Metallica are probably the most well known heavy metal (?) band; selling tens of millions of albums over the years. They started off as innovators of thrash and speed metal. They eventually progressed into a more progressive metal band but still retained their edge and their fan base continued to grow. After 1988's ...And Justice for All, Metallica pared down its progressive metal sound growing slicker and more produced, resulting in radio-friendly heavy metal. By the end of the 90's, Metallica was established as the pioneer of modern metal, but are now more popular with grade school kids than with their original fan base who felt betrayed by their more recent modern rock sounds. I have followed the band since their beginning, buying "Kill 'Em All" as a new release. I'm still with them today, despite what my friends might say! (Oh wait, did I just admit that out loud?) (-:

Metallica-Kill 'Em All (Elektra) 1983

Yes, I was there when this was a new release. I was in high school and my friends and I thought "Whiplash" was the coolest and fastest song on the face of the earth. It was originally released on Megaforce. I had the original album with the silver label in the middle. It was loads (no pun intended) of fun. It was the album that started it all for these pimply faced guys. This album set the standard for thrash and speed metal for years to come. "Kill 'Em All" still sounds good today.

This was the band's debut album, after Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) got booted and was replaced by Kirk Hammett of Exodus. The original line-up with Dave did record one song for the original Metal Massacre compilation.

I also had the cd re-issue on Elektra with the two bonus tracks from the original "Garage Days Revisited/Creepin Death" EP. Sold it to some guy who begged me to for enough money to buy a few new cds. I went to the store, found this copy on cd used for Rm35. What a deal. Of course, the two tunes off the re-issue were later released on "Garage, Inc." YA!

Metallica-Bay Area Thrashers (ACD/154.431)

1. "Introduction" (:38) 2. "Hit the Lights" (3:54) 3. "Seek and Destroy" (4:55) 4. "Motorbreath" (3:14) 5. "Phantom Lord" (3:34) 6. "The Mechanix" (4:27) 7. "Jump in the Fire" (3:44) 8. "Metal Militia" (5:10) 9. "Documentary/Interview" (4:45)

Metallica 1983: Cliff Burton, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, & Dave Mustaine (pre-Kill 'Em All)

Got some new information on this bootleg from a reader of my page:

"Bay Area Thrashers" by Metallica is actually a forgery. The songs are from the "No Life 'til Leather" demo from July '82 and the crowd interaction is from a few bootlegs, including Sept 18th, 1982 and October 18th, 1982, both of which are pretty commonly available. I have never heard the interview, just the songs, so I have no idea when/where that is from. Also the band shot on the front is absurdly wrong :-) -

So, I guess I now have a bizzare cd copy of the 'No Life Til Leather' demo with some crowd noise thrown in between songs. Have to agree about the genius in packaging. I actually thought that cover was freaking hilarious, albeit typical for a bootleg. Thanks for the info Levente.

Metallica-Ride the Lightning (Elektra) 1984 1."Fight Fire with Fire" (4:44) 2."Ride the Lightning" (6:36) 3."For Whom the Bell Tolls" (5:10) 4."Fade to Black" (6:56) 5."Trapped Under Ice" (4:03) 6."Escape" (4:23) 7."Creeping Death" (6:36) 8."The Call of Ktulu" [instrumental] (8:52) This one was originally released on Megaforce as well, before Megaforce was bought out by Atlantic. I owned one of those copies because I bought it as a new release. I guess it would have been worth something had I not sold all my crappy vinyl. In any case, this is a masterpiece, in my opinion. I couldn't even count how many times I have listened to this one. "Fight Fire with Fire" is one of the fastest songs ever. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is an incredible song! "Ride the Lightning" and "The Call of Ktulu" have Dave Mustaine listed in the credits as a writer. Of course at this time, both bands were at each others necks.

