Ride the Review: Metallica - Metallica

 Ride the Review:

Metallica - Metallica

Stats:

Band: Metallica

Album: Metallica

Year: 1991

Performance: Number 1 in USA, Canada and UK

Certified: Diamond

Units Sold: 31,000,000

Track listing:

Enter Sandman

Sad But True

Holier Than Thou

The Unforgiven

Wherever I May Roam

Don't Tread On Me

Through The Never

Nothing Else Matters

Of Wolf of Man

The God That Failed

My Friend of Misery

The Struggle Within

Summary

This album was the first mark Metallica made in the 90's. And mark they indeed made. The reason this was their most highly acclaimed album was because, they took a more commercial sound, tightened and simplified their rhythms, and just had generally more good times writing the music. Another impression on the making of the record is of course credited to the massively talented producer, Bob Rock. He showed great promise to the band, as he produced or mixed records for Bon Jovi and Motley Crue before, both being massively successful. This album took an incredibly long time to write and produce but from hearing it, you immediately can tell the hard work paid off. This grand album starts off with the opener, "Enter Sandman". And if you were expecting something like the closer off ...And Justice For All, "Dyers Eve", you would be sorely mistaken. The opener starts with a very ominous intro and, who am I kidding? Everybody's heard this song before! The song is epic, has really iconic riffs and you can hear a big change in James' vocals. You can tell he has taken a new direction and gotten much better at singing. The song is a banger and an earworm as it changed the world of 90s heavy metal as we know it. 

Then we go into a 2 hit punch of the heavy and groovy tracks "Sad But True" and "Holier Than Thou". These songs hit hard and are super catchy. The solos on these tracks especially are super badass and full of feel. Kirk Hammett definitely went way more simplistic with his approach and used a lot more wah with his solos of course. But they are still great and pretty fun in the context of the song. My favorite part of "Holier Than Thou" is the wah filled solo being followed by the sick main riff just played by bass, and it perfectly showcases the great bass tone that Jason Newsted achieved on this album, probably his finest with his time with Metallica. 

Following the upbeat few songs, we go into a more calm state, with the track "The Unforgiven" the soft ballad with some epic sounding verses and calm choruses, sort of the opposite of the main song structure of power ballads of the past decade. The first thing you hear is a little hum and then it goes into a beautiful acoustic guitar riff. It is soft but also full of emotion into it. I really like the chord progression in the riffs of the verses paired with James Hetfield's powerful vocals and it makes it a very powerful song. One of the best parts of the song, is the great bluesy and soaring guitar solo that Kirk Hammett recorded on the spot after being angered by Bob Rock after being told repeatedly he sucked, the solo he had planned sucked, he needs to be better, things like that. And then at his breaking point, he just went in and nailed it. And that was the take they used for the track. Overall, "The Unforgiven" is one of the best written songs on this album. 

Metallica in 1991 - Kirk         Lars         Jason               James

After the powerful ballad, we get treated to what I'd call the musical peak of the album. The one and only "Wherever I May Roam". I'd say the best song on the album. It starts with an ominous sitar intro riff. It is awesome and the first time you hear it, it will send chills down your spine. I also really like the transition to heavy guitars, and then into the badass riff when everyone is in gear. It is a spectacular riff and it is awesome and heavy. The solo is one of Kirk's best wah solos he ever did and the outcome is amazing. I love this song and it is one of their greatest.

Following that epic song, are two more heavy songs "Don't Tread On Me" and "Through the Never" which are badass as ever and are full of awesome moments. Followed by the obscure track "Nothing Else Matters" which nobody expected. But it brings more calmer feelings to the album. It is nothing more than a ballad and got to be easily the most played song on the radio by the band. But it is a pretty song, but nothing else that exciting. Then this is where the album sort of slows down in intensity. "Of Wolf of Man" is a groovy track. "The God That Failed" and "My Friend of Misery" both have awesome bass intros and just cool riffs overall. And the closer, "The Struggle Within" is a criminally underrated song and a really cool closer. The intro is a cool buildup, and the main part of the song is actually super upbeat and fast. It does its job as a closer but is probably the least interesting and memorable song of the bunch.

