Metallica - Metallica
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Free Music Notes for Metallica
Free Music Review: Metallica's best
Hit: 5 Stars
The black album is Metallica's best album. it is also one of the best metal/hard rock albums ever made. it is highly recommended. Some people don't like this CD because it was Metallica's transitional album. They switched from speed metal to more standard metal. Despite its slower, more standard metal songs, it is still a lot harder and faster than most metal today.Enter Sandman 5/5 - starts off acoustic and turns into one of Metallica's best songs. It flows well, has good rhythmic guitar, and great guitar solos. The bass is pretty good as well.
Sad but True 5/5 - another of Metallica's best and one of my favorite songs. It has an incredible guitar solo in it. Kid rock stole sad but true's main guitar riff.
Holier Than Thou 4.5/5 - not as memorable as enter sandman or sad but true but still a good song. A little harder than some of the tracks no this CD. Has a few good guitar riffs on it.
Unforgiven 5/5 - probably Metallica's best known song. Great in every way. Much slower than most Metallica songs, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. Better than Unforgiven II.
Wherever I May Roam 5/5 - another one of my favorites. Great song. Slow but still heavy. Its about a guy who roams I guess.
Don't Tread on Me 4.5/5 - not well known, but a good song. Decent guitar riffs and a good solo. A lot of people don't like this song, but its good trust me.
Through the Never 4.5/5 - good song I have know idea what this song is about but it works.
Nothing Else Matters 5/5 - not one of my favorites because it is the slowest, softest song Metallica has ever done. It's pretty much a ballad, which is a Metallica first. You'll see more songs like this on load and reload. I have trouble sitting through it, but it is a very good song.
Of Wolf and Man 5/5 - another favorite of mine. Great guitar work in this song. Good in every way
God That Failed 4.5/5 - good song. A lot of emotion in this song. I don't think it flows as well as a lot of the other songs on this CD, so I didn't give it 5 stars.
My Friend of Misery 4.5/5 - it doesn't really stand out in any way. It's a good song, but it isn't as good as the 5 star songs.
Struggle Within 5/5 - this song is the perfect closer to this album. It's fast, hard and short. Lars proves he's a good drummer with this song.
In the end I give this CD 5 stars because of the number of great songs on it. It has 7, 5 star songs and 5, 4.5 star songs. I think this CD was Metallica's peak.
Free Music Review: New producer, new attitude, new goals for Metallica
Hit: 5 Stars
THE BAND: James Hetfield (vocals, guitars), Kirk Hammett (guitars), Jason Newsted (bass), Lars Ulrich (drums).
THE DISC: (1991) 12 songs clocking in at approximately 63 minutes. Included with the disc is a 6-page foldout containing individual abstract head shots of each band member, song lyrics and credits. All music and Lyrics by Hetfield/Ulrich, with Hammett co-writing four songs, and Newsted co-writing one. Recorded at One On One Recording Studio, Los Angeles, CA. Label - Elektra.
COMMENTS: New producer - enter Bob Rock. Metallica goes back in the studio after a 3 year hiatus after the surprisingly limited success of their prior release, "And Justice For All" (1988). In my opinion, the band was changing. As good as "And Justice For All" was - I honestly think the band had taken a small step backward. Metallica was THE band on top of THE heavy metal world after their best known work "Master Of Puppets" (1986) came out. The drag of constant touring and the death of bassist Cliff Burton were still fresh on their minds, not to mention getting used to new bassist Jason Newsted... with "And Justice For All", I think there were contributing factors that made it an uneven release. Now, in 1991, a rebirth of sorts. 3 years had gone by since their last album. New songs, new producer, new recording studio, new attitude. Songs on this "Black Album" were still hard and crunchy with lightning fast riffs, but they absolutely leaned to commercial respectability. "Enter Sandman" was Metallica's first major radio hit. Followed by the slow masterpieces (power ballads if you will) "Nothing Else Matters" and "The Unforgiven". Fans cried "sell out" as radio stations overplayed each of these 3 songs. For me though, this slightly older, more mature band had released a slick winner. With this self titled album, Metallica showed more diversity. Fast and slow, up and down, not to mention orchestration in the background. This is the album that put Metallica out there to the 'Rock' world (not just the 'Metal' world). As much as the band was "anti-mainstream", this was the recognition they craved (and in my mind, deserved). Along with the 3 hit songs mentioned above, there is other classic material here... one of my favorite songs in their entire catalog is here, "Sad But True". As well as other standards, "Holier Than Thou", "Through The Never", and Of Wolf And Man". Classic disc.
