they're back - for real this time
September 6, 2008 10:03 PM   Subscribe

The day that never comes. (slyt)
posted by pyramid termite (74 comments total)
 
The pretentiousness of the video info on the right (I have no idea what that's called) is just off the charts.
Which admittedly matches the video, so I guess it's reasonable.
posted by Lemurrhea at 10:11 PM on September 6, 2008


Man, that's unfortunate. Vinterberg was good back in the day.
posted by juv3nal at 10:19 PM on September 6, 2008


Wow, the music video itself was unbelievably shitty. Was the director eleven?
posted by the_bone at 10:25 PM on September 6, 2008


Re: video - I'm amazed that they took eight and a half minutes to...not take any kind of intelligible stand on the war in Iraq, other than it sucks, but it's Metallica, so yeah. It is gripping there in those last couple minutes, as you wonder what the hell's about to happen. But I'm more struck by the Rorschach blot of opinion on the war it represents: You could be neocon to the bone or liberal as Al Franken and come away from it equally validated. That's not really a compliment; it feels like a copout, to me. On the other hand, I think Metallica is the kind of band that probably feels like their people are the ones on the ground -- people whose opinions don't really matter, and just have to plow through this shit regardless. So. Hmmmm.

Re: the music - Yeah, I was pretty nervous when Hetfield was all like, "I'm gonna sing, you guys, for real." 'Cause that was...really...terrible? Thankfully, it doesn't last very long. Gets pretty great at about the four-minute mark. But dude: That's three minutes into the song. Still, better than they've sounded in quite a while. Eventually.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:36 PM on September 6, 2008


As it is inevitable, I'll go ahead and link to "One."
posted by Bookhouse at 10:40 PM on September 6, 2008


Thankfully, it doesn't last very long.

Wait till he actually *sings* it in concert. People will be running for the door.

Still, better than they've sounded in quite a while.

There was no where to go but up.

Was the director eleven?

In their defense many of their fans are 11.
posted by justgary at 10:42 PM on September 6, 2008


"...And Justice For All" was the tape I listened to while mowing lawns for a couple summers. This wasn't bad. I didn't notice the bass player's face in the video (or his instrument on the song, nothing new there).
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 10:42 PM on September 6, 2008


I have not been to the deserts in southern California nor have I been to Iraq. But somehow I can tell them apart. And Southern California Desert, I am sorry, but you are no Iraq. You have too many hills.
posted by Kronoss at 10:49 PM on September 6, 2008 [1 favorite]


Man, I don't know. Surely there's more to combat first aid than a little white thing stuck under the body armor.

And the song just... isn't that good. They've done better. "But the sunshine never comes." Seriously? Those are some brilliant lyrics there. Especially with a music video set in the desert. Also, California does not look like Iraq. I know they're both deserts, but fucking seriously. There are differences.

It feels like they tried to recapture what made "Nothing Else Matters" or "The Unforgiven" successful songs, and failed. At least during the first half of the entirely too long video. In the second half it was like they forgot what song they were playing.
posted by Caduceus at 10:53 PM on September 6, 2008


MetallicaFilter
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 10:55 PM on September 6, 2008 [1 favorite]


I've heard the new album. As a long time Metallica fan who was absolutely gutted by just how terrible St Anger was, I was a bit worried when I first sat down to listen to this new effort. I was worried that for all the talk that this new album would be a return to the Metallica of old (the same kind of talk that I heard in the build up to the release of St Anger), this would essentially be a St Anger 2.

I first heard The Day That Never Comes since it was the first single. I was pleasantly surprised by it. I didn't think it was great but I thought it was telling that this was the first single that Metallica chose to release from Death Magnetic. It was clearly designed to appease all the hardcore Metallica fans who bemoaned the lack of guitar solos on St Anger that guitar solos were back on the new album. And they were back with a vengeance! The last 2 minutes of The Day That Never Comes is a guitar solo. So that made me happy, and like I said, I enjoyed the song, but I didn't think the song was magnificent.

