Metallica - Have They Lost It?

[HinduKush83]

Sup guys. Anyone listen to Metallica? I was wondering if there are any Met fans who think that they have "lost it", creatively and performance wise. Now don't get me wrong, Metallica is one of the best metal bands around. Without them, hard thrash metal would be very different.

I know after Load and ReLoad were released, the guitars didn't seem as heavy and James no longer had his trademark scream/growl on those albums. However, on Garage Inc, there are some hints of Hetfield's growl coming back with on the cover song Lover Man.

Do you think they sold out? I mean, they can still play their old heavy stuff pretty well. They played the entire Master of Puppets album last summer live and there is a rumor that they next album will be in that vein, yet thats what we said about St. Anger which was somewhat of a disappointment, but I think it is somewhat a return to form which is a good thing.

The only problem that I find with them now is that James can't really sing anymore and Lars does not do double bass as well as he used to. Don't get me wrong, Lars is a very good drummer, but he was playing more jazz stype then metal on the Load/ReLoad. Just the 1989 video of them in Seattle and compare him today and he has fallen much.

[xcrispi]

The old stuffs sweet ,
i lost intrest as soon as the black album came out .
peace
crispi

[Zimzum]

Ditto

After "Justace for all" they went down hard.

[Tokudai]

Metallica used to be my favorite band, and I can muster up a little love for the black album - But nothing will top the Kill 'em all, Ride the Lightning, (Original) garage days revisited, And Justice for All and Master of Puppets years.. I think after master of puppets, thats right about when Lars got into that tragic accident and lost both of his legs, not allowing him to play a decent beat anymore, so it forced him to take out his frustration on computer nerds. Oh ya and kirk got all femmebot about then too... Once one on of the most respected and innovative metal guitarists, he is now in league with the guys from Poison and Warrant as far as style goes :(

[GaGrown]

All ya gotta do is listen to Fade To Black!Even LIVE!!!!!! That tell's the whole story! Don't even try to think they ain't got it! They are the shit! For real!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ga Grown!

[emkid420]

I love old metallica, Kill em All through Black Album.
After that they lost it. Half of their carreer they were great.

[suhl]

i like what ive heard through load. it and black album are different from the older thrash shit but still good to me, after that though it is shit, particularly st anger that was terrible, the band lost its soul a long time ago. they said they are making something more like the old shit, but that is because they figured out that maybe totally selling out might just lose them the people who made them big in the first place.

[ipodguy]

its hard to say that they have lost it. its basically just what you prefer. one of my favorite cd's ever was justice for all, so i am a fan of how they used to sound. i know lots of people that say load is their favorite cd. if you think that they have a somewhat softer sound, im sure most people will agree with you and if you think that this means that metallica has lost it thats your opinion.

[suhl]

it is more than opinion. they said the reason there were no guitar solos on the last cd was that it was out of style or not with the times or something very close to that.

im not saying shouldnt give the fans what they want, but im saying there is a reason fans like you in the first place so you should write what youre gonna write not what you think will make you the most money but that is all they are concerned with there is no question of that.

[conch420]

i read an article the other day that on their next album they are going back to a "master of puppets" style, hopefully it will be better than there more recent shiat.

[poiuyt]

Everything up until the black album was good.

After that, they started to suck.

load was bad
reload was worse
st.anger was absolutely terrible.

[Cheery Cherry]

Metallica has always been my favorite band because I grew up listening to them and their (earlier) music really helped me through some tough times in my life. I don't listen to any of their new stuff as I sorta lost interest after Jason left. I definitely still listen to all their earlier stuff on a regular basis since they pump me up and energize me.

I just think that they grew up and/or changed and they're music changed with them. Not the same anymore but I still respect them deeply.

[SpeX125]

I think,for the most part,they lost it after,"...and Justice for All."
I still love their old stuff though.

[bucknuts1870]

They lost it a long time ago bro. Needless to say they are still one of my favorite and most influential bands to me. Kill 'Em All-...And Justice for All is probably some of the most consistently good shit put out ever by a metal band. Everyone of those albums you have to listen to from start to finish. From the mid to late 80's they were on fire, one of the best bands ever. Now they just piss me off. After watching that fucking documentary I wanted to blast them all in the ass with a glass dildo, unfortuantley it seemed like some of them would like it.

[HinduKush83]

The first 3 albums are supreme classics hands down. Justice was great and I love the Black Album. I can appreciate the newer stuff, but it is not really Metallica. St. Anger I can appreciate too, but it is not even close to the first 3 albums despite it being heavy. The production was just awful with the guitars sounding like someone farting (no gain whatsoever!) and then Lars with the tin cans. The DVD is a hell of a lot better production wise. There is really no melody to it. I love the classical feel to the early albums when they had Cliff.

