Ok so this is basically just me commenting on the latest Metallica show I went to. Dear God, have they ever still got it. The show was fucking unbelievable. I wont cite details of the stage set-up or anything because I don't want to ruin it for people who may still see them, but it's very cool. I was at the TD BankNorth Garden show in Boston last week and it was so good. I can't tell you how good it feels to see them live, and doing well again. They are truly like a different band than they were from 1995-2002. They seem younger, tighter, more energized, and just all around better. I don't love the new album, but I do like it and the new songs actually sound better live. Metallica really look like a young band again (except lars, but he still plays fast and drops a lot of f-bombs so it's fine). It made me happy because the feel of the show was like that of 20-year olds playing...no 45 year olds. James' voice sounded great...really great, even at the end of a 2.5 hour setlist when my own vocal chords were shredded. Furthermore he still is the ultimate in front-man technology: jumping around, machine-gun riffing, and singing all at once. Plus, as an added bonus, he's rockin' a mohawk now. I don't know why I thought that was so cool but when I realized it I fucking loved it. Maybe because he's paying homage to the punk part of his influence. Either way, it got me even more stoked. As for the guitars, it was business as usuall: twin autocannons of sound. The drums were sick, great sound and so fucking heavy and loud that you not only heard them but felt them. Every time Lars hit the Bass drums it literally-LITERALLY-shook a concrete and steel stadium like an earthquake. And the bass...well...we know how Metallica is with the bass. Or do we???
Rob's bass is LOUD- really fucking LOUD and it sounds sick. He has a great stage presence. At one point he was doing a sick solo and starts chasing the other band members around with is crab-walk...it's tough to laugh and head bang.
Anyway, I think you get the point, the show was unbelievable, and I urge anyone who has the chance to try and see them; so rewarding for having faith in the band. Nobody ever sounds as good live as Metallica, and nobody can reproduce what they do in the studio better.
Also, as a last note. Machine Head and The Sword were both really really sick as well. I would see either band again in a heart-beat.
Ok I need a little advice. I'm seeing Metallica in January and they'll be playing with Machine Head and The Sword; I already know the Sword well but I (shamefully) know nothing about Machine Head...What should I pick up in the way of their albums/songs to prep so that I can be at least a half-way decent fan on short notice (since to be any kind of real fan takes years of absorption). I've already picked up Burn My Eyes, which is SICK. I obviously am going to start listening to them, but there's no way I can absorb their whole discography in a few months along with The Sword's two albums and Death Magnetic, all of which are new material. So, I'm hoping a few of you Machine Head vets out there can point me in the direction of some of their concert staples. Thanks a lot.
Ahh...here we go fans. Here's some info you might like- some "real" news, as it were. Metallica posted some samples of their new songs this morning on their website. Here's the link: http://metallica.com/index.asp?item=601104 They sound excellent and it appears that "New Song 1" is actually on the album in some format (sample #2). Anyway there's four roughly 10 second samples and they're all real encouraging. I think their new song comes out on the radio today at like 11 pac time which I guess is 2 here in the east...I don't know- their website said something about that. Anyway, enjoy.
Ok, so nothing too monumental here. I was checking out dates for the upcoming 'tallica world tour. I noticed that when they come to Boston they'll be touring with a band called "The Sword." Never heard of them, so I checked them out on youtube and I'm impressed. They could be a new favorite, although I'll have to do some more research before I commit to them. Anyway, I started thinking about the discovery and realized that less than a month ago I started getting into Mastodon. Now they've been around for a little while, but I had never bothered to listen to them. I guess I've been so focused on older bands I've known that I haven't really payed much attention to newer stuff lately. I got into Ax7 and Trivium last year and they're good, but not quite edgy enough for me...the former being a little to Poppy and the latter being a little to Power-Metal. I like both a lot, but for me they don't have the same visceral punch that Mastodon gives. The sword looks legit though...they sound like a cross between Sabbath and old Metallica and they have a pretty nice cover of "Immigrant Song."
So um...I guess the moral of the story is expand your horizons! I'm trying to do the same...so if anyone out there has some cool shit in the vein of heavy/progressive metal they think is cool, let me know. Thanks.
I've been hearing a lot of resentment lately about how people are annoyed by the whole guitar hero thing. I've experienced it personally. I played "One"-on a real guitar-for my 9 year old nephew because it's his favorite song. When I was finished he nodded in approval as though I had played hot cross buns, and then asked if I could play it on expert. I almost shat. I mean some aspects of the GH phenomenon are cool. It gets kids into music. I don't mind 8 year olds running around with Pantera t-shirts. I see no threat as a "true fan," that there are a ton of fair-weatherers out there. Why? Because true fans are always distinguished from the mass of wannabees by the depth of their knowledge and understanding- something that only comes from being a true fan. But I'm concerned that a lot of people are going to start thinking that GH is some legitimate form of art. It's a video game. I worry that kids think because they can play a song on GH it means something. It's nice, but it doesn't mean shit.
I'm new to this, so this entry is basically a test run. Assuming it works, this will probably be nothing more than an avenue for me to rant on whatever happens to cross my mind regarding music. If anyone happens to see this...I'm having trouble figuring out how the subscription system works, any help is welcome. Also, I've posted on a few articles and they show up immediately afterwards, but if I go back to the news page later, I can't see my comments, anyone know what's up with that?
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Orion999's blogs, last updated : January 26, 2009
