Metallica Thread

[cramx3]

Any word about a blu-ray release?  I'd totally buy it, but I had little interest in going to a theater to see this.

I don't know, but I doubt they filmed the thing professionally just to show it in theaters.

Yup, that's my thought as well.  It only makes sense to release it for purchase, but was wondering if anything had been announced that I might have missed.

[Ruba]

Any word about a blu-ray release?  I'd totally buy it, but I had little interest in going to a theater to see this.

I don't know, but I doubt they filmed the thing professionally just to show it in theaters.

Yup, that's my thought as well.  It only makes sense to release it for purchase, but was wondering if anything had been announced that I might have missed.

Actually, I forgot there's this site with countdown clock currently showing 12 hours. MetallicaXX, like 20 in Roman numerals? 20 years from the first S&M? Well, we'll find out in not too distant future.

https://metallicaxx.com/

[Anguyen92]

^^ Rumors have it regarding that countdown that they are announcing that they will be in the Danny Wimmer US festivals (Epicenter, Sonic Temple, Louder Than Life, Welcome to Rockville, Aftershock, etc.) for 2020, since those festivals are also announcing something at the same time with cryptic posts on their social media.

[cramx3]

Oh that could be cool, maybe I'll go visit my parents in Jacksonville for Welcome to Rockville (I've toyed with that idea every year since they moved there)

[chknptpie]

*spoilers for those who don't want to know things*








Saw S&M2 last night and I'm in the "alright, cool" stage. I LOVE S&M, so I was super excited for this. I do love most of the new set list, but really missed Battery since it was my favorite from the original. But I get and I like that they included all albums. #1 song from it is definitely The Outlaw Torn - amazing. I felt like the video editing was really choppy and distracting. It was like they had too many cameras and felt like they needed footage from all of them. The sound mixing seemed a bit off, but not sure if that was just the theater I was at. Couldn't really hear any of the backup vocals even when they showed them on the screen. The electric stand up bass was pretty bad ass.

[?]

I'm back from watching S&M 2. Short version: well worth it.

There has been some grumbling about the setlist, but I actually thought it was mostly good. I like how all of their studio albums were present and there was a nice amount of variety. Two songs I would've changed: The Memory Remains sounded off, almost like no one was sure about the tempo plus it doesn't mesh with the orchestra that well. It was fun though how the audience kept singing long after the song was over. I would've replaced it with Carpe Diem Baby or FiXXXer. And Wherever I May Roam, it was played the first time and isn't really a mandatory live song, also it sounded kind of vanilla after the great take on Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth). Something more intense would've been a better fit there, Harvester of Sorrow perhaps? And of course, there's a couple of glaring omissions such as Fade to Black and Orion but overall I was happy with the set.

Highlight for me was The Outlaw Torn. I understand now better why they might not want to play it all that often (its intimacy and length might not translate well in a normal set) but this was a perfect occasion for it and they did it real justice. I also loved how they followed it with No Leaf Clover. The Call of Ktulu sounds amazing with the orchestra and I'm glad they kept it from the first S&M. The newer songs worked fine too, Confusion was apparently the most baffling choice, but I personally like the song and it rocked, it actually had probably the least involvement from the orchestra.

The second half started very interestingly, I think orchestral pieces were an interesting addition, even though the second one was a bit too discordant to my liking. The Unforgiven III was probably the second biggest highlight, I have never really cared about that song but the orchestral treatment was very emotive and James sounded very good (like he did all evening, I was actually surprised how much grit he still has). I'll be definitely revisiting this version. All Within My Hands was the acoustic version and I'm a bit torn about it, slower parts were stunning but the heavier bits sounded a bit silly. Maybe they should've played at least the bridge with distortion? Anyway, I'm happy it was included, even without KILL KILL KILL  . I mentioned Anesthesia before, but it's well worth checking out. I had never heard distorted contrabass before. Rest of the set was classics and aside from Roam I think they have earned their place, even though I have had lifetime supply of Enter Sandman.

