Metallica Thread

[hefdaddy42]

Loose style is a very kind assessment of the way he plays. He struggles to stay in or find any kind of 'time'. It has to drive those guys nuts....or I bet they just have his mix cut completely out of their ears in order to just stay on their own time.

There is a quote out there from a fellow musician that was invited to watch a Metallica show from the soundboard.  The sound guy offered him a listen to James' in-ear monitors.  The only thing in James' own monitors was....himself.  The musician wrote that James is literally the Metallica engine, keeping the songs on time and on track, which is amazing because it's usually the drummer doing that.  But James is so precise and maybe hearing the other guys can throw him off.

So I have to believe that Lars just does his thing while James does the actual driving during the show.  It works for them - Lars doesn't have to compete with any other drummers, he just has to be the best drummer for Metallica.  I think his songwriting skills and business prowess have proved that over the years, even if he is just an average drummer. 

I do love the videos of Metallica with Joey Jordison and Dave Lombardo from 2004 though, it's amazing to hear the band with so much power and precision behind the kit.

I don't have any problem believing that James has better rhythm than Lars.

With most bands, the other instruments keep up with the drums.  In Metallica, the drums keep up with James.

[twosuitsluke]

Anyone else totally oblivious to the existence of The Maxwell Tapes? They are a collection of instrumental demos featuring Cliff Burton and some buddies of his...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pj45K63bPRs

Not sure how I've been a fan this long and never heard of them.

[Setlist Scotty]

Looks like Metallica ended up performing a cover that's familiar to us DT fans:
https://blabbermouth.net/news/metallica-shares-pro-shot-video-of-cover-of-elton-johns-funeral-for-a-friend-love-lies-bleeding

What's your take on it? I like that they made the song more their own than DT did, but it's a shame that they performed such a truncated form of FFaF. Thoughts?

[Grappler]

I love it, and I've never really been into DT's cover of it (or the original).  Metallica really rocking it up and making it sound just like a song of their own does it for me. 

[DoctorAction]

Liked it. Well up for another covers EP. They're an incredible covers band.

[Stadler]

I dig that.  James proves yet again he's the coolest guy in rock.

[pg1067]

If I had been there, unless Hetfield announced what they were doing, I wouldn't have known what it was until about a minute in (and even then, I might not have been able to place it until the vocals started) (although I guess this was an Elton John tribute thing, so....).

I'm not familiar with the original, so I can only compare it to the DT version, and this fell well short.  The DT version was done in the days when JP had his best guitar tones, and it really shined through, and JLB was fantastic.

As a side note, I think this might be the first time I've ever seen Robert Trujillo with his hair down and not dressed like a Venice Beach skateboarder (probably like my co-workers when I put on a suit once a year or so).

[PetFish]

The guy right behind Elton looks like he'd rather just kill himself.

Really great cover.  YEAH!!!!

[devieira73]

Liked it. Well up for another covers EP. They're an incredible covers band.

Really cool!! Metallica is really good on making covers, because (almost) all of them end like different versions of the songs, with the very own Metallica's stamp on them.

[cfmoran13]

Once again, Metallica shows why they're the best with covers.  They don't play 100% true to the original.  However, they don't bastardize the song to the point you can't recognize it.  I thought they did a great job.  I was most curious to hear James pull off the vocals.  Mission accomplished.