Ah yes the elusive cover song. My it’s been a long while since there was a cover song article on Audioeclectica. The musical landscape these days has so many cover songs that there needed to be a moratorium on talking about them. Seriously, how flooded did things get with all the covers that were coming out?! It feels like there needs to be a bit of a refresher when it comes to cover songs. The point of a cover is to make it your own and that more often than not doesn’t happen. Thankfully there are some bands out there that know how to do it right, like Metallica. Back in 1998, Metallica released their double covers album, Garage Inc. Across two CD’s, Metallica paid tribute to the bands that inspired them from Black Sabbath, Diamond Head, The Misfits, Discharge, Thin Lizzy, Motorhead and more. The cover of Bob Seger’s “Turn The Page” is one of the best covers of all time. But there has always been one cover on this album that has been a favorite of mine and that is their version of Killing Joke’s “The Wait.” Originally this cover was included on Metallica’s 1987 Garage Days EP. The Killing Joke version appears on their 1980 debut album. When you hear “The Wait” by Killing Joke, you can instantly tell that this band inspired and influenced Metallica. In fact you more than likely have heard this song used in countless films and TV shows. Let’s get cover songs back on track! Here’s a great way to start it off!!!
The year is 2006 and Alice In Chains have begun their triumphant return. Getting out there and bringing the songs we all know and love back to life was one of those things that the universe got right. When this all started going again, you could tell that the fans were really glad to have Alice back. Granted the late Layne Staley was not a part of this but, William DuVall has truly shown he is up for the job and does a stellar job. During Alice In Chains summer festival run in Europe back in 2006, the band welcomed a very special guest to join them on stage for “Would?” That guest was the one and only James Hetfield of Metallica. This version of “Would?” is fantastic and will give you chills for sure. I still hope for the day we can get a Metallica and Alice In Chains tour! Can you imagine the how awesome that would be? I sure can! Enjoy this really memorable performance!!
On every Metallica album since Ride The Lightning, there has been at least one song that is a bit of an outlier. Now, this song is not always the heaviest track, instead it’s the one that raises your curiosity and shows a different side of the band. Going through the band’s catalog you have songs like “Fade To Black,” “Sanitarium,” “Bleeding Me,” “Halo On Fire” and a few others I could mention. The new Metallica album, 72 Seasons has one for damn sure with “Inamorata.” This track is absolutely one hell of an end of album song but, it’s also one of Metallica’s more epic tracks in a long time. The new album is quite a killer one and this track is the icing on the cake! Take a listen to this gem!
On April 14th, 2023, the 12th studio album by the one and only Metallica, “72 Seasons” arrives. This new 12-song outing was once again produced by Greg Fidelman along with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. The first single “Lux Æterna” is out now! Speaking on the album, James Hetfield said “72 seasons. The first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves. The concept that we were told ‘who we are’ by our parents. A possible pigeonholing around what kind of personality we are. I think the most interesting part of this is the continued study of those core beliefs and how it affects our perception of the world today. Much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.” The band also announced a full world tour with Pantera as part of the trek in the States!
Metallica- 72 Seasons Track Listing:
01 – “72 Seasons” 02 – “Shadows Follow” 03 – “Screaming Suicide” 04 – “Sleepwalk My Life Away” 05 – “You Must Burn!” 06 – “Lux Æterna” 07 – “Crown Of Barbed Wire” 08 – “Chasing Light” 09 – “If Darkness Had A Son” 10 – “Too Far Gone?” 11 – “Room Of Mirrors” 12 – “Inamorata”
Metallica- Lux Æterna:
Metallica Tour Dates:
04/27 Amsterdam, NET – Johan Cruuf Arena (feat. Architects & Mammoth WVH) 04/29 Amsterdam, NET – Johan Cruuf Arena (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 05/17 Paris, FRA – Stade de France (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 05/19 Paris, FRA – Stade de France (feat. Architects & Mammoth WVH) 05/26 Hamburg, GER – Volksparkstadion (feat. Architects & Mammoth WVH) 05/28 Hamburg, GER – Volksparkstadion (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 06/16 Gothenburg, SWE – Ullevi Stadium (feat. Volbeat & Mammoth WVH) 06/18 Gothenburg, SWE – Ullevi Stadium (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 08/04 East Rutherford, NJ – Metlife Stadium (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 08/06 East Rutherford, NJ – Metlife Stadium (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 08/11 Montreal, QC – Stade Olympique (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 08/13 Montreal, QC – Stade Olympique (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 08/18 Arlington, TX – AT&T Stadium (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 08/20 Arlington, TX – AT&T Stadium (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 08/25 Los Angeles, CA – Sofi Stadium (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 08/27 Los Angeles, CA – Sofi Stadium (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 09/01 Phoenix, AZ – State Farm Stadium (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 09/03 Phoenix, AZ – State Farm Stadium (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 11/03 St. Louis, MO – The Dome at America’s Center (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 11/05 St. Louis, MO – The Dome at America’s