Talking about Metallica and the up-coming new album St. Anger. Since I loved the band truely for their first four albums: Kill em all ride the lightning master of puppets and justice for all and then my liking of the band declined a bit for the black album I totally showed no interest in their last outputs, which is not such a big loss when I follow some metalhead advises. But NOW: Yesterday I read a review of the new album St. Anger to come out in June. If only the half is true what the writer said, men then this album will rock till the end of the days. The comments on the heard songs speaks of a brutalness that not even "ride the lightning" and "master of puppets" could provide. The album got 5.5 points out of 6 and this in a magazine where only very few albums get a 6. A 6 is called a materpiece. And reading this review makes me getting nervous. I also like the fact the R. Trujillo (former Suicidal Tendencies) is playing the bass and he is known as one of the finest metal-bass players in the world. And I like ST a lot. God, he said that the album will rock and kill so bad that they will blast everything away. Believe me, I am far away from being a metal-music fan these days but that review makes me wanna grab my old Slayer and Exodus or Testament tees from the basement and buy me a keg and call my friends over for an all-night headbanging event. Huuhh, I'm very exicted and cannot wait. Hope it will be a killing record. Have a nice day.
The only thing that disturbs me is that one review I read said that there are few-zero genuine guitar solos on this album. Hammet is a master guitarist and has written some of the greatest solos I have ever heard on previous albums. I don't understand today's music and its tendency to move away from guitar solos. That said, I have enjoyed all of Metallica's albums to date and I am seriously stoked for this new one.
Hi L.R., Yes he said the same about the fact that there are no solos. I can understand that some (a lot) people will miss these solos exactly for the reason that they are a band that can play solos without sounding silly. But I guess you will be fine once you have it. James H. arrgh Palmray
I can't get over the number of people that say, "yeah, I've always liked their old stuff, but lost interest after the Black album". This has got to be bull****! I went to a pretty big junior high/high school, and the ONLY people that liked Metallica then were stoners and geeks! If all the people today that say they liked Metallica pre-Black actually did, they would have been mainstream from the beginning! I remember listening to that dude Moby on 101 KLOL back during Justice, I think, and someone called in to request Metallica. The guy totally blew him off, and said "yeah, we'll do a double-shot of the Go-Go's, then you'll get your Metallica". Why is it so hard for people to say they liked the Black album, or hadn't heard the band until that album? Many of you are lying! (Palmray, I'm not saying you're one of these people)
So you're saying I was a stoner or a geek in high school? Well I liked the "Black Album", except for Nothing Else Matters. But I seriously disliked "Load" and "Reload" and that symphonic album was a piece of crap. However, if St. Anger kicks ass like their old school stuff, then I will have to check it out.
I am sure I am in the minority but I like A LOT of the stuff they did on the "Load" and "Reload" albums! I think they are great albums. Something different from Metallica. The songs are shorter and to the point versus the older longer songs. Now, having said that, I like a lot of their older stuff too! Anyway, I am looking forward to this album. Here is a "first impression" of the new album from Undercover.com.au http://www.undercover.com.au/news/2003/20030512_metallica.html "Metallica are about to deliver an album that will scare the crap out of every commercial radio programmer on the planet. 'St Anger' is totally uncompromising in sound harking back to the pre-Black days. As most Metallica fans own a couple of 'Black', we'll throw you a reference point in 'Holier Than Thou'. Use that as a guide to were the sound lies but be warned, on 'St Anger' that would be one of the tamer tracks. Earlier fans should reference 'Creeping Death' (1984) and 'Master of Puppets' (1986) as the sound of where the band is coming from on 'St Anger'. I have never heard Metallica rock so hard. There isn't even a hint of 'Unforgiven' or 'Nothing Else Matters'. There is certainly nothing as melodic as 'Enter Sandman' or 'Until It Sleeps'. In fact you'll be hard pressed to find one hook on 'St Anger'. 'St Anger' is the sound of Metallica juggling to recapture the past and capture the future. The album opens with the single 'Frantic' and immediatly we are greeted with thrash drumming harking back to the early albums. "My lifestyle determines my deathstyle" screams James Hetfield through the song. What was interesting is the prevalence of the bass under the hand of producer Bob Rock. As the album moves on it is something that becomes more and more obvious. Has producer Bob wound up his own work deliberately in the mix or is this just a big finger to the departed Jason Newsted? The title track 'St Anger' is next. It is more brutal rock with speed drumming at the start and a racing drum break in the middle. Once again Bob appears to have a starring bass role. I can't help but think while Metallica are trying to regenerate that old sound at the same time they are also trying to modernise to compete with the nu-punk of bands line Blink 182. One thing is for sure, what may be strategic to them has made it interesting for the listener. 'Some Kind of Monster' hints at a bluesy beginning, nodding to their early influences maybe, and this is just about confirmed on the next track 'Dirty Window'. Keep in mind this is being written from a first impression but I've got Kiss's 'Detroit Rock City' meets AC/DC's 'Baby Please Don't Go' in my head for this one. It is more mayhem with a sound dating back to the rhythm and blues rock origins of Acca Dacca but then it sidetracks to occasional Kiss glam. "Protector, rejector, infector, defector" goes the lyric. "I'm jury and executioner too" it concludes. Let me stick my neck on the block right now with 'Invisible Kid'. This one is going to out them as closet Kiss fans for sure. It is grubby. 