Nick Hoad

As I write this introductory paragraph, I have not yet listened to Metallica. To be perfectly honest, I’m not looking forward to it. My prejudices are telling me that it’s going to be the epitome of all the negative stereotypes I associate with the genre; mindless shouting noise with all the intelligence of a brick. It’s also a good 20 minutes longer than the first two albums, so it might end up being a slow, torturous drag through the musical equivalent of a barbed wire fence. I hope I’m wrong.

I was wrong.

There’s something I didn’t mention about the first two albums which Metallica throws into sharp relief: mixing. The vocals are mixed just a bit too quietly in the first two albums, there are times when the lyrics are difficult to understand. It wasn’t enough of an issue to be worth mentioning then, but it’s very nice to be able to hear each and every word loud and clear on Metallica. The quality of the sound in general is excellent, it easily avoids the pitfall of descending into a muddy mess of distortion. And you really can hear every word. Metallica is not one of those metal bands where the prevailing vocal style is that of a grumpy polar bear. It occasionally veers towards that territory in songs like Don’t Tread On Me but even at its shoutiest, it’s not indecipherable.

Another thing I was worried would plague Metallica which thankfully does not, is a lack of variety. Yes, the majority of the album is at one dynamic level and I think most of the songs are in E minor, but there are just enough sections of restraint and clean (or even acoustic) guitars that the loud parts never get too tiresome. The Unforgiven and Nothing Else Matters were both welcome changes of pace in that respect. It’s a shame the drummer didn’t get the memo though, I’d have preferred a different, less aggressive sound when the rest of the band is holding back so when they go back to going all out, it has more of an impact.

Despite all this, Metallica couldn’t do everything about the fact that metal just isn’t really the genre for me, certainly not a solid hour of it. Somewhere around track 10 of 12, I found myself zoning out. The near-relentless chugging guitars had lost my attention and faded into background noise. That was up until the last track, The Struggle Within, a final shot of adrenaline that almost anticipated my fading interest and insisted I finish listening with intent and purpose.

In the end, I haven’t converted to a metalhead. I can see the appeal and I did, surprisingly, quite enjoy listening to it for the most part, but I think I prefer to have my metal in much smaller doses than this.

Favourite Song: Through The Never

In the interests of transparency, I originally gave this album three and a half stars, and took away the half the next day. If I could give it three and a quarter, I think that’s what I’d go for.

Next Time: Bee Gees – Saturday Night Fever