The album sounds so bad, so wimpy, but right now I'm browsing live versions and this album has some really great songs. It seems in general they rise above most of the metal fray by writing catchy, hummable tunes. If they ever had a real singer and not some fucking cartoon, man, they might've reached brilliance.

I really like James as a singer. Also haven´t got anything bad to say about Master Of Puppets, always loved it, of course the drum sounds are macho big as all heavy albums in that time, always prefer more Justice For All & St. Anger drum sounds.

i've got the new Failure - Fantastic Planet vinyl reissue on the way :D

Hmm... I feel you, but I can't sayI totally agree.

I think James Hetfield's vocal approach back in the early '80s was actually a pretty good fit for Metallica's sound at the time. Like most bands that hang around for 30 years, his style has changed from decade to decade.

By the time the band was selling out 30,000 seat international gigs (or shortly thereafter, on Black Album, when the expectations for immediate and unparalleled success were so high that they were hiring accomplished rock radio hit makers to engineer & mix) Hetfield's vocals came out of the basement, and lost their drowned out, murky, totally genre-appropriate horror movie feel.

So yeah, from Black Album on, James is trying for the bigger than life rockstar voice, and while he probably does have the pipes for that kind of thing, he doesn't have the kind of timbre that compliments front-of-the-mix epic vocal wailing.

But think about the difference between Misfits-era Danzig and Danzig-era Danzig. Kinda similar, y'know? Or Henry Rollins during his tenure in Black Flag vs. Henry Rollins in the Rollins Band.

The kind of metal that Metallica made early on was sort of a weird, slightly overachieving, jock cousin to heavy American punk from the same time. So in order to become as big as they wanted to be, they had to become something entirely different. Which they did. Twice... Then again. All to pretty god awful effect.

But between Kill 'Em All and Justice, they had a good thing going. If only they'd continued to write over-long, challenging, completely radio unfriendly epics like Call of Cthulu and Orion, instead of turning all of their energy toward getting 50-75% bigger with every release.

Anyway, Ride the Lightning is my favorite. Master of Puppets is next, then And Justice For All & Kill 'Em All. Everything else they've released has systematically cancelled out the successes of their early years.

"Fuel" was an all time low. Or so I thought. The only Metallica album I've cared for even slightly since the Black Album made me gag was S&M, because it featured interesting reproductions of the early classics, and because "No-Leaf Clover" was the first new track to sound Metallica in over 10 years.

Ride the Lightning is a favorite too. Metallica was great until Lars started to suck more suck and James turned into a baby Ted Nugent conservative hunting redneck, circa Black Album, that continues today. why can't we just go with the general consensus that the band went down hill after the bassist died.

it's heavy metal. the fans and musicians were bound to turn into republicans.

Orion is what makes Master of Puppets.

im still looking for a decent cheap copy of Metal Box. i'll be damned if im paying over a hundred dollars for a single record. even if it takes years.

I think general consensus mostly sucks because it prevents people to make honest opinion about the music. If most people say & think about some band it had gone down, it´s very rare people has interest to listen whole records through and even they will, this opinion influence their listening. And even they still like it, they can´t admit it. People just have tendency to belong into groups.

Anyway like many others I was thinking after Load & Reload Metallica didn´t have anything to me. Then my friend played me St. Anger that had just released and I really felt immediately I had one of my favourite band back. And still I am thinking St. Anger is as great as those eighties albums (well I have always loved also Black Album). And my opinion hasn´t changed even it seems everybody hates that album. Death Magnetic was disappointment to me and now I am thinking again Metallica doesn´t have anything to me anymore. Of course I am glad if I am wrong.

I haven´t ever liked S&M. To me it sounds like normal Metallica live album where has added symphony orchestra playing something (not even anything interesting). And I think Metallica as a live band was at it´s best in the time of Cliff Em All. Well, it was also memorable to see them after Black Album tour, they played then very much older songs (they started in Creeping Death just like in Cliff Em All).

Even Load & Reload were disappointments at time when they came, I have listened them quite recently and think now they´re ok, not of course great. Somehow I have always thought Ride the Lightining is not great as entirely. I think Fight Fire With Fire, Trapped Under Ice & Escape are kind of fillers. Like they haven´t had enough good material, so they made few tunes in the spirit of Kill Em All. Maybe I have to listen that album as a whole again. Kill Em`All, Master Of Puppets & Justice are of course just dynamite!

Wounded Rhymes LP by Lykke Li

I agree which is why I don't what anyone has to say about Metallica and Lou reed doing "Sweet Jane." It's as good as Lou's Rock n Roll Animal-era band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9vfCg_OnTE

I've actually purchased a lot lately.

Adding to Lykke Li's above:

Torres' Sprinter
Torres's split single with someone else
Talking Heads' Fear of Music
Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation

I have a nice handful coming in the mail soon.

Qui's Life, Water, Living..., directly from Qui member Matt Cronk at the merch table at a gig in Cincinnati. Just started listening to it yesterday--not as powerful as the band's live show but interesting.

I think this is much better than Rock`n`Roll Animal live version. I think that seventies nightclubbing band Lou had that time didn´t fully fit in his music. That´s reason why R´n`R Animal and Live are really not my favourite Reed live records, take no prisoners are much better. Also later American Poet that is recorded with Transformer-era band and Hassled in April at the same time as take no prisoner are better.

Talking about Lou & Metallica I must mention about Lulu. I was one of those who went into that negative hype about that album. Mostly because the View is the worst song in it and they release it first. I have listened it again quite recently and I have to admit I really like it even it´s not the greatest Lou or Metallica album. But it´s good quite a strange way.

I'm impressed. I ordered the SY and Torres split single at like 3:30am sunday morning, and both already showed up. 36 hours total or so from order placement to hands.

Went back to a local store that I remembered had Bad Moon Rising and picked up the copy.

if your a vinyl fan, never go to the Steve Hoffman forum. it'll just confuse the fuck out of you!! "this record was mastered here, cut there, better than the Canadian version, etc...not analog, it's digital mastered"

fuck all that!!!!, I don't have all day...... just take yr chances. im working with pennies here people.

^^^can you see the smile on my face :D

I feel your frustration as I was once a frequent contributor / visitor.
There are some good threads that are worthy of your attention, but there is way too much blah blah blah to keep me interested.

YEAH! ...Oh, wait - I thought you were talking about this forum. :D

OH yeah! On my travels this past week I hit a record/funky store called The Leechpit, in Manitou Springs Colorado. I got these two items



Only one I did not have on vinyl.

and



I love Television....

I love 'em more. Sorry!
:)