gerrythedon

... oh boy.

Supermallet

Exactly.

gerrythedon

METALLICA Drummer Says 'St. Anger' Was 'An Isolated Experiment'

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was interviewed for the summer 2011 issue of U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Classic Rock: Is it fair to say "St. Anger" is your worst album?

Lars: I think it's fair to say that some people think that.

Classic Rock: Would you agree with them?

Lars: I can't. The way I view the world, I can't rank them from best to worst. That kind of simplicity just doesn't exist for me. If I was 14, I could probably do it. Now, the way I see the world is nothing but greys, mainly.

Classic Rock: The drum sound on that record was abysmal.

Lars: That was on purpose. It wasn't like we put it out and somebody went, "Whoa! Whoops!" I view "St. Anger" as an isolated experiment. I'm the biggest METALLICA fan, you've got to remember that. Once again, as we've been known to do, once in a while these boundaries have to be fucked with. We'd already done "Ride The Lightning", which I believe is a fine record. It didn't need to be re-done.

Classic Rock: But even the good songs on "St. Anger" go on forever.

Lars: When we heard the record from beginning to end, I felt — and it was mostly me — that the experience was so pummeling, it became almost about hurting the listener, about challenging the listener, so we left the songs unedited. I can understand that people felt it was too long.

Classic Rock: Do you have anything in common with James Hetfield away from METALLICA?

Lars: That's a good question. We're both pretty passionate about movies and hockey. We both like fine food. We both put shoes on in the morning.

Classic Rock: What keeps the two of you together? You seem like the ultimate odd couple.

Lars: Because it's really fun. When we're playing, I really enjoy it. The main thing that we have in common other than METALLICA is that we both prioritize our families over METALLICA. And that's a new thing. The fact that we've both had kids at the same time, of the same age, is probably directly responsible for the band still being together. If one of us was not on that keel, we probably couldn't sustain the relationship.

Classic Rock: Do you think that some people might have the wrong idea about James?

Lars: Certainly. I have a couple of thoughts. He's much sweeter and more vulnerable than people think he is. Most of that toughness, that he-man thing, that was just a façade for him to deal with his own insecurities. I always felt that he was a very gentle soul and a very loving guy. Me and him always had the best relationship when we were alone. The problem was as soon as there were other people in the room, we started fighting for pole position or playing each other against the other people in the room. It became weird.


http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/bla...sitemID=160786

islandclaws

Good questions, but someone should ask them of James or Kirk. Lars is the ultimate fanboy; he'll never admit to them doing any wrong. Just read any and all comments he's made about the mixing on Death Magnetic.

nodeerforamonth

Taking risks means doing something different. Putting out a crappy album IS a risk if it's different.

You win with some risks and you lose with others as I've been trying so hard to get across.

gerrythedon

Quebec City, Canada
July 16, 2011
Festival d'ete de Quebec

1. Creeping Death
2. For Whom the Bell Tolls
3. Fuel
4. Ride the Lightning
5. Fade to Black
6. Cyanide
7. The Memory Remains
8. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
9. Sad But True
10. All Nightmare Long
11. One
12. Master of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
Encore
16. Am I Evil?
17. Hit the Lights
18. Seek & Destroy

gerrythedon

Thirty Years...

Thirty years of Metallica... can you believe it? We think it's cause for a major celebration! You've been asking for a while now "just what the hell are you going to do to mark 30 years as a band?" closely followed by "why don't we have more exclusive shows for Fan Club members?" We've heard you loud and clear and are beyond psyched to announce that the week of December 5, 2011 will be a full on Metallica week in the Bay Area, more specifically we will be playing four shows for Met Club members only at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco on December 5, 7, 9, and 10 to celebrate our 30th anniversary. These unique shows will include special guests and events, rare songs, varied set lists, odds and ends, and all the nutty stuff you expect from Metallica... fun for the entire family! Come to the Bay Area and spend the week with us to not only close out 2011 out with a bang, but to celebrate over three decades worth of craziness.