The second song I heard was 'My Apocalypse', which I think is the second single. It's an angry thrash rocker that was OK, but which I enjoyed decidedly less that The Day That Never Comes. It was marred by one of my main gripes with St Anger... childish, simplistic lyrics. I know that it's almost an oxymoron to say that Metallica delivers complex witty lyrics, but I felt that their work on Black, Load and ReLoad showed substantial growth in Hetfield's ability to write good lyrics. St Anger was a major regression, with lyrics like "I'm madly in anger with you" (repeated one billion times over) or the annoyingly awful line "Frantic-tic-tic-tic-tic-tic-tic-tic-toc." My Apocalypse wasn't that bad but it was still simplistic insofar as its lyrics are concerned its own way. It worried me a bit.

I heard 'Unforgiven III' after that. Much more mellow than both The Day That Never Comes and My Apocalypse, it is also very different in sound and composition to Unforgiven Parts 1 and 2. And it's nice. Nothing will ever beat Part 1, I think, but it's still a nice addition to The Unforgiven saga.

So after hearing those three songs I got the chance to hear the whole album the other day and I have to say, while it has one or two missteps, it's a big step forward from the travesty that was St Anger. I defy anyone to listen to what I personally think is the best song on the album, Broken, Beat and Scarred, and not think that it was pure awesome. There's not a single song on this album that's under 5 minutes long, there's tonnes of guitar solos, and there's even a 9 minute instrumental track.

The whole album is also very much an attempt to hearken back to the band's earlier days. It never goes as far back as Kill Em All, but it at times feels very much like ...And Justice for All and Master of Puppets. It's a good album, a return to form, but not their best work (for me that will always be Load). But still well worth buying when it comes out in a few days.
posted by Effigy2000 at 10:56 PM on September 6, 2008 [2 favorites]


I didn't notice the bass player's face in the video (or his instrument on the song, nothing new there).

It was Robert Trujillo, not that it matters especially. The part was quite generic.
posted by Wolof at 10:56 PM on September 6, 2008


In an amicable kind of way, just adding to the hate and heavy metal, Kiss My Glock.
posted by nickyskye at 10:57 PM on September 6, 2008


There was no where to go but up.

That's pretty much true, actually, but at least a godawful album brought the world a comedy classic.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:59 PM on September 6, 2008 [1 favorite]


I remember hearing Steven Tyler talking about the recording of Janie's Got A Gun—something on VH1, probably, this was years ago—where he was giving this little speech, like "you know, and after I'd written it I said to myself, gosh, Steven, you've really finally gone and written something that means something, something important! But, you know, then I stop and think about it and it's like, hey, it's still just RAWK AN' ROLL!"

And I remember thinking at the time, christ what a wanker. Dares to pretension (and Janie is a great recording, don't get me wrong, but it's still really, really an Aerosmith single), but doesn't have the balls to follow through so he has to play it cool with the self-deprecation and rock-reaffirmation thing, and oy veh and so on.

Right now I kind of feel like apologizing to the dude. The sheer butt-stank hubris of this video, wrapped around the same clumsy gradeschool lyrics that were maybe defensible enough back when these guys were young and unimpeachable but now are just goddamned embarrassing to listen to...
posted by cortex at 11:01 PM on September 6, 2008


Some real heavy metal, McKenzie -11yo Girl Sets New Record for Field Stripping an AR15.
posted by nickyskye at 11:05 PM on September 6, 2008 [2 favorites]


It was marred by one of my main gripes with St Anger... childish, simplistic lyrics.

From Enter Sandman:

"Heavy thoughts tonight
And they arent of snow white"

I was a huge metallica fan at that point and remember thinking wtf. Since then Hetfield can't seem to write a lyric that doesn't make me cringe. Simplistic and cliched, that's his style. I mean, he was never a great lyricist, but at least he appeared to be trying. Then it went straight to childish drivel.

It never goes as far back as Kill Em All, but it at times feels very much like ...And Justice for All and Master of Puppets.

I've only heard this song, but it sounds like nothing off of master of puppets. If you liked Load, I can see why you like this, but Load certainly wasn't their earlier days. Everything after justice would make Cliff Burton role over in his grave.

That's pretty much true, actually, but at least a godawful album brought the world a comedy classic.

True, though I've only seen pieces. I knew if I watched the whole thing I'd go through the screen to strangle Lars, who, imho, is the most pretentious prick on the plant.

