Metallica Fans?

[Dru Edwards]

I know there's at least a couple of Metallica fans here... but not much more than that. Master of Puppets was released 35 years ago yesterday, March 3. One of the all time great metal albums with an amazing 1-2 punch with the first two songs.

My second favorite all time band. I started listening to them in the late 80s. Used to gig a couple of their songs back in the day.

How about you? Fan? Not a fan?

[Fishermike]

Fan. "Nothing Else Matters" was one of the first songs I learned on acoustic.

Saw them at Lollapalooza in 1996, with Soundgarden. Talk about a one-two punch!

[Dirk Hofman]

Fan. Got to them a bit after you did, I didn't really find them accessible until "And Justice for All", "Master" was a bit too hard core for me and the themes were super dark and too close to home, I'd lost friends to meth at that point and just didn't want to go there.

But I do love a lot of their stuff. Saw them at a Day on the Green at the Oakland Coliseum in 1985, and they stole the show as far as the live performance.

[steelvibe]

Huge fan until at least certain members got political. I don't understand why that is necessary- it is a good way to lose fans.

I saw many kids in middle school wearing their t-shirts along with Slayer and Iron Maiden. I was intrigued by the music what little I heard of it but didn't really pay much attention until the video for "One" was released on MTV. The song is a masterpiece, and I believe that even if you don't like their music- one simply cannot resist and appreciate the message of that song. Even my dad who was a huge Motown fan took notice. That video is also fantastic, easily one of the best of the decade for art direction and conveying the message of the horrors of war.

I love their old material but admittedly stopped buying their music- the "Black" album being the last one I purchased.

I still find myself listening to the old material and find it oddly relevant, prophetic even. Have you listened to "...And Justice for All" lately?

[boombox]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

...I was intrigued by the music what little I heard of it but didn't really pay much attention until the video for "One" was released on MTV. The song is a masterpiece, and I believe that even if you don't like their music- one cannot stop and appreciate the message of that song. That video is also fantastic, easily one of the best of the decade for art direction and conveying the message of the horrors of war. ...

Same here. The added voice in his head in the video really hits home. Saw them on the Loaded tour - one of the best metal gigs I've ever attended. We used to jam 'Seek & Destroy' in one of the bands I was in quite a few years ago and 'Nothing Else Matters' is such an amazing song played on 12-string.

[blue]

Huge fan of the early stuff. And Justice for All was super ambitious, and I realize my feelings are irrelevant, but I was "Proud" of them when they released it. I followed them less and less after that not because I resented their maturation or "selling out" as some would call it, but just because I enjoyed the youthful Thrash-uberance from the early days.

All in all, never had a negative feeling about them until Some Kind of Monster. The whole thing made me feel bad. "I missed my kid's birthday sitting in a tent on Russian Bear Hunt. I'm sad". Dude... You scheduled a Russian Bear hunt on your kid's birthday! That's on you! I did enjoy seeing Lars turn into a 12 year old when his art auction went well. I really did. He's usually so gloomy.

[1neeto]

Was around 1987 or ‘88. I always heard of them but I wasn’t allowed to listen to them. Then I was watching MTV and they played the One video and I couldn’t believe what I was watching and listening. It disturbed me, but at the same time I thought that was the best song I’ve ever heard. Got all the cassettes after that and was a big fan, and then the black album released. I was happy, and enter sandman was probably my second favorite song after One, but by then I became way too familiar with their past catalog, and then the more I listened to their older stuff and the black album, I realized how lackluster that album was. Just catchy heavy riffing, and great guitar tones, but Lars’s way back to basics drumming was such a turnoff. Especially after AJFA, with songs like Blackened that showcased his speed.

Then, I got into more heavier stuff, listened to more Megadeth and Pantera, and in the mid 90’s they released the load and reload albums. That’s when I lost all faith and realized they just wanted to appeal to the mainstream. St. Anger just about put the last nail in the coffin as far as I was concerned.

Many years later, it was 2008, and rumors of a new album that was going back to their thrash roots was coming out. Also Rick Rubin was producing it, so I knew it was going to be legit. It was my first time being excited about a new Metallica album since 1991. To date, Death Magnetic is their best work since AJFA. Not as commercially successful, but the quality of the music was there. Metallica was back.

