Metallica Album: “Metallica [DVD Audio]”

It seems that many Metallica "fans" seem to enjoy putting this album down, for some reason. They claim that, with this album, Metallica lost their edge and sold out. Listening to this album, I'm wondering if we heard the same one. This album may not be quite as epic or technical as previous releases, but it's every bit as thrashy, heavy, and good. This album was my introduction to Metallica a few years back, and I've never stopped loving it. The songs are full of crunch and vitriol, and the two ballads ("Unforgiven", "Nothing Else Matters") are very emotional and melodic. There are still a lot of great solos, and Lars still dishes out some pretty impressive drumwork (especially on "The Struggle Within"). The production quality is excellent (probably the best of all their albums), so every instrument is distinct and hard-hitting. There are no bad songs, but if you want to hear a great one, check out "The Unforgiven". This is one of the best ballads ever, with very emotional lyrics and a great vocal performance from James Hetfield. If you love heavy metal and do not love this album, there is probably something wrong with you. I rank this album third, behind "Ride the Lightning" and "Master of Puppets", and one of my top 20 favorite albums. It's better than "And Justice for All" mainly because of the production quality, and better than "Kill Em All" because that album is too repetitive and rough around the edges (but still very good, mind you), and well, do I even need to explain why it's better than "Load" and "Reload"? The simple fact of the matter is that Metallica was still a great band at this time, and did not sell out with this album. This album was much heavier and better than anything else that was popular at the time (except for Pantera's "Cowboys from Hell"). "Load" and "Reload" were the ones where the music changed for the worse, but even those albums weren't so bad. If Metallica ever did sell out, it wasn't until the awful "I Disappear". If they ever get another bass player, and Hetfield ever gets out of rehab, let's hope they stop doing that kind of stuff and go back to the basics. Megadeth and Iron Maiden already made incredible returns to form with "The World Needs a Hero" and "Brave New World", if Metallica does another album like this, then metal is officially back. Otherwise, they may as well just call it quits. Anyway, buy this album, it is one of the best.

Regardless of their commercial intent, Metallica had to make The Black Album. Their previous album "And Justice For All" had many brilliant moments, but it also edged toward excess. It's important to keep in mind that many of Metallica's influences wrote punchy 3-4 minute songs with a killer riff and solo. And their Garage Revisted album demonstrated their love to do something like that. But, they hadn't really done that since their early days, and they had gotten so far away from that by the time of "And Justice For All." As a result, The Black Album was an artistic, as well as commercial, commitment. Keep it simple; keep it memorable; keep it real.

No doubt, the craft paid off; Metallica's singles (Enter Sandman, Wherever I May Roam, Sad But True, Nothing Else Matters, Unforgiven) have become hard rock classics. Each song has killer hooks; they groove even, and the latter ballad is as powerful and moving as any song they've ever done. Sure, Bob Rock's production is a bit too smooth, but listen to the demos and realize that The Black Album is still thrash. Dismiss its difficult, then, consider that similar efforts by thrash outfits like Megadeth, Testament, and Anthrax were much, much less successful.

If there's any substantial flaw to The Black Album, it's that it reveals what true metal aficionados already know -- Metallica is an average thrash band with world-class compositions, The Beatles of the long-form composition. When you compare The Black Album with Pantera's "Vulgar Display Of Power." Where The Black Album waters down thrash's edge (relentlessly midtempo, simpler rhythms, production), "Vulgar Display of Power" distills it, retaining the creativity, craft, yet making it even more vicious. And compare it to Metallica's older work, and you miss out on the richness, dynamics and depth.

As a whole, though, The Black Album is a great kick-a** album. As close to the perfect mainstream heavy metal album anybody has ever gotten to. It also suggested that if Metallica could combine The Black Album's discipline with their 80s richness, their best work would lay in the future. Boy were we wrong . . .

