Lars Ulrich

Stop Hating On Metallica!!!!

Over the last few days I’ve read a slew of other people’s reviews about Metallica’s new album, Hardwired…To Self Destruct. A good majority of the complaints say there is too much on it, the songs are too long, it sounds too much like Load and The Black Album or there isn’t enough of their classic sound. Are you people ever satisfied? Metallica has written an “album” people!!! You know, one of those pieces of music that you listen to from start to finish. Each song takes you on an emotional ride of aggression, pain, anger, and other tumultuous feelings. Hell, they purposely made it a double album to show you that this is an album. Hardwired is an album that is a summation of everything Metallica has ever done. The songs have elements of their classic thrash style from the Kill Em All era all the way through And Justice For All, the more riff driven Black album style, and the solemn bluesy material a la Load. But that isn’t good enough for some of you elitists out there. This album is seriously one of their best. I for one am proud to say that. Not just as a fan but, as a musician, writer, and someone that understands sonics and dynamics in songwriting and recording. I’m curious to know how many of these so called “critics” have ever actually played an instrument or played in a band. I would bet that 9 out of 10 haven’t. It shows by how you judge an album. You’re opinion is your own, and I won’t begrudge you that, but most of you need to get your heads out of your ass and pay attention to what is happening here. This album has the ability to help reinvigorate and inspire legions of people to grab instruments and start a band. All you elitist/posers out there remind me of those that are so critical of film, yet have never made one. Until you’ve tried it, and really given it a shot, you can’t say anything. To me you all just sound like trolls.

Let me further explain why you all should stop hating on Metallica. Rather than tarnish their legacy over the years and just throw out albums, like some of their peers (Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax), they have taken the time to work on making the absolute best album they can. And on this new one Metallica really succeeds. Hardwired is the album all you “critics” have been whining about wanting for years. How can you not see it? A good majority of Metallica’s early songs were all six or seven minutes long. It wasn’t until The Black Album, that they wrote shorter songs. You wanted thrashy classic songs? It’s thrashy throughout the entire thing! You all complain about James’s voice? This is the best he has sounded on an album in years. Even Lars Ulrich’s playing on the new album is great. Yes Lars is playing his ass off on this album. He isn’t trying to be flashy and over do it. Instead he sticks to what he knows the songs needs and it comes across in a way that is pummeling, just like the riffs. Kirk Hammett’s solos on this new album are hypnotic at times and classic. Robert Trujillo’s playing is back to the Cliff days.

Metallica are the Kings of Metal and Hard Rock for a reason. They work hard and play harder than most. They don’t need to have 25 albums in their catalog to show that. How many bands can you name that have a catalog like Metallica’s, where pretty much every album is undeniably great? Their first five albums are classics and game changers. Load is a tremendous and mature album. Give it another listen and you’ll see what I mean. Reload and St. Anger have some really good songs, and if they were produced and recorded properly, could probably be right up there in terms of great songs Metallica has ever put out. Death Magnetic was a record that got them back to their roots and allowed Hardwired To Self Destruct to be created. Yes the compression levels on it were too much, but you can’t doubt the songs. Especially “The Day That Never Comes,” ” All Nightmare Long,” “Cyanide,” “Suicide & Redemption,” and ” The Judas Kiss.”

They’ve always done what they wanted, and have grown more as a band than most. Their songwriting ability alone is unrivaled. I would dare most bands to try and write a better song than James Hetfield can. He is probably one of the most underrated songwriters, guitarists, lyricists and singers of all time. This new album is a great example of that. Hardwired To Self Destruct is the Metallica album for the 21st century. These songs like like “Hardwired,” Atlas, Rise,” “Moth Into Flame,” “Halo on Fire,” “Spit Out The Bone,” hell all of them, are going to blow you away live.

Embrace your love for the band, and know that they gave you all what you want and then some!… STOP HATING ON METALLICA.

Album Review: Metallica- Hardwired…To Self Destruct

Metallica is one of my top 3 favorite bands of all time, right behind Nine Inch Nails and Alice In Chains. I’ve been eagerly anticipating a new album from Metallica for a while now. And I can honestly say that the wait was well worth it. Metallica really delivers the goods on their new album Hardwired…To Self Destruct. This album has everything Metallica fans love about the band. It’s thrashy, riff driven with lots of groove, and harks back to their more raw intense days of say Kill Em All and Ride The Lightning, with bits of the Black album and dashes of Load era blues. Let me simplify that for you, this new album is as though Kill Em All and The Black Album fornicated and did a few lines of Load.

