Metallica

[panayiotis1984]

Stereo Warning reports that the release of METALLICA’s new album has been delayed again, according to the band’s record label. The band’s ninth studio CD is now expected to hit the stores in September. Originally METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich said it would be out in February, then the release was pushed back to April.

Ulrich recently spoke with Revolver magazine about the band’s upcoming LP, which will be its first all-new effort since 2003’s "St. Anger". Ulrich told the magazine that the group’s new material "is certainly a lot more dynamic and a lot more varied than the last couple of go-rounds," adding, "There’s a lot of light and shade in these songs. There’s heavy, fast, nutty stuff, and then there’s some slowdowns and musical interludes." Ulrich also said that the album has more in common with some of the group’s ’80s releases than more recent offerings like "St. Anger" and "Load".

Ulrich wouldn’t agree that the yet-to-be-titled disc is a full-blown return to the past, saying, "I hate to be that specific, because six months from now people are gonna go, ’What the fuck? Lars lied to us!’ But it feels that way to me."

The drummer also revealed that producer Rick Rubin, working with the band for the first time, wanted METALLICA to use classic efforts like "Ride the Lightning" and "Master of Puppets" as "reference points" for its new songs

OK another Chinese Democracy here...
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Video games are bad for you? That what they said about Rock 'n' Roll...

[rnr_child]

Metallica i was raised with their music i just love them my favorite album is Master of puppets, then Kill em all and Ride The Lightning, all 3 feature the greatest bassist that ever lived! R.I.P Cliff your music will never die!

[dioisgod]

metallicas new album better come out this year

i mean i am still waiting for chinese democracy for fuck sake, i cant take 2 albums being pushed back even more
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they'll take your diamonds and give you steel youll be caught in the middle of the madness lost like them and part of all the pain that they feel AND ALL THE FOOLS SAILED AWAY- Ronnie James Dio

[panayiotis1984]

METALLICA just finished (tonight, May 28th) the first show of their 2008 European Summer Vacation in Chorzow, Poland at Slaski Stadium.

The setlist was as follows:
'Creeping Death'
'For Whom The Bell Tolls'
'Ride The Lightning'
'Harvester Of Sorrow'
'The Unforgiven'
'...And Justice For All'
'Devil's Dance'
'Disposable Heroes'
'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)'
'Master Of Puppets'
'Whiplash'
'Nothing Else Matters'
'Sad But True'
'One'
'Enter Sandman'

Encore:
'Last Caress'
'So What'
'Seek and Destroy'.

Upcoming Metallica tour dates:

30 - Landgraaf, Netherlands - Pinkpop Festival
31 - Getafe, Spain - Electric Weekend

June
3 - Prague, Czech Republic - Slavia Stadium (with Machine Head and Mnemic)
5 - Lisbon, Portugal - Rock In Rio
7 - Nurburgring, Germany - Rock Am Ring
8 - Nurnburg, Germany - Rock Im Park
13 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo

July
16 - Bergen, Norway - Bergenhus Castle
18 - St. Petersburg , Russia - SKK Hall
20 - Riga, Latvia - Skonto Stadium
22 - Bologna, Italy - Parco Nord
23 - Bucharest, Romania - Cotroceni Football Stadium (no DOWN)
25 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Levski Stadium

August
14 - Arras, France - Grand d'Arras (with GOJIRA)
15 - Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
17 - Wil/Jonschwil, Switzerland - Degenaupark
20 - Dublin, Ireland - Marlay Park (with TENACIOUS D)
22 - Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
24 - Reading, England - Reading Festival

July 16th-25th - with DOWN and THE SWORD
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Video games are bad for you? That what they said about Rock 'n' Roll...

[rnr_child]

All great songs fantastic pick of the songs!

[alitivity]

How wierd is it to have one US date right in the middle of European dates. I wonder what that is all about?
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Check out Al Diamond Phillips/Nevermet on the web
http://www.reverbnation.com/nevermet

[alitivity]

Wow, its a four day outdoor festival, never heard of it, but there are definately some good bands as well as other performers going to be there. Here is the line up

