Can Metallica ever return to their pre Black Album badness?

[dkal24]

Master of puppets is when they were at their peak. It's an absolute masterpiece. It was downhill from there. Bob Rock helped make them a lot of money but their music went downhill from there. If Cliff did not die, I don't think they would have gone in that direction.

[sdgails]

 

They already did. Death Magnetic is as good as Justice was. Haters gonna hate, as they say, and Metallica really set themselves up to be hated over the years. But Death Magnetic is an excellent album, the album that should have come after Justice. But honestly, we musicians always say we love artists who do what they feel, what moves them.....but the second a Metallica plays some lighter stuff based off their other influences, it's all hate, all the time. /shrug

 

 

BAAHAHAHA better than jusTice? FAIL

[Spike Li]

This. Death Magnetic was very well done. I don't see how it could have been a better album. I think they are already back to their old ways. They just had to record an awful rehab album before making a great one

 

You know, having only recently gotten into metallica myself, I didnt see what the big fuss about St Anger was... then I listened to their older stuff and realised how bad it was in comparison... It seemed like they were trying to reinvent themselves and sound more "modern"... i guess it also didnt help that they just seemed to go through the motions while making it.

 

I love Death Magnetic, its my second favourite tallica album after Ride the Lightning (S&M not included).

 

Plus, I saw them live about 3 weeks ago and they {censored}ing rocked, cant believe how fast and tight some dudes in their mid 40s can play!

[D_Bird]

Lars and Kirk come across as total douchebags whenever I see them interviewed. Hetfield was probably my biggest influence in my desire to pickup a guitar. Trujillo is a monster on the bass. I loved their old stuff, from Kill 'em all to Justice, everything else seems pale by comparison. Puppets is hands down the best metal album ever.

[Alden97]

I lost interest in them when St. Anger came out. I just can't get over the snare drum. I like all of it up until St. Anger though and still listen to them all. I tried to give Death Magnetic a shot, but I found it lacked a lot of the harmonies that I liked about their music previously.

 

I'd say no, I don't expect a return to previous form. They just don't have the angst anymore, and don't seem to be replacing it with tone and harmony as they did on the Load albums. In contrast, Dave Mustaine is never going to get over getting kicked out of Metallica, and Endgame is pretty awesome. Some weak lyrics though.

[zantor9]

You know, having only recently gotten into metallica myself, I didnt see what the big fuss about St Anger was... then I listened to their older stuff and realised how bad it was in comparison... It seemed like they were trying to reinvent themselves and sound more "modern"... i guess it also didnt help that they just seemed to go through the motions while making it. I love Death Magnetic, its my second favourite tallica album after Ride the Lightning (S&M not included). Plus, I saw them live about 3 weeks ago and they {censored}ing rocked, cant believe how fast and tight some dudes in their mid 40s can play!

 

No kidding! I saw them live a year ago and they blew my mind. Metallica was the FIRST band i ever listened to and will love them no matter what they do though. Also i agree with S&M, it was a fantastic live album and a great idea adding symphony to older Metallica songs. DM is definitely in the top albums i have ever liked though.

[soundcreation]

 

why do people want artists to back and repeat themselves?

 

 

I don't think that's what people want. People just want bands to progress in a honest way with out it feeling like they are TRYING too hard. It's tough for bands to do this. Most can't.

 

Say what you will about U2 but they are one band that for the most part did. Through nearly 3 decades. Re invent themselves but still believe and commit fully to the music so it doesn't sound contrived. And never forgetting why they got into music in the first place. Somewhere along the way metallica forgot.

 

I'm not much of a fan of any Metallica after AJFA...but I will admit that at least with the Black album when they went in a new direction they did it well. After that though it just got worse and worse. And Bob Rock is nothing more than a scape goat. The guy is a fantastic producer. Lars wanted that {censored}ing snare drum sound on St. Anger. And after AJFA the band themselves decided before they even hired Rock that they wanted to go more straight ahead as they were worn out on the typical "complex arrangements" on the first 4 albums. Rock produced what they gave him, plain and simple. If they had given him MOP type stuff then you would have heard that only sounding way better. Metallica fans who blame Rock are simply {censored}ing clueless about the role of a producer in the making of music. Not too mention the guy had to {censored}ing baby sit a bunch of {censored}ing prima donas during that point. Rock and Mustaine (and Trujillo) were the only people I respected in Some kind of Monster. (Kurt might just as well been invisible.)

[Schtang]

don't know - I have never listen to one of their albums. To be honest I don't think I know even one of their songs. I did watch the doco 'some kind of monster' which is all I have ever seen of the band (I did enjoy that doco though, very funny).

[hellion_213]

 

Metallica is another old band I like....however I prefer their first 4 albums to the later stuff. And Justice For All is my favorite album from them. From the Black Album onwards they changed. But I am happy that on there new album that came out in 2008 they made an attempt to return to there speed metal ways. It's a step in the right direction but they are not completely there yet. Do you think they can ever get back to their badness of And Justice For All?

 

 

I haven't read the whole thread, but I have to say No. James' voice of the past is just that, a voice in the past. IMO, after James got burnt, the whole band changed. They moved on from that chapter, started families. Now, after Newstead quit, Lars and James doing the Country Music Awards, and Kirk studying SRV, any chance of a New Old Metallica album is out.

[Cyprusg]

 

Kirk Hamster........... 4 notes and a wah pedal, over used for 20+ years.

 

 

Are you serious man? I just listened to your "When in Rome" and your solo was elementary, just some uninspired pentatonic runs. It's fine if you don't like Kirk's solos, but saying that he just plays 4 notes is idiocy and can be factually disproved. If you could ever write a solo a quarter as good as Unforgiven you might have some room to talk, but you can't so you don't.

 

On a completely separate note I really liked Death Magnetic after hating every album after the black album.

 

I don't think there is anything they could do to win back the haters.

[BydoEmpire]

Believe it or not, I've come to really like Load. The production is fantastic, and it's a pretty dark album, even though there aren't any really fast songs on it. There are some WTF moments like "mama said" or whatever, but for the most part I like it better than the Black Album. Death Magnetic is pretty good - some great tracks, but a lot of the songs feel like a random collection of riffs stitched together rather than one long piece. The more complex songs on Justice seem to work a lot better. Kirk's solos on Death Magnetic are pretty terrible, and the album is so squashed it's kind of hard to listen to. Not counting LPs, live albums and such:

 

1. Master of Puppets - A+

2. ... And Justice For All - A+

3. Kill 'Em All - A

4. Ride the Lightening - A

5. Load - B

6. Black Album - B-

7. Death Magnetic - B-

8. St. Anger - C-

8. Re-Load - D

 

 

I don't see them ever going back to the style of Justice and before, but that's okay. I still like the band as a whole.