The Metallica Challenge

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venom077

CAG Veteran
So I'm a lifelong metallica fan and every once and a while I get sick of all the sellout whiners every once and a while so I came up with the metallica challenge. Anybody thats a hater get a copy of Load (yes download it if yo have to:bouncy:) and put it in your car for 2 weeks. Now without the wholoe whining and bitching of the internet if you can be HONEST let me know what you think. Everyone I've put this challenge to has come back and addmitted it's a good album. Seriously, with no exception, and theres been over 30 people. I just want to know if even on the internet people can give something it's fair chance.

Let the flameing begin:bomb:
 
[quote name='hcamacho']So hard to me to listen to anything after ....And Justice For All.[/QUOTE]


Thats the whole point of the challenge:lol:

As far as St Anger goes yes I would say it's their worst album BUT there are still some good tunes on there....Frantic, Some kind of monster, Invisible kid, The unnamed feeling...etc
 
I know venom077,i even have ST.Anger that a friend lent me, and he gave it to me...Only listened to it halfway,and it was when it came out...let 's see...
 
I don't think Load is a bad album by any means. It isn't on the level of Master of Puppets or ...And Justice For All, but that doesn't make it a bad album. Kill Bill isn't on the same level as a classic like The Godfather, either, but that doesn't make it a bad movie. Just because something doesn't quite measure up to a classic doesn't make it "bad."
 
[quote name='venom077']So I'm a lifelong metallica fan and every once and a while I get sick of all the sellout whiners every once and a while so I came up with the metallica challenge. Anybody thats a hater get a copy of Load (yes download it if yo have to:bouncy:) and put it in your car for 2 weeks. Now without the wholoe whining and bitching of the internet if you can be HONEST let me know what you think. Everyone I've put this challenge to has come back and addmitted it's a good album. Seriously, with no exception, and theres been over 30 people. I just want to know if even on the internet people can give something it's fair chance.

Let the flameing begin:bomb:[/QUOTE]

I had Load in my car for (probably) more than two weeks back in 1997 when it first came out. It sucked. I went to a concert in late 1997 where many of the songs from Load were played. They sucked. I'm not going to waste another two weeks of my time, 12 years after the fact to confirm, once again, that Load sucks.

If you're singing about feelings in a literal way on a metal album, you are doing it so fucking wrong. If your band's name implies heavy metal music, and you sing about feelings in a literal way, you are doing it wrong. There's a metal facade that Metallica tore down starting with the Black album that Load served to further disintegrate and they've done nothing to get it back. At this point, I don't think I want them to, they're too old.

Don't misunderstand me, the first four Metallica albums are fucking great. I don't think Metallica sold out, they were already garnering Grammy nominations with ...And Justice for All, they were certainly rich by then. They just lost their edge starting in the 90s.
 
I've never been big into Metallica and I won't give you the standard "anything after ... and justice" sucks. But I've given Load it's due and it sounds... I don't know, forced? It doesn't have the same edge to it that people came to love Metallica for and while it could stand on it's own as a damn good album from "some random band" it remains a different sound than what fans want.

On a side note, I absolutely loved Death Magnetic
 
I love Metallica, but there's no way anybody can suffer through St. Anger. Load is good, and so is Re-Load, and Death Magnetic is probably one of my favorite albums, but St. Anger is just garbage.
 
I've actually done this many times over the years (listen to back catalog of insert band name here).

From a production standpoint Load/ReLoad are utterly fantastic. Easily the best sounding Metallica records. From a songwriting standpoint, again these are fantastic records. From a Metallica standpoint, they just don't quite measure up. Perhaps the songs are mostly too radio friendly. Almost like Bob Rock said they had to write songs that fell within the 4m30sec radio format. I do like the more "jangly" approach with the riffs, there's just more movement and bounce to most of the songs.

