Metallica - Metallica (1991)

Right, where do I start on this one ? Argue with me all you like but Metallica were one of metal's biggest ever sell outs, FACT. When you consider how acts like Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth (once Metallica's biggest rivals) have all stuck to their guns in some way or other, Metallica became R.E.M. with a chug! Yep, it's that harsh. The look, the whole denial of their roots on the continuously bad output, and yet fans kept coming back - my opinion being that the old metalheads probably stuck around expecting the band to find it within themselves to churn out another 'Master...', but certainly, Metallica had become a household name, and the second 'Enter Sandman' stirs in its mediocre lair, a whole new set of fans emerges, many completely unaware of who Cliff Burton was or what the band did previously to structure metal and thrash, and of course most of these dumb fans didn't care. 1991 saw bands like the Chili Peppers break big, and suddenly MTV-orientated rock was in your face, and whilst Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax continued to put out quality metal, Metallica had already sold their souls. '...And Justice For All' being the first nail in the bloated coffin with its laborious riffs and one pace attitude. The 'black' album, as some like to call it, is another unimaginative affair, only bolstered by the fact the band took on Bob Rock to produce if after they heard what exceptional work he'd done on Crue's 'Dr Feelgood', but believe me, give me Crue any day. 'Enter...' has to be one of rock's most predictable tracks, lyrically and musically, and 'Sad But True' continues the '...And Justice...' trend as it plods without any effect except to dull the senses. The bite of Burton not even a loitering ghost as dour thrasher 'Holier Than Thou' rattles past with no presence. There's such a familiarity in everything Metallica do, casting the side the magic they produced on those early albums. The acoustic passages are sleepy, Hetfield's hefty tone drags one into quicksand, the band unaware of the quagmire they've become. Sure, it's heavy at times, but so uninspiring, 'The Unforgiven' is woeful in its plodding manner, and yep, the theme continues throughout, unless of course the band want to chuck in another thrasher as if to remind us (or themselves) of what they once were, even thought that's completely lost. Is it the the fact they've become so successful ? Do they consider it immature to write songs about Cthulu ? What is the point behind such a trudge through the murky depths of commercialism ?

Hardcore Metallica fans may debate until they are blue in the face, but as Hammet's solo twirls somewhere in the mire of 'The Unforgiven', I can't help but chew my nails with stress and find myself eager to slap the next track on, only once again to be met by repetition. 'Wherever I May Roam'. More slow motion drama which never rumbles beyond a plod. However hard I try to like the record I simply seep back into the past and the joys of 'Welcome Home...', 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' etc.Those who own the double vinyl will probably find the album even more irritating, three tracks aside, but this all melts together like some bloated heavy metal version of U2. Despite so many negatives, this is the last 'proper' Metallica record if you ask me, the band quickly becoming a joke, although 'Don't Tread On Me' is as laughable as anything the band have done since. The track pretty much symbolizes what the band have come, something so bereft of edge and so dour in the fact it lacks a chorus, and this glaring error litters almost every cut. 'Through The Never' attempts to liven up the proceedings, Ulrich rattling away, Hetfield finally wrenches himself away from the swamp of before, but then we are back to the formulaic 'Nothing Else Matters', cue acoustic intro, chug-chug plod-plod, Hetfield's morose growl, or is that a yawn ?

'...And Justice...' was a big enough struggle to get through, and here the familiarity of it all weighs one down. I sense the band don't care, their ego's have flown the thrash nest long ago, now they fill stadiums and appeal to people who don't really have a big interest in music. Tiresome, and yep, indeed very black, just like that cover, as if the band were so aware of the doom-laden product they'd created, but hey, this is no Trouble landscape, but instead a chasm of emptiness, 'Of Wolf And Man' just not good enough to sit alongside anything the band recorded on those first three albums. Sure, this self-titled wreck is several years on from 'Master...' etc, but I have a right to compare such records, especially when the band have built such a huge wall between such outings, and I'm wondering as well if they've built a huge wall between themselves and their fans too, because I refuse to believe that any self-confessed metalhead would find 'Metallica' as half decent, or maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's just me, but as 'The God That Failed' plods just like everything else on the album, I have to say that Metallica have failed, miserably. This black, blubbery beast is too one dimensional to exist as a force, but it would never prevent Metallica from becoming an even bigger, more successful band, and as 'The Struggle Within' labours to the finish line I can only express a yawn as long as this record, my mouth as black as that cover and eager for some soul food of more energy and passion.

On reflection, 'Metallica', despite being saturated with faults receives a higher mark but only as my way of saying a farewell to them.

7/10