Participate in the entire week of festivities with special four pack tickets (one ticket for each of the four shows) and automatic entry into the contests for various other special events, available for the clever price of $19.81 (get it??). If you can't join us for the full week, we'll have individual show tickets too and as you can see we're going back to early '80's ticket pricing (but not the hair!)... single show tickets will be just $6.00 each. Both four packs and individual show tickets will be available for Fan Club members only through a reservation system and we do have to add facility fees, blah, blah. Clubbers can log in for all the details... we're taking reservations through August 8.

Hope to see you for a week of madness in December!

Mordred

Okay, that's pretty cool. Hope they release some recordings of some of these shows because I'm guessing they're going to dig deep into their catalogue.

gerrythedon

Metallica's Black Album track-by-track

Producer Bob Rock reflects on the 1991 classic's 20th anniversary

“It wasn’t a fun, easy record to make,” says producer Bob Rock, speaking of Metallica’s self-titled fifth studio LP, popularly known as the ‘Black Album.’ “Sure, we had some laughs, but things were difficult. I told the guys when we were done that I’d never work with them again. They felt the same way about me.”

When Rock began sessions with Metallica in the fall of 1990, the band (guitarist-singer James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and their then-bassist Jason Newsted) had already hit platinum with 1988’s …And Justice For All, which catapulted them from cult stars to arena headliners.

“They had broken through to one level, but they still weren’t on mainstream radio,” says Rock. “When they came to me, they were ready to make that leap to the big, big leagues. A lot of people think that I changed the band. I didn’t. In their heads, they were already changed when I met them.”

Not that Rock didn’t help the group up their game any: Sonically, he gave them a rich, low-end punch that had been lacking in their previous recordings. Part of the process involved addressing Ulrich's drumming. “I noticed that Lars played to James’s guitar,” says Rock, “much like the way that Keith Moon played to Pete Townshend. That’s fine for some bands, but not every one.

“Lars wanted Metallica to groove more. AC/DC’s Back In Black was a big reference point as a rock record that grooved. I told him that in order to get that feel, he had to be the focal point musically. So on certain songs, the band played to Lars. They followed him. It made a real difference.”

Meanwhile, Hetfield was going through an even bigger transition, one which would hold significant ramifications. “He wanted to go deeper with his writing,” says Rock. “He wanted his songs to really matter. We talked about the great songwriters, like Dylan and Lennon and Bob Marley, and I think he saw that he could write for himself but still touch other people. It was a struggle for him, but he had a tremendous breakthrough as a writer.”

Released on 12 August 1991, the Black Album was immediately hailed as an artistic triumph. Debuting at number one, it spawned the singles Enter Sandman, Sad But True, The Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters and Wherever I May Roam - songs that would annex radio at multiple formats. Commercially, the album was a colossus, selling a staggering 22 million copies and firmly establishing Metallica as worldwide superstars and an essential part of the cultural landscape.

On the following pages, Bob Rock (who would eventually work with Metallica again – on five different projects, no less) takes a track-by-track look back at the Black Album, 20 years after its release. “It’s probably the biggest accomplishment of my professional life,” he says. “I think the band would say the same thing."

gerrythedon

Enter Sandman

“I insisted on the band playing live in the studio. They had never done that before – all of their previous records were recorded in sections. I told them, ‘You’re a great live band. That vibe is crucial to the album.’

“On Sandman, I asked Jason to play more like a bass player and less like a guitarist. Put that with the new perspective Lars had on drums and we had a song with a killer groove.

“At first, based on the music and the riff, the band and their management thought it could be the first single. Then they heard James’ lyrics and realized the song was about crib death. That didn’t go over well.

“I sat down with James and talked to him about his words. I told him, ‘What you have is great, but it can be better. Does it have to be so literal?’ Not that I was thinking about the single; I just wanted him to make the song great. It was a process, him learning to say what he wanted but in a more poetic and open sort of way. He rewrote some lyrics and it was all there… the first single.”

Sad But True

“They played me the demo, and I told them I thought it was the Kashmir of the ‘90s. The riff was astounding. To my knowledge, they never had anything so heavy, so punchy and powerful. Rhythmically, I could tell it had the potential to be absolutely crushing!

“We were in pre-production, which was uncomfortable because nobody had ever made them go through their songs in such a deliberate way before, and six songs in Sad But True came along. Suddenly, I realized that every song, including this one, was in the key of E.