Reports are in for the new album that Lars is tossing the tin cans and that there will be solos on this album. 2 of the new songs have already been played live and it is still more like St. Anger/Load type which is kind of disappointing.

I guess when you have millions of dollars, music doesn't mean shit anymore. And if I am going to pay $80 a ticket for a Metallica show, I expect pure double bass drumming from Lars!!!

[TokinAsianGuy]

blah blah blah, ya'll know what i'm gonna say about kill, lightning, puppetz n justice since i'm a fan.

but performance wise, metallica has not lost it at all. saw them live in 2004 and they were still awesome after all theses years.

[Nelf]

I was not impressed with their live show when they came to town in '04...Trujillo is way too goofy to be taken seriously as a bassist. Not to mention that St. Anger wins my vote for worst metal album ever released.

[stinkyattic]

They are still respectable musicians... BUT compared to where they used to be?

No way. Forget it. It's like when Olympic figure skaters end up living out the remainder of their careers doing Disney On Fucking Ice. It's just embarassing to watch! They should just retire and save themselves the shame of it.

[Nochowderforyou]

Metallica lost is 17 yrs ago when the Black album came out. And Justice For All was their last good album in my opinion.

[suhl]

They are still respectable musicians... BUT compared to where they used to be?

No way. Forget it. It's like when Olympic figure skaters end up living out the remainder of their careers doing Disney On Fucking Ice. It's just embarassing to watch! They should just retire and save themselves the shame of it.

i really dont think they are respectable musicians any more i guess you didnt hear st anger. the can still play the instruments efficiently i agree with that if that is what you in fact mean but these guys are prototypical sell outs and that is not respectable. and trust me there is a difference between evolving your music and doing what they did

[stinkyattic]

the can still play the instruments efficiently


Right... that's what I meant... they should have dissolved the band though and started giving basic music lessons to the next generation that HASN'T sold out yet. I can just see James Hetfield sitting down with a bunch of preschoolers, paper bagged whiskey in one hand, running them through basic music theory...haha

[herostyle]

I like the old stuff...but new stuff sucks ass.

[TokinAsianGuy]

Right... that's what I meant... they should have dissolved the band though and started giving basic music lessons to the next generation that HASN'T sold out yet. I can just see James Hetfield sitting down with a bunch of preschoolers, paper bagged whiskey in one hand, running them through basic music theory...haha

lol!

Hetfield would be a decent teacher. Could you imagine Lars though? He'd be awful.

[Euphoric]

yes. metallica lost it a decade ago in fact

[Jedi Hash]

Didn't Metallica lose it when they shot their "Load?"

[fasterspider]

Sup guys. Anyone listen to Metallica?
We stopped listening to them after the album "Metallica" when they went commercial. Money made their moves for them, they lost their touch 15 years ago.

[Trip06]

I grew up on mostly metallica.
I like there older and new stuff, Nothing lasts forever.
Favorite songs-Fixxer, Blackend, where the wild things are.

[Nochowderforyou]

I'd like to add another thing about Metallica. Why don't they just quit? I mean, has anyone else seen their movie Some Kind of...? It's like a 2hr episode of the Jerry Springer show and who has the bigger dick. You're not a band anymore when you struggle that hard, ready to kill each other, to create a song. It isn't even music anymore.

Their St. Anger album was bits and pieces of music put together to make a song.

They have lost it, and good for Hetfeild for the quitting drinking, but it seems drinking was the only thing holding that band together. They got used to one kind of lifestyle in the studio, having some drinks and getting creative, but that missing now, I think they have forgot how to make music, sober.

A band shouldn't fight like that though. They seem to spend more time filming their therepy sessions than creating music. If something drives you to that breaking point, I think your body is trying to tell you to stop.

[dark0ne]

The reason i started playing guitar is because of the master of puppets riff.

[FreeVenice]

There old stuff was wicked. they did lose there touch for a while tho. St. Anger was a test run for there new shit, but now that they have Trujlio in the band they are going to be able to play as fast as they use to. Robert T. brings a whole new energy to the band, which they needed in a big way.

The point of my post is, Trujillo is a base god and with his Punk/Funk roots, he turns every thing he touches to gold.

SUICIDAL FOR LIFE.

[Fluffhead]

Question: Has Metallica lost it?
Question 2: What exactly is it?
Answer to question 2: Any hope at retaining testicles or ever making good music again.
Answer to question: Yes.