Also, everything cortex said.
posted by justgary at 11:15 PM on September 6, 2008


So this stays but vronskys Life of Illusion ;-) gets deleated? Why does MetaFilter hate Joe Walsh?
posted by Sailormom at 11:19 PM on September 6, 2008 [1 favorite]


If you liked Load, I can see why you like this, but Load certainly wasn't their earlier days. Everything after justice would make Cliff Burton role over in his grave.

Q.F.T.
posted by Cyrano at 11:33 PM on September 6, 2008 [1 favorite]


I like Metallica, but only when a bunch of French guys sample it to close out their set...like here
posted by hellojed at 11:37 PM on September 6, 2008


Oh, Metallica's still alive? Huh.
posted by Pecinpah at 11:51 PM on September 6, 2008


Sounds kinda like something Jethro Tull would've written, once upon a time. I didn't realize, I guess, just how prog those Metallica fellows are. It's kind of hilarious to me that folks would actually go to all the trouble, you know, to actually write and rehearse and learn and perform stuff like this. It comes off like comedy to me: a parody of itself. Oh well, they're loved by millions, and all that...

The soldiers in the clip: That's some of the worst, um, acting-where-real-acting-isn't-even-called-for that I've ever seen.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:05 AM on September 7, 2008


justgary: "If you liked Load, I can see why you like this, but Load certainly wasn't their earlier days.

You should know that I agree that Load does not equal their early days. I classify Metallica's early days as everything pre-The Black Album. I'm just saying, I thought Load was their best work.
posted by Effigy2000 at 12:13 AM on September 7, 2008


matallicaonlinemefigrouptherapyfilter
posted by treepour at 12:13 AM on September 7, 2008 [2 favorites]


Not FPP worthy.

That's the first time I've gotten to say that..
posted by mediocre at 12:19 AM on September 7, 2008


Oh and no, they aren't back. They are just now even more pathetic panderers, gross charicatures of idle rock stars, and the "OMG hevvy!!1" of their newest material is at best a third rate late-era Slayer ripoff. These guys are old, and not angry anymore. They fail the hardest when they try to channel the same drunk young and pissed sound of their early material because they are sober, old, and complacent now. It sounds dreadfully forced when they "metal" it up, with super lame riffs and shockingly inept picking technique.. I won't pick on the drumming, it'd be like kicking a puppy..

This album makes Load look like a statement of artistic integrity. Boo.
posted by mediocre at 12:27 AM on September 7, 2008 [1 favorite]


or

The day Metallica retires, that's "The Day That Never Comes", soon enough! Ami rite fellas?
posted by mediocre at 12:29 AM on September 7, 2008 [2 favorites]


I think the name of this song should be "Two".

Yeah, I used to be a Metallica fan...
posted by hellslinger at 12:35 AM on September 7, 2008


Oh yeah, ditto to mediocre up there
posted by hellslinger at 12:36 AM on September 7, 2008


As a person who wore his metal up your ass t-shirt until it disintegrated, I'd like to add, "ewww" as a comment. Then, I'll add an "-ah" to it, just because that's what James Hetfield would do. But, honestly, I haven't listened to them in years, other than while watching the highly amusing documentary "We Cry Because We're Rough and We Whine Because We're Rich,"* so I don't think I'm their demographic.

*I may be remembering the title incorrectly.
posted by sleepy pete at 12:43 AM on September 7, 2008 [1 favorite]


How does anyone imagine this song is good? Ain't even b-side worthy. [meh flagged]
posted by jeffburdges at 12:47 AM on September 7, 2008


I have not been to the deserts in southern California nor have I been to Iraq. But somehow I can tell them apart. And Southern California Desert, I am sorry, but you are no Iraq. You have too many hills.

It could be Afghanistan maybe.

And anyway, the video sucked.
posted by delmoi at 12:48 AM on September 7, 2008


Load? wtf?!? Was there any good song on Load except Until it Sleeps? I'm pretty sure Reload had nothing. Metallica had numerous great songs up threw The Black Album, but almost nothing after. I mean, many metal groups have moved on successfully, even Ozzy, but Metallica never managed.

