Solid indeed, completely different set list for the second show also.
Solid start to the tour
I'm thinking the same. I've given it a few listens now (driving, mowing the lawn, putting down some skirting) and it just doesn't jump out at me. As mentioned, it seems a bit monotonous. At least it is new material and there is room for it to grow on me.
Having given it a few listens now i think my opinion is the same as many others.
Some decent, if not good songs there. The title track, Screaming Suicide, Shadows Fall, Lux Eterna, Darkness, Inamorta, Room of Mirrors - i all like to varying degrees.
But it all sounds too monotone and one paced. Over produced and structured. There is no real banger like Spit out the Bone on the last album in there.
So while i mostly like it, i’m not sure how often i’ll return to it.
Have given it a few listens now and the whole thing is just a bit bland. Not terrible by any stretch but won't be rushing back to listen often. Maybe hearing them live might change my opinion
Guitar Youtuber Bradley Hall posted a video called 'Lux Aeterna but the solo doesn't suck'
Guitar World then references this video along with another generally criticising the solo in an interview article with Kirk about the criticism. It reads like Kirk saw the Bradley Hall video, and Kirk's response,
“I was just laughing the whole time,” he says. “I could string together like six or seven three-octave arpeggios in 16th notes, sit there every day and practice it and go, ‘Hey, look what I can do!’ but where am I gonna put it? That won’t work in any Metallica song!
“Arpeggios? Come on! In a guitar solo, mapped out like a lot of people do, four or five chords with a different arpeggio over each one? It sounds like an exercise. I don’t want to listen to exercises and warm-ups every time I hear a song.”
My personal opinion is that the less-musical pentatonic flurry approach works fine in faster thrashy songs like Lux, so long as it doesn't last too long. Bradley plays a lot cleaner with spectacular techniques and more sophisticated melodic ideas, but I don't get any more feeling off it than what Kirk is doing, at the end of the day.
My qualm would only be that it sounds like Kirk is over-doing this approach, but (and this is a big but) Kirk isn't necessarily doing his solos in one take. He may do a bunch of different solos and then it's basically Lars and Greg Fidelman sitting in the control room frankensteining things together. If you've seen any 'making of' footage from Death Magnetic and Hardwired, you may have Lars sitting with Kirk while Kirk is doing his bits, and may be that it's just that style which Lars really likes and so that's what we end up hearing on the record, and therefore informs what Kirk will play live.
Inamorata and Room Of Mirrors are my favourites so far. Bangers
I bought the CD off the member site, it's out for delivery and I've just got a (legit) mail for customs from AnPost. Could've just bought it in a music shop this morning 🙄😅
Haven't actually listened on Spotify yet
Yeah, the video game looking one? Was odd.
They're live streaming a show from the States so it'd be at least midnight before they started in the cinema.
Was a different experience anyway. Can't remember which song it was but the one that just had the black and white lines I was convinced there was some sort of issue with the visuals for the first 60 seconds or so. They said at the end they'd be live streaming to cinemas later in the year, not sure I'd be in a rush for that
fcuk yea!
..i was hoping folks would get a bit more for their money, it was too fcuking much!
Bit of a waste of time tbh. Absolutely weird setup, with the lads talking about the songs (that's all on YouTube now too), and people applauding each song when they finished. Some of the videos were quite cool, but they're up on YouTube now too I think
It sounds stock
Everything they're doing on Hardwired and 72 Seasons, they've essentially done before and done better, and when they were much younger men. There are only so many ways to cut together an open E with a Bb, bouncing off a G5 or an A, up to a D and then back to E, maybe with the odd F in there, before it all starts to sound stale and lacking of ideas. I would say 95 percent of the hype for the album is because it's Metallica making it.
Again, not a bad album or anything, just kind of uninspired.
There is no real structure here its like they just went into the studio and had a jam or the B side of the DM recordings. Very little energy bar Lux Eterna which is the strongest and coincidentally shortest track.
Very disappointed but my expectations were low enough.
Age is no excuse for the quality of material they can put out, Judas Priest and Slayer's last records were excellent. They can't be arsed to put the time into a real quality record which they could if they were pushed and had some cut throat producers. Left to their own devices its pretentious, unforgettable, monotonous stuff. 11 **** mins for Inamorta wtf. Why does every song have to be full of blues riffs?
The positive, James sounds great and the production quality is high.
Yeah they could've shaved 3 or 4 minutes of each song!
I think this falls into the same trap as hardwired in that every song feel like it’s never going to f’ing end.
First listen.
Its ok but bar Lux Eterna I'm not hearing anything particularly memorable, Room of Mirrors is decent, got a nice solo. Would they ever get a producer who isn't afraid to tear apart there tracks, way too long.
I'll keep listening throughout the day see if it grows on me but I don't think its as strong as DM
These 3 live versions (minus kirks goofy vocals on frantic!!) to me show St.Anger has a lot of potential for a re-do/ rerecording as to me all 3 songs absolutely slap live and so different to their album releases.
It'll be easy to forget among the hype for this album that it is coming up on the 20th anniversary of St. Anger. It's definitely an album that polarises people and I myself took a long time to really start appreciating much about it, but year on year those songs sound better and better to me. It's easier to like the album as well the further you get from the events surrounding it and the general music scene of the time, which the album was unfavourably compared to, i.e. 'Metallica does Nu-Metal'. Now, I think it stands on its own merits.
What should the band do to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Well, it's coming at an awkward time, given they have this new album to promote. Maybe they'll do a few more songs off it, or something. But I do have this one idea in the spirit of Metallica doing unexpected stuff which kind of perplexes its fanbase. It's probably too late to do anything special for Saint Anger (unless they're working on it in secret), but it's not too late to turn Some Kind of Monster into a stage musical/rock opera. Some Kind of Musical, you might say. The documentary has the dramatic beats and moments that could be transformed into big musical numbers - Jason leaving, group therapy, 'delete dat', James checking into rehab, James coming out of rehab and Bob Rock being overjoyed to see him. Lars and James almost breaking up the band on camera, auditioning new bassists, and finally getting back on the road. I don't think it would be the kind of production you could tour widely, but I think you could do a limited run of dates and film it for streaming services.
what was the cinema like?
Room Of Mirrors is a ****in BANGER
All on Spotify as of midnight. Happy 72 Seasons day all! :)
I pm'd you a link
I could only find the songs that have already been released when I searched for the album on YouTube Music? Every other song is greyed out. FFS
'Shadow Fall' is pretty good as is 'You Must Burn' and 'Too Far Gone'
Some questanble song titles but very impressive album and a true relfection of the band ageing very well. Lets hope they make it back to Ireland sooner rather than later
Shadows and you must burn probably stood out for me as well.
Mirrors lyrics are good, het being fiercely honest. I'm on the last track now, I'm enjoying it.
I'm playing it over now, man I love Shadows Follow and part of Room of Mirrors sounds Iron Maiden-ish.
Bit of an Alice In Chains feel from You Must Burn
Ha, no idea why but whole album played for me. Same for another mate.
Metallica by numbers for the most part, lyrics are decent, some catchy riffs. I'm delighted they are still dropping new tunes all the same, long may it last.
