Metallica’s version of covers are some of my absolute favorites. So much so that I almost can’t listen to the original versions anymore. Like “Turn The Page” by Bob Seger, Metallica’s version is just better. Anyways, this song was originally a B-side for Deep Purple, but it shouldn’t have been. It’s a great song, and Metallica, especially James Hetfield embodies this song as their own.
Enjoy!
Metallica- When A Blind Man Cries:
Deep Purple- When A Blind Man Cries:
2016 is on the verge of ending. It’s been quite an interesting, strange, depressing and scary year. Despite all the divide across the land and countless other problems, 2016 was a great year for new albums. I have a feeling that with time, the music released this year, 2016, will be one of those years that gave us classic albums.
To start things off for the first category of End Of The Year Lists, I’m going to make a list of the top 10 guitar duos in music. The stipulation is that, they have to have released an album this year.
I encourage you to vote for your favorite in the comments section. At the end of the month, I will release the results of the readers poll.
This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!!
Top 10 Guitar Duo’s of 2016:
01) James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett- Metallica
02) Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams- Every Time I Die
03) Johnny Dang and Jordan McGhin- O’Brother
04) Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel- Killswitch Engage
05) Joe Duplantier and Christian Andreu- Gojira
06) Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till- Neurosis
07) Ben Weinman and Brent Hinds- Giraffe Tongue Orchestra
08) Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Schaffer- Korn
09) Kemble Walters and Cory Clark- Aeges
10) James Moore and Mitch Wayte- Moving Structures
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.
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:
Today Metallica are releasing a few videos from their upcoming album Hardwired…To Self Destruct. They made a video for every song. Over the next two days, all the videos will be released a few hours apart from each other. Here is the schedule of how it will go down.
I will keep updating this post as the videos are released.
Wednesday, November 16th:
12pm EST/9am PT – “Dream No More” (Directed by Tom Kirk) – Gshow Globo, Brazil
2pm EST/11am PT – “Confusion” (Directed by Claire Marie Vogel) – Rolling Stone, USA
4pm EST/1pm PT – “ManUNkind” (Directed by Jonas Åkerlund) – Bravewords, Canada
6pm EST/3pm PT – “Now That We’re Dead” (Directed by Herring & Herring) – Pitchfork, USA
8pm EST/5pm PT – “Here Comes Revenge” (Directed by Jessica Cope) – Triple M, Australia
10pm EST/7pm PT – “Am I Savage” (Directed by Herring & Herring) – Ro69.JP (Rockin’ On), Japan
Thursday, November 17th:
12a EST/9pm PT – “Halo On Fire” (Directed by Herring & Herring) – BiLD / Metal Hammer, Germany
2a EST/11pm PT – “Murder One” (Directed by Robert Valley) – Le Parisian, France
4a EST/1am PT – “Spit Out The Bone” (Directed by Phil Mucci) – NME, England
6a EST9am PT – “Lords of Summer” (Directed by Brett Murray) – Aftonbladet, Sweden
Hardwired:
Moth Into Flame:
Atlas, Rise:
Dream No More:
Confusion:
ManUNKind:
Now That We’re Dead:
Here Comes Revenge:
Am I Savage:
Halo On Fire:
Murder One:
Spit Out The Bone:
The Lords Of Summer:
Metallica does a great job covering the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd song “Tuesday’s Gone.” At Metallica’s 30th anniversary shows, they invited some friends up on stage to join in the cover of this song. Joining them was Pepper Keenan (Down/Corrosion of Conformity), Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Jim Martin (Faith No More), and Gary Rossington (Lynryd Skynryd). Check it out!!
Metallica and Friends- Tuesday’s Gone:
Lynryd Skynyrd- Tuesday’s Gone:
Gojira is one of my favorite heavy bands in the world. They are fantastic. I was thinking the other day it would be awesome to see them tour the states with a band like Metallica. They already did in Europe. Anyways, I found this cover Gojira did of Metallica’s “Escape.” I always thought this song was underrated and deserved more attention. Enjoy!
Gojira- Escape:
Metallica- Escape:
Metallica seems to be very inspired on their new album Hardwired…To Self Destruct. This new jam of theirs brings the heavy and the melody that Metallica is known for.
Metallica- Moth Into Flame:
So Metallica just released a song from their upcoming album Hardwired…To Self Destruct. I have to say this is pretty damn good. Seems like Metallica has some aggression still left in the tank!!
Metallica- Hardwired:
In every bands career there are times when the band changes things up and tries to take a chance and expand upon what they’ve already done. Sometimes this works out great, and other times it seriously backfires. In 1996, coming off the monster success of their “Black Album,” Metallica shocked their fans and released “Load.” Granted Load came in at number one on the billboard charts, it seemed to have left many of Metallica’s fans wondering what the hell is going on with the band. Gone was the band’s trademark thrash metal style and instead of that, the style was replaced with a more blues centered structure. The speed and complexity that the fans had grown to love was entirely disregarded on Load.I still remember seeing the video for “Until It Sleeps,” wondering what happened to Metallica. I was one of those fans that was left scratching their head as to why Metallica would do this. Then as the years went on and I experienced more of what life has to offer, I took another listen to Load. What I found was an album that was ahead of it’s time. This was Metallica being vulnerable and laying it all out there. This is a great example of a band growing up and stepping outside their comfort zone. It is also an album that takes on a different meaning once you’ve lived life a bit. One of the best songs Metallica has ever written appears on Load. That song is “Bleeding Me.” The lyrics alone are enough to resonate deep. The music is solemn and moody, allowing all the emotions to flow with the song. Other songs like “Until It Sleeps,” “Hero Of The Day,” “Ain’t My Bitch,” “King Nothing,” and “The Outlaw Torn,” are steeped deep in misery and toil. The entirety of Load is astounding. There might be a song here and there that seems out of place but this album is a true gem. There is something about this album that, like a fine wine or a really good scotch only gets better with age.
Load wasn’t right for the time it was released. The fans still wanted more heavy from the band, and were caught completely off guard by this. This record is an exceptionally underrated metal/hard rock experience that takes the band’s music into entirely new territories. Load is an excellent album with great songwriting and a high level of diversity. Giving something for everyone. Sure it’ll never top what Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets, And Justice For All and The “Black” Album are, but it’s definitely an album worthy of your time and patience. Give it another chance and you’ll see what I mean. Leave all your preconceived notions about Metallica at the door when you listen to this album.
Metallica- Load:
Metallica- Bleeding Me (S & M Version):
