“Metallica. A household name. The 7th biggest selling act in American history.” That is how the writers of Metallica.com sum up 20 years of heavy metal domination.
Several months ago, Metallica returned to the music scene after its members gathered their thoughts and got back into the studio. Their new album, “St. Anger” is a complete style change from almost all their previous releases. “St. Anger” is a combination of new metal sounds and older Metallica sounds, but does not quite hit the nail on the head.
The title track “St. Anger” combines a speed metal sound without the ‘speed’ and a heavy, Godsmack-like bass and guitar sound. James Hetfield’s voice sounds old and raspy, unlike the sounds of their earlier days when he yelled angry lyrics and let out painful growls.
Aside from the fact that Metallica does not sound like Metallica anymore, their studio work is not the same either. The “St. Anger” album comes with a DVD of Metallica rehearsing the new music.
The DVD sounds amazingly more like the real Metallica than the CD does. The DVD has clearer, fuller sound and the lyrics are understandable.
Metallica’s old “garage band” sound is a trait tons of their fans loved. But when Metallica changed their style after the Black album from sounding like they were playing in a metal trashcan to sounding like they actually went to the studio, fans got angry.
The new album sounds like Metallica trying desperately to achieve that old sound, but they have played together for so long and matured so much now, it was almost impossible. So they spent a large amount of time in the studio experimenting with their recorded product, all the time promising fans release dates that never came.
Psychology sophomore Patrick Johnson said he has accepted the change.
“I love their new stuff even though they changed their style. Bands changing their styles doesn’t really bother me, as long as the music is good,” Johnson said.
John Madere, a music junior, had a different opinion.
“Before the Black album, they were balls to the wall, and after that, they grew up,” Madere said. “Some fans think they sold out after the Black album, but I think they did more jamming and playing as fast as they could before their change.”
Mechanical engineering sophomore Brian Reichard said he cannot decide if he likes the new album.
“The band has developed a ‘new metal’ sound that just isn’t as cool as their old sound was,” Reichard said. “I liked all of their old stuff, everything through the Black album, but after that, they became an MTV friendly band.”
Reichard, who claims to be a hard core Metallica fan, said he does not like the sounds Metallica made after the Black album because of the drum and guitar work.
“They cut out all of the good guitar solos, so there is no need for two guitarists anymore, and Lars’ drums sound really bad, like Metallica was going for a ‘garage’ sound and ended up with something less raw and more popular,” Reichard said.
Perhaps the pre-occupation the band and the fans have with the ‘garage’ sound comes from Metallica’s older days, days when the band was not so famous.
It all started with “Kill ‘Em All,” featuring “The Four Horsemen.” The album was released in late 1983, and had a raw, apathetic sound, flourished with wild guitar solos. “Kill ‘Em All” helped Metallica recruit their first group of loyal fans.
Before their first album, Metallica relied on word of mouth to spread their heavy metal disease. They were four social outcasts out for musical revenge. Their fanbase was an underground group of metal heads who worshipped them for their mystery and their apathetic attitude.
After “Kill ‘Em All,” fans were left wanting more. Metallica came back with full force in 1984 with “Ride the Lightning” after they signed with Elektra. When they released the album in fall 1984, Metallica’s reputation continued to grow worldwide. “Ride the Lightning” featured an instrumental called “Call of Ktulu.” The music from the album was even darker and more eccentric than the first.
Returning to the studios in 1995, Metallica created a monster – “Master of Puppets.” This album, featuring songs such as “Battery,” “Danger Inc.” and the infamous “Sanitarium” made Metallica’s success real. When they released the album early in 1996, it made the list of top 30 albums of the year. “Master of Puppets” contained out of this world guitar solos and ingenious lyrics. The band seemed to be maturing musically.
Metallica toured with Ozzy Osbourne that year, making their reputation soar even higher. Even though Metallica’s music was no longer underground, the old fans who loved them before they were famous were still loyal.
Metallica released their fourth full length album in 1988, “…And Justice For All.” The album was Metallica’s fastest, most amazing album yet. The sounds on the album were woven together tightly, and the instumental solos were far more difficult than any on the other albums.
The album featured the song “One” which later became their first video inspiration. Even though the video for “One” was dark and frightfully “anti-video,” Metallica’s hard core fans were angry about the transformation from underground heavy metal band to #6 on the charts.
However upset their old fans were, they still worshipped the new album, and it received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal/Hard Rock album. “…And Justice For All” proved to be Metallica’s peak … or not.
In 1991, Metallica released the self titled “Black” album which spawned millions of new fans, and brought Metallica to #1 on the charts.
The well known album is still a favorite of most hard rock fans. But the album also caused controversy for ‘old-school’ Metallica fans.
The Black album was a defining period of time for Metallica because the band matured in ways that many of their fans did not understand. The album’s producer, Bob Rock, took the band’s old harsh metal sound and turned it into a new, more flowing sound.
The new sound was one that not only metal heads loved, but the average hard rock fan could enjoy also. Although the sound was more mature, Metallica’s loyal fans missed their raw heavy metal thrashings.
Metallica spent nearly three years on a world tour after releasing the Black album. They also received a Grammy and an MTV Music award.
The Black album sold over 15 million copies worldwide and is still considered to be the best Metallica album ever. But after the Black album, the crazy, speed metal of “…And Justice for All” and the angry sounds of “Master of Puppets” were gone forever.
The next albums after the Black album, “Load” and “Re-Load” offered further modifications of their sound. Their guitar sound went from being outrageous and separated from the bass and percussion to being part of one big pool of sound. Solos became shorter and lyrics became calmer.
The same fans who despised the video for “One” would not even buy “Load” and “Re-Load” because of the drastic production change.
After several years of touring, Metallica resurfaced in 2002. Rumor had it they were producing an album that would be just like their old stuff. Old fans waited in doubtful anticipation, and new fans feared their favorite MTV chart topper would change.
Sadly, after the much anticipated release, loyal fans from the “Master of Puppets” days still are disappointed that their heavy metal kings have not returned, and fans from the Black album era are not exactly happy either.
Metallica obviously knows how to do the impossible, to go from being an underground heavy metal band to a world touring act.
Perhaps one day they will attempt another impossible feat: to make all of their fans happy at once.