Metallica CD

Metallica: James Hetfield (vocals, guitar); Kirk Hammett (guitar); Jason Newstead (bass); Lars Ulrich (drums).
Recorded at One On One Recording, Los Angeles, California between October 1990 and June 1991.
After the muddled production and ultracomplicated song structures of ...And Justice for All, Metallica decided that they had taken the progressive elements of their music as far as they could and that a simplification and streamlining of their sound was in order. While the assessment made sense from a musical standpoint, it also presented an opportunity to commercialize their music, and Metallica accomplishes both goals. The best songs are more melodic and immediate, the crushing, stripped-down grooves of "Enter Sandman," "Sad but True," and "Wherever I May Roam" sticking to traditional structures and using the same main riffs throughout; the crisp, professional production by Bob Rock adds to their accessibility. "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters" avoid the slash-and-burn guitar riffs that had always punctuated the band's ballads; the latter is a full-fledged love song complete with string section, which works much better than might be imagined. The song- and riff-writing slips here and there, a rare occurrence for Metallica, which some longtime fans interpreted as filler next to a batch of singles calculated for commercial success. The objections were often more to the idea that Metallica was doing anything explicitly commercial, but millions more disagreed. In fact, the band's popularity exploded so much that most of their back catalog found mainstream acceptance in its own right, while other progressively inclined speed metal bands copied the move toward simplification. In retrospect, Metallica is a good, but not quite great, album, one whose best moments deservedly captured the heavy metal crown, but whose approach also foreshadowed a creative decline. ~ Steve Huey
After the muddled production and ultracomplicated song structures of ...And Justice for All, Metallica decided that they had taken the progressive elements of their music as far as they could and that a simplification and streamlining of their sound was in order. While the assessment made sense from a musical standpoint, it also presented an opportunity to commercialize their music, and Metallica accomplishes both goals. The best songs are more melodic and immediate, the crushing, stripped-down grooves of "Enter Sandman," "Sad but True," and "Wherever I May Roam" sticking to traditional structures and using the same main riffs throughout; the crisp, professional production by Bob Rock adds to their accessibility. "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters" avoid the slash-and-burn guitar riffs that had always punctuated the band's ballads; the latter is a full-fledged love song complete with string section, which works much better than might be imagined. The song- and riff-writing slips here and there, a rare occurrence for Metallica, which some longtime fans interpreted as filler next to a batch of singles calculated for commercial success. The objections were often more to the idea that Metallica was doing anything explicitly commercial, but millions more disagreed. In fact, the band's popularity exploded so much that most of their back catalog found mainstream acceptance in its own right, while other progressively inclined speed metal bands copied the move toward simplification. In retrospect, Metallica is a good, but not quite great, album, one whose best moments deservedly captured the heavy metal crown, but whose approach also foreshadowed a creative decline. ~ Steve Huey
When a genre-defining group like Metallica, whose past albums have rocked the charts with virtually no airplay, enlists the aid of a hit-making producer like Bob Rock, the result is bound to be monumental. METALLICA, their sixth studio release, surpasses all expectations.
METALLICA is an extremely heavy album. It carries a presence, a huge, live sound different frRolling Stone (5/13/99, p.50) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (9/5/91) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Several songs...seem destined to become hard-rock classics....[They] effectively bridg[e] the gap between commercial metal and the much harder thrash of Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth..."
Spin (9/99, p.146) - Ranked #52 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s."
Spin (9/91) - Highly Recommended - "...A burnished black gem..."
Spin (p.89) - "This record's diamond-tipped tuneage stripped the band's melancholy guitar excess down to melodic, radio-ready bullets and ballads."
Entertainment Weekly (8/16/91) - "...Rock's preeminent speed-metal cyclone...Metallica may have invented a new genre: progressive thrash..." - Rating: B+
Q (8/00, p.127) - Included in Q's "Best Metal Albums Of All Time" - "...Transformed them from cult metal heroes into global superstars....bringing a little refinement to their undoubted power..."
Melody Maker (12/91) - Ranked #16 in Melody Maker's list of the top 30 albums of 1991 - "...In a committed move away from their thrash roots, METALLICA was slower, less complicated, and probably twice as heavy as anything they'd done before..."
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.55) - "[The album] that propelled them out of the metal ghetto to true mainstream global rock superstardom."