The four horsemen ride again

I’ve always thought the life of a music journalist must be grand. All those VIP passes, backstage with the band, the power to make or break a career, reporting on gigs and albums for a living. You get to write from the heart about a topic dear to it. That somewhat lengthy preamble is my way of trying to write about one of my lifelong enduring loves, Metallica.

I first became aware of them when like so many others I saw the pantomime brilliance that was the video for "Enter Sandman" back in the day. It was the biggest single off of the biggest of albums of 1991. It had everything; the big truck, the sleeping child, the creepy old man the snake, the flickering grainy images of the band thrashing away, the bed being smashed to smithereens when ‘that riff’ kicks in.

The second video of theirs that always grabbed me was for the single, "I Disappear" ’for the M:I-2 soundtrack. I remembered how fucking cool the band and video looked. The imagery; the band playing on top of that rocky plateau in the Arizonian desert; Hetfield eschewing cool as he ripped through the hilly streets of San Fran in a souped-up car; Lars channelling his inner Cruise by running through many a window whilst escaping an explosion of some magnitude in a skyscraper. Then there was their former bassist Jason Newsted suffering from a well-dressed bout of agoraphobia. Kirk being chased by a plane. They just looked cool. They had an attitude. 

I took a while to get hooked on the mighty ‘Tallica to be honest. My burgeoning love for them blossomed in my late teens. As I said previously, I had heard of them, I was aware of them, but I had never truly explored their music. That all changed when a school friend of mine gave me a cassette tape (remember them) of Metallica, aka the 'black album'. It was one of those life-changing musical moments.

At the time my friend and I were together in our shared love of Eminem (who I still like btw). He adored rap, but I was fascinated when he said that he loved the tune "Of Wolf and Man" He followed up that declaration with the all-prophecising words that it was “heavy!” I listened intently, studying the blacker than black cover and lyrics. As the thunderous "Achilles’ Last Stand" by Zeppelin came to its epic finale another mammoth tune blared out of from the chippers jukebox speakers. It started with some sort of quasi-Middle-Eastern motif before the drums and guitars hit and when they hit sounded like a soundtrack to the apocalypse. That song was "Wherever I May Roam" and I was officially hooked. The year was 1999.



Fast forward a couple of years to 2014, and my wife and I are in a soggy but balmy field in the southeastern corner of the Netherlands. We were at the 2014 Pinkpop festival and I was waiting anxiously to see Metallica for the 7^th time, my wife for her first. A biblical thunderstorm has just passed and I had managed to cling resolutely the barrier that separated the main crowd from the ‘pit’ as all and sundry were pelted with immense wind and rain. The kind of weather that makes you question your mortality. Earlier my wife and I had split up, she left to watch the Electric Fire or Arcade Fire. I had lost hope that my wife would see one of the greatest live bands our time for a bunch of artsy Canadian wankers. But thankfully the metal gods intervened.

As I leaned wearily against the "pit" barrier soaked to the bone and my bones attempted to dislocate with the constant shivering, the opening strains of Ennio Morricone's haunting "Ecstasy of Gold" filtered through the speakers. My colleagues and I rose to our feet in anticipation, the four horsemen were about to appear.

I was momentarily distracted by the sodden throngs who has amassed at pits electronic gates. Those who in a last minute dash hurtled towards the electric gates and stewards seeking entry to the best 'seat' in the house. I scoffed as the stewards funnelled them through like panicked lemmings. Suddenly the house lights came on as the band appeared and ripped into opening chords of "Battery". Just at that second, someone ran past calling my name, it was my wife, who somehow fluked her way into the best 'seat' in the house.     

I'm writing this love letter to Metallica as I sit here bobbing to their latest studio offering, their 10^th studio album, Hardwired…To Self Destruct. I love hearing any Metallica, let alone new Metallica. I instantly become a kid again when I hear them. Harwired was marketer's dream release. Two days ago the band released all 12 videos before today’s worldwide release of the album. This move coming fifteen years after the Napster debacle. Kind of ironic that all of their videos are up on YouTube this morning, especially after Peter Mensch earlier this year labelled YouTube as the "devil". Metallica are no idiots, they see where the music industry is headed in the future.

As for the new album, my first impressions are that it’s a grower and a fine return to ‘form’ after the somewhat forced and formulaic Death Magnetic. As any Metallica fan knows any release by the band is met with fierce discussion, praise, hate, vitriol and everything in between. But in this age of limited sales, soundalike bands, limited attention spans, and dwindling sales Metallica still wield some serious heft. I mean how many other bands in the fifties can generate this level of discussion, to make people stand up and take notice.

Just this morning alone I have already read reviews and articles from various newspapers, websites and media outlets from all over the world. Places as varied as the States, Indonesia, the Netherlands, England, Austria, Australia, Ireland, Brazil, all commenting on the one thing, Metallica and their new album. Nowadays it's really only the big pop titans get this kind of global coverage (if they're lucky). In short, Metallica still matter. In my mind (and in many others) Metallica have nothing else left to prove. They are one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time, scratch that, they are one of the greatest bands ever. Messrs Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and Trujillo I doff thy hat to thee.

PS: My wife quite enjoyed seeing them live. Noting that they were talented musicians capable of putting on a fine live show, before adding that they were much better live than on record.

My track-by-track review of HTSD

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"Hardwired" – Rollicking opener. A nice blast of trash to open up proceedings. The kind of song they could play in their sleep (B to B+).

"Atlas, Rise!" – A beast of a tune. I love the Maiden vibe with the harmonies and duelling guitars. Hetfield sounds immense on this one (A to A+).

"Now That We’re Dead"– Nice rhythm/boogie. I like the drums on this one. The lyrics are a bit stock. Could scrape an "A" over time (B).

"Dream No More" – Heavy as f**k. A real slow burner. There's a big "Sad But True" vibe off of it. Hetfield immense again (A to A+).

"Halo On Fire" – This might well turn out to the best track on the album over time. It feels different from the rest, more epic and less forced. Hetfield again the star of the show (A to A+).

"Confusion" – Solid, if a tad uninspiring. The lyrics are a bit bland. The whole song could do with a good trim. Sounds like the lovechild of a Death Magnetic/Load marriage (B- to C).

"ManUNkind" –This one is a weird one. It’s almost funky, but again the lyrics hold it back a fair bit (B to B+).

"Here Comes Revenge" – Some nice guitar parts, but overall a bit of a stinker (C-).

"Am I Savage?" – I'm a big fan of this one. A bit more ‘light and shade’ on this one. It could become an "A+" over time. I like the chorus (which is oddly reminiscent of Megadeth) (A to A+).

"Murder One" – A Plodding mess that really goes nowhere. Could’ve been dropped altogether (D).

"Spit Out the Bone" – I mean f**k (James)! An absolute thunder-bastard of a tune. A premium cut of heavy metal splendour for the masses (A+).

Verdict: The first 'disc' is the stronger one by far. Some absolute belters, some stock tunes, and one or two duds. They could have trimmed some songs and some song times. All in all, their best album in years.