Now here is a track by track rundown of the album:

From the start of the album with “Hardwired,” you know you are in for a ride. The anger and intensity that comes from everyone in the band comes alive on this song. “Atlas, Rise,” is a borderline epic jam that has flashes of Ride The Lightning influence to it as well as an Iron Maiden feel.”Now That We’re Dead” is very groovy, and musically there is a tinge of Alice In Chains to this song. “Moth Into Flame” is one of the best songs Metallica has ever written. There is nothing about this song that isn’t awesome. The melody, the riff, the drums and rhythm, it simply rocks. “Dream No More” is a very “black album/Ride The Lightning” influenced song, with some more grunge rock melody, making for a very gritty track. There is even a mention of Ktulu, which is a nice little ode to the Ride The Lightning era. “Halo On Fire” is one of the more somber and mellow tracks on the album but, by no means does it lose the edge the rest of the album has. Kirk Hammett’s leads on this song add a sense of melancholy in a good way. “Confusion” keeps with the melodic and heavy riffs. “ManUNkind” is thrashy and heavy. This is one of those songs that really has the Kill Em All/Ride The Lightning feel to it. Plus the video for it is absolutely awesome. “Here Comes Revenge” is another heavy track but, this one has lots of dynamics to it, that separate it from the rest of the pack. “Am I Savage” starts off with a very epic drawl then transforms into a groovy track. “Murder One” is one of my favorite songs on the album. There is something really rocking and cool about this song, as it’s a tribute to the great Lemmy of Motorhead. Closing out the album is the heaviest track on the album “Spit Out The Bone.” This is the type of song many Metallica fans have been waiting for, for many years. This is a song is going to be one of those songs live that will leave you with whiplash from headbanging.

Metallica have delivered a truly great album. From the songwriting, production, artwork, and marketing, Hardwired…To Self Destruct is going to go down as a classic for the band. James Hetfield sounds great on this album. His lyrics are top notch and full of insight and imagery. Kirk Hammett’s solos are tasteful and full of melody. He even manages to lay off the wah-wah pedal enough to showcase his playing. Robert Trujillo provides a layer of thunder with the bass that hasn’t been heard since The Black Album. Lars, well Lars actually brings a speed and intensity that he has lacked in recent years. Sure he’s not playing like he did all those years ago but, he’s giving the songs what they need.

I for one am glad that Metallica took their time and didn’t rush to put out an album. Among their peers in the metal community, they have always done what they wanted and it pays off in the end, with the exception of St. Anger. That was just wretched but, necessary to get the band back to where they need to be, heavy and ruthless in their approach. Take a listen to the entire album and let this album encompass you and make you fall in love with Metallica all over again.

Overall Rating: A

Metallica- Hardwired…To Self Destruct:

Album Anniversary: Metallica- Master Of Puppets

Master_of_Puppets_(single).jpg

It’s pretty crazy to think that 30 years has passed since Metallica released Master Of Puppets. Not only that but in those 30 years, Master Of Puppets has only gotten stronger. It’s widely considered to be in the top 10 heavy metal albums of all time, inspired countless bands to start up, and those songs when played live get the crowds into quite a frenzy that most of the time you can hear the audience more than you can hear James Hetfield. I remember when I first heard Metallica. And Justice For All was the album that I heard first, but of course once I fell in love with the band, I knew I had to go after the other albums that they had. Master Of Puppets, has such great use of melody and heaviness. It takes the blueprint that the band laid out on Ride The Lightning (my personal favorite Metallica album) and expanded upon it by making it more epic. There isn’t one song on this album that doesn’t fit in to their structure. Each song has a flow to it that jumps out at you as the next one begins. I really don’t even need to keep rambling at this point. You all know that Master Of Puppets is great and deserves to be celebrated. A few years ago while touring the European festivals, Metallica performed the album in its entirety. That must have been one hell of an experience to see live. Maybe one day when Metallica tours the states again, they do it for all of us out here. So with all this in mind take an hour out of your day and blast Master Of Puppets!!!

Metallica- Master Of Puppets:

Bands That Should Come Back: Systematic

One of my favorite things to do is go back and listen to albums I haven’t heard in a long time. Sometimes I grab a CD at random other times I know exactly what I’m looking for. I woke up the other morning with a song stuck in my head and had to go put the album on. The album was Systematic’s Somewhere In Between and the song was “Beginning Of The End.” As I’m sitting in my spot listening to this album it made me think why isn’t this band still together? Systematic had all the makings of a great hard rock band. They have crunchy heavy riffs, thumping bass, pounding drums, great vocals and melodies. You know all the things that make up a great rock band. They even had the Metallica stamp of approval. Lars would go on to sign them to his imprint label. Systematic would go on to release two albums, Somewhere In Between and Pleasure To Burn. During the second album there was a lineup change and Paul Bostaph (who had played with Slayer) joined in on drums. Singer/guitarist Tim Narducci has one hell of a voice and partnered up with guitarist Adam Ruppel, made a very intriguing songwriting team. Songs like “Beginning Of The End,” “Dopesick,” “Deep Colors Bleed,” “Bedsores,” “Not Like You,” “Pleasure To Burn,” “Where We Live And Die,” and “Leaving Only Scars,” are quite compelling. Sadly in 2004 the band called it quits and moved on to other projects. Then in 2011 to celebrate the ten year anniversary of their debt album, Systematic reunited for a few shows only to call it a day soon after that. This band should have gone on to big things. The songs and albums still hold and their live shows were full of energy. So how about it Systematic!!!!