James Hetfield 1984

Metallica - Master of Puppets (Elektra) 1986 1."Battery" (5:10) 2."Master of Puppets" (8:38) 3."The Thing That Should Not Be" (6:32) 4."Welcome Home (Sanatarium)" (6:28) 5."Disposable Heroes" (8:14) 6."Leper Messiah" (5:38) 7."Orion" [instrumental] (8:12) 8."Damage, Inc." (5:08)

Cliff Burton 1986

As if Metallica could top the masterpiece that was "Ride the Lightning" they release "Master of Puppets." To my amazement, they actually topped an album that I swore could never be topped. The songs are a bit more progressive and a bit longer. Every song blew me away. Over time this album hasn't grown old, with the exception of the instrumental "Orion. It's still one of my all time favorites. Anthrax used a small sound byte of the title cut for thier rap-joke song "I'm the Man." One of the greatest heavy metal albums ever created. Also one of the most innovative metal albums ever.

In the fall of '86, while touring in Scandinavia with Anthrax, the band's tour bus skid off an icy patch of road and flipped over. Cliff Burton, the band's bassist, was thrown out and was crushed underneath the bus, killing him instantly. Metallica, and the world, lost one of the best bassists ever and a dear friend as well. The band soon went searching for a new bassist, and finally selected Jason Newsted of Flotsam & Jetsam, who was with them up through "S&M". They released an EP of covers called "Garage Days Re-Revisited,"to introduce Jason New-guy which I used to own on vinyl, but never felt the need to fork out the money for the ridiculously priced, out of print cd. (Fortunately it's been re-released as Garage, Inc. see review below.)

Metallica Mach II with Jason Newsted on bass.

Metallica - ...And Justice for All (Elektra) 1988 1."Blackened" (6:40) 2."...And Justice for All" (9:44) 3."Eye of the Beholder" (6:25) 4."One" (7:24) 5."The Shortest Straw" (6:35) 6."Harvester of Sorrow" (5:42) 7."The Frayed Ends of Sanity" (7:40) 8."To Live is to Die" (9:48) 9."Dyers Eve" (5:12)

James Hetfield 1988

At this point Metallica were the Kings of Metal. (or was that Manowar?) "...and Justice for All" is heavy, epic length, progressive, and even melodic. Nobody would classify Metallica as a progressive metal band but this album was more progressive and more technical than most of what would be called "progressive metal." "...And Justice for All" is one of the all time greatest metal discs.

Metallica - Dynamic Live (bootleg) Recorded live in Canada 1989 1. Blackend" (5:35) 2. "For Whom the Bell Tolls (4:18) 3. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (5:59) 4. "Harvester of Sorrow" (5:05) 5. "Eye of the Beholder" (7:46) 6. "Master of Puppets" (7:32) 7. "One" (6:41) 8. "Seek & Destroy" (6:22) 9. "And Justice for All" (9:01) 10. "How Many More Times" (1:05) 11. "Creeping Death" (7:53) 12. "Fade to Black" (6:40)

Kirk Hammett

As bootlegs go, this isn't a bad one. I've actually heard officially released discs that sound as bad. In any case, Metallica were at the top of their game here, so this is a nice live offering. I'm not sure if this is a complete show, but it seems pretty close to what I remember from this tour. "How Many More Times" is a portion of a Led Zeppelin song.

Metallica (aka The Black Album) (Elektra) 1991 1."Enter Sandman" (5:29) 2."Sad But True" (5:24) 3."Holier Than Thou" (3:47) 4."The Unforgiven" (6:26) 5."Wherever I May Roam" (6:42) 6."Don't Tread on Me" (3:59) 7."Through the Never" (4:01) 8."Nothing Else Matters" (6:29) 9."Of Wolf and Man" (4:16) 10."The God that Failed" (5:05) 11."My Friend Misery" (6:47) 12."The Struggle Within" (3:51)

James Hetfield & Aerosmith's Steven Tyler

Metallica went more mainstream with this one, which meant they weren't on the cutting edge of heavy music any more. A lot of people complained. There was also a lot of controversy over hiring producer Bob Rock, who's known for turning metal bands, such as Motley Crue, into crappy pop-metal. Well, he did not succeed on this album because this is a great metal album in my opinion. Of course the populous at large caught on as well and this album sold over ten million copies. Favorite songs are "Sad But True," "Don't Tread on Me," "Wherever I May Roam" and the awesome "The Stuggle Within." Least favorite song "The God that Failed."

Motorhead recorded a cover of "Enter Sandman" for the ECW:Extreme Music compilation.