So yes, I’m a fan of nearly 35 years now. Wow.

[Davis Webb]

They were the ultimate metal band for those who missed Deep Purple and early Sabbath. They pushed it into the stratosphere, true icons.

[Neil K Walk]

Not a fan. They jumped the shark in the mid 90s for me and could stand to be reminded of what it was like having to play covers to get established. Shouldn't they be putting out Christmas albums at their age?

[Dru Edwards]

We have some Metallica fans here on the AGF! My favorite album is Master of Puppets but Justice for All is my second favorite ... on some days my favorite. They're both master pieces. Glad to hear that others here also appreciate Justice.

I have all their CDs except for the recently released S&M2 with the symphony. I have the first one and didn't see the need for the second one. I still buy every new album on the first day or two.

What are your thoughts on Hardwired? The first CD is awesome (except for one song) and the 2nd CD is below average (except for one song). I think they should have dropped a couple of songs and just released a single CD.

[cliff_the_stiff]

Originally Posted by Neil K Walk

Not a fan. They jumped the shark in the mid 90s for me and could stand to be reminded of what it was like having to play covers to get established. Shouldn't they be putting out Christmas albums at their age?

I am a fan. I used to stay awake as an 11 year old and listen to “Mandatory Metallica” and I loved it.

Based on this anniversary, I’m going to try to learn the bass part to “Master”

This post from Niel ☝️is really funny.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

Was around 1987 or ‘88. I always heard of them but I wasn’t allowed to listen to them. Then I was watching MTV and they played the One video and I couldn’t believe what I was watching and listening. It disturbed me, but at the same time I thought that was the best song I’ve ever heard. Got all the cassettes after that and was a big fan, and then the black album released. I was happy, and enter sandman was probably my second favorite song after One, but by then I became way too familiar with their past catalog, and then the more I listened to their older stuff and the black album, I realized how lackluster that album was. Just catchy heavy riffing, and great guitar tones, but Lars’s way back to basics drumming was such a turnoff. Especially after AJFA, with songs like Blackened that showcased his speed.

Then, I got into more heavier stuff, listened to more Megadeth and Pantera, and in the mid 90’s they released the load and reload albums. That’s when I lost all faith and realized they just wanted to appeal to the mainstream. St. Anger just about put the last nail in the coffin as far as I was concerned.

Many years later, it was 2008, and rumors of a new album that was going back to their thrash roots was coming out. Also Rick Rubin was producing it, so I knew it was going to be legit. It was my first time being excited about a new Metallica album since 1991. To date, Death Magnetic is their best work since AJFA. Not as commercially successful, but the quality of the music was there. Metallica was back.

So yes, I’m a fan of nearly 35 years now. Wow.

Yea, Death Magnetic was a highly awaited album and it didn't disappoint. Probably my favorite since Justice. I was never a fan of load/reload/St Anger (although a couple songs from each album rocked).

Metallica is my 2nd favorite all time band next to Iron Maiden! Up the Irons.

[Shepsdad]

I loved “Kill em all”, especially “whiplash”. They had several songs that caught my attention since, but the main one was “hero of the day”. First time I heard that song was about 4 am driving home from the hospital after the birth of my second son. I don’t know what it was but it really hit home with me, considering the (very) recent developments in my life, lol. Finding out years later what James Hetfield said the song was about just made it all the more dear to my heart.

I’ve always thought Lars was a total douche, but aside from that, I like most of their stuff.

[Mycroft]

My metal bands were Blue Oyster Cult (The Black and White albums, please), Deep Purple or Uriah Heep. So by the time Metallica came along my musical tastes had changed dramatically. That said, I appreciated what they did as being very well done, although no longer my personal cup of tea. So I guess less of a fan and more of an appreciator?

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Fishermike

Fan. "Nothing Else Matters" was one of the first songs I learned on acoustic.

Saw them at Lollapalooza in 1996, with Soundgarden. Talk about a one-two punch!

That was a big acoustic song to play for the girls. Although not a love song like some other metal ballads of the day, Nothing Else Matters still turned heads.