Yes, the French group Justice is quite good.
posted by jeffburdges at 1:18 AM on September 7, 2008


mediocre: "Oh and no, they aren't back. They are just now even more pathetic panderers, gross charicatures of idle rock stars, and the "OMG hevvy!!1" of their newest material is at best a third rate late-era Slayer ripoff. These guys are old, and not angry anymore. They fail the hardest when they try to channel the same drunk young and pissed sound of their early material because they are sober, old, and complacent now. It sounds dreadfully forced when they "metal" it up, with super lame riffs and shockingly inept picking technique.. I won't pick on the drumming, it'd be like kicking a puppy..

This album makes Load look like a statement of artistic integrity. Boo.
"

It's still better than a punch in the dick, I reckon.
posted by Effigy2000 at 1:20 AM on September 7, 2008


Obligatory mention of Beatallica.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:15 AM on September 7, 2008


Remember when they sued to stop us listening to their music for free?

Man, I miss those days....
posted by dash_slot- at 5:19 AM on September 7, 2008


But I'm more struck by the Rorschach blot of opinion on the war it represents: You could be neocon to the bone or liberal as Al Franken and come away from it equally validated.

that's what i felt was most interesting about the video, is that it seems to represent an unwillingness to take a position that's pretty well spread throughout the media - there are people who are self-consciously sitting on the fence and "letting the viewer make up their minds" - it's a snapshot of america's ambiguity in 08

musically, i think it's a great improvement over what they've been doing - they're not close to being my favorite band or genre, but i thought it was interesting that they chose to return with a video like this
posted by pyramid termite at 5:29 AM on September 7, 2008


So, I'd never heard anything by Metallica before this video. Gotta say: not impressed. Good guitar work at the beginning, but the lyrics and vocals were not good at all. Were they better in the '80's?
posted by JDHarper at 5:39 AM on September 7, 2008


Damned Shame.
posted by jonmc at 5:51 AM on September 7, 2008 [1 favorite]


I fucking HATE these bunch of posers.

Shitty FPP, on every level.
posted by dbiedny at 6:18 AM on September 7, 2008 [1 favorite]


You know, back in my punk rock days in high school, my friends and I had a lot of disdain for metal. The long hair, the attempts at "singing", the long masturbatory guitar solos. Bah. But then Master of Puppets came out. It confused us. I mean, this was a very good album. We couldn't not like it. This led us to dip into the back catalog (Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning) and we liked that even more. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who thought so - established hardcore bands like Circle Jerks and DRI strayed into metal crossover territory, and soon bands like Septic Death were innovating the art of combining the superfast beats of hardcore with a metal sound, i.e. grindcore (Interestingly, Septic Death's front man, Brian Schroeder, did the artwork for St Anger). This seemed, in the late 80s, like a new and exciting time for music. We couldn't wait to hear what was coming up next.

What came next was . . . And Justice for All. Holy Christ what a train wreck. Ballads? A video on MTV? What the crap was this? We watched Metallica from afar as they moved into musical vagueness, flogging the same tired themes, the composition getting weaker, more or less spinning their wheels and trying to stay relevant while grunge had managed to usurp the "heavy" and the youth. Them going to legal war with their own fans sure didn't help them, either. And Rockstar Supernova? Yeah.

It's a little late for Metallica to make a stab at relevance now.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 6:31 AM on September 7, 2008 [4 favorites]


Well, the 72 seconds I spent listening and watching (including backing up to be sure I saw what I saw in the video) was more Metallica I have knowingly, willingly and without duress listened to than ever before.

And my response remains the same as my first exposures to them: "...meh"

(Video shows significant lack of research into establishing a believable scenario ... troop transport in OPEN vehicles through known hostile territory? Give me a frelling break ... )

Now get off my lawn.
posted by aldus_manutius at 6:43 AM on September 7, 2008


"It sucks less then St. Anger," which is what most people who have heard it already keep telling me, is not much of an endorsement since St. Anger was one of the biggest loafs ever pinched out by a washed up and desperate dinosaur. Believe me, as a lifelong metalhead, I loved Metallica once upon a time, I had a Metallica backpatch for my jean jacket in 9th grade, worshiped Cliff Burton and reeled when he died, etc. But this is a band that hasn't done anything even vaguely decent in 20 years. The number of years that they have completely fucking sucked is roughly four times the number of years that they were great. That's not a good ratio. This most recent attempt of theirs to recycle ideas that worked for them when they weren't middle aged yuppie d-bags stinks of the same desperation to me, even if the riffs are slightly better then they've been for a long time.
posted by The Straightener at 7:15 AM on September 7, 2008 [1 favorite]


JDHarper: So, I'd never heard anything by Metallica before this video. Gotta say: not impressed. Good guitar work at the beginning, but the lyrics and vocals were not good at all. Were they better in the '80's?