"I'll give you my Porsche if this album sells 10 million"; frank words from lead guitarist Kirk Hammett to the band's manager show Metallica's lack of confidence in this album. Why they weren't confident I will never understand. "The Black Album" is by far one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded by Metallica, if not by anyone. The metal quartet managed to find a way to blend modern rock (modern rock of '91) and 80's thrash metal in a way few other bands could. In this crossover album, Metallica went from composing garage-band type rock with expressive guitar solos in songs like Master of Puppets to popular rock using catchy melodies, shorter songs, and simpler structure while keeping the melodies hardcore metal. However, buried deep underneath each song of thrash is a message begging to be heard. The most popular songs off of the album "Enter Sandman", "Sad But True", and "The Unforgiven" display some of Metallica's best songwriting and lyrics they've ever concocted. Not only does "Metallica" prove that mainstream metal doesn't always mean a sellout, it proves that any band, if they work hard enough, can change their image to some degree. Metallica learns the hard way after a long break from each other that too much image-transformation can lead to poor album production like "Load" and "Re-Load". Now back to Hammett's Porsche comment, the album surpassed the 10 million mark in early '96, and sure enough, Hammett forfeited his prized vehicle.

Back in 1992, when I was just a wee lad of 13, the Black Album was, as I'm sure it was for many others, my introduction to metal. And through most of the 1990's, Metallica was the only metal band I ever really bothered to listen to. But after buying "S & M" upon its release and gaining my first exposure to songs from "Ride the Lightning" and "Master of Puppets," I decided to explore Metallica's 1980's catalogue and the floodgates were opened. I now listen almost exclusively to metal, and I enjoy pretty much any style lf metal you can think of, and I must say that for all its commercial success the Black Album is far from the pinnacle of the metal genre, or even of Metallica's career.

The Black Album was, of course, the album that garnered Metallica massive record sales and radio and MTV exposure. And it's easy to see why: the songs on this album are shorter, simpler, less heavy, less lyrically oppressive, and typically slower than on previous outings. Of course, many (myself included) would say that this isn't necessarily a good thing. While I don't want to get into the whole "sellout" debate, that's sort of beside the point. What is the point is that what's good for the radio is not good for the serious metal fan. By streamlining their sound, Metallica lost a great deal of what had made them so compelling in the first place.

That's not to say there aren't good points(I did give three stars, after all). Although not as ambitious as previous efforts, this is still a pretty heavy album. There are some excellent riffs and solid solos, and James's vocals are in fine form. Songs like "Sad But True," "Enter Sandman," and "The God that Failed" even had some of the bite of Metallica's older work; "Sad But True," in particular remains one of my favorite Metallica songs. But really, did any of Metallica's '80's albums contain so many mediocre songs like "The Unforgiven," "My Friend of Misery," and "Through the Never"? Nothing on here is really definable as bad, but there's way too much that's just forgettable.

Now, this certainly isn't a bad album to have. It's a good pickup for those who are new to the metal genre, as I was a decade ago. Still, I think the black album's main value is as a stepping stone on the way to bigger and better things. Now (shameless plug coming up), I would feel remiss if I didn't mention some of these bigger and better things in this space, so here goes: '80's Metallica (duh), Megadeth, Anthrax, Morbid Angel, Death, Amon Amarth, The Crown, Opeth, Testament, Emperor, and the Forsaken. This is just a short list though; there's a lot more out there for those who are willing to look.

Metallica has searched. Metallica has destroyed. Metallica has changed. Metallica has matured. And they've never sold out (except concert halls all the time). This self-titled so-called Black Album took Metallica to new musical universes. The Metalibashers that gave the world "metal up your ass" with most unprecedented scorchers "Seek And Destroy" and "Whiplash," evolved on this album into a band capable of diving deep into the soul to pull out melodramatic epics such as "Nothing Else Matters" and "The Unforgiven." A Metallica first. . . and second. Not one, but two, ballads on a Metallica album!

For those staunch in their view of what Metallica music should sound like, there are plenty of familiar sounding songs to appease. The classic first single "Enter Sandman," "Sad But True," "Holier Than Thou" and "Through The Never" are all classic Metallica. Y'know the type: big, bad, beefy, crunching, uncompromising pure heavy metal. This album isn't as instantly palatable as previous Metallica albums, but upon repeated listens, it sure is one of their finest moments ever.