And yes, because it is Metallica show, Lars loses his timing a few times and Kirk's solos sound pretty much the same. We've all used to it already. But the band looked like they were definitely having fun, orchestral arrangements worked well and the selection of songs was cool. If you read this far, I do encourage you check at least some of it out.

The Outlaw Torn and The Unforgiven III were my favorite moments as well. The instrumentation on the studio version of Outlaw is so sparse that it gives the orchestra a lot of space, and while TU3 has never been a favorite of mine either, the orchestra-only arrangement was great and Hetfield gave everything he had vocally - you could tell that the song is really personal to him. The other highlights for me were Ktulu, No Leaf Clover, Halo on Fire and Nothing Else Matters. Anesthesia was also really cool, and while the inclusion of Confusion left me... well, confused when I first saw the setlist, it worked. Moth into Flame was the only song that made me feel like the orchestra didn't add much to it - would've rather heard Battery if they wanted to have one fast tune in the set. The mix was also a bit unbalanced at times, and for example you could barely hear Trujillo on FWTBT.

BTW I went to see the film with my dad, who's not a Metallica fan but was curious to check it out, and even though he's not a musician, he thought Lars was the weak link and that his drumming sounded the same on each song, so clearly it's not just music snobs and elitists who criticize his playing

[cramx3]

^^ Rumors have it regarding that countdown that they are announcing that they will be in the Danny Wimmer US festivals (Epicenter, Sonic Temple, Louder Than Life, Welcome to Rockville, Aftershock, etc.) for 2020, since those festivals are also announcing something at the same time with cryptic posts on their social media.

This is it.  They are live on facebook.  I just caught some of it and they were saying the festivals and it sounds like they are closing every night of all the festivals with different sets.  Sadly they also said Welcome to Rockville is going to be in Daytona this year.  Fuck, I'd totally go to see my parents and do the festival if it were in Jacksonville like it had been.

[bosk1]

Sadly they also said Welcome to Rockville is going to be in Daytona this year.  Fuck, I'd totally go to see my parents and do the festival if it were in Jacksonville like it had been.

  You do realize that if you trip and fall in Jacksonville, the odds of you landing in Daytona are actually decent, right?

[cramx3]

Sadly they also said Welcome to Rockville is going to be in Daytona this year.  Fuck, I'd totally go to see my parents and do the festival if it were in Jacksonville like it had been.

  You do realize that if you trip and fall in Jacksonville, the odds of you landing in Daytona are actually decent, right?

Well no, Jacksonville is the largest, by square milage, city in the US.  So it's a 90 minute drive from my parents to Daytona.  Not exactly a trip and fall distance.  Sure, it's not that far on the grand scale of things but it kind of rules out sleeping at my parents for a 3 day festival that is 90 minutes away each way.

[bosk1]

Well, yeah, I know I was exaggerating just a bit.  But I didn't realize it was a 3-day festival.  For a single day, 90 minutes each way isn't bad.  But, yeah, it's a bit much for 3 days.

[Anxiety35]

I guess James will be ready to go by May. I hope he is getting the treatment he needs in rehab. The most important thing is his health.

I'm currently watching the video hoping to hear any updates on James.

[cramx3]

I didnt see any update on James but I might have missed it.  Also, they aren't headlining all nights, just 2 for each of the festivals (they may all be 3 day festivals) but its clear they will play different sets each night which is really cool.  I do hope this scheduling has been done with James in mind and that all is going well and he will be ready to hit the road again next year. 

[pg1067]

Jacksonville is the largest, by square milage, city in the US.

The largest city in the U.S. by square mileage is nearly four times as large as Jacksonville, and three of the top four cities are more than three times as large.

Jacksonville is the largest in the continental U.S.

[cramx3]

Jacksonville is the largest, by square milage, city in the US.

The largest city in the U.S. by square mileage is nearly four times as large as Jacksonville, and three of the top four cities are more than three times as large.