Metallica-Wherever I May Roam single (Vertigo) 1991

1. "Wherever I May Roam" (6:46)
2. "Last Caress/Am I Evil?/Battery" [live] (11:59)

Walked into a local CD shop and the owner flopped this on the table and asked if I was interested in it. I said, "how much?" He said, "Free!" Free is good. Short little ep in a nice digi-pack from Australia. "Am I Evil?" is a Diamond Head cover.

Metallica-The Unforgiven single (Vertigo) 1991

1. "The Unforgiven" [album version]
2. "Killing Time"
3. "The Unforgiven" [demo version]

I can't remember exactly where or why I bought this. "Killing Time" is a cool Sweet Savage tune that was only released as a b-side, but later showed up on "Garage, Inc." The vocals on the demo version of "The Unforgiven" are terrible, but according to the liner notes, James was just working out the lyrics and vocal melodies at the time of this recording.

Metallica-Live Sh*t: Binge & Purge (Elektra) 1993

I remember when this came out in '93. Metallica was all the rage and the original box set containing 3 CDS and 3 VHS tapes sold over 600,000 copies, which is pretty amazing for an overpriced live album. Unfortunately for those of us who like the older Metallica material better, this is the only official live release from the band's pre-modern rock days. Despite having been such a fan, I never could see myself forking over Rm300- Rm400 for that box. I was psyched to hear that in 2002 the box would be re-issued with DVDs in a "specially priced" set. Hmmm, specially priced? Suggested retail is around Rm 250, which is about about Rm50 - Rm100 cheaper than the original big box set, and that came with a huge full color book. Not really that much cheaper.

I have mixed emotions about this 2002 re-issue. I am certainly glad to finally have the complete Mexico City show on CD. This has always been my main motivation for wanting this collection to begin with. I could care less about looking at pictures of the band, or about the 'scary-guy stencil' as it is their music that I care most about. (And if anyone does care, the complete original 72-page full-color book is included on DVD 2 and the stencil and backstage pass are also included in this set.) The three disc concert from Mexico City features Metallica at their finest on the stage. Having been a fan of Metallica since the "Kill 'Em All" days, I can remember a time when Metallica sounded simply awful live. As the band has toured over the years, they have become one tight live unit. This three disc set is a testimony to that fact. Metallica certainly are (were?) of one of heavy metal's finest bands. Every song is played with conviction and intensity and some songs, like "Creeping Death", actually sound better than the original studio recordings. There is plenty of Metalli-goofin' as well, as is pretty common at a Metallica concert. Metallica are know for playing bits of songs as teasers before going into a completely different song. On this disc there are several of these including an impropto "Smoke on Water" intro before the band goes into "Am I Evil?". Unfortunately the expletives run throughout the three discs. James seriously needs to invest in a dictionary and learn another word to express himself since he can't even seem to form a sentence without uttering the same expletive numerous times. Other than that annoyance, the music contained herein is awesome. One top of this there are the two concerts on video. This repackaging puts the three VHS tapes onto two DVDs. The audio for these DVD concerts isn't any better than the original VHS release, but since VHS tapes suck to begin with, I am more than happy to have these on DVD. At least you don't have to worry about DVDs wearing out, getting corroded or becoming warped. In anycase, I am glad to finally have an original copy of this moment in heavy metal history.

Metallica - Load (Elektra) 1996

1. "Ain't My Bitch" (5:04) 2. "2 X 4" (5:28) 3. "The House Jack Built" (6:39) 4. "Until it Sleeps" (4:30) 5. "King Nothing" (5:28) 6. "Hero of the Day" (4:22) 7. "Bleeding Me" (8:18) 8. "Cure" (4:54) 9. "Poor Twisted Me" (4:00) 10. "Wasting My Hate" (3:57) 11. "Mama Said" (5:19) 12. "Thorn Within" (5:51) 13. "Ronnie" (5:17) 14. "The Outlaw Torn" (9:52)

Metallica 1996: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammet, & Jason Newsted

I had hopes held high that Metallica would release an album that would resurrect metal, as at the time grunge was ruling everything. (Grunge sucks!) I went out the day it was available and bought the pre-release "Until it Sleeps" with the Motorhead cover "Overkill" b-side. Let's just put it this way, my first reaction was, "Metallica has completely sold out to alternative." I was bummed. Well, to tell the truth I still went out and bought the album the day it was available and although it's miles away from everything they had done before, it's not terrible. Rob Rock had now succeded in destroying the Metallica of old, however. Well, the Motorhead tune was cool anyhow.