Musically, yeah. Lyrically...uh...not significantly, no. They tended to not be so sentimental, though, and to be a lot shoutier, so the lyrical deficiency wasn't so glaring.

pyramid termite: there are people who are self-consciously sitting on the fence and "letting the viewer make up their minds" - it's a snapshot of america's ambiguity in 08

I'm not sure that ambiguity actually exists, though, which is why the video strikes me as off. I think the only way somebody could possibly not have any real opinion about the war in Iraq at this point is to be so monumentally self-centered that...oh, wait, yeah. I mean, this is still a very popular band, they had this huge platform from which to say something -- anything! -- on this subject, and what they came up with amounts to, "We're Metallica, and we also think war isn't cool. PS: Buy our album. In stores now!" It's not offensive -- I don't get an exploitative sense from the video at all -- just strangely devoid of meaning. I'd almost think they wanted to avoid pissing off one half or another of their fanbase, but you know: Napster. So that isn't it.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:38 AM on September 7, 2008


Does anyone else hate the snare sound as much as me? The vocals are also terrible. I feel like the band is just trying as hard as they can to emulate their 80s sound, but failing horribly. That said, way better than the pile of crap St. Anger was.

As for the video, pretty cheesy.
posted by azarbayejani at 7:47 AM on September 7, 2008


Musically, yeah. Lyrically...uh...not significantly, no.

Well, compared to the hairmetal outfits, they at least tried to write lyrics with some substance and in the Lightning to Justice period, they suited the music well. And I'll echo the sentiments of many here, when I say that it's really saddening watching the decline of a band that I loved so much back in the day.
posted by jonmc at 7:58 AM on September 7, 2008


I'm not sure that ambiguity actually exists, though,

it does, but it's hard to hear it under the steady roar of those who are sure of what the truth is - it's also hard to distinguish from apathy

whoever gets elected this year, the votes for them will be outnumbered by the non-votes of those who stayed home

I think the only way somebody could possibly not have any real opinion about the war in Iraq at this point is to be so monumentally self-centered

... that they'd be indistinguishable from mall rats? but really, a lot of people just don't know what to think about what's going on in the world around them and just end up doing their jobs - like the soldiers in the video

metallica played it safe - a lot of americans want to play it safe too, even in the middle of an election - especially when there's two wars, financial troubles, and a world that's slipping into danger

that's interesting, whatever people think of the song and the video
posted by pyramid termite at 7:59 AM on September 7, 2008


Metallica: it feels like a copout, to me.
posted by effwerd at 8:07 AM on September 7, 2008


In case anyone else couldn't make it to the end, the coalition soldiers eventually do give the kid and the burqa lady a jump-start, rather than gunning them down like dogs. (I skipped the middle, so I'm not sure what happened to the soldier who kept smiling and dozing off after he had a book stuffed under his shirt.) I guess that was nice of the soldiers, to not gun human beings down like dogs because their car battery's dead... is that ordinarily a capital crime in the Los Angeles area? Mercy seems to have been inspired by the head soldier catching sight of the burqa lady's perfectly penciled eyeliner. That is seriously what I got out of this video.

Metallica's strength is as a speed-metal band, and when they're speedy, they're still pretty good. There are parts of this song that one could still bang one's head to, but when Metallica slows down... they drone, they lumber. One cannot Bang the Head Slowly. Weirdly, when the tempo of this track speeds up, the visual action in the video slows down. The harder the band rocks, the more the actors just stand there doing nothing, sapping all the energy away from the music and putting no metal up my ass whatsoever. It is a sorry production in many ways.
posted by cirocco at 8:28 AM on September 7, 2008 [1 favorite]


Mercy seems to have been inspired by the head soldier catching sight of the burqa lady's perfectly penciled eyeliner. That is seriously what I got out of this video.