Free Music Review: An instant classic
Hit: 5 Stars
Almost perfect. This isnt' the metallica i used to know...but dammit i'm lovin it. NO. THis album is NOT thrash metal. NO this album is not all really upbeat. NO this album is not how metallica used to play. BUT this is an amazing album...all the songs are AWESOME. It is truly inspiring.1)Enter Sandman - used to be a good song...but now it is so overrated and overplayed. It gets tiring! cool solo! - 7.5/10
2)Sad But True - Really cool song...i like the heavy guitar riff. The lyrics are strong...overall strong song. - 9.5/10
3)Holier than thou - I love this song. One of my favs on the album. Really up-beat, great lyrics (look harder). I love the bass in this song. - 10/10
4)THE UNFORGIVEN - INCREDIBLE SONG!!! Slow...moving...strong lyrics...great guitar solo. THe guitar solo in this song was improvised...that just goes to show how great kirk is. this song is incredible...much better than the 2nd one. 10/10
5)wherever i may roam - cool song. This song is done on some weird bass...10 or 12 string. I really like this song. It's underrated. - 10/10
6)Don't Tread on ME - Cool song...my least fav on the album. but still great. I don't much like the guitar solo. Although the drummin is bang on...and james vocals are intimidating...8.5/10
7)Through The Never - hahaha really cool song. I love the part in the middle: "...on through the never we must gooo..." It kicks ass :) 10/10
8)Nothing Else Matters - aaah. Nothin else matters. Great song. The lyrical masterpiece, the guitar greatness...this song is amazing. It's slow, with a heavy ending (of course a guitar solo). One of my favorites. - 10/10
9)Of WOlf and Man - cool song...cool lyrics...cool drumbeat...just overall cool song. 9/10
10)The God That Failed - Wicked bass intro. The drum beat is badass. The guitar solo is EARSPLITTING!!!! Mindblowing really. I love this song...the lyrics are deep. (Much deeper than most of you will understand...you really have to know james to understand this song) 10/10
11)My Friend of Misery - pretty good song...great guitar solo. overall really good song - 9/10
12)Struggle Within - One of the best on the album...heavy and up beat. I love this song. - 10/10
Overall this is an amazing album. It's not quite like the old thrash metal metallica...but it is quite good. It doesn't get old. I've listened to this album ever since i was 9 (i'm almost 15).
BUY THIS ALBUM
Free Music Review: Great album that lags a bit toward the end
Hit: 5 Stars
Even though it can now be half a decade or so before Metallica gets around to burying their personal difficulties and putting out another album, the three years between "...And Justice For All" and "The Black Album" (nee "Metallica") seemed an eternity at the time. Coming off the heels of the "Enter Sandman" single, Metallica seemed poised to break into the mainstream at long last. But at what expense?
"Enter Sandman" appeared to spell the end of James Hetfield's heartfelt lyrics and the band's fervor for complex and innovative song structures. Sure it rocked, but in a way that could be endlessly recycled by other bands it inspired. The beauty of albums like "Master of Puppets" and "Ride the Lightning" is that they were unique and brilliant enough in their own right that even the most heavily influenced of bands were unable to duplicate their success. Would Metallica trade that patented sound for a more stripped down approach that in six months would already seem played out?
Fortunately this turned out to not be the case. The remainder of the album WAS in fact fairly stripped down and economized, but with songs like "The Unforgiven" and "Sad But True" Metallica proved that, new sound or not, this was not the watered down, Mom-friendly metal they'd be churning out in just a few years' time. "The Unforgiven" is itself perhaps James Hetfield's lyrical masterpiece, and compared to the soggy sentimentalism of "Nothing Else Matters" the song proves that the band could still be topical without being leaden and morose.
"Nothing Else Matters", though megapopular amongst fans of both "The Black Album" and the latter material, is to these ears the point at which the album begins to falter. Although it's fraternal lyrics have brought a tear or two to many eyes when the song is played live, it bears too strong an aesthetic resemblance to MOR pap like "That's What Friends Are For" to fit comfortably into the Metallica oeuvre. "Of Wolf and Man" continues Hetfield's quizzical new obsession with monster movie lyrics, and the concluding trilogy of "The God That Failed", "My Friend of Misery" and "The Struggle Within" are fine songs in their own right, but fail to maintain the standard set by the album's opening half. Though inconsistent, there isn't really a bad song on the record, which makes "The Black Album" Metallica's last stab at greatness.
Free Music Review: makes you hunger for more of their stuff!
Hit: 5 Stars
This review is WAY overdue in coming. Sorry to all for the delay.
First, a bit of my personal 'tallica' history. I personally discovered Metallica in 2005 when a friend of mine handed me a CD with 101 Metallica MP3 songs on it (Kill Em through Garage,Inc). Having not been a fan before, I hungrily listened to these songs and loved what I heard, for the most part. I have been a hard rock/metal fan, listening to AC/DC, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Kiss, The Cars, Boston, etc. I found Metallica to be right up there with the best of these other bands, and I particulary liked the heavy 'riffage' and screaming solos found in many of the songs. I'm kinda picky about the quality of sound, too, and some songs were clearer in production than others, a discussion for another day.
So, having discovered Metallica "all at once", maybe my perspective will be valuable to some. I must say, though, that the Black Album is one of the finest CDs I've ever heard, from a production, musical and rocking standpoint. Powerful vocals, meaningful lyrics (Wolf and Man notwithstanding), rockin' drumming, heavy riffage and screaming solos galore make this a fantastic listen all the way through.
The first time I heard 'Sandman' I shook my head and thought "where have you been all my life?". 'Sad but True' was also an instant favorite. 'Wherever I May Roam', 'The Unforgiven' and 'Nothing Else Matters' made also made an immediate positive inpact on me. Other favs on here are 'The God That Failed', 'My Friend of Misery', 'Through The Never', and 'The Struggle Within'. The others are good hard rockers but not personally as satisfying as the above mentioned.
I think that Metallica helped their own cause very much by releasing this awesome album. There is no doubt that people who started listening to Metallica with the Black Album, like myself (sorta kinda anyway), had to go back and buy everything else released before (afterward, too, for me!). I can't remember most of what I was doing in 1991, but I know that I missed a lot of great releases, with this one and Ten by P.J. being at the top of the heap. I'm glad for friends' recommendations and the secondary CD market for helping me play 'catchup' in my musical discoveries. Don't miss this one!