Metal Overview: Metallica

Welcome, fellow Otaku & Metal Heads, to my 4th Metal Overview!

We’ve covered some popular names so far. Rammstein & Type-O Negative some of the more popular names I’ve looked at so far, and Turmion Katilot is more of a underground sensation here in the states, but is well known over in Europe. Today’s band, however, is known the world over. A band that is not only popular for all the right reasons, but popular for all the wrong reasons as well. A legacy that was built on some of the most iconic records in Thrash Metal history, but was also built on controversy that’s still known about to this day. If you haven’t guessed, the 4th Metal Overview of the Heavy Metal Otaku blog is looking at Metallica!

I’ll be going down a “Devil’s Advocate” path in this overview. I admit that my first two articles in this series were perhaps a little bit on the gushing side of things, and my look at Turmion Katilot was a little more even, but in the case of Metallica, I definitely have to look at things a little more unbiasedly. Make no mistake, I absolutely love this band! Their first five albums are still talked about to this very day, and for good reason. However, this band’s discography is not as perfect as it’s hardcore fans say it is (More on this later). Without further delay, here’s an overview of the iconic & infamous Metallica!

Kill ‘Em All (1983)

And so kicks off Metallica’s golden years. From 1983 to 1991, the band produced some of the finest Thrash Metal album that helped shaped the genre, and Kill ‘Em All was their first album. Release on July 25, 1983, Kill ‘Em All has an interesting story behind it: Originally lined up with guitar & vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, bassist Ron McGovney, and finally lead guitarist Dave Mustaine of Megadeth fame, but due to some tension with Mustaine, McGovney left the band. His replacement was the incredible but sadly short-lived Cliff Burton (More on this in a bit), whose base playing became synonymous with the band’s early career. In April of 83, the band kicked out Dave Mustaine due to his alcohol & drug issues, and brought in guitarist Kirk Hammett to replace him. Hammett already had some credit within the Metal community, as he was a one-time student of the iconic Joe Satriani, and played in Exodus before coming to the Metallica. After Hammett arrived, Metallica version 1.0 solidified!

The album name & cover has some history as well: the original title of the album was to be called Metal Up Your Ass. The cover was to feature a toilet bowl with a hand clutching a dagger emerging from it, but the band’s label at the time (Megaforce) asked them to change it. Metallica agreed, and Kill Em All was used instead. Burton was originally credited with the album title, which was a reference to timid record distributors at the time, basically saying "Why don't we just kill 'em all?". The irony of all of this was that the band released a "Metal Up Your Ass" T-shirt with the proposed artwork during their touring. A bit of a goof-up on both sides, don’t you think? Regardless, Kill ‘Em All became one of Metallica’s highest selling albums, going platinum 3 times by 1999 in the U.S.

Best Track? This was something of a difficult choice for me: as you might recall from my review of this album I said that “The Four Horsemen” & “Seek & Destroy” were the best songs of that album, and I still stand by that. However, I’ve listened to this album a few more times since then, and I’ve come to the realization that every track on Kill ‘Em All is pretty much the best, with absolutely no bad tunes in sight! Including the previously mentioned tracks, songs like “Hit The Lights” and “Jump In The Fire” have a healthy dose of speed added to the mix, and will mow you down if you’re not careful.

Hit The Lights

Jump In The Fire

Kill ‘Em All is a fantastic piece of early 80s Thrash Metal. Certainly one of the best, and definitely a release from Metallica’s golden years. Next album!

