Metallica ARE...Hardwired…To Self-Destruct

re: lar's drumming, whoever compared him to ringo upthread otm, of course there are better drummers than lars but the guy can swing, and it is not possible to swing when you are playing double bass blast beats the whole damn time

what made Lars great is his parts and choices imo, more the creative aspect and how his parts worked with the arrangement than the physical. he was my Ringo basically.

Yeah, he's not a great drummer, but he's a very good composer of drum parts.

i've never thought of ringo as sloppy or not a good drummer

Lars is weird in Metallica becuz he's actually the lead guitarist not the drummer.

people sometimes see simplicity and taste as negatives in a drummer, compared to flashier contemporaries.

They absolutely killed on Howard Stern recently, worth seeking out. Also I am my own best friend.

First live performance of the new song. Lars is keeping the beard, it seems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHOrR2XvEcU

everything about that -- including and/or especially hetfield's denim vest w/ patches -- just makes me want to search for vintage live clips of "battery."

i do think the new stuff i've heard is on an upward swing but sorta like how a bowlful of necco wafers is better than a bowlful of nails.

always thought lars' drumming on Lulu was spectacular because of his limitations, it's the sound of a drummer really struggling, you feel the weight of the beats and it fits the atmosphere and concept of the record nicely - the doomy/sludgy genre vibes too

one of the underrated things about Lulu is that they are working with Lou's guys so they actually sound pretty good instead of their usual active rock production

always thought lars' drumming on Lulu was spectacular because of his limitations, it's the sound of a drummer really struggling, you feel the weight of the beats and it fits the atmosphere and concept of the record nicely - the doomy/sludgy genre vibes too

exactly!

Just finished listening to this. (It leaked, so I torrented it - I've already paid for the 3CD deluxe edition.) As I suspected, they split it across two discs because they felt like that's how it worked best artistically, just like Baroness did with Yellow & Green. The total running time is just over 77 minutes - shorter than Load. Most of the songs are in the 6-7 minute range; the longest is 8:15 ("Halo on Fire," the last song on Disc 1).

There are some real surprises here; it's not all head-down thrash. "Dream No More" might be the slowest non-ballad Metallica have ever recorded; it's basically doom, and Hetfield delivers a vocal unlike anything I've ever heard from him, at the top of his range, almost keening. There are some Baroness-ish guitar harmonies on "Halo on Fire," and the bass and drums are kind of "Until It Sleeps"-ish. Lots of midtempo stuff on the second disc, with the exception of "Spit Out the Bone," a seven-minute thrash-blast that I think features Trujillo's first bass solo on record (fuzzed-out, loud as hell). It's definitely heavier and more knuckle-dragging than Death Magnetic, which retained some boogie elements from the Load/ReLoad era mixed with Black Album-style heaviness. This time, they're back to full-on metal-ness; no ballads, even though Hetfield is really singing a lot of the time, and sounding really good.

I'm gonna be listening to this all week, and reviewing it at length for Burning Ambulance. (An editor contacted me about possibly writing it up, but he was looking for a negative review and I couldn't promise him one - hadn't heard it yet - so I didn't get the assignment.)

i'm so excited

Only listened to the first half so far. Not really convinced my the slower material just yet.

he was looking for a negative review

Is this normal in music criticism?

but he was looking for a negative review and I couldn't promise him one - hadn't heard it yet - so I didn't get the assignment.)
― Don Van Gorp, midwest regional VP, marketing (誤訳侮辱), Saturday, November 12, 2016 4:04 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what the fuck is up with this shit

I'm not gonna reveal the name of the site, but it's very popular on ILX and a number of ILXors, in fact, write for it.

I've heard of things like that happening in the past, but I can't believe it's still happening.

fuck those sites/magazines who insist on negative (or positive) reviews. Why not just review something fairly?

i love this so far but i'm a huge metallica apologist and lulu fan so ymmv. it is way better than death magnetic

"Dream No More" might be the slowest non-ballad Metallica have ever recorded

i don't think this is true though. the tempo (and overall vibe) is v reload

it fuckin rocks though

After listening to "Dream No More" 2 or 3 more times, I think it's Sabbath-meets-"Sad But True," with more groove, because Trujillo is a more groove-oriented bassist than Newsted. He listens to a ton of jazz, worships Jaco Pastorius, was in Infectious Grooves...all that seeps into Metallica now. You can hear it on "Halo On Fire," too.

