Metallica

When you’re able to brandish the kind of musical firepower that Metallica has unleashed for more than two decades – 10 uncompromising albums, marking an unprecedented reign as the Greatest hard rock band in history you learn a thing or two about where to aim. But curiously enough, the making of their first studio album since 1997’s Re-Load, the primal, raptorial, St. Anger, found Metallica not behind the turrets this time, but in the firing line itself.

The trials and tribulations leading up to St. Anger are well documented. The fissures in what the band members themselves describe as the well-oiled Metallica machine were beginning to show; Bassist Jason Newsted’s nebulous exit from the group. James Hetfield’s voluntary sojourn into rehab and much-longed-for sobriety. Public squabbles over the illegal downloading quagmire. All of these issues revealed the kind of seismic fault-lines that even the Metallica jauggernaut could not navigate could not negotiate away.

At stake? Nothing less than the very existence of the band itself. Metallica’s three principals, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett, along with their frequent producer/collaborator Bob Rock, found themselves at the kind of crossroads worthy of the themes in many a Metallica song. The kind of foreboding scenario Ulrich and Hetfield could write in their sleep.

The irony was, if this was Metallica’s oft-predicted meltdown, each member would have to face it in his own way. And from the inside out this time, without the Metallica heat-shield to fend off all the bullshit that tends to calcify when you’re a member of the most exclusive rock club in the world for twenty-odd years. With James on an indefinite hiatus, the group admitted to becoming ‘professional speculators’ themselves as to whether Metallica was headed for a rebirth, or withering away on life-support.

It has been a very interesting three years, Lars Ulrich begins with atypical understatement. A very different three years for us. Difficult. Awkward. It’s been a ride that’s taken us to places inside ourselves, inside the band, inside the potential of human beings and the music and everything else that we could not imagine existed. But if you asked me then, I would say for the first time in my life with Metallica, I was starting to prepare myself that maybe the ride was over.

If it sounds like the tenets of a Herculean struggle, who else but Metallica to apply for the job. The result of the ‘ride’ Lars refers to can indeed be found in the sweat and blood and grooves of St. Anger. From the album’s crushing title song and its burnished heaps of magnified guitar and drums, to the colossal time and tempo changes of Frantic, to the chugging slabs and staccato exchanges of the exalting confessional My World, Metallica has once again, in the boldest strokes imaginable, made music its most viable currency.

The three bandmembers, who gingerly refer to themselves as brothers and mean it emerged from the other side of their journey with their musical compass intact. St. Anger is an album that invariably will draw comparisons to their best work, to Metallica’s halcyon days, most notably their classic 1983 opus Kill ‘Em All, and 1986’s Master Of Puppets. Monumental in scope, the new album also recalls by its sheer willfulness the group’s 15 million selling masterpiece known as the Black Album. But this is clearly a work that couldn’t have been made twenty years ago. Not even a decade ago, though it fits the Metallica canon like a glove.

According to producer Rock (the Black album was his first collaboration with Metallica) St. Anger completes the circular creative cycle that only the greatest artists are able to sustain. It’s been my experience that only the big artists know how to achieve a goal in their career, like Metallica did with the Black album. Fewer still could have gone through what they experienced with all their personal journeys, throw away the rulebook and try and capture the soul and truth of Metallica again. I think the real vision was to almost take them back to where they were first getting together when three or four guys get together and say: ‘this is the kind of music we like, let’s write some songs.’

For James, whose own personal quest may have been the tipping point for Metallica’s inspirational sea change, the album was an important step in their evolution not just as bandmembers, but also as friends. The early days of Metallica were about brotherhood, just survival mode, relying on each other and stuff. As the machine got bigger, you tend to forget about the friendship part and start worrying about where the machine is going. You get a little more protective, a little more isolated. Certain factors ignited the need to look inward again and just get to be friends. Now we’re stronger than ever because we know what we’re doing and we have experience on our side too.

Part of the familial equation the group had to deal with was the departure of Newsted and the search for a new bassist. Enter Rob Trujillo. A former member of Suicidal Tendencies and one of the masterminds behind the ’90’s cult band Infectious Grooves, the accomplished bassist has also played with none other than Ozzy Osbourne.

All three bandmembers immediately hit it off with the respected Trujillo, and the hole in Metallica’s musical armor was filled. Trujillo came aboard too late to appear on St. Anger. The band members did not seem to be in any rush to hire a bass player. Bob Rock, in addition to being the co-producer and co-songwriter on St. Anger, was considered the 4th member of the band. Bob even filled in (quite masterfully) at a few live events with the guys. But, as Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett says, Trujillo’s chemistry with the band is undeniable. From the first rehearsal Rob was just mind blowing, because he had such a huge sound and he pulled with his fingers which is very reminiscent of Cliff Burton and we really liked that sound. He delivered on all fronts. He had a big sound and on top of that he’s really a great, solid guy. Adds James: He pounds. The power that comes through his fingers. He’s a ball of energy and he’s so calm and able and balanced. He’s got great stuff to offer but his personality is just right. He’s on fire, he’s ready, he’s plugged right into the strength of Metallica and helping it shine.