Ride The Lightning (1984)

After the commercial success of their first album, many credited Kill ‘Em All as the birth of Thrash Metal. Once the promotional touring was over with, Metallica started coming up with new material, and once concerts during the fall arrived, they were playing what they came up with. Sadly, the band ran into trouble. Namely, they had no money. Because of this, they ate only once a day, and would sleep at the homes of fans. Hetfield was feeling uneasy about doing the vocals at this time, and tried to offer the position to Armored Saint singer John Bush. Bush turned it down because his band was doing good at the time, and thus Hetfield was stuck with the job. Metallica began recording on February 20, 1984 at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was produced by the founder of Sweet Silence, Flemming Rasmussen (He would go onto producing their next two albums as well). There were plenty of other issues that they had, but that didn’t stop them from releasing their second album, Ride The Lightning. A more refined album than their previous release, Ride The Lightning was put into music stores on July 27, 1984 to universal praise, and was considered by some to have a little more going on than Kill ‘Em All.

Best Track? Gonna have to say that Fade To Black is the best track off of this album, not to mention my favorite! For anyone who whines & complains that Heavy Metal never has any emotion, and is just a brutish style of music, direct them towards this song. Containing some of the band’s best guitar work & drumming, the entire band really gives it their all. Coupled with James Hetfield’s moving vocal work, Fade To Black is only 1 of 3 Metallica songs that can get me to cry.

Fade To Black

However, honors must simply be given to the title track: gruesomely depicting an execution by electric chair, Ride The Lighting is a even mix between speedy & slow, with the guitar work being one of my favorite things about this track. A damn fine song, if I say so myself.

Ride The Lightning

Worst Track? Once again, nothing! Ride The Lightning is a natural evolution of their first release, highlighting what made that album good, while smoothing out any kinks. A definite must-buy. Next album!

Master Of Puppets (1986)

If Kill ‘Em All laid the foundation for American Thrash, and Ride The Lighting extended the limitations of Thrash Metal with it combination of sophisticated songwriting and improved production, then Master Of Puppets was an example of Thrash with atmospherics. Released on March 3, 1986, Master Of Puppets marked another turning point in their career: catching the attention of Elektra Records, Metallica was signed to an 8-year record deal back in 84' during the promotional tour for Ride The Lightning, along with a re-release on November 14th. Master Of Puppets is a more down-turned record, speaking of things like war in the depressive“Disposable Heroes” or H.P. Lovecraft with the spine-tingling “The Thing That Should Not Be”. Indeed, one could play this during a Halloween party, and it would fit right in without a problem.

Best Track? Welcome Home (Sanitarium) has always been one of their more sinister songs they’ve ever produced, and it shows. Dark beats, gothic-like atmosphere, and a slower pace create a powerful tune. James Hetfield provides vocal work that’s between blistering speed (Ala Hit The Lights) & ponderous stability (Ala Fade To Black), establishing a unique middle ground. This is definitely a song that you shouldn’t listen to in the dark, or if you’re in the looney bin!

Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

Worst Track? I wouldn’t say that there’s no “Bad” track on Master Of Puppets. The only bad thing I can say is that the overall pacing of this album is slower when compared to their previous two releases. There’s still some of that speed the band is known for, but this would slowly change over Metallica’s next couple releases. Regardless, Master of Puppets is one of their best, and I most certainly recommend it.

Sadly, the good times were not meant to last for one Cliff Burton. On September 27, 1986, during their tour for the album in Sweden, the tour bus got into a horrific accident. As the bus skidded off the road, Cliff was ejected from the vehicle through the window, and then it came right down on top of him, crushing him & killing him instantly. After a grieving period, the band began a search for a new bassist, and one particular individual stepped forward. Next album!

...And Justice For All (1988)

What is perhaps the most ironic thing about Metallica before their sell-out period, was that they were popular. Very popular, as a matter of fact! Their first three albums helped establish Thrash Metal in the United States....but they were never mainstream. That was all about to change with their 4th release, And Justice For All. Released on August 28, 1988, And Justice For All was the first album to feature their new bassist (And the formation of Metallica 2.0), Jason Newsted. Jason actually had some prior experience with Metallica, playing on their cover album The $5.98 E.P. Garage Days Re-Revisited before working with them on their 1988 classic. And Justice For All would go on to help the band win a grammy in 1990 due to their track, One, and would go platinum 8 times by 2003 (Making it their 2nd-best selling album). And Justice For All was also very poignant with it’s messages of political and legal injustice seen through the prisms of censorship, war, and nuclear brinkmanship.