Jacksonville is the largest in the continental U.S.

  anchorage? my bad.  Although my only point was that nothing is close even within the city of Jacksonville.

[Anguyen92]

I mean I may go to Aftershock in Sacramento next year.  Why not?  I didn't go to San Francisco for S&M since tickets were obviously too expensive and I already have four concerts and a trip in September.  I heard good things about the US festivals promoted by Danny Wimmer Presents so hopefully, there's a good lineup supported by Metallica's set and I can see myself fly to Sacramento next year.

[NoFred]

Jacksonville is the largest, by square milage, city in the US.

The largest city in the U.S. by square mileage is nearly four times as large as Jacksonville, and three of the top four cities are more than three times as large.

Jacksonville is the largest in the continental U.S.

I had to check this out since I know Anchorage and it’s relatively small... turns out the top 4 are AK cities (Anchorage is 4th) that have all replaced their county govt so are overly large. But Jacksonville at 5 is the same story, it’s only large due to merging the city with the county.

[Adami]

Sorry to break up the geography discussion.

So I saw S&M2 last night and....yea, I dunno.

Parts of it were fantastic. Unforgiven 3 is not a song I like, but this version was fantastic. Same with The Day that Never Comes. Hate that song, but really liked this version. The two orchestral pieces were lovely as well. Anesthesia was just mind blowing to be honest, and I expected to be bored.

Some other moments too, but a lot of the others just felt........I dunno. It's hard to name my criticism because none of them apply to the WHOLE show, but to enough of it to tarnish it for me. So, here are the issues, with the caveat that none of them are meant to be 100% and there are plenty of exceptions.

- Lars..........I dunno man. His beats are fine enough, but his fills are often SO out of time that it's actually jarring and I start tapping my foot to see just how much he's speeding up some of those fills. Kudos to the band who can flawlessly keep up with him though. A lesser band would fall apart immediately.
- Kirk........jesus. His rhythm playing is good, but his solos were SO bad on this. Way out of time, sloppy as all hell, just.....bad. This might be one of the worst Kirk performances (lead wise) that I've ever seen/heard.
- The mix seemed odd. Sometimes good, but most of the time it felt like they mixed it solely as a Metallica show and then remembered there was an orchestra and just kind of lazily added it in...at times. On the original S&M, while the guitars were too low, I could always hear all of the very cool the orchestra was doing. On this, the band was mixed amazingly, but I could see the orchestra doing cool stuff but only heard some chords and high end melodies. Hopefully the eventual Blu Ray will be improved on that end.
- Playing wise, a lot of it, definitely not all, but a considerable amount felt like Metallica just played a typical show. On the original S&M it was a special event. Their playing was special. Some of the songs had adjustments made to make best use of the orchestra. But this? Like I said, some exceptions, but the band just did their thing and the orchestra was also there. On No Leaf Clover, when the band play it live now, Kirk plays a few of the orchestra pieces on lead, which makes sense.....BUT HE DID IT HERE TOO! WHY?!?! THE ORCHESTRA IS RIGHT THERE!
- Eh, I dunno. Probably more, but I'm torn. No where near as amazing as S&M, but still fun and worth watching.

[chknptpie]

I think Michael Kamen was a key piece that isn’t replaceable. 

[Adami]

I think Michael Kamen was a key piece that isn’t replaceable.

That’s another good point. The new songs arraignments were sometimes cool, but very often EXACTLY what you’d think it would be. Kamen brought a completely unique and amazing voice with the symphony and the newer arrangements just felt more typical and predictable.

[KevShmev]

Some cable channel has been running a Classic Albums thing lately, and I caught the one on the Black Album.  Pretty cool. I guess I never really thought too much about their inner-workings, but seeing that really made it obvious how it is basically the James and Lars show; Hammett and Newsted came off like hired hands who came in and did what was required when needed. 

[Adami]

Some cable channel has been running a Classic Albums thing lately, and I caught the one on the Black Album.  Pretty cool. I guess I never really thought too much about their inner-workings, but seeing that really made it obvious how it is basically the James and Lars show; Hammett and Newsted came off like hired hands who came in and did what was required when needed.