“I brought this to the band’s attention, and they said, ‘Well, isn’t E the lowest note?’ So I told them that on Motley Crue's Dr Feelgood, which I produced and Metallica loved, the band had tuned down to D. Metallica then tuned down to D, and that’s when the riff really became huge. It was this force that you just couldn’t stop, no matter what.”

Holier Than Thou

“The band still teases me about this song because it was the first track that jumped out at me as a potential single. I should point out that at this stage in cutting the record there were no lyrics, so initially, something about the song spoke to me. It rocked in a very aggressive way that said ‘Metallica’ to me.

“As we got deeper into the record, the tide turned and other songs blossomed and became bigger and turned into things like Enter Sandman, whereas Holier Than Though… great song, not a single.

“I still like its energy and tempo. It’s got such a lethal bite to it. Every time I see the band, they always say the same thing: ‘Holier Than Thou, huh?’ They’ll never let me live it down. What can I say?” [laughs]

The Unforgiven

“James was very enamored with Chris Isaak’s song Wicked Game. He loved the way the vocal sounded big and warm. At this point, James wanted to sing. He had done a lot of screaming, but now he wanted to go somewhere else.

“In the past, he had always doubled his vocals. He didn’t sing harmonies per se; he just sang the same thing on another track. But the process of doubling doesn’t give you character, really; in fact, a lot of times it takes character away, because you’re hoping that the second vocal gives you the depth that your first vocal should have.

“I told James that we should record his vocal, but instead of listening to himself on headphones I wanted him to listen on speakers. The difference was amazing. He sang the song, and because he heard himself in a different way, there was a whole new dimension to his voice. It was big and deep and warm and jumped out at you.”

Wherever I May Roam

“Realistically, the guys in Metallica can shit out riffs all day, and half of them will be incredible. When you hang out with them, though, you start to hear the difference between a great riff and a Smoke On The Water-type riff. Metallica had several on this album, and I’d say this one is pretty high up there.

“So we started out with a great riff, and then it became my job to help them carry that as a theme throughout the song. There had to be a movement to the parts. Like on other tracks, the big moment in Wherever I May Roam came about when the lyrics were finished. At that point, everything made sense and came together.

“I wish I could take credit for the sitar, but it was the band’s idea. I thought it worked beautifully – a great element to a great song.”

Don't Thread On Me

“For me, this was a strange song. The jagged rhythm, kind of a marching feel, which was the whole point, I guess… There was an angry, political slant to Don’t Tread On Me that I had a hard time relating to at first.

“This one represented my learning the difference between Bon Jovi and Loverboy and the real deal in terms of songwriting. Metallica went to a level of depth and passion that I had never encountered before.

“That’s what you get when you come face-to-face with the greats: Even if you aren’t in on what they’re saying, you can tell that they mean it, and in that way, the song makes a connection.”

gerrythedon

Through The Never

“It’s funny talking about some of these songs and remembering my learning curve in understanding what Metallica were all about. While I was helping them be the best band they could be, I was gaining so much insight into what made them tick. Each day brought discovery on both sides, theirs and mine.

“It took me a while to realize what was good in Through The Never, but once I did, I realized that it was quite good. And what’s good is there’s a bit of a fiery punk rock vibe to it. A new shade, a new color - that was exciting!

“Previously, I thought their influences were all metal, but talking to them and understanding that they had other sides to them really opened my eyes. Once I saw where they were coming from, the song made total sense.

Nothing Else Matters

“I can’t speak for what James wrote, but to me, the song was all about him trying to write a love song without saying the word ‘love.’

“It’s interesting: The man that I knew back then… he could certainly feel love, but he could never say the word, especially in a Metallica song. This is his genius, to be able to say it in his own way and really mean it, despite everything he was going through, all the demons, all the anger he had in him. I think it’s one of Metallica’s best songs ever.

“Musically, we wanted it big but not bombastic. We wanted size and weight, but we didn’t want to do what all the ‘80s metal bands were doing in those kind of cheesy power ballads. We really worked out the arrangement to make it huge and dramatic… but real.”

