Metallica

Ah. And now we come to another turning point. Metallica had advanced the thrash sound about as far (arguably) as they could take it. They yearned for songs that they could play live (unlike say "Dyers Eve"), and wanted to experiment with new sounds. And lets be honest, the lure of mainstream success probably had something to do with it.

But there's nothing wrong with being radio friendly is there? Metallica is still heavier than anything else on the radio at the time (excepting early Soundgarden and, perhaps, Alice in Chains), and though it is not a thrash record, there are some solid thrashers on here. "Through the Never" has a strange futuristic (futureal?) vibe and Newsted makes his bass chug and squawk in ways that would make Burton proud. "The Struggle Within" has an excellent lead break, and the clanky riff and fairly numerous tempo changes (plus the lyrics) would make this a good cut on the ...And Justice record, although this one has, yes I�m serious, bass guitar. And I defy you to beat the pure metal heft of the "Holier Than Thou" intro. Sadly it's one of the few times where James's lyrics actually pull the song down.

The ballads are hardly sell outs, especially since they've had them since day two. "The Unforgiven" is like an inverted "Fade to Black" with its heavy verse and soft chorus, and lyrically it feels like an overview of the ballads of the past. All of Metallica's ballads have been dark, first because they had no light songs, and second because they had to make up for being melodic by making the songs the antithesis of say, "Photograph". This song deals with the same themes as the others, but where the others all rage at the injustice of it all, "The Unforgiven" is written by a tired man, one beaten down by the rigours of the world. Some beautiful vocals on the chorus, and it's hard to beat that titanic Hammett solo. Pity this rarely gets played live. "Nothing Else Matters" is the future, the first Metallica ballad, nay, first Metallica SONG that feels joyous and happy to be alive. And it's hard to call it a sell-out when it feels a lot like "One" with the dark bits excised.

Oh, and there are some very hard rockers floating around, some of which are even singles from the record. "Sad but True", admittedly a rewrite of "Harvester of Sorrow"(if you could write that thing, you'd use it again!) is a brutal song, a riff you could pull teeth with while Newsted proves himself to be a solid bassist. No slight could ever be made to Cliff Burton, but you almost have to think that James and Lars always wanted a bassist like this, i.e one who shut up and played rhythm. Note Kirk's oddly bluesy solo amidst the wreckage. "Enter Sandman" was played to death, but it's still got a nice dreamy vibe with a riff that screams for vengeance and a solo that rocks the house. "Wherever I May Roam" is a nice Eastern-flavoured dirge and there's no hint of blues at all. That riff is a solid chunk of metal. "Don't Tread on Me" has a military stomp, sorta feels like a hard power metal song. Also this song has some intricate layering that has a (Motor) breath of the earlier mid-tempo Tallica tunes.

And the odd man out here is "My Friend of Misery", Newsted's baby. It was originally designed to be the central riff of the fifth Metallica instrumental, and I think with this beautiful and elegant bass line it would've been worthy of the others. Still, it's probably my second favourite song on the album, with a nice whisper-shout vocal, some nice steely leads and through it all, like some epiphany after the cold alien production of Justice and the claustrophobic layering of the other three, a wonderful warm bass line. If nothing else, thank Bob Rock for that.

Historically, this one is probably the most important Metallica record since Ride the Lightning. That record started thrash proper, and this one pretty much ended it. A few acts kept the flame alive (Heathen, Overkill), but it was the end of thrash metal's flirtation with mainstream success. And since most of the people against this record cry foul at it's success, they ought to be happy the music went back underground where they could be 'unique' in holding it to their bosoms. How did it end thrash? Well, where Metallica goes, others follow. Megadeth went from the seminal Rust in Peace to the more streamlined (albeit great) Countdown to Extinction. Anthrax was thankful I'll bet, because they were seriously running out of stuff to do after Killer B's, and they switched to a more alt-metal sound ASAP. Hell, even Slayer moved away from sonic excess to the more groove oriented (and crushingly heavy of course) Seasons in the Abyss. Thus, with the big four moving on, most of the second tier acts became lost. Upsetting? Hell yeah. But the Black Album is simply a result of Metallica's progressive nature, and under the 12 million pancakes sold and controversies inherent to it, you'll find a great album.

All that praise I level with as much honesty as the day I first purchased this album, but since then I find that the record has simply worn on me worse than any other Metallica album. It isn't that the thing is overplayed, because I dig the big pop hits when they come on the dial. The problem is that, as a whole, the album simply isn't as conceptually interesting or as flatly godly as the works bookending it. The record is an endless grey, and this album as Metallica's most direct play towards the mainstream sacrifices true three-dimensional art in favour of the more obvious and anthemic, tracks slaved to blunt riffs played without the feeling of the even simpler Load record. I find that the tracks that still have face, the ones with melancholy and pain are those that resonate most strongly and continue to give me joy even as I lay flowers at the grave of what these giants once were. Oh and "Sandman", because kiddies, that is one piece of perfect songcraft.

Stand-Outs: "My Friend of Misery", "The Unforgiven", "Enter Sandman"