So I got the album for fathers day (from my wife; my 4 and 6 year old boys don’t really listen to a lot of Metallica). I’m about half way through it, and I’m honestly not sure why Hammett even showed up. There isn’t a single solo, or any songs requiring more than one guitar. (yet. like I say I’m only half through it)
This is the first album I’ve listened to since the black album. For me, that was decent, but way more commercial than the earlier stuff which was standard fare in my stereo in the earlier years. This one sounds like they’re trying to be one of these new punk bands, and I don’t get it. I’ll give it a couple of listens to make sure, but right now it’s getting a thumbs down.
I was a bit Metallica fan back in the good ol’days when Cliff Burton was alive. I stuck with them through And Justice for All, which I liked a lot… and then they lost all appeal for me. I don’t know about you, but I never needed to hear a Metallica ballad, like “Nothing Else Matters.” GAG. If I really want elegiac and slow from these guys, give me a “Fade to Black” or a “For Whom the Bell Tolls” any day.
Also, after the way Lars Ulrich went after Napster, I cannot respect him or the band any more. I heard “St. Anger” on the radio and thought it was one of those new bands that plays pseudo-heavy metal, like Staind or something. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
Well, Newsted was THE main songwriter in his old band, Flotsam & Jetsam – he wrote ALL the lyrics on their debut album, and even got credit on 3 songs from their their 2nd album, No Place for Disgrace, which was recorded after Newsted joined Metallica.
Of course, it’s pure conjecture whether or not Newsted simply stopped writing when he joined (aside from “Blackened”, as pointed out earlier, where he got a co-credit) but he has stated publicly that James & Lars dissauded him from releasing a solo album, and that was a big part of his reason for leaving the band.