Metallica

Interesting that folks are comparing these two tracks to The Book of Souls. I thought Death Magnetic drew a lot from AMOLAD. No question Iron Maiden remains a heavy influence on these guys.

For the record, I think the new Metallica stuff is fine on its own merits. I liked Moth better than Hardwired. If you are hoping for a return to Lightning or Puppets form, you're no doubt going to be disappointed. It's not going to be the album of the year (that one might be released on Friday :D), but it's still likely to be pretty good. Metallica's B effort is still better than most.
 
The solo is just some chord slapping accents, some bends, and then a very first-take/improvised sounding string of notes that are not played with precision.
 
It sounds like they thought, hmm, we need a solo here, and Kirk just played something without putting any thought or emotion into it and they put it into the song.
 
Maybe ever since they told Kirk that they didn't need his services on St.Anger he's just been trolling the band ever since....

Or, OK maybe Kirk was never actually that good to begin with...He was best at working with the slow solos like he showed on The Black Album....All of his most memorable solos has always been on the slow songs, no matter what album :)
 
I don't even really notice when Kirk solos. Most of them are pretty bland and have always been bland so I just don't pay attention to that.
 
jazz from hell said:
You guys aren't by any chance mainly against the wah? Because: the wah fucking rules.
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Adrian uses the wah quite often and he's my favorite guitarist so no.

Difference is Adrian writes solos that would sound good even if you took the wah away. Kirk doesn't. Take the wah away and it'd sound like some notes sloppily thrown together.

SixesAlltheway said:
All of his most memorable solos has always been on the slow songs, no matter what album :)
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Four Horsemen, Ride the Lightning, Blackened and One have pretty memorable solos imo.
 
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Here's my controversial music opinion for the day: I hate the sound of wah on guitar. Out of all the popular effects (chorus/flanger/delay/etc) it is by far my least favorite. It is too often used as a mask to cover sloppy playing and I tend to dislike the tone of a wah in general. The exceptions are mostly in the 60s and 70s when it was new and used more for expression purposes rather than a filter. The only current guitarist I can think of who still uses it the "classic" way is Tom Morello.
 
The Flash said:
Your opinion of Adrian's usage of it? The solo on Paschendale for example?
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Good solos, but they would sound fine without the wah too.

jazz from hell said:
Wah makes the guitar screamy and funky, which I like. It's a matter of taste I guess. I view it less as an effect but more as an extension of the instrument, because you actually play it, whereas the other ones you mention are clearly fx.
I dislike chorus, because it makes the sound cheap imo.
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Well that was sort of the point I was making. You can use it as an extension of the instrument and some players do that: Hendrix, Zappa, Morello etc. But a lot just use it more for the effect. That's what I meant when I said expression versus filter. There's a lot of creative potential there that isn't used.
 
In the case of Paschendale, that is one moment where the wah is really effective. Taking his wah solos as a whole (FTGGOG, Wildest Dreams) I'd rather hear them without.
 
jazz from hell said:
What is it you guys don't like about the solo? That it isn't very precise in the faster parts?
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I think in general, most of Kirk's solos don't really go anywhere or do anything musical for me. Dave and Adrian's solos are usually centered around a few key melodic ideas that compliment the song in an interesting way. Kirk's solos usually just sound like he's playing his go-to stock patterns to fill up space. I think this song highlights that.
 
I'm undecided about Kirk. Agreed on the go-to stock pattern thing but sometimes he does manage to create interesting detailing over busy riffage. More like garnish. I think that's a skill. A fancy, full-on melodic player wouldn't fit.
Shortest Straw's a good un.
 
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