Metallica-Unplugged (cdr bootleg) 1997

1. "Nothing Else Matters" (6:33)
2. "Low Mans Lyric" (7:17)
3. "Helpless" (4:17)
4. "Four Horsemen" (5:10)
5. "Poor Twisted Me" (3:39)
6. "Nothing Else Matters" (6:32)
7. "Creeping Death" (4:45)
8. "Tuesdays Gone" (8:50)
9. "Last Caress" (4:18)
10. "Mama Said" (4:26)
11. "Fade to Black" (8:02)
12. "Tuesdays Gone" (7:48)

Metallica unplugged sounds like an oxymoron to me. Still, the songs all seem to work well in an acoustic setting, with the possible exception of "Creeping Death." I'm not sure that this song couldn't work in an acoustic setting, but it doesn't on this disc. Perhaps the band was just goofing around to much on this track. Many of the tracks are hindered by the band's clowning around during the songs. Favorite song here is probably "Helpless" and the blues take on "Four Horsemen." The sound quality of this bootleg isn't bad, being taken from various FM broadcasts. According to the liner notes, track 1 was recorded at Virgin FM Studios, Longon 11/97, tracks 2-9 KSJO Studios, London 12/97, track 10 BBC Studios, London 11/97 and tracks 11-12, Bridge Benefit, Mountain View, CA. "Tuesdays Gone" from this bootleg also appears on "Garage Inc." Lots of guest stars on this disc including Corrosion of Conformity's Pepper Keenan, Lynyrd Skynrd guitarist Gary Rossington and Blue's Traveler's John Popper on harmonica.

Metallica-Reload (Elektra) 1997

1. "Fuel" (4:29)
2. "Memory Remains" (4:39)
3. "Devil's Dance" (5:18)
4. "Unforgiven II" (6:36)
5. "Better Than You" (5:21)
6. "Slither" (5:13)
7. "Carpe Diem Baby" (6:12)
8. "Bad Seed" (4:05)
9. "Where the Wild Things Are" (6:52)
10."Prince Charming" (6:04)
11."Low Man's Lyric" (7:36)
12."Attitude" (5:16)
13."Fixxxer" (8:15)

"Load" has taken a lot of pot shots from reviews and long-time fans who are disappointed with the bands move away from speed metal and thrash. I must admit, I am one of those who was a bit disappointed when "Load" and "Reload" were released. However, I don't think this one is as bad as everyone has said it is. Ok, perhaps it's not "Master of Puppets Part II." So what! Why should anyone expect Metallica to record the same record over again. Metallica has always been about doing what they want and not what others want them to do. Perhaps they have grown into mega-rock-stars and perhaps they are no longer the innovators of heavy metal that they once were, but certainly this is far from a bad cd. "Fuel" is a cool, fast paced, punk influenced song that reminds me of Motorhead. "Devil Dance" is a slow heavy dirge that is cool as well. "The Unforgiven II" is an excellent song that resurrects the more melodic style of the black album. "Better Than You" and "Carpe Diem Baby" are also quite good. The single from this album,"The Memory Remains," use to annoy the crap out of me, but I have grown to like it. (However, what's up with that lady's voice? Sounds like she smoked a carton of cigarettes a day for her whole life.) One of the nice things about having a web page like this is that I can go back and update reviews. My initial review of this disc was somewhat lukewarm. However, sometimes albums grow on you over time. Others may wear on you over time . In the case of "Reload" it has totally grown on me. Long live Metallica!

