by Flack » Wed Mar 28, 2012 4:34 am
That's true, the Black album was definitely the "two" in a one-two punch that knocked out most of their old fans. But "One" was the ... one.
Metallica's debut album, "Kill 'em All," was originally supposed to be titled "Metal up your Ass." Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and And Justice for All are all filled with intricate and lengthy (read: non-radio friendly) tracks. In interview after interview, the band said, "this is who we are. We're not an MTV band. We're not a radio band. We're METALLICA!"
Then "One" came along. If this tells you anything, I remember the night the video debuted on Headbanger's Ball. I was spending the night at my friend's house, a friend that was into The Cure and Love and Rockets and Depeche Mode, and I made him stop the movie we were watching so we could watch the debut of "One." And while it was very exciting to see and hear Metallica on television, here was the anti-MTV band on MTV for the first time.
On And Justice For All, the band's 4th album, only two of the nine songs clock in at under 7 minutes in length. That's just who the band is ... or, was. Then along came the Black album, and suddenly every song was in that familiar verse-chorus-verse format, and they were all under five minutes long, and they all sounded pretty slick thanks to Bob Rock, who had just finished working with Motley Crue (Dr. Feelgood) and Bon Jovi. And suddenly this band, these four guys that were the symbol of not selling out and going against the machine and doing things their own way had six top 10 radio singles. And the cheerleaders that hated my friends and me for listening to Metallica were singing along to "The Unforgiving" and tearing up, saying, "like, this MEANS something!" And that anti-MTV band suddenly became the face of metal on MTV, and the shorter and snappier and more well-polished their music became, the more popular it was, but the less, well, "Metallica" it seemed. The first time I heard "Nothing Else Matters" being played at a wedding I wanted to kill myself.
For what it's worth, now, I kind of like the Black album. I skip The Unforgiven and Nothing Else Matters out of principle, but there's some good stuff on there. It wasn't until Load and Reload that I really lost interest. I couldn't make it through St. Anger, and the kid that grew up with Metallica posters on his wall (me) didn't even listen to Death Magnetic.
That's true, the Black album was definitely the "two" in a one-two punch that knocked out most of their old fans. But "One" was the ... one.
Metallica's debut album, "Kill 'em All," was originally supposed to be titled "Metal up your Ass." Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and And Justice for All are all filled with intricate and lengthy (read: non-radio friendly) tracks. In interview after interview, the band said, "this is who we are. We're not an MTV band. We're not a radio band. We're METALLICA!"
Then "One" came along. If this tells you anything, I remember the night the video debuted on Headbanger's Ball. I was spending the night at my friend's house, a friend that was into The Cure and Love and Rockets and Depeche Mode, and I made him stop the movie we were watching so we could watch the debut of "One." And while it was very exciting to see and hear Metallica on television, here was the anti-MTV band on MTV for the first time.
On And Justice For All, the band's 4th album, only two of the nine songs clock in at under 7 minutes in length. That's just who the band is ... or, was. Then along came the Black album, and suddenly every song was in that familiar verse-chorus-verse format, and they were all under five minutes long, and they all sounded pretty slick thanks to Bob Rock, who had just finished working with Motley Crue (Dr. Feelgood) and Bon Jovi. And suddenly this band, these four guys that were the symbol of not selling out and going against the machine and doing things their own way had six top 10 radio singles. And the cheerleaders that hated my friends and me for listening to Metallica were singing along to "The Unforgiving" and tearing up, saying, "like, this MEANS something!" And that anti-MTV band suddenly became the face of metal on MTV, and the shorter and snappier and more well-polished their music became, the more popular it was, but the less, well, "Metallica" it seemed. The first time I heard "Nothing Else Matters" being played at a wedding I wanted to kill myself.
For what it's worth, now, I kind of like the Black album. I skip The Unforgiven and Nothing Else Matters out of principle, but there's some good stuff on there. It wasn't until Load and Reload that I really lost interest. I couldn't make it through St. Anger, and the kid that grew up with Metallica posters on his wall (me) didn't even listen to Death Magnetic.