Metallica

The Black Album, Metallica's biggest selling album, and the album that singlehandedly brought metal to the attention of MTV and the mainstream, opens with one of their best songs, "Enter Sandman", a simple, five-minute metal anthem. It would be a huge hit, although Metallica didn't know that when they were recording it. It would also be the last true metal anthem, the last true glorious celebration of heavy metal, that Metallica ever did.

The concept behind the Black Album was a good one. On the fantastic "...And Justice For All", every song was over five minutes and only two were under six. Metallica had gradually been growing longer and more overwrought since the early thrash of "Kill Em' All" expanded into the twin metal masterpieces of "Ride The Lightning" and "Master Of Puppets", which expanded into the ambitious, extended suites of the odyssey that was ."..And Justice For All". It had to eventually collapse on itself-the only place for Metallica to go was short and to the point, and this album accomplishes that. The members of Metallica should not be strung up by their thumbs for evolving and changing their sound. This is what great bands do. And the album itself shouldn't be penalized because of the extremely disappointing, alternative style "Load" and "Reload", and then the horrific "St. Anger", which wouldn't have been so bad but for being made by the band that once played "Master Of Puppets". And it also shouldn't be penalized because it caught on with the mainstream and alternative crowds, because although that goes against the thrash ideals that Metallica upheld on their first four albums, it's not Metallica's fault that they liked it. In fact, this album converted many of them to metalheads, who then went out and bought Pantera and Anthrax albums. And most of all, it shouldn't be penalized for the actions of the band after they became huge, including the Napster business and the rehab that made the band a joke. Very rarely is this album listened to objectively, so this is what I tried to do.

As I said, the album opens with the fantastic "Enter Sandman", which is easily the best song on the album. In fact, the entire first half of the album is very strong, or at least stronger then the second half, with "Sad But True", "Holier Than Thou", "The Unforgiven", "Wherever I May Roam", and "Don't Tread On Me". "Enter Sandman" basically perfectly executes what Metallica was attempting with this album, a powerful, concise metal headbanger. The riffs are simple, the drums are simple, the lyrics are simple, even Kirk's solo comes in, does its job, then gets out. But it all ties together in a way that's more accessible then their early thrashers but still is instantly recognizable. In my opinion, it's really the only song on the album that perfectly encapsulates what the band was intending-make it simple but keep it Metallica. And it's followed by the very good "Sad But True", which follows the Enter Sandman blueprint-just a little less. It's actually my favorite song on the album other then Sandman. As opposed to the crazy speed metal on their first four albums, it takes a menacing, slower pace, with rhythmic, pulsing chords and some of James' best singing on the album. It's a little more alternative and nu metal then their early work, but I think it holds up with a lot of it, especially because of the very well done solo by Kirk-it's heavy on the wah-wah, but it definitely keeps you interested.

Following that is "Holier Then Thou", which, along with "Don't Tread On Me", makes up the standard Metallica thrasher section of the first half. It keeps the good streak going-it's basically good ol' standard Metallica riffage. It's still not fast enough to quite qualify with older works like, say "Battery"or "Damage Inc.", but it's one of the more effective works on the album. The strong point is actually the verses, which showcase the very good lyrics (regarding James' distaste for organized religion) and the good riff. Kirk's solo goes on a little too long, and it could have done without a little of the end, but it's still doing well. So far, the album is succeeding. "Don't Tread On Me", though, two songs later, really fails. The riff is really just mediocre (for Metallica, anyway), but it's real problem is that it's just ordinary. There's nothing really special-it's not too fast, the solo is standard (cut back on the wah-wah, Kirk), and the choruses, where James is yelling "DON'T-TREAD-ON-ME!" comes off much more silly then awesome. However, this is a little later-there's still one more special song on the first half.

"The Unforgiven" is after "Holier Than Thou", and it's one of the best songs on the album-it's dark, acoustic, moody, depressing, and very well done. As a song, it's very good-the problem is that it really isn't the sort of song that has too much replay value. Although I immediately acknowledged its mastery when I heard it, I found myself skipping over it when I was listening to the album the next few times on my iPod. Even so, it's one of the best songs they have to offer, and if the end was thrashier, it would be a great Metallica epic in the spirit of "One" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)". A little riffage would have helped.

Unfortunately, this really ends the special streak. After four songs of sustained skill, "Wherever I May Roam" and "Don't Tread On Me" give the album a punch in the gut. One of the things Metallica has been renowned for is the ability to write six, eight, or even nine (in the case of ...And Justice For All's title track) minute songs and keep you interested the whole time-this is why "...And Justice For All" is considered classic Metallica. But since it's slowed down, "Wherever I May Roam" simply succeeds in boring you. If Bob Rock's job was to make their sound more concise, he certainly failed here. And the aforementioned "Don't Tread On Me" is just sort of sad.

"Through The Never" opens the next half of the album, and it does a relatively good job of making up for "Don't Tread On Me", although it doesn't quite salvage the album. The verses can get boring, but the chorus and the opening riff (repeated throughout the song) more then make up for it. A solid, if unspectacular. But then comes the song that really kills the album. "Nothing Else Matters" is disgusting. It goes against everything Metallica stands for. James isn't growling. There's no riff-it's a ballad. Even when it gets a little angrier, it immediately goes back to James actually singing and acoustic guitars. The whole song reeks of radio and an attempt to be more successful-and I find it pitiful. It's followed by "Of Wolf And Man" and "The God That Failed", both of which go a little bit towards making up for some of the crap. The former is a standard thrasher that benefits from a great riff. The latter is another six-minute epic, but it does a better job keeping you interested, and the solo is great. And then it screws it all up with the last two songs, which fully condemn the album to never be truly classic Metallica. "My Friend Of Misery" is slow, depressing, and it fails. By slowing it down, Bob Rock and the band took away their ability to keep your attention. It overstays it's welcome and really doesn't do anything interesting. And the final song, "The Struggle Within", is an uninspired thrash standard that really does nothing to warrant listening to it any more then once or twice. And that's it.

The problem with the album is that it's poorly executed. The idea is a good one, "Enter Sandman" and "Sad But True" prove that a little slower and more accessible can be done well. But there's so much filler on the album-"The Struggle Within" and "Don't Tread On Me" both just go through the motions of a true great Metallica headbanger. And so much is unspectacular that it needs to be cut, or have some new ideas inserted. But the maddening thing is this-at least half the album has spots of true greatness. When I hear a crazy solo or a great riff buried in these songs, it makes me mad, because I hear the old Metallica in there. I consider Metallica's career like a line. On one half is their amazing first metal part. On the other half is their disappointing alternative part. This album is a dot in the middle-it seems split right down between the two. So why, you ask, have I given as high a rating as I have?

It's simple. This is still Metallica. The greatest metal band ever. The worst moments on the album would be the best on many other young metal bands. It falls a little short by Metallica's standards, but by anyone else's, it would be great. And this is reviewed on the basis of objective quality, not on a comparison to their early work. So I recommend you buy this album, simply because it's still Metallica and that alone makes it worth buying. Besides, as the biggest selling metal album of all time, it would criminal to call yourself a metal fan and not know this album, simply for the sake of history. As an album-good. But as Metallica-short.

A little addendum-I was listening to this on iTunes. As Struggle Within ended, it moved on to the next song-Battery, the opener to Master Of Puppets. I sat there, listened to Battery, and sighed. Out with the classic old, in with the slightly flawed new. And it's just not the same.