Metallica Friday

September 22, 2008 9:20 PM

Metallica released a new album, Death Magnetic, but people are still celebrating their first four albums. Grindcore bands Psyopus and Fuck the Facts team up every Friday on their current tour to play a Metallica cover. Their fans, most of which were probably born after the first four were released, go apeshit over it.

Highlights: everyone, bands and fans, singing the melodic interlude in Master of Puppets together instead of the band playing it. Also, these guys don't duck out of the solos.

posted by ignignokt (54 comments total)

Define "people."
posted by LarryC at 9:32 PM on September 22, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Did you see what they did September 21st?
posted by cowbellemoo at 9:37 PM on September 22, 2008

Grindcore bands Psyopus and Fuck the Facts team up every Friday on their current tour to play a Metallica cover.

Aww, that's too easy. I dare them to play "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" instead.
Jitterbug!
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 9:37 PM on September 22, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

LarryC:

Define 'people'.

The OP clearly defines the fans as non-people:

Their fans, most of which...

posted by Fiasco da Gama at 9:44 PM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'd say most guys will out grow Metallica eventually, even Metallica themselves, and even though they can't pull anything else off. But we'll all appreciate the random MoP even when we're 80.

To me, a much more interesting, talented, and subtly male-linked band was Rush, who never abandoned being Rush.
posted by jeffburdges at 9:44 PM on September 22, 2008

Define "people."

Those whose favourite band sucks.
posted by pompomtom at 9:48 PM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I like Rush too. But what is a "male-linked band?" What are they linked to?
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:57 PM on September 22, 2008

Sword-fighting on stage? As in sausage links..?
posted by Christ, what an asshole at 10:10 PM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I used to love Metallica and still enjoy their early stuff, but their new stuff just sounds like they're tired. Too bad they didn't succeed in redefining themselves in a changing landscape or even just adjusting to their age and their new limitations.
posted by porpoise at 10:16 PM on September 22, 2008

MetaFilter: (Its) fans...go apeshit over it.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:18 PM on September 22, 2008

Justice also does a nice remix of Master of Puppets.
posted by hellojed at 10:27 PM on September 22, 2008

"Their fans" meaning the fans of Psyopus and Fuck the Facts, Fiasco.

That was a pretty cool cover, hellojed. When I first heard Master, I'd back the intro up over and over, which is sort of what they were doing. That riff that precedes each verse is possibly the best part of the song.
posted by ignignokt at 10:34 PM on September 22, 2008

As someone who has seen Metallica (when they were still good!) and Justice live, Justice is more metal now than Metallica is.
posted by empath at 10:36 PM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Also, I hope people actually watch those performances. They're good, and they made me feel good.
posted by ignignokt at 10:38 PM on September 22, 2008

I frequent a heavy metal message board where Metallica related topics are immediately locked.

I kinda wish the same applied here.

Nothing against iniginokt, I just feel like the well of Metallica discussion ran dry twenty years ago. Yes, we (all true old school metalheads) have been betrayed by them. Yes, we all realize that the first three albums are classics (though not everyone agrees). No, they will never redeem themselves.
posted by mediocre at 10:41 PM on September 22, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Also, it's a bit of an insult to remixes to call what Justice did a remix.. they just played it and slammed their fist on an MPC in vague rhythm..

I know.. I know.. your favorite band sucks..
posted by mediocre at 10:45 PM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I dare them to play "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" instead.

I really, really wish that my old band had some recorded version of this, even if it was just boombox quality..

But my old Trip Hop band Opusindra, as a joke taken too far, did a sloooow, depressing, morose version of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. We had just played a show, and someone remarked that we were so slow and depressing that we could make Wake Me Up.. a sad song.. so we did. It became a melancholy dirge about someone crying out in the fact of abandonment.
posted by mediocre at 10:48 PM on September 22, 2008

Sometimes I feel like popular music only exists to make me feel old.
posted by billyfleetwood at 10:58 PM on September 22, 2008

Whereas you'll never hear anyone person metalhead say Slayer's latest album sucks, and they have changed even less than Metallica (or Anthrax or Megadeth) in the last 25 years.
posted by not_on_display at 11:04 PM on September 22, 2008

God Delusion sucks..