Systematic- Somewhere In Between:

Systematic- Pleasure To Burn:

Ultimate Set List: Metallica

One of my favorite things to do as of late is go back and look at all the set lists from the shows I’ve been to. There are certain bands I’ve seen so many times, that it’s really fun to look back on those shows and remember all that they played. So after looking at all the lists, I thought to myself what if I could write the set list for some of my favorite bands. I gave myself a few rules.

Rule 1: maximum 25 songs

Rule 2: What line up of the band would it be

Rule 3: Where would you want to see the show

Let’s start things off with METALLICA:

Line up would be: James, Kirk, Lars, Cliff

Venue: Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles

Set List:

The Ecstasy Of Gold
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Blackened
Battery
Master Of Puppets
Creeping Death
And Justice For All
One
Fade To Black
Nothing Else Matters
Turn The Page
Bleeding Me
No Leaf Clover
All Nightmare Long
Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)
Orion
Sad But True
The Unforgiven
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Damage Inc
Harvester Of Sorrow
Dyers Eve
Whiplash
Hit The Lights
Seek And Destroy

Why Metallica’s Death Magnetic Deserves Another Listen

Since the release of the “Black” album most Metallica fans have written off anything they have put out. The “purists” claim they haven’t put out anything good since …And Justice For All. For arguments sake, there are some really great songs that the band has written but as far as albums they really haven’t been able to capture much since after Justice. Though in 2008, Metallica released their first new album since the very disappointing St. Anger. This album was a throw back of sorts to what made Metallica great in the 80’s. And one of the biggest improvements was getting rid of working with Bob Rock. When Death Magnetic was released, it debuted at number one but has lots of people saying that the recording and mixing was terrible. Part of the problem was working with Rick Rubin. Granted he can at times bring out the best in bands to deliver great albums, his ear for compressing things is terrible. The album itself if mixed too loud leaving many listeners disgruntled. Barring all that listening to the album as a whole and taking it all in, Metallica delivered just what people wanted. A hard, fast, crushing album. Lyrically it’s more mature. Songs like “All Nightmare Long,” “Cyanide,” “The End Of The Line,” the great instrumental “Suicide and Redemption,” really capture that old school vibe. James Hetfield really took stock of where he was at in life and went for it lyrically. Sure there are moments where it seems a little post rehabesque, but it’s undoubtably a Hetfield lyric. Kirk Hammet’s solo’s are classic. Lars is actually playing with passion again. Robert Trujilo’s bass (even with it being mixed low) is better than anything Jason Newsted ever did. These songs live are brutal. I’ve heard a majority of these songs played live and they kill. If you have a moment look up any of the songs from this album and you’ll see what I mean. Metallica are one of those bands who take chances and do what they want. It might not always be what the fans expect the Load and Reload albums come to mind. Death Magnetic is the album that should have come after …And Justice For All. Give it another shot and you’ll see what I mean.

By: Brian Lacy

Album Anniversary: Metallica- Ride The Lightning

30 years ago, Metallica stepped up their game following their debut album and released Ride The Lightning. The album was recorded in Denmark by Flemming Rasmussen, who would go on to produce their next two albums. Ride the Lightning is the last Metallica album to credit former guitarist Dave Mustaine, with co-writing any songs. He is credited on the title track, “Ride the Lightning”, and instrumental track “The Call of Ktulu.” Though only eight songs are on the album, the 47 minutes of sheer intensity is very prevalent. Starting off the album is “Fight Fire With Fire.” This song opens with a very classical melody then jumps right into the thrash madness. The title track “Ride The Lightning” balances the harmony of dueling guitars with a crunchy churning riff. “For Whom The Bell Tolls” has one of the best bass parts ever. This song is beyond recognizable and is still a crowd favorite at Metallica shows. Cliff Burton really shines on this song. “Fade To Black” wasn’t well received upon first listen, but this song really showcases the ability of the band to write great songs. The entire arrangement of the song from the melody, lyrics, and riffs are spectacular, not to mention the closing solo. “Trapped Under Ice” is a very underrated thrash song. The speed of the playing on this song is intense. “Escape” is a wildcard on the album. This song has a more melodic sensibility to it. Though it does show what kind of range James was starting to develop. “Creeping Death” is my personal favorite Metallica song, it was also the first song of their I learned to play, so there is some sentimental attachment to it. The riff on this track is heavy as hell. The interesting part of this song is the lyrics as they are all about the biblical exodus and the plagues of the Jews leaving Egypt. Closing out the album is the instrumental “The Call Of The Ktulu.” This song is epic, melodic, and heavy, all the things that Ride The Lightning represents.

Ride The Lightning was definitely a step in the right direction for Metallica. James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett really started to come into their own as a great guitar duo. Cliff Burton was a beast on the bass. Lars actually played with a passion. For many Master Of Puppets is considered their best album, I for one am in the minority in thinking that Ride The Lightning is. Not to take anything away from Master, I just have more of a connection to this album.