06-05-2003, 03:35 PM
I refused to buy the album as soon as I saw this:
. . .
Ok,so the updated the site. :P Anyway, it was a picture of them against some building. They were dressed like a bunch of rap thugs. I swore off Metallica when I saw that. It made me physically ill.
I AM a hardcore fan. I have been listening to them for over a decade. I grew up with them on TV, watching their videos on MTV and occasionally hearing bits on the radio. I've always loved them, but it took me until Load came out to remember it. For a number of years, I was beyond musically challenged. I was musically barren. I started in with a lot of stuff, mostly crap that I don't like anymore (and almost regret ever liking; DMB, anyone? :P). Then came Load, and it changed me for life. It brought me crashing back to those 80's days of my youth, and it woke something up in me that hadn't been alive for years. It woke up my metal-head nature, something I had forgotten, completely LOST, for far too long.
I have all their albums, save for Live #$%&: Binge and Purge. Someday I will get that. ;) I'm debating with myself on getting this latest one. On the one hand, I'm not too big a fan anymore. They have truly gone down the tubes, and while Load was still good, ReLoad marked a clear descent. S&M was incredible, but still not true-to-the-roots. Unlike Megadeth, Metallica has just kept on descending. Risk (Megadeth) was a step towards the downward spiral for Megadeth, and it shook me up. I thought all my music was gonna die out before I had even reached the legal drinking age. Then came The World Needs A Hero, and it brought me crashing back. True-to-the-roots Megadeth metal, in all its guts and glory. That's what Metallica needs, and it's something they'll never be able to pull off. Hetfield isn't an angry teen anymore, and if he's trying to be, he's wasting his time and ours. He's still one pissed off guy; that will never leave him. But he's married, he's a father, and he's in his 30's. You can't be an angry, rebellious teen anymore. You can be angry, and rebellious (although he's almost anything but; there's a few bits and pieces, but for the most part, they've all gone mainstream), but you can't ever capture that old fire.
Seeing them dressed as common thugs for a new rap album literally made me physically ill. I almost vomited on my monitor, and indeed almost had to make a dash for the bathroom. You say the album is at least still metal. That's more than I thought it would be. So, maybe there's still hope. Maybe it will be worth my money. But the bigger picture? Is this an a band I want to continue to support? I don't know. Right now, I don't think so, but I just don't know.
I love metal. I love my music. It's my life, and I'm one to take the music where I find it, ALMOST regardless of who it's by. But this... this is pushing my limits. For now, I'm going to hold off. There's lots more albums I could get instead, from loads of other bands, before I dare venture down those dark waters. Metallica, as they once were, is forever dead. Whether their new incarnation is worth it to me, I haven't come to a conclusion yet. And I've been debating for years.
Thanks for the heads up, though. I'll keep an eye out for it, and would appreciate your feedback.
. . .
Ok,so the updated the site. :P Anyway, it was a picture of them against some building. They were dressed like a bunch of rap thugs. I swore off Metallica when I saw that. It made me physically ill.
I AM a hardcore fan. I have been listening to them for over a decade. I grew up with them on TV, watching their videos on MTV and occasionally hearing bits on the radio. I've always loved them, but it took me until Load came out to remember it. For a number of years, I was beyond musically challenged. I was musically barren. I started in with a lot of stuff, mostly crap that I don't like anymore (and almost regret ever liking; DMB, anyone? :P). Then came Load, and it changed me for life. It brought me crashing back to those 80's days of my youth, and it woke something up in me that hadn't been alive for years. It woke up my metal-head nature, something I had forgotten, completely LOST, for far too long.
I have all their albums, save for Live #$%&: Binge and Purge. Someday I will get that. ;) I'm debating with myself on getting this latest one. On the one hand, I'm not too big a fan anymore. They have truly gone down the tubes, and while Load was still good, ReLoad marked a clear descent. S&M was incredible, but still not true-to-the-roots. Unlike Megadeth, Metallica has just kept on descending. Risk (Megadeth) was a step towards the downward spiral for Megadeth, and it shook me up. I thought all my music was gonna die out before I had even reached the legal drinking age. Then came The World Needs A Hero, and it brought me crashing back. True-to-the-roots Megadeth metal, in all its guts and glory. That's what Metallica needs, and it's something they'll never be able to pull off. Hetfield isn't an angry teen anymore, and if he's trying to be, he's wasting his time and ours. He's still one pissed off guy; that will never leave him. But he's married, he's a father, and he's in his 30's. You can't be an angry, rebellious teen anymore. You can be angry, and rebellious (although he's almost anything but; there's a few bits and pieces, but for the most part, they've all gone mainstream), but you can't ever capture that old fire.
Seeing them dressed as common thugs for a new rap album literally made me physically ill. I almost vomited on my monitor, and indeed almost had to make a dash for the bathroom. You say the album is at least still metal. That's more than I thought it would be. So, maybe there's still hope. Maybe it will be worth my money. But the bigger picture? Is this an a band I want to continue to support? I don't know. Right now, I don't think so, but I just don't know.
I love metal. I love my music. It's my life, and I'm one to take the music where I find it, ALMOST regardless of who it's by. But this... this is pushing my limits. For now, I'm going to hold off. There's lots more albums I could get instead, from loads of other bands, before I dare venture down those dark waters. Metallica, as they once were, is forever dead. Whether their new incarnation is worth it to me, I haven't come to a conclusion yet. And I've been debating for years.
Thanks for the heads up, though. I'll keep an eye out for it, and would appreciate your feedback.
Roland *The Gunslinger*