I hate to be that guy..

But it does.

And Death Magnetic sounds like God Delusion-era Slayer.
posted by mediocre at 11:07 PM on September 22, 2008

and they have changed even less than Metallica (or Anthrax or Megadeth) in the last 25 years.

Which kinda puts them on the same level with Poison, when you think about it.
posted by Cyrano at 11:07 PM on September 22, 2008

mediocre, that link is hilarious. One thing about metal, it has the most action packed reviews:

So... the songs. There is some ownage here. Battery, for example, is fucking heavy, and works brilliantly well, as a destroyer of worlds.
posted by mannequito at 11:31 PM on September 22, 2008

Cool, but where can I download it for free?
posted by self at 12:33 AM on September 23, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Nothing against iniginokt, I just feel like the well of Metallica discussion ran dry twenty years ago. Yes, we (all true old school metalheads) have been betrayed by them. Yes, we all realize that the first three albums are classics (though not everyone agrees). No, they will never redeem themselves.

I see what you're saying, but no one's making you talk about that. Not every thread involving performance of music from a band has to be a referendum on that band, just like posts that mention Sarah Palin somewhere don't have to turn into long arguments about the election in general. Then again, they often do, so I guess I should have seen this coming.
posted by ignignokt at 12:36 AM on September 23, 2008

that link is hilarious.

It's a bit of a legendary review, amongst people way into metal who never, ever leave home.
posted by mediocre at 12:54 AM on September 23, 2008

Do the Metallica covers faithfully recreate all the horrible clipping?
posted by emelenjr at 4:48 AM on September 23, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I heard the new Metallica album, and it sounds pretty decent, I just, for the life of me, can't get myself to care.

I imagine it's like finally getting with a highschool crush, at the 20 year reunion, and she's still pretty and she's still the same girl you fell for some years ago, and it feels right but... it's late, you've had a few, and really, stealing off into some empty classroom to tear each other's clothes off like they do in the movies just seems like a lot of effort, and while you want to, at some level you both know it'd just be going through the motions.

I'm sorry Metallica, it's lovely to see you again, look, if you're gonna be in town, I'd love to grab some coffee tomorrow, see where things go from there. All the best, do keep in touch.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 5:20 AM on September 23, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

I don't know what happened to Metallica with the Black album, but they definitely took a sharp right turn away from hardcore towards mainstream, and I blame Bob Rock. After that they never went back to their roots, but they certainly made shitloads more money, so who are we to blame them for it?

Oh, and in case you guys missed this 10 years ago : Metallica Napster Bad
posted by Vindaloo at 5:21 AM on September 23, 2008

You know, at the time, the Black album was great. It was fresh and new. It was -polished-, and at the time, metalheads never had a taste of anything polished and overproduced that tasted good. Until then. So, circa 1992, the Black album was great. In retrospect, I can see the descent into darkness quite clearly. (I suppose their tour was a big indicator, too. "An Evening With Metallica", no opener, just Metallica and you could be lucky enough to get into the Snake Pit.)
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:59 AM on September 23, 2008

Not sure what the point of this post is. Some minor bands play covers of Metallica once a week? This is noteworthy, how?
posted by signal at 6:10 AM on September 23, 2008

Do the Metallica covers faithfully recreate all the horrible clipping?

I'd really like to hear a CD copy of this album. Because every clip I've heard is really, really awful. I mean, the music is Metallica, I won't make comment on that, but the audio is just unacceptable. It's like they used the Raw Power remaster as a reference.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:35 AM on September 23, 2008

Grumble.. here come the audiophiles..

