Metal Reviews

Cliff didn't really write much with the band either, though.

Cliff had a lot of writing credits on the first 3 albums actually, and even had a few on ...And Justice For All.

I believe Lars and James wrote a lot of lyrics but Burton wrote most of the actual music.

I know Metallica's writing credits are a pile of horseshit (Ulrich has never written a note of music in his life, and all the lyrics up to St Anga were by Jim), but its pretty obvious that Hetfield and Mustaine were the songwriters, then just Hetfield. Metallica would still have gone to shit with Burton.

Also: I genuinely don't care about this album. I probably won't even listen to it.

Again, I stress the fact that Burton was the "teenybopper" of the group.

The guy had a wide and varied taste when it came to music, but that doesn't make him a "teenybopper".

Without him, the rest of the guys in Metallica would've never heard of Danzig or a lot of the other stuff they now recognize as influences. He introduced Hetfield to Lovecraft which were strong themes in a couple of their greatest songs.

As for Burton writing much of their music, he was the only one who understood music composition and theory.

Exactly, and even if he didn't "write" the song, he still heard it and could point out stuff that needs changing.

Not only that but his work on "Flotsam and Jetasam" was amazing, the guy clearly knew a thing or two about making music, his basslines were excellent.
I think that if Cliff was still alive Metallica would have been in the exact same place as they are now, Kirk, Jason, Cliff or Trujillo none of them matter Metallica has always been doing whatever is that Lars wants them to do.

Since Flotsam and Jetsam was mentioned, I listened to the track, "Falling". Am I the only one or does any one else think that the vocalist sounds almost exactly like Dave Mustaine on that track?

>albums that are far below their talent level

Wow. That's pretty low. That's extreme low.

Even at their absolute best, Metallica was mediocre. (And at their worst, they created the comedy album of the year, St. Whiner.) Never anything innovative, no great technical skill, nothing much to the melodies, slow and boring solos, junior high school level lyrics.

Unfortunately, Metallica's wannabe metal was the first metal that a lot of kids heard, so they made the mistake of thinking it was good. And now that they're a bit older, they're stuck in the nostalgia thing.

Metallica is and always has been, goofy, plastic, pop metal. All pose. No content. They're like a less washed version of KISS. Or The Partridge Family.

I guess I should be grateful for the laughter they've been inducing in me for the past couple of decades.

But seriously, can any drummer really suck as badly as Lars Ulrich? I heard One on the radio the other day, and I was shocked to remember how bad it was. Not just the drumming, though. All of it.

Maybe I would have liked it if I had first heard Metallica when I was 13. Then I would have thought the angry, whiny posing was cool.

Actually, no. Not even then. Nope.

Actually I had heard metallica back in fifth grade first (weird family I have) and it was the coolest thing ever and what got me into metal. But I've been loyal enough since the release of Prankst.er than I shat all over them. They deserve it. I'm actually one of the very few people in the world who still believe in loyalty, but betrayal, oh no baby, you've fucked with the wrong Asian European psychopath there, I have no idea where I'm going with this and I realize it has been the most incomprehensible post ever so I'll just leave it here in the name of science.

I think a good 75% of the people into metal today probably first got into the genre through Metallica. As did I. My first "metal album" was Load (back in February, 2000). And, up until I bought Countdown To Extinction about 11 months later, Metallica was basically the only band I actively listened to. One thing that I never liked about 80s Metallica is how serious and humorless it is (barring perhaps Kill 'em All). Whereas, Megadeth and Anthrax always had a sarcastic sense of humor in their music, Metallica's music never even had that going for it. It was all doom and gloom, basically.

Which I guess explains why Cliff was often credited as the brains behind Metallica's classic instrumentals of the 80's. I suppose if Cliff were still alive, we'd at least get more of those now. To Live Is To Die, Metallica's last instrumental, was actually a tribute to him.

I totally disagree with this. Their early work might be a little overrated because of their popularity and them being the first metal band people hear like you said, but I hardly listened to Metallica until well after I was into metal and it is damn good thrash.

Even if you don't like Metallica, you do have to realize that if it weren't for them, a lot of your favorite metal bands probably wouldn't even exist right now. Or, if they did exist, they'd probably be toiling so deep in the underground that even internet exposure would be sparse. I listened to Master Of Puppets just a week and a half ago. And when listening to it after listening to so many different metal bands, it's pretty obvious that Iced Earth, In Flames, Helloween, Machine Head, etc. all owe at least a little bit to that album for their sound. You don't necessarily have to like 80's Metallica. But you certainly can't deny their influence and the way they opened the gates for so many other American metal bands.

I think maybe Cliff would have left if he was still alive. Or they'd have just rehashed MOP into the ground.

Yep. I think they are over rated though. But, no denying that Metallica were and continue to be a huge influence in the metal/rock scene.

'tallica isn't even worth discussing anymore! Their first three albums kicked ass, and some other good songs here and there... and that's about it! Like others have said, there are so many other creative bands out there that 'tallica can rest in peace or pain.

I find all the "if Cliff hadn't died, the band would have remained tr00" speculation to be nonsense. Cliff was the member of the band who listened to the least metal- the space and hippie rock found on Orion is due to him. And really, back then, you wouldn't have expected any of the bandmembers to go in the direction they did- who's to say Cliff would have been any different?