.Pearl Jam Metallica Jack Johnson Widespread Panic Kanye West Chris Rock Robert Plant and Alison Krauss featuring T Bone Burnett Phil Lesh & Friends My Morning Jacket The Raconteurs Willie Nelson Death Cab for Cutie Tiësto B.B. King Les Claypool Sigur Rós Levon Helm and the Ramble on the Road Ben Folds O.A.R. Cat Power The Bluegrass Allstars M.I.A. Umphrey's McGee Iron & Wine Stephen Marley Yonder Mountain String Band The Swell Season Zappa Plays Zappa Talib Kweli Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival Gogol Bordello Broken Social Scene Robert Randolph's Revival Porter-Batiste-Stoltz Rilo Kiley The Disco Biscuits Mastodon Lupe Fiasco Against Me! Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk Pat Green Ozomatli Tegan & Sara Henry Butler and the Game Band Solomon Burke Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 Drive-By Truckers Dirty Dozen Brass Band Superdrag Louis C.K. MSTRKRFT !!! The Avett Brothers Israel Vibration Walter "Wolfman" Washington Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet featuring Béla Fleck Larry Campbell, Jackie Greene, Phil Lesh & Teresa Williams Aimee Mann Anders Osborne Ladytron Janeane Garofalo The Fiery Furnaces Money Mark Orchestra Baobab Ghostland Observatory José González Dark Star Orchestra Zach Galifianakis Minus the Bear Lez Zeppelin Donavon Frankenreiter Big Sam's Funky Nation State Radio The Coup Battles Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue The Wood Brothers featuring John Medeski & Kenny Wolleson Jakob Dylan and the Gold Mountain Rebels Jim Norton Two Gallants The Sword Soul Rebels Brass Band Vampire Weekend Little Feat Nicole Atkins Chromeo Brian Posehn Morning 40 Federation The Felice Brothers Mason Jennings Mike Birbiglia MGMT What Made Milwaukee Famous The Lee Boys Adele Rogue Wave Grand Ole Party Serena Ryder Reggie Watts Steel Train Grupo Fantasma Harrybu McCage John Mulaney Back Door Slam Michelle Buteau Newton Faulkner Joe DeRosa Leo Allen DJ Equal DJ medi4 Motion Potion DJ Quickie Mart Doctor Spook aka MINDSTORM DJ Logic SOJORN Alana Grace Amy LaVere Bear In Heaven Bombadil Carney Charlie Allen Colour Revolt Cornmeal De Novo Dahl Dead Confederate Electric Touch Erick Baker Extra Golden Howlin Rain Jake Shimabukuro Jessie Baylin Jypsi K'NAAN Lord T & Eloise Matt Morris Mike Farris featuring Roseland Rhythm Revue The Nikhil Korula Band Nomo Person L Phonograph Rotary Downs Royal Bangs Scissormen Sometymes Why stephaniesĭd Tennessee Schmaltz The Afromotive The American Plague The Big Sleep The Duhks the everybodyfields The Greencards The Postelles The Weather Underground Your Vegas .
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Check out Al Diamond Phillips/Nevermet on the web
http://www.reverbnation.com/nevermet

[panayiotis1984]

Classic Rock hears new Metallica album

"Classic Rock was among a select band of rock journalists to hear a taster from the new Metallica album today. At present untitled, the band’s new record has been nicknamed by management “Nine epics and one song”. We heard six of 'em – unmixed and all unnamed (we guess at some of the titles in our track by track, below).

Classic Rock was one of the few magazines to give the band’s last album, St. Anger, a bad review on its release, Philip Wilding giving it 2/5. “It’s unfettered hell-for-leather nonsense pretty much from beginning to end,” he wrote. “Forget nuance or gravitas – or Metallica, for that matter – this is latter-day heavy metal pulverised into a risible mush that owes as much to rock music’s deviation in the last three years, as to the credible legend that Metallica have built and cultivated since the early 80s.

“This, you reason, must be the sound of a mid-life crisis…”

The following year’s documentary Some Kind Of Monster let fans see exactly that – the creative and personal meltdown that occurred during the creative process.

So is the new album the sound of conquering heroes? Or just the sound of some multi-millionaires with a franchise to exploit? Does it try too hard to please – or is it the sound of a band who know they’ve got everything to prove and the year is their’s for the taking?

Maybe it’s the one multi-million-selling triumph that will actually get some radio airplay without resorting to Chili Peppers-style bland-outs. Maybe it’s a re-hash of former glories. Maybe it’s too little too late. Or maybe it’s some metal masters showing the young pretenders how to do it (with riffs and solos and, y’know, singing – not growling).

Are the lyrics the work of a middle-aged doofus with a rhyming dictionary? Or are they the work of thrash titans who’ve found a voice and created fittingly intense music for these intense times?