The album is garbage, and I knew that before I looked at the waveform.. I swear I need to come up with some sort of double blind taste test to use against people who scream about brickwall masters. I realize they are a problem, but it is just mastering for what people are using, which is PMP's. People don't sit around the Hi-Fi and listen to records anymore. Anything on a PMP will need to be super loud in order to drown out the din of the world. For better or worse, that is the trend right now in mastering. It'll go away, like all other recording trends, when the technology changes.
posted by mediocre at 6:48 AM on September 23, 2008

Nice post. I missed this tour, although I might catch FtF on Monday if they go on late enough.
posted by nowonmai at 6:49 AM on September 23, 2008

I can't be bothered to find the comment right now, but I've made the same argument before, mediocre, and I do believe it. But this album is absolutely not an example of mastering for the device. There's a mile-wide canyon between useful limiting and noise, and from the clips I've heard, this album crossed the gap and then rode about a hundred miles more.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:53 AM on September 23, 2008

Regarding the new album: the CD and vinyl versions are as horrible as the samples you already heard; however some scoundrels have made available bit-torrents of the version from Guitar Hero which has a much better dynamic range and may sound better. If, as mediocre suggests, the mastering is for personal media players, then they have made a horrible mistake. Death Magnetic is incredibly fatiguing to listen to through earbuds. I made it through the first three songs and gave up. I would be interested to give it another try with the Guitar Hero version, but that would be illegal so obviously I can't.
posted by nowonmai at 6:56 AM on September 23, 2008

Ah, did I read Grindcore and Your Favourite Band Rocks? Then let me throw in Japanische Kampfhörspiele, an excellent german grindcore band with a sence of humour (which unfortunatly is probably impossible to translate).

Der Westen ist geschockt (the west is shocked),
Verrat Am Metal (betrayal of metal)
Verpackt in Plastik (wrapped in plastic)
A nice slayer-cover: Raining Blood
Also good live: Alle wollen gut aussehen (Everybody wants to look good)
posted by kolophon at 7:11 AM on September 23, 2008

New album? I thought Metallica broke up after ...And Justice For All.
posted by electroboy at 7:15 AM on September 23, 2008

True fact: I never knowingly heard a Metallica song until this summer. I do not consider myself to have missed anything.
posted by tommasz at 7:25 AM on September 23, 2008

I dont understand why they didnt change the name of the band for the black album. If you're not playing metal anymore perhaps your band shouldnt be named metallica.

XM recently put in a temporary Metallica-only station and its just unlistenable. I have avoided any of their post Black stuff and its worse than I thought. Oh well, rock/metal/whatever always seems like a young man's game.
posted by damn dirty ape at 7:26 AM on September 23, 2008

it's funny to read people complaining about the sound quality of Death Magnetic when it's so much better than St. Anger. I'll admit that the new one is not as good as the first three but it's better than everything after the first three. I suppose it's just nostalgia that some of us want to hang on to the idea that Metallica could still be great. Music is highly tied into time, so much of it connects to our past in very specific places. And so much of it doesn't last forever. I'd completely written off Metallica but have to say I do like the new album for now. But I heard the cheapest seats in the huge auditorium they're playing at in my town are $120. Fuck those greedy motherfuckers. Their first album should've been called "Dollars Up Our Asses!"
posted by sineater at 7:28 AM on September 23, 2008

Fight Fire With Fire > anything else Metallica has ever done.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 7:34 AM on September 23, 2008

I wish I'd read Uther Bentrazor's comment before trying to explain to someone what I thought about Death Magnetic. That's the most perfect summary ever.
posted by Mamapotomus at 8:00 AM on September 23, 2008

electroboy : New album? I thought Metallica broke up after ...And Justice For All.

This is how I'm choosing to remember it.
posted by quin at 9:43 AM on September 23, 2008

Cat Pie, I think the Black Album would have been good if it was just a detour, too.

Not sure what the point of this post is. Some minor bands play covers of Metallica once a week? This is noteworthy, how?

Watch the videos. They're good, and they capture a lot of enthusiasm and energy (in both the bands and the crowd) that Metallica doesn't seem to have that much of lately.