Yeah, you probably missed something. The soldier's Brooding Dude Moment after his buddy gets killed implies that he may be revenge-minded, even a little unhinged, and inclined toward the kind of emotions that get innocent people killed because they might be out to get you. The reason the innocent people don't get gunned down like dogs is because the soldier gets a moment of clarity and decides to trust that they are what they appear to be. Which turns out to be the case. Like I said at too-great length above, I'm disappointed that the band elected to make this video on a hot-button subject without actually saying anything about it, but I do think it's cool that they chose to dramatize a pretty realistic, unglamorous wartime incident that nonetheless shows how scary it would be to be in this situation. There's a fair amount of cheese in this video, make no mistake, but I think the ending is better than you're giving it credit for here.

Metallica's strength is as a speed-metal band, and when they're speedy, they're still pretty good. There are parts of this song that one could still bang one's head to, but when Metallica slows down... they drone, they lumber. One cannot Bang the Head Slowly.

This is pretty much everything that's been wrong with Metallica for twenty years in three sentences, yes.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:46 AM on September 7, 2008


After hearing My Apocalypse, a decent, but not great song, I'm totally ready to be tricked my Metallica for the fourth or fifth time! I think I know what's going to happen, but I enjoy being hopeful about Metallica.
posted by ignignokt at 8:48 AM on September 7, 2008


But I'm more struck by the Rorschach blot of opinion on the war it represents: You could be neocon to the bone or liberal as Al Franken and come away from it equally validated.

There's nothing wrong with this. Generation Kill does the same thing, no one gives them shit, and rightly so. Not everything about an event has to be a screed for or against it, no matter how terrible an event is. Should Slayer have put the line "Oh, man, and the Nazis were really bad!" at the end of every chorus in Angel of Death?

What does bother me, though, is that the guitars aren't doubled as tightly as in the first five albums. It sounds more "live," but that really solid, chunky sound was important.
posted by ignignokt at 8:53 AM on September 7, 2008


Metallica: We suck.
Rick Rubin: Nah, you're just misguided.
Metallica: What should we do, oh reviver of flagging musical careers?
Rick Rubin: You should make another "Master of Puppets", but make it about war and stuff.
Metallica: That's a great idea! Can we have guitar solos and everything?
Rick Rubin: Sure! I'll even mike the drums so they don't sound like two blenders wrestling in a garbage can!
Metallica: Hooray! Let's write long songs, guys! Group hug!
(several months and several million dollars later)
Metallica: Hey Rick! Here are the new songs! Whaddya think?
Rick Rubin: Man, I thought that Porter Waggoner record would be a smash hit for sure. Hi, guys.
Metallica: Well, Rick? Is it good? Do you like it? Do we still have it? LOVE US, RICK, LOVE US!!!!
Rick Rubin (sotto voce): Slayer is so much cooler than you guys.
Metallica: Huh?
Rick Rubin: Nothing. Let's shift the vocals a little and add more solos.
Metallica: We can't play today. We're sad.
Rick Rubin: See, that's your problem. That, and you SUCK. Oh well. I'll still get paid.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:01 AM on September 7, 2008 [4 favorites]


OK, only the last half of that song is good. But holy shit that solo had no wah on it!

The thing about Rick Rubin is that everyone loves to have him be the producer, but he doesn't seem to actually do anything. After every album, when they're asked what Rick Rubin did, Slayer goes, "Well, he showed up for like two days." Of course, doing nothing is better than ruining your album.
posted by ignignokt at 9:15 AM on September 7, 2008


God, I used to love these guys...

Before they got replaced by money-grubbing, self-absorbed, no-talent, cry-baby androids.
posted by vertigo25 at 9:24 AM on September 7, 2008 [1 favorite]


I believe this comment may have been intended for this thread.
posted by Wolfdog at 9:27 AM on September 7, 2008


Firefox rejects this video if That Palin Thread is open in another tab. Firefox might know something I don't. Bang the head, slowly.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 9:34 AM on September 7, 2008


I had a hard time following the video without Beavis and Butthead giving me commentary.
posted by Frank Grimes at 10:20 AM on September 7, 2008 [2 favorites]


The reason the innocent people don't get gunned down like dogs is because the soldier gets a moment of clarity and decides to trust that they are what they appear to be.

