Tuesday, May 5, 2009

De-Magnetized

I am happy to welcome back into the contributor's fold my musical foil and fellow metal-head James Reetz. After considerable prodding, I was finally able to procure a review for Metallica's latest studio effort "Death Magnetic". I'll simply say the it was well worth the wait. - J.

Why haven’t I written a review for Death Magnetic yet? It’s been (8) months since it was released. I’ve listened to it enough times to have a solid opinion. Jon’s been giving me heat about not writing it for about (6) months now - and my last review (Motley Crue’s Saints of Los Angeles) became the most viewed article in Tone Farm history. So why the procrastination?

It would be easy to blame it on my family responsibilities or my increased travel, but I already use those two excuses for why I don’t ride my mountain bike, play my guitar, work out, etc. After some contemplation, however, the answer became clear: the album just isn’t that good. To be fair, it’s not that good for Metallica. I am a Metallica fan. I’ve had to remind myself of that more and more since the St. Anger release which I think was their worst effort since inception. I was excited for St. Anger. Rob Trujillo had joined the band, and he played bass for Suicidal Tendencies - one of my all time favorite bands. My good friend bought St. Anger the day it was released. He gave it a few spins and gave it to me. He didn’t loan it to me. He didn’t burn a copy for me. He gave me the one he bought because he couldn’t stand it. He’s a bigger Metallica fan than me. I listened to it about a dozen times over the next two months - - and then pitched it in a dumpster. I couldn’t find anyone to take it.

When Death Magnetic was being hyped, I tried to be interested. When I heard the fist single, “The Day That Never Comes”, I wrote the album off as St. Anger II. My friend gave them another chance. He bought the album and loaned it to me. That’s a start. He wanted it back at least. I think Death Magnetic is the first baby step in the right direction for Metallica. It’s 100% better than St. Anger, but still a far cry from the Metallica I love.

Speaking of which, I haven’t LOVED a Metallica release since 1988. Has it really been (21) years since they released something that I couldn’t take out of my cd player because it kicked ass that much? You can look at the awards and the charts and the video games and the income since the Black album and conclude that Metallica is as big as ever, but for me, “Justice” was the end of the mind-blowing greatness that was Metallica. Maybe I should have seen it coming. After all, it’s pretty tough to sound like a pissed off kid in his 20's when you’re a multi-millionaire in your 40's.

All things being equal, I don’t think it’s unfair to hold a super group to a higher standard. The Black album signaled the end of an era. James (Hetfield - lead vocalist / guitarist) changed his vocal style. - and he had to if he wanted the chords to last another thirty years. But the change was to the detriment of the sound I had come to love. The songs were more radio-friendly. I won’t go as far as to say they sold out, but they changed enough to be acceptable to mainstream radio, which was moving towards wider acceptance of metal at the same time. I remember hearing James in an interview after “Justice” saying they’d never make an album like that again because it was nearly impossible to memorize and play . . . but that, specifically, was what made it great. No one else would have even attempted an album with that many tempo changes, and tone / riff experiments. Not with songs as long as those anyway. Only the "real" Metallica could pull that stuff off - in the studio and live. Certainly, one would have to expect a drop off of some kind after a ground-breaking album like "Justice For All". Unfortunately, Metallica fell too far.

I remember watching “Some Kind of Monster” while on the road somewhere. The constant bickering while in the studio, seeing the guys sitting around, drinking coffee with their legs crossed; all the side hobbies; Lars constantly telling James that the riffs sounded “stock” but being unable to explain what he meant. For the record, if “stock” means the sound your band defined, why not sound stock?!? You’ve given us three fracken versions of Unforgiven for shitsake . . . and it sucked all three times. Will anybody be disappointed if their next album has the same general sound and feel of "Master of Puppets" or "Ride the Lightning"? For me, that’s when it hit home. The pre-Black Metallica was gone forever. What took me so long to realize that? Hope?

The bottom line, Death Magnetic is a hugely successful commercial album. The songs are solid metal songs that you’ll enjoy. The problem…Death Magnetic has nothing that will make you select it rather than the CD next to it. I shouldn’t have to convince myself that I’m a fan. I shouldn’t procrastinate when asked to write a review. Metallica should be better than that. - - by James Reetz

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