a certain quality in the clean guitar tones that lend themselves so perfectly to the sound of Sanitarium here. James’ voice here is amazing too. I think this is a track that would go onto my ‘essentials’ live playlist if I had one. Everything here is so on point and it’s all got a very special vibe.
Marking the only true staple of the piece is this performance of Master of Puppets from Brisbane. I couldn’t tell you which night, being they didn’t drop it from the setlist at any point of the World Magnetic tour. The crowd singing during the verses and prechoruses is a real highlight, as it is with most performances. I can honestly say that this isn’t quite as cool as the Orgullo show as the crowd singing the full harmony section is a real highlight of those shows for me. This is a solid performance, but there’s just not quite the same magic there.
The one song that made it to both EPs is …And Justice For All, this performance taken from the second of three nights in Brisbane. It’s quite cool to consider that we have two live performances of this live rarity, both taken from Australian gigs. It helps to set into mind how much the band has changed live in those 21 years. This isn’t quite as tight as the performance on the second disc of Orgullo, but it’s still very strong. Lars still nails the descending transition before the solo section here. Kirk isn’t quite as tight though, struggling a little bit with a few phrases. As always, the reprisal of the intro is a delight! One thing that does strike me here is that they don’t do the full ending to the song, skipping the first harmony and last line of the chorus but going straight into the proper outro from the album version. I kinda prefer it that way, as I always thought it was an odd choice on the album.
Fade to Black is next and here is where I get to voice a controversial opinion! Somewhere in late 2009/early 2010, James stopped performing this song fully on the electric guitar and opted to use his acoustic guitar like he would on The Unforgiven. Now, as much as I think it sounds great, I am not as much of a fan of him doing this as I am of hearing him play with his clean electric tone. It does create a mice interplay between his acoustic and Kirk’s clean lead sound, but it just doesn’t feel the same to me. As such, this version from the standalone show in Sydney doesn’t play quite as well for me as the version from Mexico City. I also don’t think James nails it quite the same vocally. I do like the “do you feel what I feel?” pause before the bridge, though, and Kirk’s solo is great as always.
Rounding out the collection is Damage Inc. from the second of two nights in Christchurch. As far as I’m aware, this is the most recent recording of the song that we have available outside of YouTube. Hearing the full intro pitched down the semitone is haunting, especially with that final bass squeal from the album. This isn’t necessarily the most tight of performances, with James’ vocals feeling quite overshot in the verses. I can see why this song hasn’t been played too often in the interim. The bridge and Kirk’s solo are the definite highlights of this performance, but I believe we do have a much tighter performance of this track coming up in another full show review before long.
And there you have it, just before I head to bed to wake up really early tomorrow morning to catch my flight to Melbourne, we have covered these exclusive EPs that were released just for Aussie fans like me. I really love the fact that these exist. I wish they could have done a part 3 from the SoundWave shows where they dug out all kinds of cool songs. Unfortunately, until 2025 at minimum, this is seemingly the most relevant that Metallica and Australia get to being mutually relevant. It's particularly tragic to think that the version of Ride the Lightning comes from their last show in New Zealand, coming up on 13 years ago. Maybe some day we'll see them Down Under again. Til then, I guess we just gotta hope that 72 Seasons will actually be a good album, since it's the last real news that we here will have from them in a while.
Anyway. Peace out. Til next week, enjoy some tunes, stay safe, I'll see you next time.
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Beyond Magnetic - When this EP came out, I didn't really give it much of a chance. I was feeling cold towards Death Magnetic and its production. I just re-listened to it a week or two ago and could enjoy it for what it was, but the lyrics are definitely lacking. I give the band a lot of credit for doing something cool for the 30th anniversary shows and playing each song live and putting the rough mixes of them out.
Orgulla - I bought this a while back when it came out. I remember being shocked to see it in a store, since I had no idea that Metallica had released any official live video since S&M and couldn't recall any sort of hype or press release for it. At the time, I loved having some rarer songs like Disposable Heroes being recorded live. I can't recall if I still have this on DVD or if I sold it, but I certainly haven't watched it for a long time.
Six Feet Down Under - I never looked into these releases and pretty much ignored most of the live EP's that the band put out from St. Anger onwards. This thread is certainly helping me find the best of those EP's though, which is nice!
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I used to have a version of Death Magnetic culled from the Guitar Hero stems. That's a really good record.
The actual released CD is almost unlistenable.
(https://e.snmc.io/i/300/w/c75b8add834b7660c473aa0ca17c03ee/3023084)
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Well, I’m very excited right now. Tomorrow, I’m going for a quick trip to Melbourne to ctach Megadeth and Trivium at their Knotfest sideshows!
Deadeye - what did you think of Megadeth? I was at the show. I'll also be at Trivium tonight.
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Haven't had a chance to comment on Beyond Magnetic yet:
I really like Hate Train and Just a Bullet Away. The other 2 tracks aren't nearly as good in my view. Hate Train has some really good riffs, and I really like that chorus. The post-solo breakdown riff is awesome. This is the one track that I would maybe try to put on DM. The only thing I would consider replacing is End of the Line, and in the end, I am not so sure I would do that. Just A Bullet Away is also really good, the instrumental section is great. I agree that it doesn't really fit on DM though.
Overall though, I would say the DM sessions were a very fruitful time for the band.
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Well, I’m very excited right now. Tomorrow, I’m going for a quick trip to Melbourne to ctach Megadeth and Trivium at their Knotfest sideshows!
Deadeye - what did you think of Megadeth? I was at the show. I'll also be at Trivium tonight.
I thought they were mostly awesome. She-Wolf was a little odd though, don’t know how Dave messed thst one up so badly. Did notice that he let the audience take over the vocals a LOT! Like straight up not even near the mic at parts. Wasn’t mad on In Flames.
Loved Trivium, couldn’t believe my luck when they opened with Kirisute Gomen. Wish I had received the email notification that you had responded, would’ve been great to meet up with someone from the forum.
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Francais Pour Une Nuit - 2009
Setlist: 1. Blackened. 2. Creeping Death. 3. Fuel. 4. Harvester of Sorrow. 5. Fade to Black. 6. Broken, Beat & Scarred. 7. Cyanide. 8. Sad But True. 9. One. 10. All Nightmare Long. 11. The Day That Never Comes. 12. Master of Puppets. 13. Dyers Eve. 14. Nothing Else Matters. 15. Enter Sandman. 16. Stone Cold Crazy. 17. Motorbreathl 18. Seek & Destroy
https://youtu.be/I5Zb4w03atU (https://youtu.be/I5Zb4w03atU)
So, with the World Magnetic releases featuring many of the same songs presented in different venues, I thought I’d fast track this a little, being that all but two songs did appear during the three nights in Mexico City.
In 2009, the tour made it’s way through Europe, Latin America, North America and Canada and led to the release of 3 of these next few releases within the same year. It’s worth mentioning at this point that I am going in chronological order of date performed, rather than date released. Francais Pour Une Nuit (which translates to French For One Night) was recorded on July 7th, 2009 and released on November 23rd of the same year, primarily in French markets (thiugh you can find this imported from time to time). Orgullo was released in November 30th, though it was filmed in June 4th, 6th and 7th. And then the Six Feet Down Under EPs were from 2010, but I did mention why I wanted to skip ahead to those back there.
Francais Pour Une Nuit was taken entirely from a single show at the Arenes De Nimes in Nimes, France. This is a building with a long history, being one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world. It was built shortly after the Colosseum in Rome and still hosts two annual bullfights as well as an annual music festival, which in 2009 featured Metallica as it’s headliner.
To me, Francais Pour Une Nuit features the most varied of the main setlists on offer from the three releases of 2009-2010. I think it’s the most visually pleasing of their live releases from this period, largely down to how amazing the venue looks, even more-so when offset by the lights from the stage. I feel like this is a perfect juxtaposition of the outdoor setup and the arena production, with this stage being the same as they’d use for their in-the-round setup, thus featuring the coloured flames emerging from between the amps that lined the centre of the stage. Sadly, this show lacked the awesome descending coffins that made the lighting rig of the Magnetic tour so unique.
Onto the setlist, I think this one is pretty cool, featuring a decent variety of fan favourites, deeper cuts and Death Magnetic tracks. I particularly enjoy the show opening with Blackened, even if it isn’t quite as stirring a performance as the version from Seattle ‘89, and leading straight into Creeping Death makes for an excellent punchy opener. Fuel and Harvester aren’t quite as strong as they are on Orgullo performance wise, though I must add that I think they are better defined sonically here, with much of that performance feeling a little lost in the mix for me.
Fade to Black is great here, I feel it’s one of Kirk’s best songs on this one. Very glad that James is tillmusing the electric the whole way through for now. One is very well performed here and the pyro display is just about in full effect here, though I am still looking forward to an indoor show to see the complete show again as this only features the front and rear flames, compared to the ones at the side at a fully in-the-round show.
Cyanide and The Day That Never Comes are great here too, but it’s All Nightmare Long that takes the title of favourite from Death Magnetic on this one. Still, the song that is most attention grabbing here is Dyers Eve. To this day, it is a rare song to hear performed, and I think this performance is pretty solid, even if it does feel a little bit beyond James’ voice and far beyond Lars’ drumming skills to pull it off as aggressively as the original song was intended to be.
