Downward Spiraling Torrent of Poo
Posted by Sam at 3:12 PM

Yesterday, I watched most of Metallica's documentary Some Kind of Monster. It was... um, different than I had expected.

(begin rambling digression)

I can still remember hearing Metallica for the first time. Let me see if I can paint an accurate mental picture of my life 16 years ago... just to set the mood: It was circa 1989. I was 11 or 12 years old (oh my god... I'm an old man). I never left the house without my skateboard (a Per Welinder street model, as I recall). I was in the process of growing a nice rat tail... you know, a long tuft of hair that descended from the back of my head. Yep, I was one stylish pre-adolescent (come to think of it, that's probably why I am bald now... the Gods of Good Hair are punishing me for having such bad hair). As far as music went, I was listening to whatever butt-rock MTV threw in my direction; Bon Jovi, Poison, Motley Crap... Until one glorious day, when my good friend, Brendan Walsh (no, not Brandon Walsh) took me into his basement and played an audio cassette that forever changed my life. It was Metallica's last great album, ...And Justice for All.

...And Justice for All was like nothing I had ever heard before. It was dark. It was aggressive. It was fast. It was precise. The distortion was overpowering, yet somehow smooth and accurate. The percussion was tight and it never seemed to fit within the confines of standard 4/4 rock drumming. The vocals... those magical James Hetfield vocals... growled with a subtle tonality that lead the uncompromising music into a realm of epic intensity. And the signature rasp at the end of each lyrical progression... no one has been able to do that like James did.

As I had mentioned though, ...And Justice for All was Metallica's last great album. With the release of their next album, the Black album, Metallica began a downward spiraling torrent of poo that has yet to conclude. But that's not really what this post is about. I'm sure you can google "Metallica" and "poo torrent" and come up with a bizillion rant pages about how Metallica sold out. What this post is [supposed to be] about, is the Metallica documentary.

(end rambling digression)

As I watched Some Kind of Monster, I found these themes to be prevalent throughout the film: frustration, anger, regret, uncoolness, receding hairline, feelings, etc... However, the following is a list of what I wanted from the film: footage from the 80's (when Metallica still rocked), more hair, drunken rowdiness, tight black jeans, explosions, etc... Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed.

For me however, the highlight of the documentary was the Dave Mustaine part. Dave was kicked out of the band early on. I think it was a drinking problem, or maybe he was just a jerk... tough to imagine Mustaine as a jerk... I know. But, bear with me. Dave and Lars (Metallica drummer) sit down and have a little heart-to-heart. It was simply great to hear these two rock legends sit down and politely whine to each other. It was almost like a "who's more washed-up" competition. It was great.

And now, my final comment:

I may have thought that I wanted to see Metallica in a group therapy session... but in actuality, I just wanted them to be cool again.

the end.

Comments: 1 | Post a Comment | Permalink

im glad you finally saw that. im even more glad i didnt have to see it with you. thats all im going to say.

Comment By manuel noriega on February 02, 2005 10:29 PM