In the studio, for sure. I know they each had a decent amount (though not a TON) of input for the writing.

But yea, before Load, it was mostly just James and Lars doing everything and then Kirk and bassist would come in and do their parts.

Seems like they went back to that for Hardwired.

Though I still believe that anyone BUT Lars should be producing Kirk's solos. When you watch the Black Album stuff, and Bob Rock is working with Kirk, they are well written, melodic, and fantastic. On the newer albums when Lars works with Kirk, it's just "YEA THAT RAWKS!" and it's usually terrible.

[Ruba]

Though I still believe that anyone BUT Lars should be producing Kirk's solos. When you watch the Black Album stuff, and Bob Rock is working with Kirk, they are well written, melodic, and fantastic. On the newer albums when Lars works with Kirk, it's just "YEA THAT RAWKS!" and it's usually terrible.

You know, I've been thinking that next time Metallica is recording and it's time for Kirk to play his solos, someone at the studio should prank him by hiding all his wah-pedals.

[ReaperKK]

Some cable channel has been running a Classic Albums thing lately, and I caught the one on the Black Album.  Pretty cool. I guess I never really thought too much about their inner-workings, but seeing that really made it obvious how it is basically the James and Lars show; Hammett and Newsted came off like hired hands who came in and did what was required when needed.

In the studio, for sure. I know they each had a decent amount (though not a TON) of input for the writing.

But yea, before Load, it was mostly just James and Lars doing everything and then Kirk and bassist would come in and do their parts.

Seems like they went back to that for Hardwired.

Though I still believe that anyone BUT Lars should be producing Kirk's solos. When you watch the Black Album stuff, and Bob Rock is working with Kirk, they are well written, melodic, and fantastic. On the newer albums when Lars works with Kirk, it's just "YEA THAT RAWKS!" and it's usually terrible.

I was watching the mini docs on each of the songs for hardwired and it seems like Metallica was mainly James passion at this point, I could be wrong but he seemed the most interested.

[dparrott]

I was just thinking about the remastered Justice...I heard the version online with the boosted bass guitar, and unlike many people, I don't feel I NEED to hear the bass on this.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's not like Cliff that did octaves and harmonics, etc.  Jason sounds like he's mainly just following the guitars, so there's not much to miss.  I'm probably just used to it, but I actually like the dry sound of the original.

[Learning2Live]

I think you're right. I'm not a bass player and obviously never read the tabs for bass for that album, but it does sound like he just follows the rhythm guitar a lot of the times. As it would be nice to hear some added bottom-end/punch to the songs, the dryness of that album has been so ingrained in me that any other version at this point probably wouldn't sound 'right'.

That said - I still think it was a missed opportunity for them to not release a remixed version along side of the remastered version.

[Samsara]

He totally follows the guitars on that record. But that's not indicative of his skill, obviously. He just joined his favorite band, and didn't want to rock the boat.

I have the box set. The increased bass is on the "rough mixes" CD. I A/B'd the regular disc and that one, just to get a sense of it. You hear the bass, and its a little growlier, but it's not a huge jump.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Getting ready for Metallica The League and could use the help of fans of the band.

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=54592.0

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Soup's on. Go vote!

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=54652.0

[TAC]

RIP Ray Burton

http://bravewords.com/news/ray-burton-father-of-metallicas-cliff-burton-dead-at-94

[nobloodyname]

Awww, that's sad news; popular chap in the Metallica community.

[mikeyd23]

RIP Ray - what an awesome dude who did so much for the Metallica community for so many years.

[ReaperKK]

[axeman90210]

[TAC]

That is so awesome!

[Herrick]

That's fucking hilarious. Who is the guy above Hopkins?

I haven't seen S&M 2 but I saw the first one and I don't recall being able to hear much of the orchestra.

Edit: Damn that was 20 years ago. Herrick's first concert. Age 18