The two songs that I will be giving focus to here are found within the encore, which here begins with a jam on the intro of The Frayed Ends of Sanity, where Kirk and Lars get the crowd to sing along to the Wizard of Oz chant. James introduces this as being the part of the night where they get to play a cover song. “Tonight’s special band is Queen”. Stone Cold Crazy is our cover song for the evening, marking the first live performance of the track we get to mention since 1993! I like the performance of the instrumental a little more in this performance, though I can honestly say that this song doesn’t feel the same without the Hetfield rasp of the Black Album era. Being largely dominated by the vocals, the song needs a voice in it’s prime, and while James does sound strong on this performance, I don’t think he is as vocally commanding as he was back then. The Kill ‘Em All track taking up the second position here is Motorbreath. Lars really nails the drum intro here, I think James sings this one particularly well with a few particularly decent notes, the chorus standing up particularly nicely. This is a better performance of the song than the one found on Cunning Stunts in pretty much every way for me.
This one is a very solid release. I think the performance is excellent with James and Kirk standing up at their best from the last few releases. This gets an 8.5 from me.
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Well, I’m very excited right now. Tomorrow, I’m going for a quick trip to Melbourne to ctach Megadeth and Trivium at their Knotfest sideshows!
Deadeye - what did you think of Megadeth? I was at the show. I'll also be at Trivium tonight.
I thought they were mostly awesome. She-Wolf was a little odd though, don’t know how Dave messed thst one up so badly. Did notice that he let the audience take over the vocals a LOT! Like straight up not even near the mic at parts. Wasn’t mad on In Flames.
Loved Trivium, couldn’t believe my luck when they opened with Kirisute Gomen. Wish I had received the email notification that you had responded, would’ve been great to meet up with someone from the forum.
Yeah, appears Dave's voice is pretty much gone but the rest of the performance was awesome, great gig, wasn't in love with the set list though. Not sure about In Flames, they were ok.
Loved Trivium. Did you stay for Amon Amarth? Never seen them live before and have to say I enjoyed them way more than I thought I would.
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So I’ve still got three World Magnetic tour shows to go, but I’m also well aware that 72 Seasons is a mere two weeks away. It is to that end that I am announcing here and now that the next three reviews will be Through the Never, Hardwired to Self-Destruct and S&M2. I will come back and finish these other shows off, since there are some cool bits that I want to talk about in what I’m skipping over (Am I Evil from the Big 4 show, for example). It’s all getting covered, just we’ll be skipping a bit chronologically.
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Through the Never – 2013
Making of the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZaYYIN5Bwo&list=PLJvQXRgtxlum1_TuyRjJaC7obSpgG2vH- (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZaYYIN5Bwo&list=PLJvQXRgtxlum1_TuyRjJaC7obSpgG2vH-)
Making of the stage:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWG1c6vJH0g (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWG1c6vJH0g)
Things changed after Metallica turned 30. They got a little overly ambitious, starting their own, albeit short-lived, music festival called Orion. They also started their own record label called Blackened Recordings which now holds ownership of all of Metallica’s master recordings. But all these things seem fairly standard for the world’s most successful metal band. What maybe wasn’t so normal was the idea of a 3D movie, one that wasn’t entirely a concert film either, but rather a film in which a concert happens to take place, as Lars so eloquently put it.
Between July 28th and August 27th, 2012, Metallica had a string of dates between Mexico City and Vancouver with the most insane indoor production that they have ever put together. This stage was an amalgamation of just about everything that they had ever featured before in a stage show, including the Death Magnetic coffin rig and the exploding Lady Justice, as well as a snakepit. They even decided to make up a few new stage props that were absolutely insane, like an electric chair with tesla coils for Ride the Lightning. These alone would have made for a fantastic film, but they were only parts of a much bigger story. Together with director Nimrod Antal, Metallica drew up plans for a narrative element for a big project made on a $32,000,000 budget. So, how’d it all go? Was this a worthwhile venture, or is this a real clunker? Let’s have a watch, shall we?
Once we get through the opening credits, we open on a shot of a large cityscape, coming to focus on an arena. There’s a radio changing station, coming to rest on Whiplash. You get a bit of a dishevelled fan pulling up, screaming he’ll be the first in and last out. This is when someone rolls through on a skateboard and becomes our focal point for the next little bit. He stacks it a little bit, which is kinda funny. Anyway, we follow him into the arena before he pulls up at his van and unmasks, revealing that he’s Dane DeHaan! I will be referring to his character ad Dane, because not one person in this film gets named.Behind him, James Hetfield drives through in a custom car spouting flames. Dane gets stopped by security, but he shows his pass and Kirk says “he’s alright”. He walks past the stage manager who notes that “I may need you”, Rob is in a room packed with bass amps that’s rattling off it’s foundations, Lars gives him a dirty look and then he walks into an empty arena. There’s a really nice shot here of the audience arriving in a time-lapse as Dane walks straight through, all set to Ecstasy of Gold of course.
The band take to the stage for Creeping Death, where we get to take in the enormity of the stage and just enjoy the first song of the set. The narrative partially stops for this section. This is a really well produced live show, and the audience get a moment to shine for the “die! die!” of the bridge, where there’s a nice shot of Dane rocking out before the stage manager comes and pulls him out of the audience with a piece of paper in hand. The other really cool thing to note is that it seems like the stage floor is made up of dozens of video screens, and as they get to the bridge, the floor fills with blood. Awesome visual.
“We have a truck that’s out of gas in the city. You’ve gotta find it, it’s got something that the band needs tonight.” He gets into his van, where there’s a very creepy doll hanging from the mirror and drives away as For Whom The Bell Tolls kicks off. So, the story is pretty much a simple fetch quest, right? Find the truck and retrieve the item. (By the way, we’ll talk about the actual songs in a different deep dive, I’ll follow this up in the week with the album review. I’m just using these as time stamps). There’s a strange moment here where we see a man in a gas mask during the “it’s the last time you will” pause.
Fuel starts with a great graphic of burning engines intercut with Dane driving into the city. We see that in the back of his truck is a jerry can and his skateboard. A lot of this song is spent going back and forth between Dane and the concert, but there is a cool moment during the pre-solo where the engine graphics and a pillar of pyro start to superimpose onto buildings and seem like they’re coming out of the road. As the song comes to a close, Dane misses a red light and fails to stop in time. Between songs, his van gets rammed into, leaving two wrecked vehicles. For some reason, Dane falls into a large body of water, though I don’t see how that’s remotely possible from where the crash occurred.
Anyway, onto Ride the Lightning. This is where the electric chair comes into play. James’ mic fails and he slams it into the stage, looking angry. As Kirk reaches the second half of the solo, the electric chair starts getting electrocuted by the tesla coils surrounding it and it looks AWESOME!! The chair looks exactly like the one on the album cover too. It turns off as the band reach the reset into the third verse, but it’s a stunning visual, nonetheless.
The song cuts out very abruptly and we see Dane regaining consciousness as we see a visual of soldiers marching, looking reminiscent of something like Band of Brothers, and flashes of pyro and fireworks from the intro of One. Now, I’ve said before how much I love the World Magnetic pyro intro to One, but holy crap did they up the ante here. This is fantastic! We see the guy that crashed into Dane bleeding from the face, looking into the distance terrified. He starts running, but we don’t see what from. Again, most of One seems to centre on the concert, and it’s at this point that I feel a little disconnected from the actual narrative. We keep getting glimpses of a storyline but losing it to the concert. As we get to the “darkness” bridge, Dane is walking down the road and sees a horse walking down the street with a dead SWAT officer being dragged, tied onto the horse by the foot. Cut back to the show. Then we see a crowd of people running, almost knocking Dane down. Two police cars speed after them, followed by a third that’s very much on fire.
The Memory Remains is next on the setlist, with extra light towers folding up from beside the stage. These short out though, along with streetlights in the narrative. There are some really nice shots of the extended audience singalong at the end of the song.
Dane walks down a road now covered in flames as the intro to Wherever I May Roam starts. An angry mob, armed, now faces him from one direction, with riot police armed with batons and riot shields on the other end. They begin to beat the batons into the shields to the beat of Roam. For whatever reason, this is a song they chose to not feature fully in the film, as it cuts out just before the verse begins. A full-on riot begins as we enter the verse section of Cyanide. This gets absolutely brutal quickly with Molotovs being thrown at the police officers during melee combat. Dogs are biting people, cars are on fire. And there’s a comedic shot where Dane backs up to a building and the music cuts out, leaving the ordinary muzak crap you’d hear at a store to set the scene of absolute carnage. Talking about the stage design here, I really like the use of the coffins, as they have been updated with video screens that show people inside of them now starting to freak out, as if they weren’t actually dead. The guy in the gas mask that we saw during Bellz shows up finally, riding a horse. His thing seems to be that he wields a pipe, but also likes to lasso people by the neck and then hang them from streetlights. Pretty friggin dark, not gonna lie. He starts charging after Dane. He drops his creepy doll that I had completely forgotten was still with him, but he goes back for it.
Dane escapes, but sees multiple bodies hung from an overpass. Again, pretty friggin dark, not gonna lie! He continues towards them, visibly shaken, as the sounds of …And Justice For All begin in the background. We see an actual construction crew and cranes on stage, building Lady Justice. James directs the construction of her torso a little bit, which is a nice moment. With a small reprieve from the story line, I just want to mention that I really like the setlist for this show, giving us a few deeper cuts as well as the bigger hits. We only get the first verse and chorus straight into the solo as Lady Justice’s head is connected but we do get to see the entire solo. Oh, and she rotates, which is an awesome feature for an in-the-round revamp of the statue from the Damaged Justice tour. As the final chorus begins, she starts to shake violently before exploding magnificently with the debris stopping very close to Lars. Hell yeah!