'My World' is the most retro of all the songs. "It's my world now", "It's my time, look out mutha ****ers". More speed riffs, more Bob bass and a definite 50's rock influence. (Well, hey maybe they've been studying the classics). 'Shoot Me Again' is once again totally frantic with driving vocals and then the wildcard 'Sweet Amber' lays the first mellow moment on us … but don't fret. It only lasts seconds before the chaos rules again. 'Untamed Feeling' with the line 'It takes me away" is penetrating. Lars drumming is the star of 'Purify' with more guitar attack as backup and then finally 'All Within My Hand' ends the album as hectic as it began. I do stress I have written this after just one preview listen. 'St Anger' is a powerful rock epic and much heavier than you would anticipate following their "Superstar" years. Metallica are currently at a crossroads with their career. One wrong move and they will be labelled dinosaurs. Then again the right could move them into legends category. They are currently neither but this album will be the breaker. The category they fall into will be decided by time and the fans. You should have the answer to that question 12 months from now. The listening party in Melbourne tonight was the first held outside Europe. Mercury UK poobah Sian Thomas played the album to media after flying halfway around the world with it chained to her … well let's not go there. She did however confirm that Metallica are considering an Australian tour for January / February 2004. That fits in nicely with the rumours that the band will headline next years Big Day Out. That rumour was also strongly fuelled with the attendance of BDO boss Vivian Lees at the function for his first listen to the album as well. St Anger will be released June 9 through Universal."
Odds are that it will s*ck. How many times have we heard before that some 70s/80s group were going to recapture their magic but don't?
hi LeFreak, Maybe the reason why I didn't like the black album at the time it came out is because I favoured a lot of other music then. I totally agree that it is one of those rare albums that connect "some underground" to "clear mainstream". It did not disappoint every old fan but it gained alot of new fans. And since my heart beated very very underground like in that days they where simply too big for me. There are a lot of more aspects which influence this decision and feelings that are too many to put it down now. For the moment and the personal feel they where too mainstream for me. (I like some mainstream stuff but I did not liked it to get it from Metallica). puuuhh I am able to start dislike albums (that I normally should like) when they play it like ten times on every station. Since I'm getting older too, I also became not as harsh as I was in my younger years in that behaviour. And it is kinda stupid to be like this. Anyway, live to learn. Talking about the thing you mention from this guy from the radiostation. This sounds to me like a pure act of playing cool. Some bands are in some circles so uncool at certain times that they let you know that. Anyhow, somehow a childish act but I do not know the mentioned station I cannot judge if his decision of listener-treatment was ok or not. For example: I once spinned the wheels in club on a Tarantino-Night where I was playing sounds from his movies and related stuff and then one guy shows up and wants to hear Bon Jovi or something similar. Man, they just don't get the point. They don't get the thing. They don't understand anything. Maybe the guy who called that station was just recommending something they not deliver. No idea. Thanks for your thoughts. Don't get caught.
I love everything up to and including the Black album. I had Master of Puppets and Kill 'em All on tape. Ride the Lightening was the first CD (not the first Metallica CD, but the very first CD) I ever bought. I had dubbed the original Garage Days WAY back when. The main complaint, which I'm sure you already know, is that that's when they went mainstream. I don't necessarily agree with that (so more people like them and all of a sudden they're "mainstream," and that means I can't listen to them? F*ck off. Whatever.), but everything (the new stuff) that followed flat out sucked. Most of the songs on Load and Reload sound the same, and they just lost their edge. They weren't pissed off and ready to kill anymore. My experience was this: I was the lone wolf back in the day. I was one of VERY few head bangers at my junior high and into my freshman year in the late 80s / early 90s. I was sporting torn-jeans, a denim jacket that I wore at ALL times of the year that was covered in heavy metal buttons, and my biggest wardrobe decision was whether to wear an Iron Maiden t-shirt or my "Metal Up Your Ass" Metallica t-shirt. This was in an era when the "cool" people were listening to stuff like LL Cool J and wearing top sider shoes, all while believing metal to be dead. Me and my friends were not so much ridiculed, but we were definitely outsiders. I'm an not, by nature, much of a joiner. I do my own thing; always have, always will. I've always had a taste for rebellion and a distaste for authority. That's what Metallica meant to me. Power. Adrenaline. All the anger, all the rage. All the pent-up frustration at these homos and the crap they listened to while trying to dance like the freaking New Kids. And they thought they were so cool. Metallica was just my inner voice accentuated by this thundering music that pounded its way into your skull. All the anger. All the rage. All the frustration. That's what came out in their music, and man does that give me a rush of pure adrenaline. The Load came out. I was like, "What band is this again?" I thought it was a joke, kind of like when Bo and Luke Duke just didn't show up and all we got were their two stupid cousins for replacements. I don't know what happened, but they changed, and with the exception of about 2 songs between Load and Reload, they sucked. Now hey, its their band and they are free to do whatever the hell they want with it....just as I am free to find another band that makes me feel the way they used to.
