7 posts tagged “metallica”
So much incredible music released this year! It's really hard to pick just 5, but if I had to, here are my final top 5 songs of 2008. If you don't own any of these records, you need to.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#5. 'Cyanide' - Metallica - Death Magnetic
Yes, Metallica. I love Death Magnetic, and seeing them live again after so many years totally re-instilled my love for the band. Bash them all you want, but I am no longer a hater.
#4. 'More News From Nowhere' - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
Quite possibly one of my favorite Nick Cave records. Photographing him earlier this year was without a doubt one of my most memorable concert photography experiences.
#3. 'Crooked Head' - Fucked Up - The Chemistry Of Common Life
In today's world of lame "Screamo" bands, poser "Hardcore" bands, and just plain bad "Punk Rock" bands, it's nice that some bands still get it. Fucked Up is one of those bands. Looking forward to finally seeing them live in Feb '09!
#2. 'Eastern Woman' - Orchid
I really can't say enough good things about Orchid. I totally discovered them by accident. They are amazing live. Hopefully they are going to release an album in '09.
#1. 'Dethroned' - Death Angel - Killing Season
Killing Season is also my pick for album of the year. If you read this space, you know how "fan boy" I am over Death Angel. Enough Said.
I know I seem to be saying this after just about every show I go to these days, but last night's Metallica show was without a doubt the best show I have been to all year. Trash them all you want, but they just flat out fucking ruled, and definitely went above and beyond to impress the hometown crowd. Aside from the rehearsal show earlier this year, it was the first time I had seen the band live in 16 years, and can honestly say that they sounded better than ever, and it was obvious that they were having nothing short of a total blast up there. The set list was a nice mix of new and old, but if I had to pick a fave it would have to be 'Sad But True', which totally crushed. I'm not gonna write full review for this one, but please check out Umlaut for yet another well crafted synopsis of the evening. And check out more of my pictures here!
Looking back on Metallica's "rehearsal" at the Cow Palace on Friday night, I would have to say I was pretty damn impressed with the band, which, after giving up on them many years ago, is something I though I'd never say again.
While standing on the floor of an almost eerily empty Cow Palace, and I
couldn't help but pick up on the good "vibe" that was going around.
There were conversations involving shopping at The Record Vault, the
latest Death Angel and Testament records, and Mercyful Fate T-Shirts. And if I can get all fan-boy here, meeting and shaking hands with both legendary journalist Steffan Chirazi and one time Metallica guitar tech/band member John Marshall was pretty damn cool. It was a good time {even sans alcohol} and made waiting for the band to hit the stage {they were an hour and a half late} more than bearable.
Although there were a few "kinks" in a couple of the songs off of Death Magnetic that still needed to be worked out, Metallica
still sounded pretty damn good, and are still a pretty impressive live
band, even after all these years. Yeah there was a bit of a "lull" in
the middle of the set {"Until It Sleeps", "The Day That Never Comes"}
but overall the songs flowed relatively smoothly, and if it weren't for
James saying something to the effect of "We'll fuck -up more than usual to make it extra special for you guys", or a complete guitar meltdown during one of the new songs (Broken, Beat And Scarred)? it could have been just another Metallica
show, except for the fact that there were only 700 people or so in
attendance. And although I am not going to give away the entire setlist
of the evening, I will say that highlights for me included "Cyanide"
"Master Of Puppets" "The Four Horsemen" "Fight Fire With Fire" and the
3 song "encore" during which they ripped through "Last Carass"
"Blitzkrieg" (!!) and "Seek And Destroy". Not a band way to wrap
things up. Another highlight was seeing legendary photographer Ross
Halfin on stage and casually getting right in the face of each band
member to get his shots. As I watched him I couldn't help but gravitate
towards the front of the stage to see just how he works his magic, and
to say that I was envious of him would be an understatement. Although I
hear he is a real prick ( and probably rightfully so} I'd love to get
the chance to shoot a show with him and see just how he does it.
As far as the "production" portion of the show, the set was full of muti-colored lasers, multi-colored flames and eight pretty fucking cool coffin shaped lighting rigs, four of which would hover directly over the band at times. It was a nice touch, and maybe was meant to serve as a reminder to the audience that this band is still "metal". A friend and I did agree that there was a serious lack of explosions, but hopefully all the pyro will be in place once the actual tour starts.
If I had only one complaint about the evening, it would have to be the 'in the round" style set-up of the stage. To me the rotating band member really takes away from the "dynamic" of the show, especially with a band like Metallica. After seeing them on tiny stages like The Stone, or on a huge stage which they completely hi-jacked at The Oakland Coliseum {Day On The Green, 1985} its hard to get a sense of energy from the band when you can't see them all head-on at any given time. But I guess that's what bands do these days. Oh Well...
So with all that being said, will I go see Metallica when they return to the Bay Area for a proper show in December? Honestly, yes I will. As much as I wanted to continue to write off both them and there music, I just can't do it this time, as I am stoked to see that Metallica has returned to form.