Dane finds the truck almost an hour into the 90 minute run time. The driver seems to be paralyzed with fear, as he doesn’t take any notice of Dane smacking on the window. Inside is nothing but an old satchel. Dane seems to be taken aback by this, as Master of Puppets starts up. James actually sings the whole song in this version, not really allowing the crowd to take over like he has on the World Magnetic shows. Still, I suppose this is a movie soundtrack as well as a concert, so I can get behind it. Down the road, Dane sees someone waving at him. Back at the concert, we get an awesome moment where crosses have just come onto the stage during the melodic break. The waving man is joined by the gas masked rider, and the angry mob comes running straight at him all over again. He runs for dear life, climbing a tall fence, with the mob still in hot pursuit. His luck runs out as he comes to a dead end. He drops the jerry can, which h begins to leak it’s fuel.
Cornered, out of options, he puts his bandana back over his mouth and nose and hood over his head and douses himself with the jerry can, holding up his lighter and setting himself on fire. As Battery kicks into the main riff, he begins to fight his way through the mob WHILE ON FIRE!! This is a pretty cool sequence in all honesty. Eventually though, he is beaten down, but the image of him drowning comes back. Again, this doesn’t make a lick of sense since he’s in the middle of the street. James’ “are you alive?” moment that usually precedes the solo of Battery turns into the beginning of Nothing Else Matters (which feels anti-climactic). If anyone has seen this movie and can actually make sense of the drowning moments, let me know, coz they confuse me as to what they symbolise.
As Dane reawakens, he’s now on top of a parking structure. Enter Sandman begins. The creepy doll thing is now alive for whatever reason. Please don’t ask, I don’t know. Anyway, he stands next to the bag, Dane goes to get it, but he’s lassoed around the neck as the rider takes him for a drag. He gets pulled up off the ground, but Dane steals his pipe and escapes his grip for the moment. This is moreorless the final boss fight of the film. The rider haw captured the doll and puts it in a strap on his chest, Dane starts swinging the pipe into the ground and things start breaking all over the city. Apparently, this includes the arena, where a re-enactment of the Cunning Stunts destruction scene goes down. Broken lighting truss pieces, misfiring lasers and pyro, burning guy, all of it. Dane gets one more swing in and the rider pretty much gets Thanos snapped out of existence. Of course, half the city is now absolutely totalled.
The show seems to be more or less over after that. James announces that the two people that got hurt will be ok and asks for some lights to assess the damage, but says “let’s keep playing, get us some amps!”. James makes the comment that this now reminds him of the garage, exactly like Kill ‘Em All and they start playing Hit the Lights, staying in the middle of the stage under some floodlights. I can’t lie, the stage does look pretty cool in it’s “destroyed” state.
However, the mission that Dane went on is now clearly failed. The band needed what was on the truck tonight and the show is well into its encore now. He makes it back to the venue as the Hit the Lights solo reaches it’s conclusion. Or so we think. As he walks into the arena, the place is empty. He walks onto the stage and puts the bag down and walks away. Movie over.
Well, lately it seems that films make you stay around through the whole credits to see the extra scene at the end. With Metallica, it’s a little bit different. We get the credits set to a fantastic “soundcheck” version of Orion, where Kirk and James are sitting in stools and Rob is kinda leaning against one. It’s a really nice vibe. Dane walks back in to see the soundcheck and that’s the whole thing.
So, I kinda like it. I don’t watch it all that often because it really doesn’t feel like they nailed it. Also, this movie flopped at the box office. To be fair, it was timed poorly, and was only allowed to show for a week before it had to give up all the IMAX 3D screens to the movie Gravity. The marketing behind this was a little bit lacking, and I don’t think anyone actually knows what the narrative is about. Lars himself has stated that he spent three years working on the film and he still didn’t know what it was about. It’s impressive visually, but man, I almost wonder if it would have been better to release a concert film with all the effort that went into the staging. Sadly, the blu-ray release doesn’t even offer the full show as a bonus feature. There is a great making of documentary that’s almost as long as the film itself though, and what’s even better is that’s completely available on YouTube (link number one). There’s an even better TV special about the making of the stage featured in the film, which I have also linked above.
But you know what really grinds my gears? I don’t have a goddamn clue what was in the bag.Also, there were a few cool songs from the Full Arsenal setlist that didn't make it to the film or the soundtrack album, which is bitterly sad. Check out the Fade to Black music video at the end of the making of playlist, because it's an amazing performance.
I give this film a 7.5 because the Metallica segments are excellently shot and sound fantastic, but the narrative is an absolute mess.
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Did not watch the Through the Never movie cause it looked terrible.
That said, the sound check or whatever version of Orion is my favorite version. It's just so fantastic both performance and audio wise. Love it.
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I bought this on blu ray when it came out. Watched it once, then lent it to my brother in law.....who never returned it to me. I'm sure his kids destroyed it on accident and that was that.
I remember that the movie sucked, but the concert footage and the stage was awesome. I wish they kept that stage and used it more often. Oh well.
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Through the Never – 2013
Setlist: 1. Creeping Death. 2. For Whom The Bell Tolls. 3. Fuel. 4. Ride the Lightning. 5. One. 6. The Memory Remains. 7. Wherever I May Roam. 8. Cyanide. 9. …And Justice For All. 10. Master of Puppets. 11. Battery. 12. Nothing Else Matters. 13. Enter Sandman. 14. Hit The Lights. 15. Orion.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0ecPxTAKqXdr2MJYdYOM7e?si=S3kgN4f1SbWN8WvYYpheCA (https://open.spotify.com/album/0ecPxTAKqXdr2MJYdYOM7e?si=S3kgN4f1SbWN8WvYYpheCA)
So yeah, the movie was kind of a flop. Kinda sad to think that they put so much effort into it, only to have it impeded by weak marketing and only being available in cinemas (at least in the intended IMAX 3D presentation) for a single week. I don’t think this has even reached cult status as being a must-watch for Metallica fans.
However, what we can enjoy about Through the Never as a whole is that Metallica released a ‘soundtrack’ album three days before the film’s release. This would prove to be the more successful venture out of the Through the Never project, even getting nominated for a Grammy for Best Recording Package. These tracks were compiled from the shows in Edmonton and Vancouver in August of 2012, shows that were used for the concert footage in the film. This is an interesting release, where four major mainstays of the concerts on this run have been removed. These are Sad But True, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Fade to Black and Seek and Destroy. Of course, these have been featured plenty of times in other concert films, but given the production of this album, it’s a little odd that four huge songs like these wouldn’t be included at all. Stranger still, Seek was given its own prop during these shows (albeit a very goofy one). Paying homage to the original title and artwork from Kill ‘Em All, Metallica had a toilet that opened up to reveal a hand wielding a sword beneath the seat. It’s goofy, but it’s kinda great, and you can check it out here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omWupOOBX7g (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omWupOOBX7g))
However, what we do have on the album is a collection of all the songs that were featured in the movie. The first four were featured almost entirely uncut in the film. And they sound awesome. The band are on fire, James’ voice sounds at its best for a live show since probably S&M in all honesty. The Ride the Lightning solo receives probably it’s best performance ever on this release, although I feel I can say that about most of the songs on this album. One’s intro, being a different and much more explosive affair, has a different sound to the usual war tape that we’re used to. In fact, I don’t believe the usual voices are heard at all in this mix, while planes and falling bombs are prominent. I also really want to call attention to Rob’s harmony in the last chorus of One, as it caught my ear while watching the film and listening to the album here, it deserves a proper mention. Great job Rob!
There are a few songs here that I want to give some extra attention to. Wherever I May Roam is one of them, as it really only featured for about 70 seconds of the film in total. It’s a shame too, because this is a great performance of the song, and might actually outrank S&M as my favourite performance of Roam. The additional presence of the bass that features all throughout this album helps to make this song extra powerful, as does the audience in the choruses. Kirk’s solos are both awesome here and I wish this had been shown in full during Through the Never.
…And Justice For All does get a good feature during the film, but shortens the song considerably. I’d just like to point out that the rest of the performance is as great as that short section is. The reprise of the intro after the solo is somehow even more immense in full. I hope this comes back on the M72 run, as they haven’t played it since the end of the Metallica By Request tour in 2014.
Battery’s solo and the heavy bridge riff are a thing of beauty. I know they had to be cut for pacing of the film, but man, I wish Dane could’ve lost his flame fight to that heavy riff, instead of cutting from “are you alive?” to Nothing Else Matters. Actually, perm,it me the tangent, but given that Battery was used during a scene where the protagonist literally sets themselves on FIRE to FIGHT, why didn't they play Fight Fire With Fire instead? Don't get me wrong, I love Battery much more as a song, but that could've tied in well is all I'm saying.
Anyway, speaking of Nothing Else Matters, I am very pleased to report that, while it didn’t feature in the film, Kirk’s intro doodle is intact at the start of the song on the album. I like Nothing a lot on here, and outside of S&M, this is probably my favourite live version of the song.
Sandman features in its entirety in the film, but I will say that without seeing the destruction scene, this is very strange to listen to as the song comes to an abrupt stop. You can hear things starting to go wrong, but it just doesn’t add up to the ear without the visual.
Hit the Lights remains excellent, but as it is with the film, Orion is the undisputed highlight of the entire thing. I’d actually say that every grievance I have with the film is worth it just to have this version of the track. It’s truly wonderful to have.
Well, there you go. I’ll keep this one short, but if you don’t have the means to watch the movie, at least listen to the album. It’s well worth the listen.