Center (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 11/10 Detroit, MI – Ford Field (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 11/12 Detroit, MI – Ford Field (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 05/24 Munich, GER – Olympiastadion (feat. Architects & Mammoth WVH) 05/26 Munich, GER – Olympiastadion (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 06/07 Helsinki, FIN – Helsinki Olympic Stadium (feat. Architects & Mammoth WVH) 06/09 Helsinki, FIN – Helsinki Olympic Stadium (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 06/14 Copenhagen, DEN – Parken Stadium (feat. Architects & Mammoth WVH) 06/16 Copenhagen, DEN – Parken Stadium (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 07/05 Warsaw, POL – PGE Narodowy (feat. Architects & Mammoth WVH) 07/07 Warsaw, POL – PGE Narodowy (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 07/12 Madrid, SPA – Estadion Civitas Metrpolitano (feat. Architects & Mammoth WVH) 07/14 Madrid, SPA – Estadion Civitas Metrpolitano (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 08/02 Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 08/04 Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 08/09 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 08/11 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 08/16 Minneapolis, MN – U.S. Bank Stadium (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 08/18 Minneapolis, MN – U.S. Bank Stadium (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 08/23 Edmonton, AB – Commonwealth Stadium (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 08/25 Edmonton, AB – Commonwealth Stadium (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 08/30 Seattle, WA – Lumen Field (feat. Pantera & Mammoth WVH) 09/01 Seattle, WA – Lumen Field (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 09/20 Mexico City, MEX – Foro Sol (feat. Greta Van Fleet & Mammoth WVH) 09/22 Mexico City, MEX – Foro Sol (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills) 09/27 Mexico City, MEX – Foro Sol (feat. Greta Van Fleet & Mammoth WVH) 09/29 Mexico City, MEX – Foro Sol (feat. Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills)
The first Metallica album I ever heard was And Justice For All and from that point I was hooked. I was only 4 at the time but, it all made so much sense to me. Throughout the years of me listening to the album, I’ve come to love certain songs a ton. One of which is “Dyers Eve.” The songs lyrics is a rant from Hetfield to his parents and it’s such a poignant rant too. Musically, this song rips. It’s a “thrashterpiece” of epic proportions. Interestingly too, this song was debuted live in 2004, sixteen years after it was recorded, at a show in Los Angeles during the bands 2004 Madly In Anger With The World Tour. Also, as an album closer, what a way to end it on.
Metallica’s “Sad But True” is one of the best tracks on their “Black Album.” It’s one of those songs that when they play it live, it’s even bigger than the studio version. A few days ago, Metallica announced a huge deluxe version of their now legendary “Black Album.” In this edition, there will be tons of bonus tracks including demos and alternate versions of songs. To get things going, the first one the band released is this badass version of “Sad But True.” According to the notes, this was take number 36 of the song and features a bunch of different things.
Metallica- Sad But True (Take 36- February 5th, 1991):
Metallica’s “Black Album” has so many hit songs it’s not even funny. Even with all those, there’s still some other gems that are often overlooked like this deep cut, “The God That Failed.” This song has an interesting story behind it as it’s based on James Hetfield’s experience with his mother’s death and her beliefs in Christian Science to rid her of the cancer that was killing her. This isn’t the first song nor the last to touch on this subject in the Metallica catalog. Another interesting fact about the song is that, this song was never released as a single, but was the first of the album’s songs to be heard by the public. “The God That Failed” has been played live over 100 times since the release of the “Black Album.”
Since I started this topic, I made a giant list of songs to feature. The list is endless and the hardest part is figuring out what one to write about first. Thankfully, today I woke up with a riff in my head and I immediately remembered where it came from. Which now brings me to Metallica and their epic “Orion.” This song is so damn good. It’s absolutely one of the best instrumental songs ever. At over 8 minutes long, this song can take you on an adventure. It’s got all the best things about Metallica in it. Plus Cliff Burton’s bass parts on this song are superb!
About six months ago, Metallica released an alternate version of “Blackened.” This was obviously done during these very strange times we are living in. I really enjoy when bands break down their songs to the bare bones. Having a more acoustic feel to this song definitely gives it a different vibe. The original from And Justice For All is in my top 5 all time favorite Metallica songs. This new version, I have to say is quite fun. I’d really be interested to hear Metallica do a full on acoustic set in the same way the classic MTV Unplugged’s were.
We all know the story of how Dave Mustaine was once a member of Metallica. I don’t need to go into that. Instead let us focus on when Metallica did their 30th anniversary shows at The Fillmore in San Francisco. During those shows, Metallica played a ton of songs they haven’t in years and it featured many guests including, Ozzy, Jerry Cantrell, Danzig and especially, Dave Mustaine. The mini set they played with Mustaine was pretty awesome. It’s definitely one of those moments that should be celebrated. Who knows, maybe we’ll get to see it again one day or even one more “Big 4” show.