St. Anger is a decent record, it's just a terrible Metallica record. If you listen closely (and if you have the CD with the rehearsals DVD you can see as well) that Lars is doing some of his most out there drumming on St. Anger. Of course listening to the drums on the CD is a bit masochistic since the album is so obnoxiously produced...
 
[quote name='crunchb3rry']Bob Rock did a lot of damage, but honestly James taking singing lessons is what killed the band.[/QUOTE]

Basically. He blew out his voice, couldn't growl, quit drinking, cut his hair and took singing lessons. End of Metallica as we know it. Plus, he absolutely butchers old songs when he sings them now in concert. Instead of low growls yells he sings them in a higher pitch. Its stupid.

Oh, and Load sucks then and it sucks now. I've listened and relistened and its crap. There are a couple of good songs on there, but it sucks on the whole.
 
I sadly owned Load then gave it to a friend and he wouldn't stop playing it. :roll:

It's tolerable like Reload and St Anger. Honestly, Metallica has been labeled by some as sellouts even as far back as the release of Ride the Lightning their second full album. The reason being is they started to ditch playing nothing but thrash metal plus they even almost had a power ballad in "Fade to Black". That said I still feel their first four was their peak like Iron Maiden, Slayer, and Megadeath.
 
[quote name='nasum']Of course listening to the drums on the CD is a bit masochistic since the album is so obnoxiously produced...[/QUOTE]

snare drum fuckin' seizure is what it is.
 
I dunno, I'd be inclined to say they sold out. Their early work is great of course. Load, Reload, and Garage are ok but not the same. S&M is just a remake of sorts. And then they bottom out, I've heard bits of Anger and Magnetic but they just don't do it for me. I own all but the latest 2.

I've moved onto more musical metal.
 
Long time Metallica fan here - Hell I saw them open up for Ozzy on the Master of Puppets tour.

That said, I do not own Load or Re-Load but from what I heard, they are not horrible albums. They are hardly worthy of the Metallica Canon though.

I listened to St. Anger a few times. I just keep the cd for completionist sake but I don't listen to it often.

S&M is a strange record to me. Some songs I like and some don't work out too well. Still I give them props for trying something new.

I hated the black album when it came out but it has grown on me over time. Testament's 'The Ritual' album is superior to Metallica's 'Black Album'. Both bands when through the same situation in which both were hardcore thrash bands that put out a slower album to appease the change in music climate. Testament made the better album though.

Death Magnetic is a pretty decent album though. I didn't like the instrumental filler at the end but its pretty solid. I wish the band would work with producer Andy Sneap instead of Rick Rubin though.

And finally, the 1st 4 albums are classic. No argument there.
 
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^I'm going to disagree with you on principle, Xevious. I've never noticed how important producers are until I came across how many incredible albums, many by mediocre artists (or simply people I'd never listen to), were all produced by Rick Rubin. Danzig I-IV, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Four Horsemen's Nobody Said it Was Easy, Beastie Boys' License to Ill/Paul's Boutique.

He single-handedly resurrected Johnny Cash's career, introduced him to a whole new generation, and exalted him to the legendary status he rightly deserved.

Hell, he even oversaw good albums by Neil Diamond and the Dixie Chicks.

Additionally, Death Magnetic was quite good - I think it's about as good as one can expect from the Metallica of today. So while I know very little about Sneap, I can't say enough positive things about Rick Rubin.

The only other obvious producer that I felt I could "hear" on the record (noticing their influence, that is) was when Gene Simmons' produced Wendy O Williams' solo album. "It's My Life" is great and all, but every song sounds like an attempt to be arena rock.

EDIT: Woah, woah, woah, WOAH. If wikipedia's listing of albums Sneap has produced is accurate, you're off your rocker for thinking he could outproduce Rubin. Good lord, man, he should be thrown in prison for the rest of his days simply for the three worst English Dogs records I've heard. Those alone were a disgrace to humanity. If I had a part in those albums I'd never show my face in public again.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']^I'm going to disagree with you on principle, Xevious. I've never noticed how important producers are until I came across how many incredible albums, many by mediocre artists (or simply people I'd never listen to), were all produced by Rick Rubin. Danzig I-IV, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Four Horsemen's Nobody Said it Was Easy, Beastie Boys' License to Ill/Paul's Boutique.