The jury is out until we can spend some quality time with the album. Until then, this is what we heard…
Track one – (working title ‘Flamingo’)
Opens with a lightly chorus guitar riff, slightly reminiscent of Sandman, a hugely long intro before a gruff, Hetfield patented “three four” breaks down into a Slayer-ish thrashy riff barrage.

The drum sound is infinitely better than St Anger. Includes a serious wah-wah breakdown and several, distinct melodic chorus refrains. Could be a good radio bet – there’s no mistaking that it’s a Metallica song.

Which is more than could be said of St Anger. Back in the early 00s, of course, Nu Metal producer/overlord Ross Robinson famously banned guitar solos from albums by the likes of Slipknot. That Metallica – metal’s biggest band – seemed to toe the line with this philosophy in order to win the kids over beggared belief.

The good news? The guitar solos are back. With a vengeance. Hammett has been let back off the leash – this track even sees him breaking open the whammy pedal again for a spot of Tom Morello-esque tomfoolery.

Its false ending even fooled the guy from management who has heard it several times before!

Track two – (aka The Single)

It’s an eight-minute behemoth. Intro has elements of techno metal, vaguely reminiscent of Queensryche’s Silent Lucidity clean picked guitar sound (think Martha & the Muffins’ Echo Beach on downers).

It’s a Metallica power ballad – whoever thought a Met song would ever feature the line ‘Love is a four-letter word’? – and it follows more traditional lines than their previous forays into balladry.

Just when you think it might be a little meandering, The Single breaks down with a Battery-style riff and Hammett and Hetfield let rip with a twin-guitar Thin Lizzy-style solo. Nice.

The solo doesn’t stop there, Hammett takes centre stage and ramps it up with a very technical, Iron Maiden fret melting solo.

Track three (suggested title: ‘Scars’ or ‘We Die Hard’)

A take-no-prisoners bludgeoner, with its repeated refrain of ‘What won’t kill you makes you more strong’. Is this the sound of Metallica reacting to their troubles of recent years (St A’s bad reception and their struggles documented on Some Kind Of Monster)? “You rise, you fall, you’re down and you rise again”. Features a very abstract Hammett solo.

Track four (suggested title: ‘The Judas Kiss’ or ‘Bow Down’)

‘When you think it’s all said and done/Sell your soul to me/Bow down to me/I will set you free.’ Hetfield takes on the role of an alter-ego demon in this monster Maiden-esque bruiser.

Lots of traditional Metallica stoppy-starty stuff, wrapped around Lars’ military tattoo-style drum work.

Track five (suggested title: ‘To End This War’)

Opens with a clean rolling bassline (with a slight Motley Crue Dr Feelgood vibe to it?). Lot more of Trujillo on this record, with some sneaky fills/solo bass stuff.

Breaks down into a old-school chuggy riff. It’s sorta Iron Maiden meets Born To Be Wild. Massive guitars.

Then, after an extended instumental break a new mid-paced melody appears over the top of more clean guitar section.

Hammett is keeping up with OTT solos, and there’s more dual soloing between him and Hetfield than there has been for a while (shades of Lizzy, maybe UFO).

Track six (‘The Song’ says the management guy. Suggested title: ‘Into The Crypt’ or ‘My Apocalypse’ or ‘Crossed That Line’)

The shortest song on the album, clocks in a about 6 minutes (the rest average at about 8 minutes apiece).

A Reign In Blood-style riff monster,it’s probably the most ‘catchy’, and submits to the most traditional verse/chorus/breakdown format, but there is an awful lot going on.

Big drums on this one, coupled with out-of-control, “mere mortals will never play this”–style soloing from Kirk.

Will Metallica reclaim their position as metal gods? We’ll see at the end of the summer – rumours are that the album will be out mid September."


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Video games are bad for you? That what they said about Rock 'n' Roll...

[panayiotis1984]

Interview of Kirk Hammett by RollingStone Magazine

You have been working on the new Metallica album for almost three years. How do you know which riffs and solos to keep and which to throw out?
I know whether I'm cutting it or not. And I always try to make a solo the best it can be. I recorded over 100 solos for one track on this album — and the solo is only 25 seconds long [laughs]. But it's apparent when the solo works that it's all there. It's either "Wow!" — or it's not good enough. It's that black-and-white.