Hardwired… To Self-Destruct will release sometime on Friday.
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Hardwired… To Self-Destruct -2016
Tracklisting:
Disc One: 1. Hardwired. 2. Atlas, Rise!. 3. Now That We’re Dead. 4. Moth Into Flame. 5. Dream No More. 6. Halo on Fire.
Disc Two: 7. Confusion. 8. ManUNkind. 9. Here Comes Revenge. 10. Am I Savage?. 11. Murder One. 12. Spit Out The Bone.
https://open.spotify.com/album/7LwifLL1anaEd9eIIfIkx7?si=p_9sSmBYSpaO0DUS5zKduw (https://open.spotify.com/album/7LwifLL1anaEd9eIIfIkx7?si=p_9sSmBYSpaO0DUS5zKduw)
2013 was a majorly ambitious year for Metallica, which didn’t simply end with Through the Never. To cap off a wild year, in which they’d already played in Australia, South Africa, North America, Europe, Asia (including their first shows in China) and Brazil, Metallica played a show at the Carlini Argentine Base in Antarctica for Latin American contest winners, research scientists from around the world, and the crew of the ship that brought them to Antarctica. To protect the environment, the audience wore headphones that transmitted the sounds, rather than the usual wall of amps and PA equipment that could damage the frozen continent. Metallica could tick off being Guinness World Record holders as well, being the only band to perform on all seven continents in a single year. Should also win the stupidest setlist decisions award for not featuring Trapped Under Ice in ANtarctica though.
And in 2014, Metallica embarked on a European/South American tour, this time allowing fans with tickets to vote for the songs they wanted to hear, but with the caveat that Metallica got to pick one song, which would be a new song called Lords of Summer. This tour led to some pretty insane shows, including a show in Poland where Metallica ended up playing both Orion and The Call of Ktulu in a single set. Other highlights included this show in Lima, which featured very few of Metallica’s regular staples (notable exclusions feature Sad But True, For Whom the Bell Tolls and Nothing Else Matters). https://www.youtube.com/live/9t9sa0TMebQ?feature=share (https://www.youtube.com/live/9t9sa0TMebQ?feature=share)
For most though, the Finland show will always be the most historic, as it featured in its encore the live premiere of The Frayed Ends of Sanity. https://youtu.be/eF5OHUXamFQ (https://youtu.be/eF5OHUXamFQ).
2015 was another great year for setlists in a short European run, acting as somewhat of a deep cuts tour. Songs like King Nothing and Frayed Ends of Sanity made regular appearances, while The Unforgiven II made the majority of its appearances. Check out this show from Munich, and how favorably Rob talks about this run. https://www.youtube.com/live/rt0DC7PFmMs?feature=share (https://www.youtube.com/live/rt0DC7PFmMs?feature=share). They also got to play two nights in Quebec, acting as the final show at Colisee Pepsi and the first at Centre Videotron on back to back nights. What a way to change venues in Quebec!
In 2016, things looked pretty quiet to start with. In February, they kicked off with an event at AT&T Stadium, now known as The Night Before, as they were deemed too heavy to play at the Superbowl. From there it was a bit of a break to their show at Rasputin Music for Record Store Day in April of 2016. That setlist was meant to be comprised of nothing but Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning tunes, but they snuck in a sneaky, improvised cover of Helpless too. And then they disappeared for a little while. There was only one other date on the calendar so far, August 20th in Minneapolis. There was a small vote for this show, asking fans to pick a deep cut, which turned out to be Leper Messiah, but other than that, it was a little too quiet in the Metallica camp…
August 18th, two days before the Minneapolis show and they weren’t so quiet anymore. Out of their silence came a brand new song called Hardwired. Then the news reports came that there would be a new album on November 18th, just in time for Kirk’s birthday. Their first album in eight years, it was time to get excited. Metallica would announce two slight changes to the tracklist before it’s release, the first of which was to change the deluxe package, trading the third disc’s “riff origins” into three cover songs that had been released between Death Magnetic and now adding the Rasputin Music set, plus the live debut of Hardwired and a completed studio version of Lords of Summer. The second changed the main album’s tracklisting, taking Dream No More off of the second disc and trading it's position with Am I Savage?.
With only a few days to go until 72 Seasons, let’s dive into what is soon to be replaced as their most recent album.
Opening up is the title track, Hardwired. I already have one small complaint about the album, as I kinda miss the more cinematic intro that Metallica had just gone back to with That Was Just Your Life. However, I must say that this song is adrenaline central. Opening on a heavy gallop and allowing short bursts of the main riff to seep in before kicking straight into the main riff and then James starts spitting out the lyrics. This is a really short opener, from the intro to the end of the first chorus in 57 seconds. The bridge and the solo are great too, I feel like the bridge is the best riff in the song. This is a hell of a way to kick off as a lead single and an opener, spelling great things for what’s to come.
Atlas, Rise! follows and I think the demo title really spells out this song’s direction. N.W.O.B.H.M.A.T.M. This song is packed full of musical references to the bands that inspired James and Lars to start up the band all those years ago. This is another banging song and sits really nicely in the second slot. This just has such a great tone to it and gets you immersed in the world of Hardwired… To Self-Destruct well. It’s almost like the proper first chapter to Hardwired’s prologue. The chorus is a straight up reference to iron Maiden’s Hallowed Be Thy Name, done with a bit of Metallica’s signature charm in there to pad it out. The takeoff riff before the solo is excellent, though the solo itself feels a little lazy, even reusing Kirk’s opening lick from the Suicide and Redemption solo at the 3:57 mark. This is made up for by a great harmony section though.
Now That We’re Dead goes for a more simplistic approach that almost describe as a slightly more ballsy Load track. The verses are very vocal led, maintaining a straightforward chugging as its main instrumental output. The pre-chorus is, as a bit of a fun fact, the unused original verse riff for Unforgiven III. This one is kinda fun at the right time, but I feel like it also doesn’t have much to offer. Rob’s bass frequencies in the verses do add a nice bit of darkness to the straight feel, and I like the chaotic structure of the lead-in to the solo section. Again though, Kirk’s not super focussed on this album. I feel like this solo is one of the better ones for the album, adding a bit of a melody in the back half, but it’s really not his best work. I do like the more atmospheric section right after it though, where James gets a bit of a rhythm guitar solo. This song had a really cool live extension here, where Metallica actually started a little bit of a drum circle with massive Japanese Taiko drums. I link here to a version from Edmonton of exactly what I’m talking about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed-t_R4gM-o (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed-t_R4gM-o)
Moth Into Flame is almost a refined …And Justice For All track in its energy and structure. This is probably the second best song off the album, but definitely my favourite from the first disc. This song is dedicated to Amy Winehouse and depicts an addiction to fame. The pre-chorus to this is taken more-or-less directly from Disposable Heroes, as is some of the structure of the solo as a whole. The harmonised riff is huge, and I think this is my favourite main riff from the album as a whole. The bridge riff is probably my favourite overall, too. This is just such a great track and it’s hard to explain why, but I think it’s fairly up there for most fans, at least when it comes to Hardwired… To Self-Destruct. For the 2017 Grammys, Metallica were joined by Lady Gaga for a special performance of this song, but for whatever reason, James’ mic was not turned on. James got mad. It’s a shame too because it was actually a pretty great combo. Here's a version with the Dress Rehearsal audio, making for what it should have been. https://youtu.be/nh7hxk-ZNQI (https://youtu.be/nh7hxk-ZNQI)
Dream No More is the latest in our Lovecraft anthology, this one taking on a bit of a Sad But True vibe. Certainly the heaviest that the first disc gets. I really like the vocal approach to this song, featuring two layers of James in the verses, one in the higher register and one in the lower. I have a good time with this one every now and then, but it’s not one that’s high up in my overall rankings. I really like the lead line over the intro as it reappears, and it’s especially evil the second time as it turns into a harmonised melody line. I think Kirk’s solo here is a little messy though. It’s really cool to hear the name Ktulu finally spoken in a Metallica song, since the song that bears his name is fully instrumental.
Halo On Fire closes the first disc and acts as the ballad here. The clean verse riff is somewhat unsettling and I love it. I think this is one of James’ best vocal showcases, really stretching the upper reaches of his range in the chorus, hitting high notes that I don’t think I’ve heard since Ride if not Kill ‘Em All. This is a bit of a journey of a song, with two bridges offering very different feels and really sucking us in for the ride. Kirk’s solo opens with a nice harmonic section and offers some decent licks, but it’s the section after this that really works for me. The song reaches almost a natural end point, but reverts to a really nice clean riff with some keyboard sounds mixed in, before kicking off into the final melody section of the song and the final solo of the first disc. People have debated since the album’s release as to whether this is James or Kirk’s solo. Live, it is a Kirk moment, but there are certainly a few bars where it feels like something James could’ve played.
For the first six songs, this has remained pretty consistently good. A solid follow-up to Death Magnetic. Production wise, it’s miles ahead.
Then you realise, that’s just half…
Confusion opens the second disc, with an intro that’s fairly obviously a ripoff of Am I Evil?. This ends and opens up into a riff that I’ve always really enjoyed, but it doesn’t hang around for very long. The verse section turns into something much more atmospheric, with some nice harmonic layers in the guitar work supporting James’ vocals. The chorus riff is definitely a heavier one too, one of my favourite chorus riffs actually. Kirk adds a few solo fills to the second verse that are particularly unnecessary, but fill out that section a bit more. The first bridge is a cool little frantic section, and then we get to the bridge which sees Kirk and Rob only adding a few accents and Lars dropping back to just the snare and hi-hat. It’s a really unique feel to setup a riff and I really like it. This good feeling doesn’t last for Kirk’s solo though. This is where he seems to stop trying to make something cohesive and starts just filling out the time. I like so many facets of this song, but I think Kirk’s solos and the verses really hold it back from being better and that’s kind of a shame.
