Metallica Fans

Archive for the ‘Albums’ Category

Called “the Black Album” by many (due to its monochrome cover), Metallica marks the group’s entrance into the mainstream, with shorter songs, simpler song structures, and slower tempos overall. That said, this is an excellent album, featuring some of the best songwriting Metallica has ever done. “Enter Sandman,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and “God That Failed,” despite being slower and more groove-oriented than the band’s earlier work, feature the same heavy riffs and heavier rhythms that have always been a feature of Metallica’s music. The band goes introspective with “Unforgiven,” and proves that they can write a ballad with “Nothing Else Matters,” which succeeds better than one might expect. Overall, this is a high-energy album despite its laid-back approach, and is in many ways superior to the previous . . . And Justice for All, which was weakened by overly complicated song structures and mediocre production. — Genevieve Williams

1. Enter Sandman -
2. Sad but True Listen -
3. Holier Than Thou -
4. Unforgiven Listen
5. Wherever I May Roam -
6. Don’t Tread on Me -
7. Through the Never -
8. Nothing Else Matters
9. Of Wolf and Man -
10. God That Failed -
11. My Friend of Misery -
12. Struggle Within

Having already established themselves as the streetwise saviors of heavy metal’s oft-tainted legacy in the ’80s, Metallica rebounded from the accidental death of original bassist Cliff Burton to produce their most thematically challenging, musically accomplished album to date. Despite James Hetfield’s dank, extended portraits of a world collapsing from corruption and decadence–themes that virtually guaranteed it little radio or television exposure–the album was nonetheless a muscular commercial success. Even “One,” its complex, seven-and-a-half-minute adaptation of Dalton Trumbo’s “Johnny Got His Gun,” managed to scale the singles charts. Other highlights include “Blackened,” “Eye of the Beholder,” and the sweeping “To Live Is to Die,” tracks that underscore a sense of musical ambition that’s often downright prog-centric, yet never merely self-indulgent. –Jerry McCulley

1. Blackened -
2. …And Justice for All -
3. Eye of the Beholder -
4. One Listen -
5. Shortest Straw
6. Harvester of Sorrow -
7. Frayed Ends of Sanity -
8. To Live Is to Die -
9. Dyers Eve

Don’t let that classical-guitar-ish opening to “Fight Fire with Fire” fool you–Ride the Lightning packs a heavy-metal wallop. While not as ambitious as the subsequent Master of Puppets, this early Metallica album is indubitably one of their best. Thematically, it explores death and dying from myriad points of view: nuclear war (“Fight Fire with Fire”), electric-chair execution (the title track), and drowning (“Trapped Under Ice”). Interestingly, the best track on this album is probably “Fade to Black,” a slower, more introspective song about suicide. There’s also “Creeping Death,” which remains a concert favorite. An excellent mix of rapid-fire guitar riffs, rip-roaring solos, and singer James Hetfield’s trademark growl, this is thrash metal at its finest. Very highly recommended. –Genevieve Williams

1. Fight Fire with Fire
2. Ride the Lightning
3. For Whom the Bell Tolls
4. Fade to Black
5. Trapped Under Ice
6. Escape
7. Creeping Death
8. Call of Ktulu

With Load, Metallica takes a dramatic left turn with their music, continuing in the direction suggested by Metallica, their previous album. The songs on Load have groove; they’re slower, with far fewer of the lightning-fast riffs that have been Metallica’s trademark since their inception. While songs like “Ain’t My Bitch” and “Wasting My Hate” are up-tempo and full of the vitriol one would expect from the quintessential heavy metal band, “2 X 4″ is hard rock with a blues beat, “Hero of the Day” sounds positively mainstream, and “Mama Said” is an actual, honest-to-god ballad. While some diehard fans may find this mix unappealing, there’s plenty to like about this album, including its laid-back, rhythmic orientation, and James Hetfield’s characteristic growl tempered by his growing maturity as a vocalist. — Genevieve Williams

1. Ain’t My Bitch -
2. 2 X 4 -
3. House Jack Built -
4. Until It Sleeps -
5. King Nothing
6. Hero of the Day -
7. Bleeding Me -
8. Cure -
9. Poor Twisted Me -
10. Wasting My Hate
11. Mama Said -
12. Thorn Within -
13. Ronnie -
14. Outlaw Torn

One of the defining albums of thrash metal, Master of Puppets is arguably Metallica’s best album (as well as their last with bassist Cliff Burton). Focusing on the concept of power and abuses thereof, this is a collection of complex, intelligent music, played at about a hundred miles an hour. Not that these are short songs; this eight-song album clocks in at over an hour, which makes it all the more impressive that not one moment on this recording is boring. In tackling various approaches to their subject, Metallica is insightful lyrically as well as musically: “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” is from the point of view of an institutionalized inmate and “Disposable Heroes” is the perspective of a soldier. If all you’ve heard of Metallica is what’s been on the radio recently, check this one out. You’re in for a surprise. –Genevieve Williams

1. Battery -
2. Master of Puppets -
3. Thing That Should Not Be -
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
5. Disposable Heroes -
6. Leper Messiah -
7. Orion [Instrumental] -
8. Damage, Inc.