Best Track? I nominated the monolith that is One as the best track of And Justice For All. The 2nd of the three Metallica songs that can get me to cry, One is a vivid depiction of the horrors of war, and the scars that one receives from going into battle. The instrumentation is steady throughout the whole song, but when things take a chaotic turn, the band becomes a furious engine of destruction that never lets up. Of all the songs on this album, this was what helped propel And Justice For All into the mainstream, aided by the video that went along with this tune.    

One

One (Studio Version)

Worst Track? While there are no bad songs on And Justice For All, I’m most baffled by the exclusion of a bonus track that was included on the Japanese release of the album (It was also released on the Harvester Of Sorrow single). A cover of Diamond Head’s The Prince, Metallica’s take on it makes it feel like it was recorded during the Kill ‘Em All days: a furious assault of speed, The Prince will blow out your eardrums if you aren’t careful, and will shatter your bones if you’re not wearing protection!

The Prince

The only other bad aspect of And Justice For All is the bass work. Supposedly, Newsted was put though a hazing period by James & Lars, and due to the way that the guitar work was done you couldn’t hear the bass. It’s most definitely there, but it’s incredibly difficult to locate.

And Justice For All, the album that propelled Metallica to the mainstream, but still retained much of the band’s free spirit. Recommended indeed. Next album!

Metallica/The Black Album (1991)

If there was ever a controversial metal album that overtook the 90s, it would be this one. Released on August 12, 1991, the band’s self-titled album would go on to be their best selling album, going platinum a massive 16 times in the United States by December 13, 2012, and by November 2014 it has spent 328 weeks on the Billboard album chart, making it one of the ten longest running albums of all time. However, the recording of this album, and indeed the album itself, was not without controversy.

After being impressed with the production work of Mötley Crüe’s Dr. Feelgood, Metallica ditched Flemming Rasmussen in favor for Dr. Feelgood’s producer, Bob Rock. Bob Rock is a iconic & infamous producer, helping out more commercial groups like Mötley Crüe & Aerosmith, the kinds of bands that Thrash Metal were against. Regardless, Metallica thought that he would be able to help them out with their 5th release, and while they weren’t fond of Rock at first, eventually they changed their minds. There were frequent arguments between the band & Rock, with Rock wanting them to record songs collaboratively rather than individually in separate locations, and also suggested recording tracks live and using harmonic vocals for Hetfield. The production was so troubled (And costing 1 million to produce), that Ulrich, Hammett and Newsted divorced from their wives. Despite all the troubles & difficulties, the band eventually put out one of their most iconic albums to date. So iconic, in fact, that it debuted at number 1 in 10 countries, and had time on the Billboard 200's top spot for 4 weeks, making it Metallica's first album to top album charts.

Best Track? Enter Sandman is what I consider to be the best track off of this album. I’ll fully admit that I already had thought of putting this song here long before I considered doing a Metal Overview of this band. Enter Sandman was the first metal song I’ve heard not just from Metallica, but the first Heavy Metal song period! I was so young when I first watched the video, and it left such a strong impression on me, I had nightmares for the entire week afterwards. However, this impression was so strong that it never left me, and I’m thankful for that!

Enter Sandman

Worst Track? While there are no bad tracks on The Black Album, one can’t deny the commercialized nature of this album, not to mention more radio-friendly music. Although And Justice For All propelled Metallica into the mainstream, that album still had much of their older identity. With this release, the band were perched on the razor edge. Given the path that they took, it’s plainly obvious as to what would eventually happen, but we’ll get to that.

The Black Album. A record that divided fans when it first came out, and still divides people today. I personally enjoy it, but I’ll leave it up to you whether you want to grab it or not. Next Album!