How would you describe your role in Metallica's two-guitar sound?
James [Hetfield] and I have always been complementary. We've never gotten into guitar squabbles, like a lot of bands with two guitar players do. His approach is primal — rhythmic and percussive. Mine is more technical and fluid. I see the guitar as a bunch of scales and tones. I write riffs and arrange chords to make sure they fit tight harmonically.

On a lot of the albums we did in the Nineties, I was doing orchestration, looking for something that fit over a certain part to make it more exciting — a texture, a chord, a little lick here, a chug there. We've strayed from that. We've gotten back to the one-voice guitar thing we did in the Eighties. The album we're working on now is about Metallica as a single thing — a locomotive coming to mow you down.

Is there a solo on the early albums that was a breakthrough in your playing?
When the other guys heard the solos on "Creeping Death" and "Ride the Lightning" [both on 1984's Ride the Lightning], it was a different aspect of soloing than they were used to. [Original lead guitarist] Dave Mustaine played fast all the time. I play melodically. And I play parts, different sections that make the solo as hooky as possible. Although I've always been very flashy. I admit it.

How did you write the riff in "Enter Sandman" [on 1991's "Metallica"]? It's up there in instant recognition with "Smoke on the Water" and "Whole Lotta Love."
My friend has a guitar store, and there is a big sign in there that says no "enter sandman" [laughs]. Soundgarden had just put out Louder Than Love. I was trying to capture their attitude toward big, heavy riffs. It was two o'clock in the morning. I put it on tape and didn't think about it. When [drummer] Lars [Ulrich] heard the riff, he said, "That's really great. But repeat the first part four times." It was that suggestion that made it even more hooky.

You were 15 when you started playing guitar. That seems late, given that you grew up in San Francisco, a great music town, and had an older brother with a lot of records.
In the late Seventies, 15 was early. I learned by playing along to records hundreds of times. The first one I learned to play decently was "Purple Haze." I remember playing to "Dazed and Confused" from [Led Zeppelin's] The Song Remains the Same every day, trying to learn the whole half-hour version. That was a riff dictionary. But the second I heard "Mother Mary," by UFO [on 1975's Force It], my whole attitude toward the guitar changed. Their guitarist, Michael Schenker, wasn't playing blues-based solos. He was playing modes — scales that sounded almost classical — and rhythmically he was out the door. To this day, UFO are my favorite band in the whole world. I was playing "Doctor Doctor" [from 1974's Phenomenon] for my one-and-a-half-year-old son. He went crazy.

Where is the Hendrix in what you play with Metallica?
I make it a point not to be too obvious about it. I touched on it in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" [on Ride the Lightning] — the whammy- bar craziness at the end. Hendrix had a lead tone like nobody else, when he was full-on with the Marshall amps, the fuzztone, the wah-wah and the Uni-Vibe [phase pedal]. When I heard the Woodstock album, I said, "I want my guitar to sound like that." But when he stepped on a fuzz box, it was to drive a statement home rather than just bring a mountain of fuzz down on people's heads. Hendrix always had a purpose.

How would you describe your tone, especially when you solo?
I like a clear, singing tone that isn't overly fuzzy. I like distortion when it's within the tone. And I'm in love with the wah-wah pedal. I sometimes feel like I overdo it with the wah-wah, but I don't care, because it makes me feel good. I try not to step on it with the beat but sweep with it, very slowly, through a part or a solo. I like the unpredictability of it. It's hard to do a wah-wah track the same way twice, because your foot will always be on a different part of the beat.

Is there a limit to what you can express on the guitar with Metallica because of the band's intensity and fury?
It's important not to stray too far from that. But in my spare time, I play a lot of jazz and blues. I listen to Tal Farlow, Kenny Burrell, Elmore James and Buddy Guy. One of these days, I'll do a solo album that is very rounded, as far as styles of guitar. I was thinking once: What am I going to do when I'm 70 years old and I'm sitting on the porch with a guitar? Play "Seek and Destroy"? [Laughs] I love riffing on UFO songs for half an hour. But then I'll lean over to the amp, switch to a clean channel and play some bossa nova or Robert Johnson.

Can you bring some of that to Metallica? Or is that just not going to happen?
Metallica — the name says it all.


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Video games are bad for you? That what they said about Rock 'n' Roll...

[Mysterioman]

Oh well... this is one of those bands I actually should check out. I bought a collection of Iron Maiden and didn't like it... maybe I would like more Metallica, dunno...


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Come on and dance for The Lord Of The Last Day...