Another aspect of Metallica’s rejuvenated approach on this album was for Hammett to join in on the lyric writing, territory previously exclusive to only James and Lars. At first I was like I don’t want anything to do with this, this is James’ job. But Bob was very adamant. I looked at James and I said ‘Well, how do I do this?’ James said ‘stream of consciousness.’ I would scribble down some lines and James would single out the good ones. It was a great experience and I think it’s all in line with the theme of the album, if there is an underlying theme, which is just being true to yourself and how important that is to the overall picture.

Which leads to what is sure to be another topic of discussion among Metallica-watchers when pouring over the epic arrangements and knife-edged nuances of St. Anger. For a band that is in the throes of introspection, and in a larger sense, collective healing, they sure have laid down some motherfucking aggressive music. For hardcore fans who patiently waded through their all-covers release, 1998’s Garage Inc., a spry homage to the songs that shaped their early career, and the symphonic wanderlust of S&M, a stirring experiment that showcased Metallica with noted producer/writer/arranger Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony, St. Anger is a thirst-quencher. But one that offers nothing but fire this time around.

Lars says there was no conscious effort to make this album louder or longer. I think the great thing about Metallica is that we can pretty much chart where we want to chart. Playing other people’s material (like on Garage Inc.) was something we talked about for years. It was the music the band was basically founded on. With the Symphony stuff we got a call from Michael Kamen who wanted to do it and the band was excited by the challenge something Metallica has always embraced. But now that we are back playing the stuff that people think is the purest, it is the most natural, it is the most effortless. The other thing I think we’re challenging here is that most people have the perception that in order for things to be really, really, energetic that they can only come from negative energy. Metallica was fueled by negative energy for twenty years. Now we’ve spent a lot of times working on ourselves and on our relationships and we’ve turned that around. Now Metallica is fueled by positive energy that has manifested itself so it sounds like the album we’ve made.

Case in point: Some Kind Of Monster, with its bristling, time-bomb refrain, and yet, underneath, a hint of affirmation: ‘this is the voice of silence no more.’ You begin to understand the complex dynamics required for a world-renowned construct like Metallica to be even able to conceive of an intensely personal triumph like St. Anger. For James, the process obviously begins in a much quieter place than a recording studio. It comes from us realizing the world doesn’t revolve around Metallica. For me it began with ‘my name is James Hetfield.’ St. Anger means to me that now that we’ve found our serenity we’re capable of making this monster of an album going full-throttle all the time. Anger is an energy. It’s a feeling. It’s gotten a bad reputation but it’s what you do with it after that gives it its reputation. I could squeeze out sideways with rage and stuff the shit down, yet it can be such a source of strength. Metallica has always been about invading places where we don’t belong. We just took down the barbed-wire, that’s all.

Metallica Discography
Kill ‘Em All- July 1983
Ride The Lightning- August 1984
Master Of Puppets- February 1986
Garage Days Re-Revisited- August 1987
And Justice For All- August 1988
Metallica- August 1991
Load- June 1996
Re-load- November 1997
Garage Inc.- November 1998
S&M- November 1999
St. Anger- June 2003

On October 28th, 1981, drummer Lars Ulrich makes guitar player/singer James Hetfield the offer he can’t refuse: “I’ve got a track saved for my band on Brian Slagel’s new Metal Blade label.”

The truth is, Lars didn’t have a band at that time, but he did that day when James joined him. The two recorded their first track on a cheap recorder with James performing singing duties (with a sore throat, even!), rhythm guitar duties and bass guitar duties. Lars dutifully pounded the drums, helped with musical arrangements and acted as manager. Hetfield’s friend and housemate Ron McGoveny was eventually talked into taking up bass and Dave Mustaine took lead guitar duties.

The band adopted the moniker Metallica: Young Metal Attack, and began gigging in the Los Angeles area opening for bands like Saxon. They eventually recorded a full-fledged demo called No Life Til Leather. The demo was circulated near and abroad by Lars and his metal tape-trading buddies.

No Life Til Leather stirred up some interest in the underground metal community and the band started garnering some attention, especially in San Francisco and New York.

Metallica performed 2 shows in San Francisco and found the crowds there more friendly than LA’s “there to be seen” crowd. They also caught up-and-coming band Trauma, and most importantly their bass player, Cliff Burton. Eventually, Metallica moved upstate and Cliff joined Metallica.

In New York, a copy of No Life Til Leather made its way to Jon Zazula’s record shop, the aptly-named Metal Heaven. Zazula quickly recruited Metallica to come out east to play some shows and record an album.

The band made it to New York in a stolen U-Haul only to make announcement to their now manager/record producer: “Our guitar player has got to go.” Roadie Mark Whitakker suggested a guitar player from a band he knew back in SF, and on April 1, 1983 Kirk Hammett joins Metallica.

Metallica’s first album, Kill ‘Em All, is released in late 1983.

“Feed My Brain with your so called standard. Who says that I ain’t right?”