Metallica - Garage Inc. (Elektra) 1998

Well, this was cool, I didn't have to fork out the money for that expensive out-of-print "Garage Days Re-Revisited." It was also very cool that they included the Motorhead tunes they performed at Lemmy's birthday party. I never even knew Motorhead covered Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy," but they do a decent version. As a matter of fact, disc 2 is a great collection. I could have done without the stupid Anti-Nowhere League song, "So What." The only purpose for that song is to be obnoxious, although the line "I sucked an old man's..." sounds pretty funny coming from Metallica. Disc 1 is not bad either, I especially dig the Thin Lizzy cover "Whiskey in the Jar." I know a lot of people hated the Bob Segar cover "Turn the Page," but I liked it. Was it an obvious attempt at getting a radio hit? Probably, so what! They did a good version. The Black Sabbath cover ("Sabbra Cadabra") is incredible. A total of four Diamond Head covers, a band who obviously influenced Metallica's early years. "Mercyful Fate" is a killer medley of Mercyful Fate songs. Oh yeah, almost forgot, the Skynyrd cover SUCKED!!!

Metallica - S&M (Elektra) 1999

I suppose that S&M is Metallica trying to be innovative once again, like they were with the progressive metal of "...And Justice for All" and the speed metal monster "Ride the Lightning." In April 1999, Metallica performed two concerts with the San Francisco Symphony orchestra, and the result was this two-disc collection The best tracks here are the older songs, not just because I personally like them better but because they have a compositional style that works well with the symphonic instruments. "Master of Puppets," "Call of the Ktulu," "One," and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and even "Battery" sound richer and fuller with violin, trumpet, clarinet, harp, trombone, and flute accompaniments. Most of the black album material on just doesn't work as well. One exception to that rule is "Fuel," which is the best song off "Reload." This version actually works real well with the Symphony backing it up. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of "Kill 'Em All" material, as it would have been interesting to hear "The Four Horsemen" or "Whiplash" backed with the flutes and brass.

Metallica - St. Anger (Elektra) 2003

DISC ONE (CD) 1. "Frantic" (5:50) 2. "St. Anger" (7:21) 3. "Some Kind of Monster" (8:25) 4. "Dirty Window" (5:24) 5. "Invisible Kid" (8:30) 6. "My World" (5:45) 7. "Shoot Me Again" (7:10) 8. "Sweet Amber" (5:27) 9. "The Unnamed Feeling" (7:09) 10. "Purify" (5:13) 11. "All Within My Hands" (8:47) DISC ONE (DVD) St. Anger Rehersals [live] 1. "Frantic" 2. "St. Anger" 3. "Some Kind of Monster" 4. "Dirty Window" 5. "Invisible Kid" 6. "My World" 7. "Shoot Me Again" 8. "Sweet Amber" 9. "The Unnamed Feeling" 10. "Purify" 11. "All Within My Hands"

Metallica 2003: Robert Trujillo, Kirk Hammet, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich

Metallica are a band that will evoke strong emotions and reactions, both positively and negatively, no matter what they do. Every metal chat room I know of had heated discussions before and after the release of this CD. People were even fighting over what they thought of the CD artwork long before the CD was even released. For some reason it has become 'cool' to hate Metallica in metal circles. Despite this, these lucky Metalli-dudes just seem to always have a hype about them that equally talented bands like Anthrax somehow lost years ago, even though they are putting out music of equal, if not better caliber. Much of the hatred comes from that fact that Metallica refuse to stay predictable. However, no one should expect Metallica, or any other band for that matter, to recreate old albums. I mean, would anyone expect Black Sabbath to remake "Paranoid" or Judas Priest to write another "Sad Wings of Destiny" over and over again? If they did, we wouldn't have "Heaven & Hell" and "Painkiller", two of the greatest metal albums ever released. No doubt those bands put out some failures in between their successes. Of course Metallica will never make another "Ride the Lightning" or "Master of Puppets" no matter how much pre-release hype there is saying that the next album with be a 'return to their roots.' I mean it is two decades later. Unfortunately, if you always compare their newer music to their old albums, you will always be disappointed, especially if you, like me, hold those old albums in high esteem. Even the loss of someone as vital as Cliff Burton will effect their sound, which became apparent even in the first album after his death. However, I admit, I am a Metallica die-hard and have followed them since day one. I mean, I literally have been a fan since the day "Kill 'Em All" was released on Megaforce and in like manner I rushed out to buy this CD the week it was released as well. I didn't really believe all the hype anyhow, and didn't even bother checking out the first single ("St. Anger") that was being played on the radio the week this CD was released. I really just wanted to make up my own mind and check this disc out for myself. I really wanted to like this CD. However, after listening to "St. Anger" all the way through at least 7 or 8 times in a week, I have come to the conclusion that the band and their producer Bob Rock are on drugs. I mean, what were they thinking? "St. Anger" is just horrid. I said all that stuff in the opening paragraph to show, that I am not just comparing this disc to past discs nor am I a trendy Metallica hater. This CD is just not good. While it does have it's interesting moments, and I do like "Frantic" and "Sweet Amber", the production is horrible and the songs generally sound unfinished. The lack of guitar solos is very noticable. There are parts of songs that are just screaming for a guitar solo. James Hetfield's vocals sound horrible in some parts, although in other parts I like the rougher, angrier approach and think this is the most honest vocal performance he has given since "Kill 'Em All". Hetfield's voice is dry, unproduced, cracking, missing hitting notes, sometimes straining and generally pretty angry sounding. In "Frantic" for instance, I really liked the somewhat raw, punkish way James sings "frantic, tick, tick, tick, tock" building the song in a "frantic" way. It was one of the most enjoyable moments on the album. The guitars, on the other hand, are another big problem. They have no crunch and due to the downtuning sound muddy. They are also buried under the drums at times. The worst part about the production, however, is that tin can snare that Lars bangs on through the entire thing. (Hey Lars, ever heard of Duct Tape?) In anycase, this really brought the album down for me. Even the songs I liked are infected with that rattly, noisy, ringing snare drum that really does sound like a tin pot or a garbage can lid. The title cut is absolutely destroyed by the drum sound. I do applaud and welcome the band's return to more dynamic, faster, and heavier style and certainly can appreciate that they wanted a more raw sound. "St. Anger" is certainly raw. However, it's also dirty, full of mistakes, flubs and sloppy moments, and is engineered and recorded to sound like someone just hung a microphone in the band's rehearsal room and let them jam. It's unforunate that this album sounds worse than a cheap demo. I actually think the DVD, which actually was recorded live in the band's practice space, sounds better than the CD. Perhaps over time I will grow to like this disc better, but for now, I think this is their worst yet. Here is hoping for something better in the future. They are more than capable.

On a side note, It's unfortunate the Metallica now believe their own hype. I've never seen a band so willing to overlook their "contemporaries." Kirk's comments in Rolling Stone Magazine about how he thinks other bands will play heavier, faster music now because of them is laughable to anyone who knows anything at all about the metal scene. These guys are so far removed from a scene they helped create it's really hard to believe. Metal does not begin and end with Metallica. There continues to be a plethora of bands putting out stellar, heavy and fast music long since Metallica decided they were a radio-rock band. Of course, perhaps I have the wrong idea of who their contemporaries now are. Since the band are touring with crappy acts like Limp Bizkit , Linkin Park, the Deftones and Mudvayne in support of their new CD, it is quite obvious they don't even know what metal is anymore.

Metallica - Some Kind of Monster (Elektra) 2004

1. "Some Kind of Monster" (8:25)
2. "The Four Horsemens" [live] (5:20)
3. "Damage Inc." [live] (5:00)
4. "Leper Messiah" [live] (5:55)]
5. "Motorbreath" [live] (3:19)
6. "Ride The Lightning" [live] (6:40)
7. "Hit The Lights" [live] (4:12)
8. "Some Kind of Monster" [remix/edit] (4:16)

This EP was released on July 13th to help promote the Metallica - Some Kind of Monster movie. Being the die-hard I am, I had high hopes that the remixed, edited version of "Some Kind of Monster" would attempt to correct the joke that is "St. Anger." Unfortunately, I don't think there is any fixing these tracks. The recording is still noisy, although at least the guitars seem a little more out front than what I remember. All the live tracks were recorded at Le Bataclan, Paris, June 11th 2003. I especially enjoyed the ad-libbed lyrics to "Ride the Lightning." Hetfield forgetting the lyrics was pretty amusing and the fact that they left it like that for this EP tells me that they are starting to realize they don't need to take themselves so seriously, not unlike the old day. The EP also includes the movie trailers.

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