He single-handedly resurrected Johnny Cash's career, introduced him to a whole new generation, and exalted him to the legendary status he rightly deserved.

Hell, he even oversaw good albums by Neil Diamond and the Dixie Chicks.

Additionally, Death Magnetic was quite good - I think it's about as good as one can expect from the Metallica of today. So while I know very little about Sneap, I can't say enough positive things about Rick Rubin.

The only other obvious producer that I felt I could "hear" on the record (noticing their influence, that is) was when Gene Simmons' produced Wendy O Williams' solo album. "It's My Life" is great and all, but every song sounds like an attempt to be arena rock.

EDIT: Woah, woah, woah, WOAH. If wikipedia's listing of albums Sneap has produced is accurate, you're off your rocker for thinking he could outproduce Rubin. Good lord, man, he should be thrown in prison for the rest of his days simply for the three worst English Dogs records I've heard. Those alone were a disgrace to humanity. If I had a part in those albums I'd never show my face in public again.[/QUOTE]

I can't deny that Rubin is a good producer. You made a strong point and I am familiar with his history. However, when it comes to creating a 'Heavy' sound....Sneap is the man. He did some recent quality work with Exodus, Testament and Megadeth. I was really impressed with the production quality of those albums.

I can't comment on the English Dogs albums though because I haven't heard them.
 
I wont lie...at first I hated Load and Re-Load...but Ill be honest in saying they grew on me and its all good now.

I dont hae Death Magnetic and probably never will thanks to St. Anger....I bought St. Anger blindly... BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG mistake.

Diff strokes for diff folks and Ill never understand why people even take a shit on the "black" album. For me that was some of their best work. I give props to KEA...RTL...AJFA...BA...after that, it wasnt the same.


Ill go one step further and say ever since they sobered up and James wasnt as angry anymore..is when they "lost their touch"...in my eyes that is.
 
[quote name='Xevious']
That said, I do not own Load or Re-Load but from what I heard, they are not horrible albums. They are hardly worthy of the Metallica Canon though.
[/QUOTE]

When they came out, the masses thought they sucked. But then St. Anger and Death Magnetic almost made you retroactively appreciate the albums. There were some good songs on both.

[quote name='mykevermin']...I've never noticed how important producers are until I came across how many incredible albums, many by mediocre artists (or simply people I'd never listen to), were all produced by Rick Rubin. Danzig I-IV..
[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I like Rick Rubin. But I had no idea he did the Danzig albums. Still, I miss the old Misfits and Samhain sound, where it sounded like they recorded the albums in a trashcan. Rubin's influence is pretty obvious though, especially when comparing the early albums to that steaming pile of shit, Blackacidevil. OMG that was terrible!
 
[quote name='Will']I wont lie...at first I hated Load and Re-Load...but Ill be honest in saying they grew on me and its all good now.

I dont hae Death Magnetic and probably never will thanks to St. Anger....I bought St. Anger blindly... BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG mistake.

Diff strokes for diff folks and Ill never understand why people even take a shit on the "black" album. For me that was some of their best work. I give props to KEA...RTL...AJFA...BA...after that, it wasnt the same.


Ill go one step further and say ever since they sobered up and James wasnt as angry anymore..is when they "lost their touch"...in my eyes that is.[/QUOTE]

You should give "Death Magnetic" at least one listen from cover to cover.
 
[quote name='shieryda']You should give "Death Magnetic" at least one listen from cover to cover.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. Its far better than anything after Black Album.
 
Death magnetic is definately the best album they've done since reload and jst as an afterthoght they still kick ass live. I was at the charlottsville show (unfortuneately the one the young lady was kidnapped at) but it really did kick ass and had tons of energy
 
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