So overall, the album is chock full of some of the greatest heavy metal and hard rock songs from the 90s. I love the production, the performances and song wise, this is top notch both quality and quantity.

Production

This is by far the best production on an album Metallica has ever had. Bob Rock really did his magic. First, the guitar tone. Although it is actually quite similar to the ...And Justice For All guitar tone, it is way more deep, spacious, and roomy sounding instead of being very condensed and dry on the Justice album. The tone is really good and sounds really good in the context of the songs. The drum sound is tight, and more crisp. And that bass tone is glorious. The perfect mixture of the click sound of the pick on the bass and also having mids up to make it spacious and deep within the mix. I think it could have been a bit louder to really highlight all the licks Jason wrote but that's just coming from a bass player myself. And I think the production is awesome. Bob Rock should be really, really proud.

Performances

The performances are truly something special on this album. The performances on the previous 4 albums were tight and amazing, but this has such a different sort of energy. Starting, with the rhythm guitar.

James Hetfield really sounds good on here on his guitar parts. Paired with his great guitar tone, and his amazing tight rhythms in the riffs, James really did good. Even playing live on the Black Album tour, he sounded great but here, he is tight, energetic and heavy as all hell. His vocals sound better than they ever did on the past 4 albums and it is clear. Even on the first song "Enter Sandman", you can hear he has a clear pitch and he is really singing on the album. His singing especially on "The Unforgiven", "Wherever I May Roam" and "Nothing Else Matters" is really special and I think he really got to his full potential on here. And now, to the lead guitar.

Kirk's soloing on this album is really different from the past albums. He takes a much different approach. Instead of trying to do as much shredding and as many notes as possible, he took his time and accentuated the wahs and the emotional licks in between the wah chords. A perfect example on the solos on "Enter Sandman", "Wherever I May Roam", "Holier Than Thou" and "The Unforgiven". The solos on these songs really blend perfectly into the songs they share. He takes emotion really into account and lets his melodies support the solos instead of the flurries of notes like the previous albums.

Jason's bass playing is as tight as always. He played amazingly on ...And Justice For All and he kept his chops up for this record. He plays tight with a lot of conviction and emotion when really needed. I love his tone and his notations are really special. Even on something like "Enter Sandman" he plays really specially and with some great accents underneath the guitars. Jason really does well on here.

And, Lars. The drummer infamous for being sloppy or off time. He does have a much better drum sound compared to ...And Justice For All or Kill 'Em All. He is a bit tighter I'd say. But you know what to expect from him up to this point. He is far from an amazing drummer especially in this era of the band.

Verdict

So, now for my full opinion on this album. I love it. The vibes on this album exceed the feeling of their ...And Justice For All for me. They really dug deep for song writing and delivered on of their best albums of all time. Sure, it's overrated. Sure, it's a "sellout" album. But it is a damn good one. And I know it sent them down a line of mediocre records after this one. But this put Metallica on the map and turned them into the badass metal band to so many people. A bunch of people discovered the band this way and created thousands of new metal fans for the coming decade which I am grateful for. The playing is tight and the band is heavier than before. Songs like "Sad But True", "Holier Than Thou", "Through The Never" and "Of Wolf of Man" really show that they can still be heavy, angry and aggressive while still being tasteful and energetic. I feel this album should always be talked about a lot and if one Metallica album deserved to go diamond, this would be it because of the quality, energy and production. It is an amazing record with only a couple bumps in the road like "The Struggle Within" but everything else is amazing and super memorable. Almost every song is an earworm and super well written. I think Bob Rock truly became like a 5th member for this band but if you're mad at the band for selling out, or becoming fake or anything like that, don't blame Bob Rock, he was just making the band sound the best they ever could. And this truly is the perfect example of the band overcoming the obstacles of the decline of thrash metal and in heavy metal in general and making it popular again. I really like this record and get this. This isn't even my favorite Metallica album! But it does hold a strong place in my heart. In these reviews, I will rate any album out of 10. Unoriginal, yes, but it is the best option to review something for me. So here goes.

Metallica's Metallica, I will rate you.....

9/10

Thank you everyone for reading my first review and I hope to see you in the next piece I write here! Cheers!