Of Wolf And Man

“I’ll be honest: at first I thought it was silly to write about a wolf. I was like, ‘Oh, great, a song about a wolf. What are you fucking getting at? May as well write about pyramids or something.’ When metal goes in these kinds of areas, I lose the plot.

“Then, as we got more into James’s lyrics, I realized that the song wasn’t silly, that there was an earthiness to it. We talked about making the song go through a transformation, kind of reflecting the lyrics. It took a while. I’m not sure if we got there fully, but we got there most of the way.”

The God That Failed

“That’s the song that really broke the ice between James and me. We had our tensions, but we would talk a lot, and the more I got to know him, the more I realized how much there was to this guy.

“The God That Failed is deep. It’s not just a cheap shot at religion; it’s him tackling the subject in a very complex manner. Emotionally, it’s as real as Nothing Else Matters.

“Working with Kirk on this song was interesting – and this goes for the whole record, too: I was told that he’d come in the last few weeks of making a record to do his guitar solos. I told everybody right off, ‘Well, that’s not how we’re going to do things. He’s going to play live, like everybody else.’

“At first, Kirk was very uncomfortable with this approach, but he was game and played what he thought were guide solos. In many cases, including this one, his first ideas were the ones that we’d go back to and use when doing overdubs. He learned how to be spontaneous.”

My Friend Of Misery

“This was pretty much a Jason song. It started out with his intro, so a big part of working on this track was spent developing a great riff into a song that would take flight and really go places. Which it does – it builds and builds quite nicely.

“The song is all about a mood, which is very cinematic in feel. Metallica know how to play to their strengths, dishing out raw power, but on this song we went for more of an atmosphere. It’s ominous, and it works.”

The Struggle Within

“Here, too, I found myself really immersed in something I didn’t fully understand at first. Darkness and all of the emotions that can be attached to it… the subject matter can be very elusive.

“The more and more I plunged into the world of Metallica, the more I came to understand that dealing with tough, scary and not-so-pretty topics were things they were driven to explore.

“The band I got after this record was never the same, but I guess that’s to be expected. They grew up. They became men, father and husbands. Being in Metallica was still vitally important to them, but when we did the Black Album, it was the only thing to them. I got them at just the right time.”

gerrythedon

taken from http://www.musicradar.com/news/guita...y-track-485030

I hope Bob does this for Load/Reload.

gerrythedon

Loutallica – photo shoot in London for Lou Reed / Metallica project



Lou Reed and Metallica collaboration is nearing the release date. The guys were in London on July 13th 2011 doing the photo shoot for the project with the legendary Ross Halfin. This is what Ross had to say:

“Loutallica”. I kid you not!!! Spent this afternoon shooting Metallica and Lou Reed. Lou, who I was expecting to be a nightmare, was completely professional. He just got on with it – got loads done.








http://metallicablogmagnetic.com/lou...llica-project/

cungar

Lou is one badass 69 year old.

gerrythedon

That's not LOU, it's JASON.

gerrythedon

DAVE MUSTAINE Reveals His Favorite METALLICA Song

Revolver magazine conducted an interview with METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX for a special issue devoted to the "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal.

When asked to name his favorite METALLICA song, Mustaine said, "I had to do a lot of coming to terms with myself in order to listen to METALLICA. Before, whenever I heard them, it triggered me in my mind to get up on my soapbox and spit out complaints of what had happened to me. And then once I finally realized, 'Dave, you're lucky, you're blessed, you're in a great band, you're in another great band.' I finally just said, 'You're missing it.'

"And I remember hearing this song when I was talking to Lars once and telling him this is my favorite song off the 'Black Record.' And he goes, 'Really? Fuck, man.' It was 'The Unforgiven'. I liked it because I thought this was really the first time I've ever really heard James [Hetfield] sing. He had sung before, and he was a great singer. But that was the first time I ever heard him really, really sing."