ManUNkind is an abysmally stupid title. There, I said it.
The intro to this is amazing, and I wish they could have made a whole song out of just this section, rather than making it just the start of this particular song. It’s not even in the same key, I don’t believe. Anyway, the proper song starts up into one of the less straightforward riffs on the album. It’s actually really easy to lose track of where you are in this riff, and yet, I find it addictive. James’ vocals cut through nicely and the vibe of this is just really cool. The first riff of the bridge is written in 3/4, with Lars adding a pretty cool beat to it. I really like the decaying echo on James’ vocal through the first bridge, and I especially like the vocal harmony in what I call the bridge-chorus. It’s the same section either side of the solo. A solo that’s actually pretty atrocious. Other than that, I really like this song. It’s the only song on this album that has a writing contribution from anyone other than James and Lars, this being for the intro which was written by Rob. Kirk actually didn’t write anything for this album, having lost his phone which allegedly contained hundreds of ideas before the sessions were set to begin. Many people hate this song and it was only performed twice, but I really enjoy it.
Here Comes Revenge is another song held back by Kirk. There are days where I don’t make it past the intro because of his noises that start the song. This intro actually could’ve been so much better if they didn’t let him do that, it’s almost got a bit of a Harvester of Sorrow vibe to it. But then Kirk starts up and buries everything and it’s just… why? The feeling of the drums and the bass in the verses here is unique and super dark. I like a lot of the lyrics here, I think the verses are really strong. However, the chorus is pretty much a placeholder that got too far in my ear. The main riff is pretty cool, and I really like the alternate version of it that kicks off the solo. This solo is a little better than ManUNkind, but it’s still not great. Unfortunately, the ending of the song is ruined once more with Kirk’s whammy antics. Could’ve been a lot better.
Am I Savage? is next and this one actually just annoys me. The intro is great, it has a cool riff that again falls into that Load territory and then there’s that breakdown riff which is so heavy and excellent. And then there’s everything else about this song. I like the two pre-chorus sections, I think they’ve got great lyrics and melody to them, but the verses and chorus absolutely suck. I believe this is another song about a werewolf, or some kind of transforming beast. But god, it just falls so short of the mark that the few good moments in this song are made to feel completely unwarranted. Just check out the riff at 4:10 and then skip this.
Murder One is a tribute to Lemmy from Motörhead, who passed at the end of 2015. And yet, for whatever reason, instead of doing a song in a Motörhead style, or really anything like what they’ve done before, Metallica chose to male this for their tribute song, which feels like it’s trying to be a combination of both bands and missing the mark completely. The music video for this one is really decent, detailing a lot of Lemmy’s life story in a cool animated feature (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mkq6GFLIsk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mkq6GFLIsk)), but this song is a clunker to me. I like the intro riff, which feels a bit like a Sanitarium and Fade to Black mix, even more so in its heavier form found a few times throughout the song. That’s about the best I can say though.
Still, if there’s one thing that Metallica fans can agree on with this album, it’s that there’s an instant classic to close this one out. Holy hell. Spit Out the Bone is the closer for the main album and its nothing short of incredible. This brings back the thrash roots in a way that they could have only dreamed with Death Magnetic. This is just soaked in the 80’s essence that Metallica fans had been clamouring for since 1991. James’ gritty vocals come back for the choruses, there’s a lot of great riff changes, hell, there’s even a quick bass solo to set up the bridge section. There’s an absolutely fantastic harmony that divides the two bridge sections, there’s some really decent soloing (by this album’s standards anyway), this is pretty much everything cranked up to 11 in the best ways. Metallica closed the first of their two 40th anniversary shows with this and it worked really well, that should go some way to saying how good this is as an album closer. It might be up there as one of my favourites.
It feels disingenuous to say that I love this album after the crap I’ve given to Kirk and to the three songs in the middle of the second disc, but it really is a fairly solid album. Hell, even Master of Puppets and the Black Album have tracks that I don’t fully get behind and those are meant to be the pinnacles of their output. Maybe I still need to come around to some of these songs a little more, but I like this album a lot. I give it an 8.
Infancy, Progression, Ascension, Domination, Supremacy, Dilution, Continuation, Destruction, Reinvention, Comprehension. Why comprehension? Well, I feel like this album actually gives a lot of different styles, with Hardwired being more straightforward like Kill ‘Em All, Moth being a bit more of a Justice feel, Dream No More being a Black Album throwback and even a couple of more Loady moments. I think it helps to really define the journey.
But what do you guys think about Hardwired… To Self-Destruct? Keen to hear your thoughts on that, and I want to know if you’re looking forward to 72 Seasons, or if the singles have turned you off a little bit.
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I like HWTSD a LOT. Side A and SOTB are killer. The rest of the tracks are listenable but of lower quality. Production on the album is really good. If you combined the best tracks from DM and Hardwired it’s equal to an 80s album.
Looking forward to 72 seasons quite a bit. Rolling Stone gave it a very balanced and insightful review that set expectations exactly where they should be.
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Listened to it again today for this thread (much appreciated by the way).
I don't love it as much as I did when it came out, but I mostly really like most of it.
First disk is great. Love Hardwired, Atlas, Moth, Dream, and Now that we're dead. Halo on Fire isn't as interesting as I remembered it but I still dig it. A few complaints but I'll get to that later.
Disk 2 is more hit and miss. Confusion is merely okay. I tend to zone out during it. ManUnkind is dumb but the "Quest to find" part is awesome. The rest is okay at best. Here Comes Revenge is fun and Am I Savage is equally good. Neither song is amazing or great but both have great moments and don't ruin much for me. Murder One is awful and Spit Out the Bone is great, minus 2 minutes I would delete from the middle.
My main issues with the album are as follows
1) As mentioned with the Deadeye's post, Kirk is just super lame. Rarely does what he is doing add anything to the song and all of his licks are the same. His solos are just largely something I put up with. He's kind of like a better Tony Rambola from Godsmack.
2) James' lyrics are just blah. Nothing bad, sometimes good, but more often than not they're continuing the trend from St. Anger onward of just having words to fill in the syllables necessary to sing.
3) The production. I don't just mean the mixing, but the whole approach. This album really needed a Bob Rock type person. Someone to challenge Metallica in their song writing, trim some fat and add a lot of life and personality to the mix. The mix is WAY better than DM and St. Anger, but it's so sterile.
Also, Lords of Summer is a great song and better than a few of the ones that made the album. Wish it wasn't a bonus track only. Glad it got some live attention.
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Loved the album when first released, such a step up from DM. Still like it but don’t listen as often cause it’s too long overall. Starting from Halo every song should have been 1-2 mins shorter, including Spit which is awesome.
Write-ups have been much appreciated - you should do your 72 Seasons first impressions here in the same style next weekend
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Write-ups have been much appreciated - you should do your 72 Seasons first impressions here in the same style next weekend
I would love to, but my first impressions will be forged in the cinema at the listening party, so it would be a little rude for me to do them in this style. I’ll be posting an initial reaction as soon as I get out, but a more expanded write up like this will be based upon probably my third or fourth listen by the time I’m able to get to it with gigs coming up next week.
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Hardwired… To Self-Destruct - 2016
Tracklisting:
Disc Three: 1. Lords of Summer. 2. Ronnie Rising Medley. 3. When a Blind Man Cries. 4. Remember Tomorrow.
https://open.spotify.com/album/4bcUiX49wpmDRhrC8TvDWV?si=Y868MmKfSRatbRJCmMUKFA
(https://open.spotify.com/album/4bcUiX49wpmDRhrC8TvDWV?si=Y868MmKfSRatbRJCmMUKFA)
Suffice to say, I kinda failed on the challenge I set for myself. What I really wanted was to be reviewing the 40th Anniversary concerts this week so that I had left enough time to give a semi-balanced review of 72 Seasons. Sadly, I didn’t get through the World Magnetic Tour releases, nor S&M2, in the time I had left for myself.
But what I can do is take pride in the fact that I have gotten through all the studio material at the end of this review. Sure, I didn’t do demos or anything like that, but I covered the two original songs from S&M, plus I Disappear and Beyond Magnetic, which brings us to this. I will be doing the rest of the Live Magnetic chapters, S&M2 and the 40th Anniversary shows after the release of the new album, it just won’t strictly be chronological. Of course, you can always use the index in post #1 to redirect.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank you all for following along with me throughout these rambling reviews. I easily could’ve gotten no interest on these, but I really appreciate the fact that we’ve had a few conversations about the music along the way.
Right, enough bs. Hardwired… To Self-Destruct (Deluxe Edition).
When the Hardwired album was first announced, the deluxe content was supposed to be something called Riff Origins, which I suppose might have been the original riffs taken from the tuning room on the Magnetic/Metallica by Request tours. It’s also entirely possible that the third disc might have been a DVD containing the footage that eventually found it’s way to YouTube of the making of the album (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTIKBWs40KU&t=970s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTIKBWs40KU&t=970s)). Either way, we’ll never truly know, as somewhere in the lead up to the release, Metallica changed the content that third disc would contain to what it is now.
