Metallica...what went wrong

[madman4string]

Pick one:

a.1) Cliff died
a.2) Kicked Mustaine out
b) Sold out to mainstream rock with Black album and MTV videos
c) Attacked napster for "stealing their art"
d) Cut off long hair
e) No more guitar solos
f) All of the above?

Edit - I honestly dont know which of the a's came first

Dave left first.

 

[Marial]

Its like seeing a cat bark.

 

[SteveV74]

Good to see Im not the only one who feels that way

 

[SteveV74]

I was always a bigger Megadeth fan

 

[AaronVonRock]

I love the Black album, and like Load and Reload. Never got into their early stuff.

I have never heard anyone else on the planet have that opinion. You are a unique person. Fair enough, though.

It reminds of an ex-coworker who loved AC/DC but didn't like the Bon Scott-era material. He referred to that as "AC/DC: The Demo Years". You just can't reason with someone like that.

 

[SteveV74]

Dave Ellefson is an awesome bassist, for that genre anyway

 

[Glenn77]

I have never heard anyone else on the planet have that opinion. You are a unique person. Fair enough, though.

It reminds of an ex-coworker who loved AC/DC but didn't like the Bon Scott-era material. He referred to that as "AC/DC: The Demo Years". You just can't reason with someone like that.

My music tastes vary - I can go from listening to Metallica and then Sting. As long as its not rap or Bieber garbage we are good to go lol

And pls dont shoot me for this re: AC/DC: I prefer Brian myself over Bon. Mind you, I am 37 so maybe my age has a play in things too.

 

[cronker]

Exactly. Rock n' roll is a young man's game. Name me one rock band that had better output when they are in their middle age/senior years than when they were young.

Agreed. Musicians come into relative fame and fortune when they are still hungry. Hungry for recognition, hungry for the adulation and hungry to prove themselves. Once this is established, it's hard to stay hungry for anything more.
It's why it's so hard to stay relevant, along with the fact that popular music is always moving on, hungry for the next big thing.
I believe we are in one of the valley phases at the moment - waiting for the next big new sound to break.
It's not Lady Gaga, it's not teeny pop, it's not anything we have at the moment.
I remember very well when punk originally broke in 76/77 and when it died, it was replaced by New Romantic and then hair rock. Until Nirvana and Soundgarden etc broke that mold. Dance and techno came through in the early 90's and innovation has been fairly splintered since then. We've had a mini-reconnaissance of alt-county/folk and the machine of teen pop just keeps rolling on. But we are about ready for a truly innovative new sound to break. IMHO.

 

[gregmon79]

Well, IMO Tools newer stuff is better than their older stuff. I really dig their older stuff, but I'd pop in 10,000 days or Lateralus before I did opiate.

 

[plong123]

I've actually put a lot of thought into this, and I can exactly pinpoint the moment that it all went downhill: The "One" video.

Great song? Hell yes. Great video? Absolutely. The exact moment when Metallica changed from "Metal Up Your Ass" to "Please give us your money"? Without a doubt.

Cliff's death forever changed the outlook of the band. But they rebounded with a very good record. I (of the old school) would argue that Justice is their last great album. But when they made that video, they made a conscious decision to change their core values. And they've never been the same since.

 

[fmoore200]

Well, IMO Tools newer stuff is better than their older stuff. I really dig their older stuff, but I'd pop in 10,000 days or Lateralus before I did opiate.

In ten years we'll be saying Tool peaked with 'Lateralus'.. Truly great nu-metal (?) album. Awesome playing, composing, singing, and lyrics.

 

[mesaleebob]

I must also vote for Justice being their high point.

 

[powderfinger]

Actually, I need to add..... Metallica probably began sucking once Mustaine left.

 

[madman4string]

Justice was the last Metallica album I bought.

 

[spz8]

I must also vote for Justice being their high point.

And Justice For All was an absolute production trainwreck, and a HUGE letdown after MOP. Metallica truly changed for the worse after Burton's death, and all the ego BS came to the forefront. While the Black album was really successful, it was definitely the beginning of the end.

 

[Unrepresented]

Actually, I need to add..... Metallica probably began sucking once Mustaine left.

For all the people suggesting Mustaine was part of the downfall of the band, he only contributed songwriting for Kill 'Em All and portions of Ride The Lightening, correct? Master of Puppets was well past his departure and still considered a high point of their career by nearly every fan. He helped to forge their earliest sounds, but clearly the band functioned and even improved after his tenure.

 

[wideload]

When Pat Boone does a lounge-jazz cover of one of your songs, you know you are now the answer to a trivia question. (Not hatin' - Pat Boone won't even LOOK at my music!).

 

[Kmonk]

I have never been a Metallica fan but I suspect that what happened to them is the same thing that happens to a lot of bands. I base it on three things. They experience some commercial success and they try to continue being commercially successful. They experiment and try different things which their audience doesn't appreciate. They evolve musically but the audience hasn't and still wants the old stuff. How many times have heard comments like "I wish (insert band here) would go back to their roots". Just because you do not like what they are doing doesn't mean that others feel the same way.

 

[ggoat!!!]

THIS:

 

[DeathFromBelow]

I'd say they peaked on Kill 'em All.