Cool Metallica Tunes

[KNOWTHIS]

I used to be a dedicated Metallica fan but lost much respect for them over the years for various different reasons which I won't bother to go in to right now. They have a new album coming out called 'Death Magnetic' which is supposed to revisit their older but considerably heavier style of playing, in other words, the 'And Justice For All' era. I guess the concept of the title has to do with the many great metal musicians that we've lost over the years. The way that their lifestyles seemed to draw them to their deaths almost magnetically.

Lyric from the song 'Frantic'- "My lifestyle determines my death style" (not from the new and yet to be released album)

Anyway, I decided to go back and re-listen to some of the music that they put out after they decided to go for a more mellow approach. Here are a couple songs that I found myself drawn to this time around, more so now then when I had first heard them. They're from 'Load'.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD-hyXYFpBw
Metallica - Bleeding Me

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBfGfWSsG-w
Metallica - Hero of The Day

[Swamp Gas]

Aug 2, 2008 9:26:48 GMT -5 KNOWTHIS said:

I guess the concept of the title has to do with the many great metal musicians that we've lost over the years. The way that their lifestyles seemed to draw them to their deaths almost magnetically.

They have a country air somewhat.

Metallica reminds me in concept of Neil Young a bit. Neil backed Bush for the first year of the Iraq Occupation. Then he switched. Metallica and their Napster stuff turned off many people, but I understand people not wanting to pay for music. Now I don't know what MEtallica's political views are, so I can't say that they got more intelligent as time went on.

The lifestyle/deathstyle is programming IMO. I can sum it up in a simple fashion. People and society put their energy into Religion, Money, Sex, Violence, Children, and the Arts and Music that support/create those things. If our society put as much energy into Life Extension, Space Travel, Compassion, and Intelligence increase, we would have a different culture, almost unimaginable by today's standards.

[KNOWTHIS]

In the beginning most of their songs like 'One' & 'Disposable Heroes' were very anti-war. Then they came out with 'Don't Tread On Me' which the conservatives seemed to have claimed for themselves as being pro-war. It could very well be that the band mates individually have a very diverse view of politics, even conflicting ones. I'm not sure. They've had their share of turmoil throughout the years as indicated in their documentary 'Some Kind Of Monster'. There was a time when I thought that Metallica was at serious risk of breaking up permanently.

They've also endured several changes of band members since their inception so that changes things as well. It's probably likely that at this point they don't all agree on many subjects.

As far as downloading music, I sympathize with the artists but not the industry. It's a tough call. The labels have been ripping off both the customers and musicians alike for some time now. I do however believe in supporting the bands that I listen to by actually purchasing their music. Nine Inch Nails made their last one free and I still bought it anyway. Metal fans tend to be very loyal to the bands that they listen to. They like having a collection of the original material complete with artwork, lyrics and what not which go along with the disc. That's one of the reasons that I admire the creativity of Marilyn Manson for example. The merging of music with art and theater makes for a more multifaceted experience. As a fan you want to buy his CDs just to see what's inside and he understands that. With Britney Spears you could care less because it's so contrived and generic, not to mention that she's a talentless twit. Maybe fans of mainstream music need to stop settling for less and demand more from their pop stars? Then again, that's probably asking for too much.

Noble Gas clearly understands all of this as well.

Some people might argue that acts like Manson and Alice Cooper have simply constructed a cheap gimmick for which to compensate for lack of musical quality. They'd say that music should be able to stand on its own without distraction. In my opinion it does. It's just that the visual element provides an enhancement of the overall presentation. It is possible to allow your image to get in the way of your music. I don’t personally believe that to be the case with any of the bands, artists that I listen to. If you're talented enough you can focus on your image and your music equally without making sacrifices in either department.

Most pop stars have an image but it's one that is often chosen for them by a record label. There's no creativity or risk in that. It's sad that such music sells so well because the market demand only ensures that we'll be given more of the same. Like I said, it's time for fans of mainstream music to become more discerning and less willing to hop on to each and every bandwagon that MTV carts out before them. The bubble gum snapping, hair twirling cheerleaders who watch TRL daily are the worst offenders.

I believe that you can't entirely blame the Internet and illegal downloading for the recent decrease in album sales. Perhaps more people aren't buying because of a severe lack of quality in the average product and that could be a good sign. If you continue to settle for junk, they'll just keep shoveling more and more junk on to your plate. Raise expectations and vote accordingly with the wallet.