Oh, I got that, believe you me. It's just that if you pinpoint the moment in the video when the head soldier decides to set aside his apprehension and give the natives a jump, it's the closeup on the burqa lady's eyes, which are perfectly made up. That's what seems to do it for him, not any aspect of the humanity of the people he's been holding at gunpoint during the pretty-good guitar solo. It seemed those poor folks were waving their arms around forever, yet getting no traction with their "seriously, our car will not start" position until the woman got out of the car and showed off that eyeliner.

Speaking as someone who wears eyeliner sometimes, though, when I saw that actress's eyes I cracked up. I don't even know if Muslim women wear makeup, particularly in active combat zones, but it seems unlikely that they would, and even if they did, anyone's makeup would look like hell after being stuck in a stalled car in the desert and having a bunch of people wave weapons at her in a threatening manner. Burqa lady has no dust in her eyes and sheds no tears, but the point the director is trying to drive home is recognition of the natives' essential humanity? That makes no sense to me; human beings get dust in their eyes and human beings cry. Hence the message I got was instead something like: This is rock and roll! Chicks wear black eyeliner and it fucking stays on, okay? Rock and rooooooll! P.S. War bad.
posted by cirocco at 10:37 AM on September 7, 2008 [3 favorites]


I have to admit to a certain amount of surprise at find that so many of you actually watched this video. Seriously, I used to be a Metallica fan way back in the day too, but they haven't been anything but a money-grubbing pack of idea-less dicks for some time now. Strangely, reading the bewildered comments that some of you have left here is the only thing that has made me want to watch the video at all, but I think I'll still hold off, just to forestall the stomach spasms it would doubtlessly induce.

No, fuck. Now I have to watch it to see the magic that eyeliner can conjure in the hearts of soldiers.
posted by Pecinpah at 11:30 AM on September 7, 2008


That was fucking pathetic on all counts.
posted by saturnine at 11:33 AM on September 7, 2008


Yup, burkha magic. Blegh.
posted by Pecinpah at 11:47 AM on September 7, 2008


A video summary.
Two guys in a jeep. No. Two guys in the back of a truck, "Gimme yr water." "Go screw." then boom. Stoneface drags Greedy Water Guy to the edge of the road and they try to scope out the baddies, but can't see anything because the truck's in the way. The truck was apparently driving itself. No wait, here comes the driver(?) who we didn't have to introduce in a previous shot. But he's carrying his phone and belt and gun and everything, but maybe they teach you how to drive a truck wearing all that crap. Or maybe he stopped to put it all on before running over to see if anyone was missing a limb. Greedy Water Guy gets dragged around all over so much he pukes. Smoke, big helicopter and guys running around in an area that was just hit with mortar fire - Shoot Us! We're Right Here! Meh, the baddies are shooting in slow-motion so they've got ages to flee. No one cleans up the litter in the desert. Stoneface stands there wondering who he's going to theft water off of now. He walks back to base. Later he threatens to shoot someone for their sweet jumper cables. He doesn't. He looks at the sky and wonders which of his new buddies he can steal some water from.

Metallica are playing so loud and hard and serious, man, they don't even bother to help.
posted by Zack_Replica at 12:32 PM on September 7, 2008 [7 favorites]


Were they better in the '80's?

They were metal in the '80's. This sounds like the same heavy pop alternative with metal highlights they've been doing for years. I made it about 4 minutes into that tapioca-toned lumbering cliche of a video.
posted by nanojath at 12:54 PM on September 7, 2008


I have to admit to a certain amount of surprise at find that so many of you actually watched this video.

The whole post is the video. Generally it's accepted that you view the link before making comments. Otherwise, it's best to skip it.
posted by justgary at 1:26 PM on September 7, 2008


Call me whatever, but I thought it was awesome. For those of you who think they needed to make some profound and complex statement that 75 people on this site would revel in, I submit to you the discussion of stupidity in the Palin thread.

Mind-numbingly simple message to us? Then I hope millions watch it, cause it's gonna mean something to them.

I thought the tension, with the music, during the final 90 seconds was excruciatingly awesome. But then again I clicked not even knowing what it was, and watched the video without the benefit of seeing the ongoing snark-tastical hateration going on to influence my opinion.