And please excuse the shitty pictures below. After much debate, I decided
not to pursue obtaining a photo-pass, and at the last minute decided
not to even bring the 5D. And I gotta admit that after shooting
approximately fifty or so shows this year, it was nice to go with just a point and shoot
watch as a fan for a change.
Thanks to a very well connected and very gracious friend, I'll be seeing Metallica's last rehearsal before their upcoming world tour at the Cow Palace tonight! Basically it will be a full-blown show, with pyro {!!!!}, for about 300 people. Oddly enough, the last time I was at the Cow Palace was for a Metallica show, back in 1992 I believe, which was also the last time I saw the band live. Should be pretty damn cool. Stay tuned for a full report!!!
I'm about to say something that I haven't said in 20 years. I like the new Metallica album. I like it A LOT. Although it probably wouldn't have gone over to well back then, it is totally the missing link between ....And Justice For All and The Black Album. It's the perfect combination of groove and heaviness. I TOTALLY gave up on this band years ago, but it is very nice to be able to listen to something new from them.
A few years ago, when I found out that there was a documentary on the 80's Thrash Metal scene being made, I couldn't help to get excited. I immediately dug through what was left of my "physical" memories of that time and submitted them for use in the film. Music was my life in High School, {and 20 yrs later pretty much still is to a certain degree} and it was all metal and all punk all the time. My friends and I would drive to the city at least twice a week to either go record shopping at The Record Vault or go see a show. Over the years we saw every thrash band you could think of, including Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, Death Angel, Possessed, Anthrax, Testament, Trouble, Exciter, Voivod, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Motorhead, Mercyful Fate, etc. The list could go on and on. Living in the Bay Area made that time even more special to us since the whole scene literally unfolded right in front of our eyes.
With all that being said, as I sat through the screening of Get Thrashed on Saturday night, I couldn't help but flashback to that period in my life. Yeah, it may have run on just a bit too long, and would have been just fine without any reference to "Nu Metal", but all in all the film hit the nail square on the fucking head. Director/ Producer Rick Ernst did an amazing job assembling footage of the bands of that era and really captured the vibe and spirit of those days. Lots of great concert footage, as well as interviews with Steve "Zetro" Souza, Harold O, Ron Quintana, members of Death Angel, Slayer, and a very funny Bobby Blitz of Overkill. And although San Francisco was ground zero for Thrash Metal, there was also very thorough coverage of both the L.A. and New York scenes. Other highlights for me included:
- Plenty of screen time for both Suicidal Tendancies and DRI. Both may have started out as "punk" bands, but they pretty much invented the crossover sound and made it acceptable for punk kids to like metal, and metal kids to like punk. Both bands also seemed to be curiously absent absent from a few "punk" documentaries that were made recently. They were too important to be left out.
- Dave Mustaine. I've always had a soft spot for the guy. Yeah he may have cleaned up and found someone to pray to, but I've always felt he stuck to his guns and did things on his own terms. I loved how arrogant he was, and how he mentioned his unmistakable influence on 3 of the 5 big thrash bands.
- Vio-lence. Without a doubt my favorite local band during that era. They would open up for just about any big band that came through, and often had the crowd more worked up than the headliner. I still remember the show with Voivod, and bassist Dean Dell tearing up his knee. Their music was heavier than everyone else's, and it was cool to see them get some props.
I could go on and on about the things I like about this movie, but I think you pretty much get the idea. For me, Get Thrashed was a very nice way to re-open a book I finished and put down many years ago. If you a old metalhead like myself, or just curious about those days, I highly recommend you go see it when it comes to your town!
Back in the mid-eighties, any thrash metal band playing in S.F. would make a stop at the Record Vault, the LEGANDARY metal record store on Polk St. As a loyal metalhead, I would always go just to chat with them, and tell them how much I was into there music. Most bands were pretty cool and enjoyed posing for pictures, signing album covers and just hanging out and bull-shitting with us fans. Some of the friendliest and coolest were Lemmy from Motorhead, Wendy O. Williams, and King Diamond. Scott Ian from Anthrax and the recently concluded "Supergroup" series on VH1 was kind of a dick and seemed a bit too cool to socialize with his fans. But out of all the bands I met during those years, no one was a bigger prick then James Hetfield of Metallica. I was at a show at The Stone,{I believe it was Voivod} back in 1985 or so and there was James, sitting in the back reading a metal fanzine. No big deal, as it was pretty common to see members of Metallica at shows, as it was right before they started getting huge. What was funny was that the zine that he was reading was a one that I was writing record and shows reviews for. I thought this was the perfect oppertunity to go up to him talk about metal for a few minutes, shake his hand, and tell him I was a fan of his music. So I go up to him, introduce myself and tell him that I was a writer for the zine he was reading. So he just looks at me shakes his head and gets up and walks away. I felt about two feet tall. Even though I was thinking "Fuck You!" in my head I was speechless. I still see James at shows to this day, and one day when he isn't surrounded by all his flunkies, I am going to go up to him and tell him this story, and then tell him that his band now sucks.