And why in fuck would it be any better if it was Kid Rock doing it instead of "some minor bands"? In fact, it's more significant because they're grindcore bands, who tend to avoid association with even classic Metallica.
posted by ignignokt at 10:46 AM on September 23, 2008

Nothing will ever change the first three records, especially "Kill 'em All", the epitome of early thrash metal.

That said, I've no interest in anything this band does today. It's no surprise that they're suddenly playing "metal" again, now that metal is finally coming back... too bad the rest of us never left, so there are countless current bands that are better and more honest than they are. Trend-followers fuck off.
posted by vorfeed at 11:26 AM on September 23, 2008

Ah metallica. Not a fan now, their music just... changed too much. And so did I, I suppose.

But the memory of Ken, Beth and me, kicked back and sharing a joint out by the lake at midnight, on the hood of my 68 Mustang, fat tires on the back and Krager wheels, Pioneer stereo and 4 6-by-9's blasting out Ride the Lightning?

Awesome.
posted by bradth27 at 12:43 PM on September 23, 2008

Watch the videos. They're good, and they capture a lot of enthusiasm and energy (in both the bands and the crowd) that Metallica doesn't seem to have that much of lately.

I did watch the videos. Fairly average covers of Metallica, which a few fans seem to enjoy, with bad audio and video. Not that there's anything wrong with people enjoying covers of Metallica, I just don't get why it's posted to Mefi and why not one of these 30.100 other videos. If it's just an excuse to talk about Metallica's last album, doesn't seem FPP worthy either.
As for your Kid Rock comment: huh?
posted by signal at 1:28 PM on September 23, 2008

I find it impossible to take Metallica anyway close to seriously after watching Some Kind Of Monster... even the hate over Napster is pretty much gone.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:13 PM on September 23, 2008

Here's some much, much better current thrashing stuff:
Desaster
Gama Bomb
Gospel of the Horns
Nocturnal
Rezet
Shackles
Stone Cold Black
Violator
Witchtrap (the Colombian one)
Support real heavy metal...
posted by vorfeed at 2:20 PM on September 23, 2008

Signal, I was explaining why it doesn't matter that they're covers by "minor bands" instead of Primus and Disturbed and the other "major bands" you linked.
posted by ignignokt at 4:35 PM on September 23, 2008

Thanks, vorfeed. Even though retro thrashers are never as good as the originals, I can't say I don't enjoy listening to them.
posted by ignignokt at 4:36 PM on September 23, 2008

ignignokt, I'll agree that most of these don't touch the classics (then again, what does?), but I don't think I'd call these bands "retro". Desaster, Gospel of the Horns, and Witchtrap have been around since the early 90s, for example, and most of the others have been around since the early 00s, long before this year's 'thrash-in-the-pan' trend hit. Hell, Desaster has six full-length albums, plus a ton of demos, splits, singles, etc. I was deliberately trying to avoid the trend-jumpers. 90% of the bands playing thrash this year won't be playing it four or five years from now; for the most part, it's the other 10% that matter.

Thrash never died, it just went underground. Bands that have been waving its banner for five, ten, and fifteen years or more don't deserve to be lumped in with a bunch of fun-time pastiche "bands" that Century Media slapped together for a cash-in.

Nor with this bullshit Metallica album, as far as I'm concerned.
posted by vorfeed at 6:55 PM on September 23, 2008

As much as Dillinger Escape Plan always kind of sucked, their version of Raining Blood was really spot on. I remember seeing them early on when they were just a bunch of kids at the 1998 CMJ showcase at Coney Island High with Neurosis, Unsane, Soilent Green, Coalesce and Nile (how's that for a line up?). I was talking to the dudes from Nile by the bar when they tipped into it; we kind of looked at each other like...that's...really fucking good. They were on the leading edge of non-trad metal bands doing thrash covers.
posted by The Straightener at 7:47 PM on September 23, 2008

I'd like to hear that. Vader's (pretty straightforward_ Raining Blood was great, simply because they were able to yell "Slayerrrrr!" right when it went into the gallop part, something Slayer themselves can't do.
posted by ignignokt at 9:01 PM on September 23, 2008