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/bla...sitemID=162050


DAVE MUSTAINE: The Story Behind METALLICA's 'The Four Horsemen'

When asked what he remembers about writing music with METALLICA while he was in the group, Mustaine said, "I had always called us, as a group, the 'Four Horsemen.' Before I was in METALLICA, I really loved this band called MONTROSE, and their guitarist was Ronnie Montrose. He went on to form a band called GAMMA. One of their records [1980's 'Gamma 2'] had a shark fin cutting through the grass, which I thought was so awesome. Anyway, he had a song on there called 'Four Horsemen' that I did with my band PANIC, which I was with before METALLICA. So when I joined METALLICA, I had the song 'Mechanix', which I wrote, and 'Four Horsemen' was a suggestion of mine to do 'cause we were doing cover songs. So that had planted the seed with James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman]. And one day when we were coming to rehearsal, Lars had just said something about slowing down my song, 'Mechanix'. I had just gotten to the studio with Cliff [Burton, METALLICA bassist], and we had been listening to LYNYRD SKYNYRD, and I was being a jerk, so I played 'Sweet Home Alabama' instead of 'Mechanix', and that’s basically the middle part of what would become METALLICA’s 'The Four Horsemen'."

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/bla...sitemID=162008

gerrythedon

http://www.loureedmetallica.com/

gerrythedon

Lou Reed & Metallica Name Forthcoming Collaboration
This fall's hotly anticipated mash-up of heavy metal gods Metallica and former Velvet Underground kingpin/accomplished soloist Lou Reed has been given an official album title. "Lulu," set to be released Nov. 1 in North America, will base itself on the plays "Earth Spirit" and "Pandora's Box," written by German expressionist writer Frank Wededkind in the early 1900s about the plight of a young dancer. Further details, along with the project's new logo, can be found at LouReedMetallica.com.


Metallica: Lou Reed made us burst into tears

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has told Mojo that both he and James Hetfield were brought to tears when recording new song 'Junior Dad' with Lou Reed.

The two guitarists have just recently tied up work on one of the biggest surprise collaborations of their career with the former Velvet Underground man – 'Lulu', a 10 track album based on Reed's soundtrack to the 'Lulu Plays'.

According to the Metallica men it was upon first hearing Reed's lyrics to new song 'Junior Dad' – which features the line "Say hello to junior dad/The greatest disappointment/Age withered and changed him" – that Hammett lost it:

"I had just lost my father literally three or four weeks previous," Hammett explains to the magazine. "I had to run out of the control room, and I found myself standing in the kitchen, sobbing away…

"James came into the kitchen in the same condition – he was sobbing too. It was insane. He [Reed] managed to take out both guitar players in Metallica in one fell swoop, with his amazing poetic lyrics."

Reportedly, upon finding the two weeping thrashers, Reed piped up: "That's a good one, huh?"

MUSICRADAR.com


Metallica considering tour with Lou Reed

Metallica is considering heading out on tour with music veteran Lou Reed to promote their joint album.

The band shocked fans in June when they announced they have been laying down tracks with the former Velvet Underground star at their studio in California.

Now the band's bassist Robert Trujillo has revealed they are eyeing the possibility of hitting the road with Reed for a series of concerts.

He tells Mojo magazine, "Kirk (Hammett) and I saw Lou Reed in Paris last week, standing up, doing his thing - he's a tough guy. He's got a lot of bravado. And we do what we do. Let's take this to the stage. I think Metallica fans will actually enjoy this body of music performed."

DC101.com

gerrythedon

It's gone active

www.loureedmetallica.com/

auto

islandclaws

It's um... well... yep. This should be interesting.

Maxflier

The website says:

Worldwide October 31
North America November 1

Is North America no longer part of the world?

islandclaws

Of course not. We're better!

But it's a known thing that new music releases always hit on a Mon everywhere else. Not sure why; that's just how it is.

gosabres1984

1. "Brandenburg Gate" (4:19)
2. "The View" (5:17)
3. "Pumping Blood" (7:24)
4. "Mistress Dread" (6:52)
5. "Iced Honey" (4:36)
6. "Cheat On Me" (11:26)
7. "Frustration" (8:33)
8. "Little Dog" (8:01)
9. "Dragon" (11:08)
10. "Junior Dad" (19:28)

auto

Wow, loving some of those longer track lengths. Can't believe how pumped I am for a Metallica project in 2011.