Load (1996) & Reload (1997)

By the mid-90s, Metallica was truly in the mainstream. Thanks to Bob Rock, the band had music on the radio, and everybody was talking about them. Even non metalheads whispered their name once in a while. With their newfound popularity, the band would begin work on their most experimental release to date. A double album, as a matter of fact! Well, that’s not exactly true: in early 1995, they had 30 demos that needed work, and due to the heavy amount of material they decided to split things up into 2 release. One would be put out in 96, and the other a year later. Thus, we have Load & Reload, two albums that act as part of Metallica’s middle years.

Load & Reload.....are interesting releases. Eschewing their Thrash Metal past almost completely, Metallica embraced a more traditional Heavy Metal route, with elements of Blues Rock tones & styles. Not only that, but Lars Ulrich changed his drumming style from a speedier style, to a more simplistic form of drum playing. This change resulted in a shift in the eyes of fans: they weren’t necessarily sure what to make of it, but the music critics certainly favored this albums more favorably (Load more so than Reload). Regardless, both albums sold well, with Load going platinum 5 times in the U.S., and Reload went platinum 4 times. Both albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, with Load staying there for 4 weeks, and Reload for maybe just as long.

Best Track? On Load, I really appreciate the grim Until It Sleeps. Detailing James Hetfield’s Mom & her battle with cancer, the lyrics can be seen as the emotional pain he was feeling, or the physical pain that his Mom felt. While you’d expect this song to get me to cry, it doesn’t, but it’s still a very powerful song to listen to.

Until It Sleeps

On the Reload side, Fuel can really get me pumped. Evoking some of the band’s Speed Metal stylings, the Blues Rock elements creates a conflicting environment. Given the song’s name, I’m not going to complain much.

Fuel

Worst Track? This was easy for me on both albums. For Load, I’m going with Hero Of The Day. The track just comes across as a “Murica! Support The Troops!” kind of deal. Granted, these sentiments would truly occur until September 11 & onward, but it’s just as obnoxious in the 90s. Hell, if you were to take Hero Of The Day out of Load, and plank it into the early 2000s, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Hero Of The Day

Reload’s worst track is something that I think is even worse that Load’s, and that’s The Unforgiven II. This was a song sequel that didn’t need to get made at all! It’s far more hokey than the original, and is trying far to hard to be The Unforgiven. Really, a song to absolutely ignore while listening to Reload.

The Unforgiven II

Load & Reload. Two albums are neither bad, but neither are they good either. Simply put, these two albums truly sit on the razor’s edge, never bending in either direction, and are rather bland in a sense. Highly recommended for hardcore Metallica fans, but mildly recommended for everyone else. Next album!

St. Anger (2003)

The rest of the 90s was an interesting period for Metallica. After Load & Reload, the band would go on to put out 2 more albums: cover/compilation album Garage Inc. In 1998, and the live album S&M (Which the band was accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony) in 1999. Both records debuted quite well, starting at the number 2 spot on the Billboard 200. However, despite the success of these two releases, a more pressing & controversial matter would arise not long after.

In 2000, Metallica filed a lawsuit against the then-popular Napster, a website where you could download music for free. The catalyst for the band suing the site was simple: the band discovered that a demo of its song "I Disappear", which was supposed to be released in combination with the Mission: Impossible II soundtrack, was receiving radio airplay. They traced the leak back to Napster, and in the ensuing lawsuit, the band’s true colors came out. Gone was the free-spirited Thrash Metal band of the 80s, and in it’s place was the very definition of corporate sell-out. This lawsuit permanently stained the band’s reputation, and even in 2015, the stain hasn’t completely been washed off.

After this lawsuit, recording for their 8th studio album, St. Anger, had begun. Early on Jason Newsted left, and his permanent replacement came in the form of Robert Trujillo, who previously worked in Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne's band. James Hetfield had entered rehab in July of 2001, and was only able to come to the recording studio for 4 hours a day as part of the rehab terms. For a majority of the recording, Bob Rock himself came in to do most of Hetfield’s work, and even was with the band during some of their live shows. Then, on June 5, 2003 (Originally supposed to be June 10, but they were paranoid about downloading), St. Anger was released.....to mixed reactions.