Now in the main review, I mentioned that the 2014 tour featured a new song called Lords of Summer. When it was originally premiered live, it felt like a continuation of the Magnetic era style. I actually really like the original version of the song, known as the “first pass” version. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7SIYzXM6zA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7SIYzXM6zA)) I’m not entirely sure why, but something about the original rawness and the Magnetic-like structure put this in high regard for me. I kinda prefer the original lyrics for the pre-chorus and the extended instrumental bridge, including a slightly more cathartic harmony section. Listening to the two back to back, I’m not finding a lot I like more in the Hardwired version. There’s one note James takes a little bit higher at the end on the Hardwired version which makes for a great ending, but I feel like much of the song was actually made more in line with Hardwired and strayed from the original version in the wrong directions. I even like the stopping at the end of the solo a lot more, and the riffing at the end is a lot more epic when it’s left at its full length. This is another debate we can have this week, I wonder if anyone prefers the Hardwired version. Anyway, I wish this song had been included on the base album and replaced either Murder One or Am I Savage?, as it played a huge part in the 2014/2015 touring cycles.
The other three tracks included here make for a sort of mini–Garage Days segment. First up, we have Ronnie Rising, which is somewhat of a Mercyful Fate sequel in that this is another medley from Metallica. This was originally released for the Ronnie James Dio – This Is Your Life compilation, released in 2014. Dio sadly died from cancer in 2010 and the compilation was both a tribute album and a charity venture, with all proceeds going to the Stand Up and Shout Foundation. This is a nice and rocking medley featuring many of the big songs from Rainbow’s Rising and Long Live Rock n Roll albums. James is in great voice here and I love the harmonies behind the lead lines. I’m not mad keen on Lars’ drum tone on this song, which is unfortunately very apparent all throughout with some major fills kicking off different segments. Tarot Woman is a lot of fun and Stargazer is a classic, but I think Kill the King is the best part of the whole song, being the one most prominently featured. However, I think this is just the part that lets the whole band excel the most. The harmony either side of Kirk’s solo is really strong. The song is bookended by the main riff of A Light in the Black too. I feel like this isn’t as strong as Mercyful Fate as these songs don’t lead to transitions between each song as nicely as the Mercyful Fate tracks did, but none the less, I find this to be a pretty great medley.
In 2012, as part of the 40th anniversary for the Deep Purple album Machine Head, a cover album was released with many famous artists taking a crack at the songs from this famous album. Kinda like Metallica’s Blacklist where there’s about 100 versions of every single song from the Black Album, except this is thankfully narrowed down to only one performance of each song (except Highway Star and Smoke on the Water, which got different takes anyway). For that album, Metallica covered the B-Side from the album, When A Blind Man Cries. This is a very atmospheric choice for Metallica to tackle, and I’d like to think they do a very good job of it. Kirk nails both solos in this song with a great respect to Richie Blackmore’s original parts (fun fact; Richie Blackmore was also the guitarist in Rainbow, so this is kinda the second Blackmore cover in three cover songs on Hardwired). Of course, James’ vocal is really the central highlight of the song as a whole, going up there with songs like The Unforgiven and Bleeding Me as real highlights for vocals. Lars had always wanted to cover a Deep Purple song since they had been so inspirational to him in forming Metallica, and I’m glad they finally did.
Final studio track I can cover before 72 Seasons. We did it! Ok, so this song actually predates Death Magnetic, which I find interesting. In July of 2008, Kerrang! Magazine put out a compilation CD of Iron Maiden tributes called Maiden Heaven. Now, this compilation should perhaps already be known to Dream Theater fans, as the eighth track of that release is their version of To Tame A Land which closes the deluxe version of Black Clouds & Silver Linings (I FINALLY TIED DT IN!), but the second track from this release is Metallica’s version of a song from the self-titled debut, known as Remember Tomorrow. Interestingly, this version opens with a riff not found in any version of the song that Maiden have ever released, which almost sounds like their interpretation of how Maiden would interpret Creeping Death? Anyway, we move into the main song with Rob’s bass being featured in its first ever official studio recording before it gets a bit covered by the wall of clean guitars and drums that support James’ voice. I don’t think this song really supports James’ vocals as well as it could, but he does sound pretty good for James. The production of this song as a whole feels pretty off, almost as if it were a dodgy torrent, but I’m listening to this straight from the Hardwired CD, so… ouch. I love Maiden, I love Metallica, but I really feel as though there were many better choices of song that they could have tackled. For example, I would have liked a Metallica version of Prowler, or maybe even Wrathchild.
And that’s it. I met goal number two. Bring on the listening party tomorrow night. I will do my best to provide a bit of a first reaction to the listening party and then we’ll get through the rest of this live material and the new album more in-depth as time permits.
Thanks all.
-Deadeye
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Fascinating. I knew about it being played live a bunch but I'd never head the "first pass" version. Listening now.
Half way through, I like the intro of this better than the final version, but once that main F# riff comes in, I prefer the Hardwired version. But we'll see what the final half is like.
Yup, after the solo it had a cool little jam, but other than the intro, I prefer the Hardwired version. I wonder how much of it is based on what we heard first.
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I have just left the Global Listening Party in Western Australia. I can’t really give too much away yet, as one listen, interrupted by dialogue from the band members, doesn’t really give you the full picture of how it flows as an album.
What I can say though is that I like a lot of this. There’s a lot to unpack, I can’t wait to listen to this a few more times and do something more in-depth, but I will say that I had something I liked on every single song and the singles really aren’t the best songs on the album. Songs like Shadows Follow and Sleepwalk My Life Away are fantastic, and while I feel that the third quarter does drag a little, the ending to the album is fantastic. Inamorata, the album closer, is 11:10, and feels like maybe 5 minutes. I’m really positive on this so far, so I’m very much looking forward to having this in my hands.
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I was on vacation, but wanted to throw my thoughts out there on Hardwired. The first thing I will say about this one is man, is the cover art terrible! I just don't like it. I remember going to my local music store, as they had a listening party and then you could purchase the album at midnight. I got a slipmat and some other free goodies too. That slipmat stayed on my record player for a bit, even with the terrible cover. The production here is solid, and the 3 disc cd version has some nice bonus stuff on the 3rd disc. Onto the songs...
Hardwired - Opening with a bang here. I love that they opened with a short thrasher, and a nice little solo from Kirk that fits
the vibe.
Atlas Rise - Yep, definite NWOBHM/Maiden vibes on this one. The post-solo harmony part is great.
Now that We're Dead - Nice mid-paced stomper. I love how the intro builds into the main riff. Love James' vocal patterns on
this one. I will say my least favorite on a very solid Disc 1 though.
Moth Into the Flame - This has a really solid main riff, and is quite the catchy track. The pre-chorus with the Disposable
Heroes vibe is great. One of Kirk's better leads is here too. (#33 on my top 50)
Dream No More - Love this one! One of their best slow, heavy tracks. I prefer it to Thing That Should... (#45 on top 50)
Halo on Fire - Epic, melodic closer to disc 1. Really like the "hello darkness" outro section. Kirk's short solo before the clean
part is probably my favorite on the album.
Confusion - Don't really like the Am I Evil styled intro, but verses are solid. Overall a pretty decent tune.
ManUNkind - The intro is cool, but doesn't really fit. I really like the groovy main riff once we get into the song. Definitely
some Load vibes on this one. Other than Spit, my favorite from disc 2. Snuck in my top 50 at 50.
Here Comes Revenge - Really like the post-intro chunky riff and the main riff as well. Another middle of the road song on disc
2 overall.
Am I Savage - I like the intro part here, and then we get into the main riff. More Load vibes, but I just can't really get into this
one. I like that pre-chorus part too, but the rest not so much.
Murder One - Definitely the worst song on the album for me. Nothing about this song grabs me at all.
Spit Out the Bone - By far the top of the heap here. Classic Metallica. Great main riff! James sounds so good on the awesome
verses. The harmony section into the "stop breathing" section is awesome. # 28 in my top 50.
Overall, a solid release from the boys, though I would rank Death Magnetic above it. Disc 1 is a solid listen all the way through. Disc 2 gets a little same-y and plods along with the mid-tempo numbers, but I like a couple of those tracks. Maybe they could've opened Disc 2 with Lords of Summer (great song btw) and dropped Murder One. Confusion isn't a real great way to open Disc 2 either. Obviously Disc 2 closes the album on quite the high note.
Since I was on vacation I went to my local music shop yesterday to buy 72 Seasons (missed the listening party this time) and they were out of cd copies. They had a few copies of the vinyl in stock, but I didn't want to splurge for the vinyl this time. I have been trying not to listen to the other tracks, but I have given in and listened to a couple. I will have a copy tomorrow and will finally be able to dive in to some new Metallica.
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72 Seasons – 2023
Tracklisting: 1. 72 Seasons. 2. Shadows Follow. 3. Screaming Suicide. 4. Sleepwalk My Life Away. 5. You Must Burn! 6. Lux Æterna. 7. Crown of Barbed Wire. 8. Chasing Light. 9. If Darkness Had a Son. 10. Too Far Gone? 11. Room of Mirrors. 12. Inamorata.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6UwjRSX9RQyNgJ3LwYhr9i?si=2G0jarIhRbi71-_WqcxEBg (https://open.spotify.com/album/6UwjRSX9RQyNgJ3LwYhr9i?si=2G0jarIhRbi71-_WqcxEBg)
It would appear I’ve been gone a while. Given that just before I signed out I was doing these Metallica deep dives, I think it’s only right that I finally get this latest album written up.