[KNOWTHIS]

After hearing Metallica's new rendition of Iron Maiden's 'Remember Tomorrow' I have an increased excitement about hearing 'Death Magnetic'. I really love their version of this song. I listened to it about five times in a row at first. It has a very heavy but emotional feel to it in certain parts.

Remember Tomorrow
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZZBnZexM6E

A bit of insight in to the political (or apolitical) views of Metallica's lead singer James Hetfield. It's sounds like a positive and unifying statement without actually taking sides.


www.mtv.com/news/articles/1592036/20080801/metallica.jhtml

Metallica Tackle Forgiveness, Resentment In 'The Day That Never Comes' Clip
Frontman James Hetfield cautions video is not a political statement.

...Of course, this isn't Iraq. It isn't Afghanistan. It's the set of Metallica's video for their track "The Day That Never Comes," the first single from Death Magnetic, the band's first studio effort since 2003's St. Anger (due in stores this September).

But don't let the war-time theme of the video fool you. According to Hetfield, the clip won't be making any lofty political statements about the war in Iraq. Instead, it's a statement on humanity, helmed by acclaimed Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking. Hetfield said that when he was writing the song's lyrics, he never envisioned the video would look anything like this.

"That's the beauty, I think, of writing vague but powerful lyrics — that someone like a movie director can interpret it in his own way and obviously, someone creative is able to take the metaphors and apply them to whatever he needs in his own life," the frontman explained. "The main [theme of the video] is the human element of forgiveness and someone doing you wrong, you feeling resentment and you being able to see through that in the next situation that might be similar and not take your rage or resentment out on the next person and basically keep spreading the disease of that through life."

The video's next scene involves the same soldier who assisted his wounded comrade in the previous scene. A group of soldiers pulls up alongside a broken-down car and spots a man in a djellabah, holding a set of jumper cables. The soldier approaches slowly — with gun drawn — fearing the car may contain a suicide bomber, and his crosshairs become fixed on the suspicious man's head. With anger and resentment in his eyes, the soldier debates whether to pull the trigger. Ultimately, he lowers his gun and assists the harmless civilian so that he can make his way home.

"The one thing that I wasn't keen on here was Metallica plugging into a modern war or a current event [that] might be construed as some sort of political statement on our part," Hetfield said. "There are so many celebrities that soapbox their opinions, and people believe it's more valid because they're popular. For us, people are people — you should all have your own opinion. We are hopefully putting the human element in what is an unfortunate part of life. There are people over there dealing with situations like this, and we're showing the human part of being there.

"It's the forgiveness part — that is key," he continued. "Metallica has never plugged into any current event visually, but this one is kind of a hotbed. People have very high opinions about this war, and we're trying to cut through all of that. The politics and the religion tend to separate people, and what we're trying to do is bring it together with the common thread of resentment and forgiveness."

Ulrich said that a father-son relationship inspired the song's lyrics but that the band didn't want the true meaning behind the track to bleed into its visual component.

"It's a story about human beings who don't know each other, in a particularly tense situation," Ulrich explained. "It could be a contemporary war setting, but it's really about forgiveness and redemption and understanding what goes on in people's minds. We really feel that this was such a beautiful and epic way to treat the song in something that was really radically different than the specificity of the lyrics."

"Ultimately, the concept of the video deals with humanity and the relationships between human beings and how your basic sense of humanity can override any sort of politicized situation," Hammett added. "It's about being compassionate and humanistic in that sort of situation. So you could call it a microcosm of what's happening in the world today."

[KNOWTHIS]

Corey Taylor comes down hard on the labels...

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has had his say on the state of the music biz and in no uncertain terms blames the labels: "Why would you blame (people who download music)? Half the fucking albums that are out they are shit... I don't download, but at the same time, I don't buy new music 'cause it all sucks. Okay, there's a handful of bands that I buy, but other than that, I just buy old shit because old shit is good.

He further went on, "People wanna blame the decline of album sales on downloading, I think it's actually the record companies' fault... I think it's the quality of the product. If record companies would stop giving any fucking mook on the street with a fringe a record deal or their own record label, maybe you would sell more fucking albums, dipshits."

[KNOWTHIS]

Video for 'The Day That Never Comes'. You don't think that it will at first considering the war theme but it actually ends with a positive message. The soldiers don't end up taking revenge out on the innocent civilians.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlahvvymkxc

[KNOWTHIS]

'Whiskey In The Jar', another great Metallica cover from years ago. I guess it was originally performed by Thin Lizzy.

Cover:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFGGbYpaqhQ

Original:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TehFZ38kt6o