Exactly! There weren't many people like that at school at the time. Mostly outcasts. But now, it's like everyone says how much they liked old-school Metallica. It's just a little hard to believe. Even when "One" got on MTV, more 'normal' people (or dorks, whichever you prefer) like myself got into them, but still it wasn't very many. But I don't have any reason to think the posters here aren't genuine about it. Btw...I have a feeling that the new Anthrax will blow this album away anyway. I'll probably wait until tomorrow at least, so I can pick up the new King's X album as well.
I won't lie, the Black album brought me into Metallica. It is still one of my favorite albums. But in the last few years I bought ride the lightning, master, kill em all, S&M, justice and even load/reload. I, like raven, have enjoyed every album, and I have my friend adam to thank for introducing me into Metallica my sophomore/junior year of high school. You have to understand until high school, I was really pigeonholed on what kind of music I could listen to, as all my dad had around the house as a kid was country music. Then I bought some alternative stuff, then heard metallica and its been hard rock ever since. With metallica as my favorite band. And no doubt, when St Anger comes out on june 10th, I will be there picking up my copy asap. Btw, Lynus/Freak/Palmray/Raven, if you guys have Kazaa I have some of the songs from the new album downloaded. Frantic, invisible kid, purify, etc. I'm not positive if they are the exact cuts of what will be on St Anger, but I definitely see it as harkening back to metal days and it is good stuff.
I've never had any problem with the Black album. I had a serious problem with the one after that, though, with that country tune thrown in there. It wasn't all bad, though. Granted, Metallica softened up on their latter albums....no doubt. Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice for All will always be my favs. I like what I've heard of St. Anger. They played one song off the new album on that MTV Icon! show which MTV didn't even bother to allow them to finish. It's like they let us listen to half a song at the end of the show while the credits rolled. That REALLY pissed me off. I think St. Anger will be their best album in many years. It is kind of disappointing if it's true about the lack of guitar solos but oh well....I'm buying it. I just wish it would hurry up and release already.
I suffer from the curse of the purist. I must confess that I own Load and Reload. I bought Load before I ever heard anything from it (and I'm still wondering how that happened) and I bought Reload for Unforgiven 2. I love classical music, so i bought S&M, and Garage, Inc. kicks ass all over the place. I really wish they'd release Live Sh*t: Binge & Purge onto DVD/CD. And Summer Sanitarium was such an awesome show. At that concert, and at the second concert (they came back 'cause Hetfield couldn't play at the first one), and in the Live Sh*t: Binge & Purge videos I've seen, I've always been amazed at Jason Newsted's performance. He had more energy and passion than all the rest of the guys put together. Too bad he split....I wish him all the best; but imo, Metallica lost an absolutly fantastic and dynamic member of their band. He acted exactly like what he was: A Metallica fan who got to be in the band. Kazaa is the one and only reason I don't like having a Mac: no Mac version. There are a few alternatives, but nothing that compares to Kazaa, from what I've heard.
Did you see MTV Icon as to why Jason left? He was making his own side album and James and him butted heads over his dedication to Metallica. So Metallica and Ozzy switched guys as Metallica got Trujillo, and Oz got Jason. Also, I went to summer sanitarium with my big sister and it was great. Unfortunately being in high school in texas shot any chance I had of getting to see the free show. I still want to see them live with James though because I know they will rock. Btw, do you remember during Powerman 5000's show, all the fans tearing off all the cowboys seat cushions and tossing them in the air? It was great. And another thing I remember is Texas Stadium's acoustics sucked. Especially for Korn. And seeing all the bands chip in to help Metallica was awesome. Wasnt the same, but it was a once in a lifetime show. Also the fact they gave the show without James and a free one after that, ended any notion of them selling us, the fans, out, if you ask me.
hahahaha!! I'm with you on this one, No Worries. It's probably all media hype to help create a buzz. next thing you know all the little metallicans will be all ga-ga over them growing their hair back! "ohhh, kirk's hair.... ohhh, james' hair" screw meatallica! "hey metallica, bite my file sharing @ss!"
Just saw the new video for the title track on this album. The video was kind of interesting...but the music is what I mostly cared about. It was interesting. It definitely sounds like they are trying to go back to the hard sound, but I dislike the overpronounced drums on this song. The riffs and sound were pretty good otherwise (could have used some raunchier guitar...but still good). If the rest of the album is along the same vein, I will be happy. Also, if that was Trujillo on the background vocals saying "Flush it" then I am really happy with what he brings to this band. It might have just been Hetfield singing much lower and gruffer, though.
I think that was Hetfield on the Background vocals, layering his vocals. I am sure in concert Robert will handle the background vocals. I thought the song was pretty good. Love the guitar work and the aggression. Look forward to hearing more of the album.
