So what did you think of the new album?

[protoshoggoth]

"Master of puppets" is frequently heralded among the fans as the Metallica-album. What made you lose interest?

I'd have to listen to it again to really say. I haven't listened to it since the year it came out, what, 15 years ago? It wasn't really *bad*, but nothing on it really seemed to work to the degree that, say, For Whom The Bell Tolls did on Ride the Lightning. I suppose the fact that it was intended to have a 'message' (viz: album cover) didn't help much either. I don't need a bunch of bay area bangers telling me how to think. :)

Of course, there was so much other metal at the time that I liked better, that may have had something to do with it. Tank, Exciter, Manilla Road, Mercyful Fate, Raven, things like that.

I'm suprised to hear that MOP is considered "the album" by the afficionados. I get the impression (this is from reading around a bit today, I'd never heard that notion before) that people think this is when they 'got serious' or something. That puzzles me. It's not like the earlier albums were what I would call speed metal or thrash (the excrable Fight Fire with Fire on RTL excepted) but that seems to be what the first two albums are considered today. Odd. I consider Pantera and (back in the day) Slayer to be speed/thrash, and I don't see that there's much in common between their stuff and, say, Metal Militia on Kill 'em All.

But whatever...I'm content to be an old, geezery voice in the wilderness on this matter. Nowadays, of course, I mainly find it amusing that this bunch of millionaires are trying to position themselves as champs of Youth Anger.

Dang I hope Still At War gets here soon.