Why? Because they've grown and haven't put out the same album after 30 years of playing together. I feel like everyone hates on St.Anger and Death Magnetic for the same reasons that people hate on superhero movies. If you never heard Metallica before and someone played you St.Anger, you'd probably dig it. But people hate on it because they want that "old" sound back. Musicians progress, any musician (or artist for that matter) should always be evolving. I don't want to hear them pump out another Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning. Those albums were great but they had their time. Embrace the change. Stop looking for what once was. Listen with an open,non judgmental mindset with every piece of art you come across Sent from my XT1030 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I thought Death Magnetic was pretty good, Can't say the same for St. Anger. My favourite Metallica album will always be Master of Puppets though 8 pure classic metal tracks.
what people dont understand is that to people REALLY into metal, we wanted thrash from Metallica. we wanted extreme metal. master of puppets was their last real thrash album, and thats what i wanted from them. i dont care that they changed, they dont make the music i like anymore (well a song or two on death magnetic were pretty great, im not going to be a cunt about this). one of the reasons Slayer gets so much praise and Metallica gets so much hate is that Slayer stayed true, and kept making the music they wanted to listen to. Metallica on the other hand fell to the pressure of their label and went for gold. it sure as fuck paid off for Metallica, but it doesnt mean i enjoyed their newer albums.
if you've established a sound for decades and then you suddenly change it people are gonna be pissed off really the best thing to do is to just start a different project/band and do new stuff with that instead. that way if you go to a metallica concert you know you're gonna get metallica and not new metallica. it just divides the fans otherwise
This is what I mean. Its not what YOU want. Its their music, their art. They're gonna put out whatever they were feeling despite what the "fans" want. People always assume that bands "sellout" and that's why their sound changed. I don't believe that's the case with Metallica. They all went through a lot of personal shit and its gonna reflect in the music they create. Let me ask you, why do you think their sound changed because of label pressure?? Oh no another pissed off metalhead. You guys flood the internet with so much negativity its fucking gnarly. I absolutely love heavy music but more than anything I love a band that changes over time. I'm excited when a band I really like changes their sound on the next album. As a band, that's what's supposed to happen. If your 6th album sounds like your 1st album then you're a shitty band. You're not growing together. Who are you to say that they should start a new project??? Its not YOUR BAND. Collectively they are Metallica, anything they've released deserves that title. Its not the fan's choice. Here's another angle to look at. What if Metallica wasn't this big superpower and they were a new band. If St.Anger was the first thing people ever heard from them I bet people would actually dig it. Death Magnetic would then be this fuckin epic turnaround and people would be so stoked. But no, people hold onto the past and are afraid of change so instead they get hate mail and brutal comments on metal forums from people who's lives don't matter anyway. Sent from my XT1030 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
chill dude I am not a metalhead nor am I a metallica fan, but I am familiar with their sound and how it has changed. This has happened to bands I know and I think it just makes more sense to keep projects separate. paying fans who have loved metallica for decades will go to their concerts and expect their old stuff as that is the metallica they know and love. you can't really expect them to be 'open minded' when they are paying for the metallica they knew. that's like your weed dealer giving you salvia instead of weed and telling you to stop being closed minded when you say you don't like it and want the weed you're used to. if metallica set up a new name for their new sound nobody would be disappointed when they go to metallica shows or buy a metallica album it just makes more sense. you don't have to change the lineup or give up on the old band, just work on the project that suits your musical taste at the time. if James Hetfield suddenly wanted to make Jazz you can bet he wouldn't change Metallica to a Jazz band.
I like How you defend St. Anger (shit except the title track) and Death Magnetic (Actually decent) but ignore the existence of the abysmal Lulu
Fact: Metallica sold out after Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning was their last real album, and they haven't been relevant since Master of Puppets. Even when they were relevant there was tons of bands making faster, darker, more innovative music so fuck 'em.
They've been a band since the 80s. I don't even like to play songs that I wrote a year ago, I can't imagine putting album after album out just to have entitled fans telling me to play my old shit all the time. Its disrespectful. We write music for ourselves, and we choose to share it with others. We're not going to go back to old styles, because the feelings have changed and so have our tastes Wow. Ignorant. Music isn't a competition who cares if someone was darker or faster.
I'm not saying its a competition, I'm saying there was far better music being made. And that Metallica is only in it for the money which would mean that they are not musicians, as far as I'm concerned.
I just don't get how people can say these things about people they don't even know. They made really smart moves when it came to promotion, every band wants to be heard. So how come every time a band "makes it" they automatically become sellouts?? Why do you think they're only in it for the money? Sent from my XT1030 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
And just an FYI Metallica isn't my favorite band or anything. But I respect them as artists and feel bad for how much flak they get every time they show a bit of progression Sent from my XT1030 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
To me the last two albums are the opposite of them being sellouts. They released what they felt in the moment and didn't care what you thought of it because it was music they were proud of Sent from my XT1030 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
If you go from an edgy, non-commercial sound, to a watered down commercial one, its selling out. Metallica's sound didnt change because thats the direction they wanted to go in. It changed because they wanted money. And it blew up in their face, after The Black Album, they starting losing their old loyal fans and selling less and less albums, check the record sales on their albums. They changed their sound for money, and instantly became irrelevant. And no, exposure is not the most important thing to a good musician. The music is. Its all about making the music you want to make, not the music that will make you more money. That is the difference between a good musician and a pop whore.
Again how exactly do you know their intentions were for money when they made each record? Were you there in the studio with them? Are they good friends of yours? And every performing musician wants to be heard. That's why we perform instead of all becoming bedroom players Don't compare exposure to fame Sent from my XT1030 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Death Magnetic sucks, and so does just about everything after the Black Album... They didn't progress to me, the digressed into making simpler music. Makes sense though, they're old as fuck they can't shred like they used to. Should have never dropped Mustaine if you ask me.
Anyone good musician can tell you that. If you really think some extra listeners are worth killing everything that made you memorable, then theres no hope for you. Its not about the fame. its not about the money. Its about the music. Who cares if anyone is listening as long as you are true to yourself and are having fun making music with soul?
You know whats funny about that? Death Magnetic was their best album since 1990, and right after they made it, Megadeth released Operation Endgame, one of their best albums. and absolutely their best modern one, too bad they abandoned all they did on OE on Th1rt3en and Super Collider