Despite being at the number 1 spot on the Billboard 200, St. Anger received a lot of criticism, with the most common complains being Ulrich's "steely" sounding snare drum and the absence of guitar solos. Perhaps the best criticism came from Kevin Forest Moreau of Shakingthrough.net. He says:

“The guitars stumble in a monotone of mid-level, processed rattle; the drums don't propel as much as struggle to disguise an all-too-turgid pace; and the rage is both unfocused and leavened with too much narcissistic navel-gazing”

This description is absolutely perfect for describing St. Anger! I have never heard such a hallow excuse of a metal album in a long time. Gone is the band’s 80s brutality, and in it’s place is a group that’s almost completely unrecognizable. The sell-out seeds that were planted during The Black Album’s period fully bloomed, and the flowers that came forth truly stink.

Best Track? For the longest time, me & an old friend of mine joked that “The only good thing about St. Anger is St. Anger!”. Truth be told, I don’t necessarily think we were joking. Make no mistake, this song still has all of the problems that the other tracks have, but compared to everything else there’s a little more effort put into this one song. There’s hints of the old Metallica here and there as the song plays, and it’s really those hints that I find myself attached too.

St. Anger

Worst Track? Do I really need to explain what the worst song on this album is!? St. Anger. The absolute definition of sell-out. Smart Metallica fans hated it, metalheads in general hated it, and even non-metal fans were disgusted by it! Ignore this release with your life!

Death Magnetic (2008)

Talk about a turn around!

Marking the 5th consecutive Metallica album that debuted at number 1, Death Magnetic was a radically different album when compared to St. Anger. Gone was the simple instrumentation. Gone was the stripped-down production, and gone was the absence of guitar solos. In place of the previous album’s faults were more complex musical compositions, as well as long, technical guitar solos from both Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield. These two things brought back Metallica’s Thrash Metal roots, and thus this is what reviewers praised the most about the album. Death Magnetic was also different for 3 things: Bob Rock was no longer the band’s producer (Rick Ruben was his replacement), it was their first release through a new record company (Warner Bros. Records), and it was the first album that Robert Trujillo worked on. Sadly, Death Magnetic may have come out too late, as it’s 2008 release marks 5 years since St. Anger, and that album’s reputation was still a bitter memory

Best Track? This is a bit of a tricky proposition, as the return to their Thrash Metal routes creates a surprising amount of whiplash. That said, I seem drawn to the album’s concluding track, My Apocalypse. Highly reminiscent of their work on Kill ‘Em All, there’s plenty of that speed & thrash that the band was once known for. A damn good way to conclude a return to form, if you ask me!

My Apocalypse

Worst Track? The Unforgiven III. Do I really need to say anything!? As much as I didn’t like it’s predecessor, I’ll admit that it’s at least somewhat trying to be like the original. Here!? Metallica’s really drawing straws at this point. Simply disgusting, if you ask me!

The Unforgiven III

Death Magnetic. Released a few years too late for any kind of redemption to be effective, yet an attempt that I can respect. Recommended far more than St. Anger, but cautiously recommended at the same time.

So that was my overview of the iconic & infamous Metallica. A band that deserves all of the hate it receives, but at the same time is still deserving of some of the praise that comes it’s way. Truly, a band that deserves it’s reputation, and has effectively split Thrash Metal fans.

Well this is it for my 1-year anniversary. I hope you guys had a lot of fun with the material I posted, and tune in next month for some Halloween-themed reviews. See you then!






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For a look at my (Now flawed) review of Kill ‘Em All, click the link below:

http://heavymetalotaku.blogspot.com/2014/10/review-metallicas-kill-em-all.html

Also, if you’re curious about what the 3rd Metallica song is that can get me to cry, check it out below:

3rd Song