Metallica toured behind Kill ‘Em All, and in 1984, a second album Ride The Lightning was recorded and released. This album was a more mature album, both lyrically and musically while not missing a beat of the ferocity of Kill ‘Em All.

Notable on Ride The Lightning’s eight songs is track four; Fade To Black. Inspired by the theft of the band’s equipment earlier that year in Boston, the song delves rather deeply into dealing with loss. Other tracks are inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and the movie The Ten Commandments.

The band signed with major management agency Q Prime and soon after is signed to major record label Elektra.

“Messenger of fear insight”

1986 brought their third album, Master Of Puppets, and a tour with Ozzy Osbourne. Metallica was reaching new highs: the new album reached #29 and enjoyed a 72-week run on the US charts. The Ozzy tour helped them gain wide exposure.

The band endured a minor downfall when James broke his arm skateboarding and was unable to play guitar. John Marshall pulled double duty, acting as Kirk’s guitar roadie and filling in on rhythm guitar until James healed.

With the Ozzy tour complete the band moved on to Europe and planned their first venture to the Far East. It was hoped that James would be ready to handle his guitar duties, but for the first shows in Europe, Marshall filled in.

James returned in full guitar and vocal duties on September 26th, 1986, the last time Metallica performed with Cliff. Early the next morning, the tour bus skidded out of control and flipped, killing Cliff Burton.

It probably would have been easier for Metallica to call it quits right then and there. Cliff was a major part of the band, not only supplying bass but being somewhat of a teacher and mentor, sharing his musical wisdom and “be yourself” attitude.

Knowing Cliff would be the first to want them to carry on, Metallica minus one carried on.

“I`ve got something to say”

Jason Newsted was chosen from over 40 auditions to play bass with Metallica. His many strengths included being able to keep up with the band`s drinking habits!

It was decided they would jump right back into “tour mode” to initiate the new bass player and wrap up loose ends.

The band also released an EP of all cover songs as an introduction to Jason. The EP, titled Garage Days Re-Revisited is considered a sequel of sorts to Garage Days Revisited which appeared as a B-side in 1984.

“Waves of fear they pull me under”

With Jason established, the band went back to record their fourth full-length album, And Justice For All, released in August 1988. It reached #6 on the US charts, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal/Hard Rock album.

The band took the show back out on the road and toured extensively to all parts of the world. …And Justice For All produced two US singles and the band’s very first venture into music video for the song One. They finally won a Grammy for the One single.

“The Pressure upon you is so unreal”

In 1991 Metallica released the self titled “black album.” With new producer Bob Rock, this album was a departure from the previous album. The songs were shorter and the sound was fuller, deeper and less monotone. The “black album” went straight to number one all over the world.. and stayed there for several weeks.

The album spawned several singles and videos and remains the most successful Metallica album to date. The band won several awards including a Grammy for the album and several MTV and American Music Awards.

The band toured and toured and toured (get the picture?) playing all alone in “An Evening With Metallica” or with Guns N’ Roses, or as headliner at many festivals. Metallica took the Black Album (and the other songs as well) to the people.

“To fall in love with life again”

Five years would pass before the next Metallica album saw the light. The album was called Load and was the longest Metallica album to date. With 14 songs it took all available room on a compact disc. The album was again produced by Bob Rock, as was ReLoad, which followed in 1997. Both albums were written and mostly recorded together, and continued what the self-titled album started. Soundwise, the album was thick and and punchy, the songs were loose, powerful and eclectic.

It would be unfair to say Metallica changed a great deal, as the band is the same band that recorded Kill ‘Em All, …And Justice For All and the rest, but the Load twins show a Metallica that has grown towards expanding past the “all attitude and speed” days and back to the “be yourself” attitude.

“There’s a devil lying by your side”

With the completion and subsequent touring for Load and ReLoad and quite possibly the end of this phase of Metallica, it’s natural only to become somewhat introspective. While lyrically the Load albums reflected a great deal of what lies inside each of us emotionally and subconsciously, it came a time to look into what made this band.

No greater reflection of what makes Metallica “Metallica” are their influences. And as they did in 1981 when they started, 1984 with Garage Days Revisited and 1987 with Garage Days Re-Revisited, the band did what comes naturally.. they went back to the garage.

Metallica was and is very much a garage band. Whether it’s in Kirk’s basement, Jason’s Chophouse, Lars’ Dungeon or on stage in front of 50,000, Metallica always plays that song or that riff that helped them out somewhere along the road. They had already released 2 garage projects and put out a smattering of cover songs as B-sides. In fact, the Garage Days projects had become so collectable and rare, that poorly-recorded bootleg copies have been circulating for outrageous prices.

The band chose 11 new songs to record its third “in the garage” project, again with Bob Rock. The project was aptly-titled Garage Inc. as it incorporates ALL the previously-recorded garage cover songs along with the 11 new tracks.

So what’s next? Look for the band on tour in some new, as well as the old familiar places. A new project unlike anything you’d expect, and a welcome to the year 2000 that most certainly be one to remember!