Between 2017 and 2019, Metallica embarked on the WorldWired tour. This saw them play everywhere and anywhere, including doing two 20th anniversary shows for S&M which launched the Chase Center in San Francisco. However, as the latter years of the tour raged on, James’ demons reared their ugly head once more. Two weeks before the Australian leg of the tour, these shows were cancelled as he re-entered rehab for alcoholism.
Then it was 2020 and, uh… Well, we all remember how that shit went.
2021 was the 40th anniversary year for Metallica, seeing them play festivals across America, including the return of the Black Album played in reverse. The band pulled off a unique feat of playing two sets at the same three-day festivals and not repeating a single song. They also played a no repeat weekend for the 40th anniversary show at the Chase Center, in which they played between 2 and 4 songs from every Metallica album.
2022 saw them back out on the road in Europe. Could have been a fairly normal “between tours” year for Metallica. But, on November 28th, social media was abuzz with news of something called the M72 World Tour and a new song called Lux Æterna, their brand new single. Welcome to the age of 72 Seasons.
72 Seasons released on April 14th, 2023, and was the first Metallica album since …And Justice for All to not end up in the number one slot on release week in North America. Subsequently, it did chart at number one in over 20 countries, one of them being Australia (one of the few countries . This is the second studio album to be produced by Greg Fidelman, who took the reigns on Hardwired… to Self-Destruct. The album had a great release gimmick where Metallica sent the album with accompanying visuals to cinemas around the world for a global release party. I went, and I’m sure many of you did as well.
Now, I’d love to give my own personal history with these songs, but the unfortunate truth is, I simply don’t have any. These songs are still kinda waiting to leave their full impact on me, having only been out for six months. But, I’m still going to give you my thoughts on these songs, just without being stuck with any real biases. Let’s take a spin.
We all know by now that my favourite Metallica openers build-up in a huge way, employing what I like to call “curtain raising moments” just before the song properly kicks off. Songs like Ain’t My Bitch, Fuel and Frantic all rank low as openers for me because the song doesn’t kick off the way I would have liked them to. 72 Seasons is one that blurs that line somewhat for me. There is a build with the guitars and drums getting bolder as the song progresses, but I don’t know that this song really provides as satisfying of an intro as the likes of Blackened, or even Hardwired on the album directly before this. Thing is, the live intro that’s been added on the M72 Tour has very much changed that for me, as I find that intro to add just the right flavour to make what’s presented on the album pop. Then we get into the main riff, and I already feel the complaints many have had with this album already. The main riff and the verse riff that follow feel very much like they’re cut directly from Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, almost recrafted from the leftovers. James’ vocals also draw a direct comparison. For me, openers are usually a great snapshot of “here’s what’s different this time”, which 72 Seasons doesn’t serve well. The chorus is catchy at least, with the “wrath of man” lyric serving as a nice hook that I’m sure plays very well for audiences. The bridge is interesting, with a key change of the intro riff. Then Kirk’s solo, which is yet another direct comparison to be drawn to Hardwired as it does feel a little bit like we’re just going through the motions overall. The harmony section is pretty decent though, and I like the way the verse opening line “dealing out the wrath of man” serving as the final ending to the song. Overall, I dig this song, but could have definitely been better. This just isn’t what I want from an opener.
Shadows Follow, on the other hand, is exactly what I love from Metallica. The opening creates a lot of intrigue with its rhythm accents and then capitalises on it wonderfully with one of the best main riffs on the album. James’ vocals are striking and frantic in the verse, where the chorus hook provides us with sustained notes with almost ominous harmonies. This could have been the opening song and we wouldn’t have lost a thing. The bridge slows things down a step, with a hooking harmony riff bringing us into the instrumental chaos to follow. Even the solo here is pretty rocking. The only drawback to the song, if there is one to be found, is that the riff straight after the solo does remind me (and countless others) of the 60s Batman theme, which may be the wrong impression for a Metallica song. But, you’ve also got a simple descending transition riff cut straight from the Black Sabbath playbook. The final chorus provides a stop on the line “I say no”, which may just be one of the most effective pauses in Metallica’s arsenal. Absolutely love this song!
Track three, the second single from the album, Screaming Suicide. This one has a lot to like about it. That riff is pretty interesting, with Rob holding a pedal tone underneath. It’s fairly simplistic actually, which works fine for me as it means the lyrics get to be the ultimate focal point. I get hooked by the pre-chorus riff, and I like the rhythmic stabs that form the back half of the chorus. As far as lyrics go, this is probably one of my favourites from James on this album. Kirk’s soloing doesn’t grab me on this song, though I do enjoy the opening licks that form most of the intro. Not too shabby. Probably my favourite of the pre-release singles, to be honest. There’s a studio outtake left on here, with a voice that sounds like Rob’s saying “nice” as the song ends.
Every now and then, Metallica like to try and recapture the Enter Sandman formula. You’ve heard it done on both Load albums with King Nothing being the most obvious of these, but also in Slither and a little less so on Bitch. You know the kind of song I mean. Well, here’s Sleepwalk My Life Away, which follows in these footsteps. This song starts out with a unique, almost tribal, drum and bass pattern from Rob and Lars that James starts to play a more drawn out version of the main riff over. Then Kirk joins in with some pick scrapes and in we go to the main riff. If you’re feeling like this is normal Metallica fare, just listen to the verse riff, which is very much the Sandman riff with a reversed ending. Ah well, it still really works for the song, which proves to be a pretty catchy tune. I really love the pre-chorus “should I fall, I fall down” line, which is a really effective hook, as is the “wake me!” shout throughout the chorus. There isn’t a proper bridge to be found here, but the heavy riff and solo sell this break well. I really like the ReLoad style post-solo riff and the transition into that riff is golden!
Remember how I said that last song was very much a Sandman clone for the most part? Well, Sleepwalk is to Sandman as You Must Burn! is to Sad But True. You can feel it a lot throughout the main riff of this one. The only problem is I find the intro fantastic and then the later bridge to be really strong, but I honestly just don’t feel much for this song. The lyric is definitely strong from a writing standpoint, but I just wish it was given something a bit better to work with. The main riff just hits me with the Sad But True vibes and that’s all I can really hear throughout the rest of the main body of the song until the bridge kicks in. The transition into the bridge is a little clunky, but it does set up a really ominous riff which, coupled with the vocal duo of James and Rob, sets up one of my highlight moments from the album overall. The harmony of the intro is included in that highlight too. Sadly, I just find this song to be a bit bloated beyond past what it really should be.
We reach the halfway point with one of Metallica’s shortest songs, Lux Æterna. This has some massive Kill ‘Em All energy to my ears. This was the song that dropped out of nowhere and announced the coming of 72 Seasons. It’s a great single, structured very strongly. James’ vocals are at their apex for the album with the title screams and Lars hasn’t sounded better than this for a long time (even if the theory is that this isn’t him). People were very vocal in their hate for Kirk’s solo on this song and I can honestly say I don’t feel the same. I honestly think this is a really strong song. It even takes a cue from Better Than You and gives us a false ending, though unlike the former it actually nails it. Great song.
Next is the best in a string of songs that I feel are a bit weaker, Crown of Barbed Wire. This has a crushingly heavy riff and such a strong feel to it instrumentally. Sadly, the chorus just doesn’t capitalise on what everything before it sets up. The pre-chorus is catchy and had they just made this the chorus, it would’ve been a much better song for it. The instrumental break in this is straight out of ReLoad, Kirk even lets off a lick that sounds torn from Slither and I am all for it. This is really high on my instrumental moments ranking. Had that chorus just been removed from the song, this would probably be way higher on my overall ranking for the album. It’s so close to perfection.
Chasing Light is next. The first vocal intro since Fuel leads into yet another intro that sounds the same as they all have on this album so far, which is unfortunately a bit of a massive bummer for 72 Seasons. However, that just sets up one of the best main riffs Metallica has had since Death Magnetic. The verses are just very bland, as is the pre-chorus. I love the energy of the chorus though. There are some banging riffs in this song for sure. It’s just that the structure of the vocals doesn’t utilise them properly. This probably would have been a very strong instrumental track for the album in all honesty. Isn’t it funny how this garners the exact opposite reaction to the previous song. I kinda hate the bridge riff in this one, just feels a bit goofy to me.
None of that compares to how much of a letdown awaits us in the next song, If Darkness Had AaSon. Woof. What a stinker. This is low on pretty much every review of the album, so I almost feel as though I can skip it because you’ve heard it all before. The intro is overcooked when the transition to the main riff could have been so simple. Then once you have it, the main riff does nothing interesting apart from sitting oddly on the beat It’s just such a weird song that doesn’t work in its favour. There’s an obvious “crowd singalong” moment with the “temptation!” shouts, which feels like a recycled idea from back in the St. Anger days. Even the solo doesn’t really do much. The only part of this I really like are the verses. I think they’re done interestingly enough to be a sorely needed strong point for this song. This should NEVER have been a single.
You know what should have been a pre-release single? Too Far Gone?, which is the kick-off to some of the strongest songs on the album. Man, this feels really good. Once again, drawing an easy parallel to Kill ‘Em All with the main riff reminding me a lot of No Remorse. This features some of the most powerful vocals James conjures on this album. I feel like this one may be about his struggles with addiction in 2019 with the chorus asking “am I too far gone to save? Help me make it through the day”. The harmony that sets up the bridge is fantastic, channeling some Iron Maiden vibes in the best ways. My only negative is the intro and outro riff which feels a little too similar to a slowed down Holy Wars. But damn, this is such a great song. Why the hell was this not the second or third single?