Of course Hetfield's singing isn't going to be the draw, it hasn't been in a month of Sundays. But the music - the music was good.
posted by cashman at 1:51 PM on September 7, 2008 [1 favorite]


I've kinda been rocking out to Death Magnetic over the weekend. I quite enjoy it, it reminds me quite a bit of ...And Justice For All (comparisons to their first three records are misplaced at best), which was good, but with some St. Anger thrown in there just to shitty it up a bit.
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:55 PM on September 7, 2008


Actually, for all my defence of the new Metallica album and The Day That Never Comes up-thread, I will say this.

I heard the song before I ever saw the video. In contrast and at a guess, I think most of the people expressing their distaste for the song in this thread saw the video at the same time as hearing the song for the first time. In other words, for many people here the song and the video are forever tied together.

Which is why I think many people here don't like the song, because even though I like the song and the album, I do agree that the video for The Day That Never Comes is balls. There's no two ways around that. The more I watch that music video the more I think "My God, this is an awful music video."

However, I think that had many people here sat down and listened to the song before ever seeing the shitty music video, there may have been less people saying the song (distinct from the video) is shit. Because it's not. The Day That Never Comes is not Metallica's finest work, I grant you that, but by the same token it is not a bad song at all.

May I suggest you go listen to Broken, Beat and Scarred. It's the best song on the new album in my opinion and best of all, there's no music video to sully your feelings towards it. If after that you still don't think that there's any hope for Death Magnetic, I would say Metallica was probably never really your cup of tea anyway. Go listen to Jessica Simpson, Metro Station, Maroon 5 or something along those lines because that's probably where you belong musically.
posted by Effigy2000 at 3:42 PM on September 7, 2008 [1 favorite]


Iraq does have hills, they're just mostly in Kurdistan. Down south the Tigris and Euphrates have had millennia to erode things down. Here's a US base in the shadow of an alluvial plateau, smack dab in the middle of the Sunni Triangle.

I don't even know if Muslim women wear makeup, particularly in active combat zones

And yes, Muslim women do wear make-up even with a hijab, if necessary (as it often is in public areas of Iraq) wholly concealed. They might even have on a sexy dress underneath, and almost certainly plenty of jewelry. Fashion notes from Saudi Arabia, where dress is even more conservative in Iraq.
posted by dhartung at 3:52 PM on September 7, 2008


That was xtra-bad, but I enjoyed the BurningMan dust storm throughout.
posted by telstar at 4:35 PM on September 7, 2008


Thanks for posting Broken, Beat, and Scarred, Effigy2000. It's not perfect, but pretty interesting. I think I'll download the album.
posted by ignignokt at 9:20 PM on September 7, 2008


I have been an on-and-off-again Metallica fan for about 12 years (Garage Inc. was my first album).

The video was terrible and ambivalent, but I credit this fact to two seemingly obvious reasons. Nobody has brought them up yet, however, so here goes:

1.) MTV's primary demographic is children aged 9-14. The video was made for that crowd, and the opinion of an adult about the video is not as reliable as the judgment of a tween. I get invited to plenty of marketing focus groups because of my line of work, but they're never about music or pop culture because I, at the young age of 22, am already "out of it."

2.) "Republicans buy sneakers too." This is a quote from Michael Jordan after he refused to endorse a Democratic politician some years ago. Of course Metallica isn't going to take a stance on the war, they're money-grubbing monkeys and will do anything for a buck. They sued Victoria's Secret because they sold a lipstick color called "Metallica." If they take a stance, they'll isolate half of their audience.

So yeah, it sucked wrenches. I will buy the album anyway.
posted by whoshotwho at 10:16 PM on September 7, 2008


As with much else, rock is a young person's game... so this wasn't really Metallica.

This was just a bunch of guys doing air guitar and air drum and (sadly and painfully audible) air vocals, all of them just trying to remember what the band they used to play in used to feel as it played.

As someone else pointed out, the song only got interesting many minutes in; the video only got interesting many many minutes in; and I now feel kinda bad for everyone involved.

This doesn't diminish Metallica itself in any way, because Metallica was a nifty band that existed about twenty years ago.
posted by darth_tedious at 11:25 PM on September 7, 2008


Metafilter: snark-tastical hateration
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:56 AM on September 8, 2008 [1 favorite]


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