I will probably only ever listen to a 7/8 track edit (77 minutes is just way too long for what they do, I've never understood their fetish for long-ass albums) but this is pretty damn good. The opening 4-track run is very satisfying.

This album makes me so happy. There was about 20 minutes or so of filler on Death Magnetic, but for a 77 minute album (really, it's more like two LPs of 37 and 40 minute lengths) it's so taut. You can hear a renewed sense of fun in their music now that they've gone back to their metal roots, and there are some cool little experimental moments like Phil mentioned that work very well.

First Rush's Clockwork Angels, then Maiden's Book of Souls, now this one. It feels like my favourite bands have been rediscovering that old magic at the same time.

Honestly the other Metallica album that most comes to mind when listening to disc 1 is Kill Em All.

the stuff on disc two kinda runs together but i do really love "manUNkind" plus i'll never stop loling at the title

the stuff on disc two kinda runs together

Agreed; disc 1 is definitely the best stuff, but the last track is fucking massive.

I like "Spit out the Bone" but it could do with two or three fewer jam-out sections

Makes me glad that there's a song about Cthulhu on this.

After my second listen I am forced to conclude that there are good bits here and there, but overall this is mediocre.

After a while I just put on Ride the Lightning and all is forgotten.

Apparently Metallica have made videos for every track on the new album, which are premiering on a bunch of websites across the globe today and tomorrow. The clip for what I currently think is the best song on the album, "Now That We're Dead," will be on Pitchfork at 6 PM EST.

am i the only one bored silly w video albums? i just don't care. they're like the futon of the music world.

this song is so fuckin good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqIQvE5R1tU

Who's singing the lead vocals there? Clearly James on backup...

looking forward to the 'thrash only' edit of this album

holy shit, their new sound rules:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXJifYl_byU

damn spit out the bone goes hard

"it is true that metal is full of such robodrummers like Flo Mounier, Dave Lombardo, Proscriptor, Pete Sandoval, etc"

dave is not a robodrummer! so much personality within the confines of the genre.

would also love to hear flo front a jazz big band. that would be awesome.

Proscriptor isnt robo either wtf

Flo Mounier is only as inhuman as his band requires.

i was so in love with the first grip inc. album this year. i played it a ton. so great.

also, there is nothing robo about something like this. extra-human maybe, but not robotic. there is so much shit he has to do in one song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDvaht9JnIM

Word!

So this Metallica album is pretty tepid. I'm starting to think St. Anger was the best career move they ever made because they can squirt out an album like this and people think its great. There are some good riffs here and there (I actually prefer the ones that sound like they're dipping back into pre-Metallica metal to the blatant fanservice chop-chop stuff), but it just feels like a pulled punch. And Voice Lesson Jaymz is not a dude I want to hear.

I mean it took four plus years to make this, I guess I shouldn't be surprised it's kind of lifeless.

video for spit out the bone is hilarious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m46Z0-HXySo

So this Metallica album is pretty tepid. I'm starting to think St. Anger was the best career move they ever made because they can squirt out an album like this and people think its great. There are some good riffs here and there (I actually prefer the ones that sound like they're dipping back into pre-Metallica metal to the blatant fanservice chop-chop stuff), but it just feels like a pulled punch. And Voice Lesson Jaymz is not a dude I want to hear.

If you don't like Metallica, you don't like Metallica, but I don't think we heard the same record. (I had some thoughts.)

Sorry, I'm not a brand loyalist. Hardwired is basically a bunch of rehashed bits of older records with very little that's new, which is fine, but it's also delivered with a calculation and lack of energy that I find off-putting.

It's fine, like a Deep Purple album from the 1990s, but ultimately insignificant, like a Deep Purple album from the 1990s.

Now That We're Grandads