The great vibes continue with Room of Mirrors, a song with a very simple tune that’s very captivating. The intro stirs up the drama and the straightforward approach to the verse allows James’ vocals to carry the story beautifully. I love the questioning of the pre-chorus (the riff of which very much reminds me of part of Mercyful Fate) which leads into the attack of the main chorus line. Also love the reference to Death Magnetic’s Broken, Beat and Scarred here. Kirk’s solo knocks it out of the park leading into one of the absolute best moments of 72 Seasons, that harmony section, which gets even better when the band double down on it at the climax of the song. Holy hell, did we get spoiled in the harmonies on this album. Room of Mirrors doesn’t leave us too much to dissect and talk about, but it is one of my favourites on the album.
Speaking of being spoiled, do you like Black Sabbath and epic long songs? Because here comes Inamorata. Holy shit, how to even start talking about this one? I feel like Tony Iommi himself must have been an uncredited writer on this song. This has that dark 70s metal twinge all over it. It’s a much slower song than what we’ve had on most of the album, for sure, but oh so worth it. Everyone shines here. The lyrics paint a picture of an abusive relationship with misery itself. The pre-chorus changes each time, my favourite of which is the second with the simple “she waits” refrain. The chorus riff is fantastic. After the verses and choruses have had their turn, we start getting into some of the instrumental glory of this song, which again, feels like it was written by Tony Iommi. The solo here has his signature sound on it, channelled expertly by Kirk. The bridge here feels almost like it could have been part of My Friend of Misery from the Black Album, which is very fitting. James carries this sensitive side for the first time on the album and it’s beautiful. When this builds out into the harmony guitars, it makes Inamorata feel like an endgame that the whole 72 Seasons has been building out to, and it’s absolutely worth every part of the wait. James and Kirk play off each other so well here. This honestly doesn’t feel like it’s as long as it’s running length, as Metallica have structured this song so expertly to keep everything moving along at a great pace. This could very easily be the best song they’ve released in the 21st century. They’ve ended this album on a masterpiece. We get a little bit of extra dialogue from the band, celebrating that “that was the best one”. And honestly, with the amazing work preceding this humorous moment, they may just be correct.
And that’s 72 Seasons. There are some great songs and there’s some clunkers. It’s still growing on me with each listen, so I’m yet to determine where this will ultimately fall in my overall rankings. To bring this to an end, let’s bring in the one word to sum up this chapter in Metallica’s discography.
Infancy, Progression, Ascension, Domination, Supremacy, Dilution, Continuation, Destruction, Reinvention, Comprehension and now Culmination. I feel that there is so much here that feels like Metallica have taken everything that came before and put it into this album. If this is the last album they ever release, I think they will have gone out on top with one of their best songs but also an album that reminds you of exactly why Metallica are what they are and why you love them.
And there we have it. I can officially disappear again. Though, I do see I may need to do a Dream Theater deep dive soon with the Portnoy news. A huge thanks to anyone that actually came back to read this final chapter. Maybe in five years, I’ll have a reason to add even more to it. But for now, what do you guys think about 72 Seasons? Were you at a release party screening? Do you like the album? Are you one of the few people who actually don’t find If Darkness Had a Son to be a complete waste of six and a half minutes? Let me know and I’ll see you next time in a different deep dive!
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What brought you back to DTF? :neverusethis:
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Unfinished business. Listened to this album again the other day and thought “hold up, I never did a deep dive with this.”
Then Portnoy came back to DT and I was like “yup, better go back!”
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Great write up, pretty much agree with everything. I like the title track more but can see how it’s not a functional opener. Last track is fantastic, still hoping it finds its way into their shows next year.
Copied from my reply to your HWTSD post… “every song should have been 1-2 mins shorter” and I still agree with that here (and SA and DM, so not a surprise from coming from them).
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What brought you back to DTF? :neverusethis:
72 Seasons obviously.
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What brought you back to DTF? :neverusethis:
72 Seasons obviously.
Now, if I can only figure out the magic formula to bring WildRanger back.
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What brought you back to DTF? :neverusethis:
72 Seasons obviously.
Now, if I can only figure out the magic formula to bring WildRanger back.
There are stories- myths, if you will - that if you start three threads asking why Rush is objectively better than (insert pop artists) he will appear. The trick is that it has to be done at very specific time, otherwise it wont work.
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Great writeup. I have been listening to a lot of other stuff, but go back to 72 Seasons every once in a while and the album continues to kick my ass. I love a lot of the songs on there.
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Fun piece to read. Cheers!
I still really enjoy the record. Clicked for me after I dropped two tracks you also highlight as clunkers (You Must Burn and Crown Of Barbed Wire). I esp love the more melodic, rocky back end of the album.
Overall, I'm still amazed they released such a good record at this point. As you say, it doesn't bring any new but it's more tasteful than Hard Wired (which I can't really listen to - feels forced and with more wince moments for me). For its flaws, this one feels like a decent, natural record.
The only thing that actually nags me is that it would have hit me even more had that classic Metallica rhythm guitar tone been there.
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Wow.
'If Darkness...' is one of my favourite Metallica songs. Full stop. Saw a live version from, I think Paris, and it absolutely crushed. It's a great riff.
I'm amazed it seems to rank so low in people's affections.
There are some great moments on 72 Seasons. Definitely their strongest album since TBA.
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"If Darkness..." works for me too.
I don't hear any Sandman in "Sleepwalk..." (or King Nothing, either)
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I don't hear any Sandman in "Sleepwalk..." (or King Nothing, either)
Maybe take another close listen to the riff underneath the verse
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Ah, ok, yeah, you're right.
I guess there's only a few ways those three notes by the same band at that tempo can sound. :smiley:
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Deadeye, thanks for coming back to finish this up! I really enjoyed going through this thread. I'll add my song by song thoughts when I have a chance, but I will say that I really do enjoy this album. Also, I am one that really likes If Darkness Had a Son.
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I'm going to echo the sentiments of everyone else...major kudos to you, Deadeye, for these write-ups. It's been a thoroughly enjoyable read throughout.
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I had NO idea Darkness was apparently so poorly received. It's one of my favourites from the album. Pleased to read others like it, too!
These write-ups have been great, Deadeye, thank you.
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I had NO idea Darkness was apparently so poorly received. It's one of my favourites from the album. Pleased to read others like it, too!
These write-ups have been great, Deadeye, thank you.
I've loved Darkness since they released it as a single. Such a great stomper and very catchy.
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Alright, here we go. 72 Seasons is a great record and will definitely end up as one of my favorites of 2023. The boys show they still have it! When Lux Aterna dropped I was pretty damn excited for this record, and they didn't let me down. Solid production on this one, and James sounds great. His vocals along with vocal melodies are solid. Overall, the concept of the record is nice, and the cover art is something different, but way better than Hardwired. I like the bright yellow of the cover contrasted with the burnt, black items. On the the songs:
72 Seasons - Solid opener, and I like the way it builds into the main riff, which is definitely reminiscent of Hardwireds main riff. The chorus is great on this track, and James sounds awesome on
the "wrath of man" lyric.
Shadows Follow - This bouncy number will get your head moving with a nice main riff. The bridge section has a nice harmony leading into the solo as well. I kinda like the "Batman" riff at the
end.
Screaming Suicide - Another solid track here. There intro starts a bit cheery, and then goes into a NWOBHM styled riff. Love the "keep me inside" part of the chorus, and the spoken bridge
section is pretty cool as well.
Sleepwalk My Life Away - Decent song here that starts with a drum and bass intro and builds into a nice main riff. I like the "should I fall" part.
You Must Burn - Definitely has a Sad But True vibe, and that's a song that I'm not a big fan of. I think I might like this song a little better than Sad But True, but it plods along a bit just like that
song. I like James' vocals on this one.
Lux Aterna - Man, what a great song to announce the new album. Just a solid NWOBHM styled rocker, and James sounds great on the chorus. Solid main riff with melodic verses. Nice solo from
Kirk too.
Crown of Barbed Wire - Another one of the weaker songs on the album, but I dig the chorus, and the pre-solo riff is nice too.
Chasing Light - Not a big fan of the intro part, but the main riff is solid, and it leads into a nice chorus riff as well. Nice solo from Kirk and the post-solo riff is nice too.
If Darkness Had a Son - Starts off with some Eye of the Beholder vibes and I really like the intro leads from Kirk into the main riff. I love the "temptation" part and it makes me think of Evile
(think Infected Nations). The "beast still shouts" chromatic section is awesome and leads into a nice chorus. I like the pre-solo part and we get a fairly solid lead from
Kirk. I really dig this tune.
Too Far Gone - I really dig this tune more. Probably my favorite song overall. The main riff has No Remorse/1000 Times Goodbye vibes that leads into an awesome melodic chorus. Obviously the
harmony sections on this song are awesome as well.
Room of Mirrors - Another great song here with a nice intro before the tempo picks up. I like the little post-solo breakdown part that leads to another great harmony section.
Inamorata - Metallica close out a great album with an epic song with Sabbath/stoner vibes. I could see Khemmis doing this song. It clocks in at over 11 minutes, but doesn't drag or feel too long.
Just an awesome main riff and this song takes you on an epic journey. I would love to hear this one live.
Like I said overall, I really dig this album! There are a couple of songs that are a bit weaker, but they are miles better than the few stinkers that are on disc 2 of Hardwired. I feel like Kirk overall is a little better on this record than the last one, but that's not saying a ton. James' vocals are great on this record. The back half of the record really shines with run of the last 4 tracks being excellent. It plods a little in the middle around the excellent Lux Aterna, but overall Metallica are still serving up an excellent album this late into their career.