Metallica

Put Spit Out the Bone on disc 1 and cut the rest of disc 2 and you have a pretty solid album. Otherwise I have Hardwired and Death Magnetic rated pretty evenly. Hardwired obviously has better production but the songwriting/arrangements continue to be sloppy. I actually slightly prefer Death Magnetic.
 
Put Spit Out the Bone on disc 1 and cut the rest of disc 2 and you have a pretty solid album.

Yep, I'd agree with that. This is the second time in their catalogue where you can say such a thing, Load/Reload was the first one.

There needs to be a focused effort by the band to craft a more compact record next time.
 
I've finally come to the conclusion that Hardwired is alright.
The odd thing about it is that it isn't odd at all. The songs are mainstream affairs. Hipster metal?
All of the other albums, whether they're to your taste or not, were a bit of a shock at the time of release. The '80's were phenomenal. The '90's unexpected. St. Anger was something else and Magnetic was brilliant in my book.

I enjoy all of their output, Magnetic, Justice and Lulu amongst the faves.
More sacrilege; Puppets is currently last. It's the sound. Compressed? Idk but there's little highs and lows.
 
Yep, I'd agree with that. This is the second time in their catalogue where you can say such a thing, Load/Reload was the first one.

There needs to be a focused effort by the band to craft a more compact record next time.
My possibly controversial Metallica opinion is that they need to just stop making new music. It’s really obvious that the last two albums were made out of some sort of obligation to the fans and that nobody is really invested in writing. There were so many bizarre excuses (e.g. Kirk losing his phone) for delaying an album that ultimately probably only took a few months to make. They might as well stick to being a cabaret act.
 
It’s really obvious that the last two albums were made out of some sort of obligation to the fans and that nobody is really invested in writing.

I didn't get that sense on Death Magnetic. At least not from James. And Rob was recording his first album with the band, doubt he was disinterested in writing.
 
I prefer to listen to Hardwired but Death Magnetic was better in multiple areas

It’s really obvious that the last two albums were made out of some sort of obligation to the fans and that nobody is really invested in writing.

And nah I disagree, the band is interested in writing otherwise said albums wouldn't have come out, like with SOAD right now. Yeah Hardwired took 8 years because they screwed about unnecessarily but the end product was still made.
 
I think it's only Kirk who isn't interested in Metallica now. The "lost my phone" excuse seems like a bad cover up for the fact that he just could not be bothered and his half-arsed solos further suggest disinterest.

More sacrilege; Puppets is currently last. It's the sound. Compressed? Idk but there's little highs and lows.

Thank you! The sound never worked for me either, I liken it to when your ears pop on a plane and everything sounds very far away...
 
I think it's only Kirk who isn't interested in Metallica now. The "lost my phone" excuse seems like a bad cover up for the fact that he just could not be bothered and his half-arsed solos further suggest disinterest.

James suggested the same actually, although he attributed it to personal problems
 
IMHO - Death Magnetic I couldn't bear to listen until I found the non compressed version. It's a great album from start to finish. Hardwired is better sounding but has several meh songs for me. The Lemmy one for instance. But the album has bit better highs than its predecessor in the form of Moth Into Flame and Atlas Rise, pitted against my favourite DM songs such as All Nightmare Long and Suicide and Redemption. Overall latest proper Metallica output is great for me and the band looks good and satisfied with playing metal, I really started digging them out again in the last decade, Metallica is a strong contender to my favourite metal band next to eternal #1 ofc. As such, DM and Hardwired are in my top 6 together with the 1980s output. For the rest I simply don't care.
 
Death Magnetic is my #2 album after AJFA. Tracks 1-7 are superb. Cyanide is easily one of their best songs! The mix on the album definitely brings it down, but it's definitely listenable. Really enjoyed Beyond Magnetic too.

Hardwired is definitely a massive improvement on the overall mix. I think it's actually their best sounding album, the material though is a bit weaker. Still has plenty of great songs on it like Here Comes Revenge and Confusion. We need more songs like Spit Out the Bone.
 
Thank you! The sound never worked for me either, I liken it to when your ears pop on a plane and everything sounds very far away...

I remember buying it on release day and it blew me away, and it continued to be favoured for a couple of decades, but nowadays it just sounds flat.
Kill is thin but spikey and still refreshing to listen to.
Ride is reverby but has an out-of-control atmosphere.
Justice may be the most over produced but has an edginess to the rhythms.
I've been listening to my old Metallica records lately and Puppets is the only one I can't get through. Falling asleep during Battery. Great songs, dead(outdated?) sound.
 
Agreed on the MoP sound, and I even don't like Battery that much so...definitely the worst 80s album out of the bunch but I did rate it highly in the past, the wear&tear effect on the Master of Puppets the song did its toll meanwhile. Justice is my favourite, I consider it the strongest and most consistent songwriting and also the topics at hand, the mood, everything. I don't consider Ride the Lightning inferior to it in any way, though. Just different and a bit less to my liking. KEM is great in its own regard but it's early songwriting so the quality isn't comparatively that high all the time.
 
Master of Puppets fell off for a while for me, then regained its masterpiece status. Ride the Lightning has always been my favorite though.
 
My favourite Metallica album is And Justice for All which is not such a popular choice although not unpopular either.
I just love that album and I think it is their best album technically and the songs are so good that I can forgive that the production is not so good and the bass is almost lost.

My top 5 is very predictable though and consists on their first 5 albums. Yeah I don't think they did something as good anymore after the Black Album. Even Death Magnetic and Hardwired which I consider good albums I rarely listen to them from start to finish without getting tired and I can rate them as good albums only if I forget that their first 4 thrash albums existed.
 

Second on the bill, weird to see that in Black era. Anyway I don't think they've played a single show as anything else than headliners since 1993. I don't think Maiden have either, since 1986.
 
I don't think Maiden have either, since 1986.

Maiden did Ozfest in the states in 2005 as second on the bill. I think the last time they opened for anyone before that was Rock in Rio 1 coming on before Queen.

Also, I saw Maiden in Barcelona a few years ago and Anthrax and Megadeth played after them! But Maiden were still the headliners and went on stage at 9pm.

I used to have that Metallica show on bootleg cassette back in the day, it even may still be in an attic somewhere.
 
Yeah I forgot about that. They shouldn't have done that tour in the first place but alas.
And for Barcelona, Maiden probably likes getting into bed early.
 
Also, I saw Maiden in Barcelona a few years ago and Anthrax and Megadeth played after them! But Maiden were still the headliners and went on stage at 9pm.

That was also the case in Spain in 2008. Maiden headlined the Via de la Plata Festival in Merida and went on stage at 9pm. A couple of smaller bands played after them, but Maiden got the prime time slot.

Baron Rojo (legendary Spanish metal band) went on stage after Maiden and my mate and I were joking that Maiden had finally joined his band and mine, as we both had supported Baron Rojo with our bands in the past. :lol:
 
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