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September 8, 2011 by greymatter » 21 Comments
Jumping the shark is an idiom, first employed to describe a moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery. I’m using it here to describe the point where bands lose track of themselves, and their music starts going downhill. (The views and opinions expressed in this show do not reflect those of the general public. All statements made below are done for entertainment purposes only.)
It goes without saying that Metallica is one of the most influential (thrash) metal bands out there. Rock stations use the band’s hit songs to fill up their play lists. There are dedicated shows playing an hour of the band’s work. School dances pull from the “black album” to appease the wallflower metalheads who are only there to catch a glimpse of some side-boob in Stefanie Tucker’s dress; hoping to god that Tom (her all star quarterback, 3 sport playing douche bag boyfriend) doesn’t catch them gawking “at his girl”. I’ll admit that Metallica is an easy pick for this segment, but I figured this would give you an idea of the premise.
The Big Four
Most of us own the essentials… Kill ‘em All, Ride the Lightning; Master of Puppets and …And Justice For All. These four are the meat of the band’s work, a true calling of ‘80s speed metal. In a way they were as diverse as the ninja turtles, and picking one told other fans what kind of person you are. Like a 17 year old screaming about death and metal with rough sound? Oh, look no further than Kill ‘em All. Like a mature voice reflecting on war torn veterans? Spend an hour with …And Justice For All. The four of these albums are solid. You can hear the transformation in maturity of Hetfield’s voice as the albums progress, each cleaner than the last.
Metallica (The Black Album)
You either love it or you hate it… regardless, this is the most commercial of the band’s releases. True metal fans saw this as the death of a band they loved. It spawned 6 singles, all more accessible than anything they’ve ever released thus far. I wasn’t kidding about the intro; I’ve heard “Enter Sandman” at school dances dozens of times. Every band has those “fans” that only know songs from that “one album”. This is THAT album. Unforgiven, Enter Sandman, Nothing Else Matters, Sad but True, Wherever I May Roam… these are the types of songs bandwagon fans site as their favorites from the band. Sadly, this is supposed to hold us over for six years until…
What a Load…
What the shit? They cut their hair… and their music sucks. Sell outs! I kid. While the release of Load (lol) and ReLoad marked the fact that we weren’t getting our thrash band back, there were some strong tracks on both albums. If you weren’t out from the black album, you were definitely done with them now. Us diehards bought these albums hoping for a glimpse of the good ol’ days, but it just wasn’t there. Follow this with Garage Inc.; a cover album/re-release of Garage Days Revisited and S&M; a kind of “greatest hits” reworked to have orchestral backdrops, it was clear that Metallica was trying to get every last dime with their brand name.
Newstead out, New bassist in.
What I originally saw as betrayal, I think now as Newstead getting out before his name was tarnished. He probably saw a good thing coming to an end (a little late), and wanted out. Understandable. So, Metallica picks up the bassist from Suicidal Tendencies. They produce a little album called St. Anger. If you didn’t find any reason why Metallica is featured in this piece yet, this album is for you. Questionable lyrics (st. anger ‘round my neck?), Hetfield’s way-aged voice, and brutal out-of-place steel drumming. A train wreck to say the least. It was a departure from a departure, and it sounded like a desperate attempt to win fans back. It failed.
A Glimmer of Hope
Death Magnetic. While not perfect, is right where this band should be. I can’t agree with the path getting here, but finally… it was worth the wait. The music seems to assist Hetfield’s voice rather than drown it out. We get eight minute delicacies full of solos and decent songwriting… it’s refreshing. No more kettle drums, instead we get quality, fast-paced, meat and potatoes drumming. Even though the band clearly Jumped the Shark (twice… to some), It now feels like seeing Henry Winkler in Arrested Development. All the good memories come back when you hear one of the new songs. You look forward to seeing what they do next… Lou Reed collabs? Mother Fu- *static*
Thu, 09/08/2011 - 11:56
#2
Thu, 09/08/2011 - 12:05
#3
I'm a Master of Puppets guy. Wonder what that says about me... :p
And to be fair, yea, I found the Black Album rather good (listening to tracks from it almost incessantly during the holidays due to a marathon on the radio while I was sick helped)... but yea, my falling point was indeed Load. "Fuel" isn't bad, and there are a couple other neat tracks on there, but it started a trend that they never quite recovered from.
Thu, 09/08/2011 - 12:34
#4
I can't really say I see it the same way, since the Black album was my introduction to Metallica rather than the earlier works they're known for. It's an interesting take from the (dare I call it this since I'm 28) older perspective, but I will forever wonder why people consider change a bad thing. My taste in music has certainly changed over the years...
Thu, 09/08/2011 - 12:50
#5
In all honesty (and I mention, several times) I was a loyal fan throughout their career. I dropped good hard earned money on every single album. My real disappointment was St. Anger. It was such a dramatic failure. So much so, that it is no longer included in any of their sets. Furthermore, DM was a departure from the style that was a departure from their Load (lol) motif. I guess even the band wanted to sweep it under the rug.
Thanks for the read!
Thu, 09/08/2011 - 12:58
#6
Even thought I listen to metal all the time, I strangly have only little Metallica on my playlist, be it old or new stuff.
One of my favorite songs, however, is Gregorian's cover of "Nothing else matters"; their cover of Engel (original artist: Rammstein) is great too^^
Thu, 09/08/2011 - 13:38
#7
My favorite album would have to be Master of Puppets.
While I like their previous albums more, I couldn't say "Black" was bad. Not great, but not horrible. However I did get sick of some of those songs due to how grossly overplayed they are.
I was hoping the next album would be more similar to the earlier, unfortunately that wasn't the case.
I can't really say I've enjoyed any album post-Black. But I've never really been pissed off because of their thrash metal departure either. I've never been a huge fan though, so I can see why some people would be annoyed.
Thu, 09/08/2011 - 15:23
#8
I agree pretty much verbatim with this assessment. I have had many discussions with my friends with which Metallica album was best, or when they stopped "being good". For the most part its always a toss up between "The Black Album" or "And justice For All".
While I agree that for the most part Load, Reload, and Garage Inc. were heavy departures from their normal music, I still did enjoy a couple of songs from them, and I really did enjoy S&M, but that's just me.
Also, I'm really glad to see that you acknowledged that Death Magnetic was at least a good effort from the band. I have had many debates with people saying that while the album was nowhere near as good as their 80's albums, it was at least a good effort to return to form, and (for the most part) the songs are pretty good.
Also +1
Thu, 09/08/2011 - 22:48
#9
Yeah I jumped ship after the Black album. Still think that Ride the Lightning was my fav. Then there was the whole Napster takedown and ultra douchey RIAA crap. I wouldn't listen to them again unless forced.
Fri, 09/09/2011 - 02:17
#10
This saddened me a little bit. The majority of musicians are assholes. It's been said to never meet your favorites, because your view of them WILL be tarnished. While I respect your opinion, to cut off every act that ever snubbed you... you'll end up with no one to listen to.
Take Michael Jackson, who's guilty of something that 78 million people (Catholics) have no problem with. I don't care how many boys he touched, I still sing "Do You Remember the Time" in the shower.
Thanks for the read!
Fri, 09/09/2011 - 11:19
#11
The critical issue I have with your analogy is that Metallica lost their art, sold out and became total douches. What Michael Jackson did arguably has nothing to do with with his ability as a musician. If Michael Jackson had started making horrible Beiber music, then decided to whine about not making enough money while leading the charge to implement DRM on all digital music.... then I would never listen to him either. I can't think of a single other musician/group that turned to shit then went super douche as badly as Metallica. Bruce Springstien comes to mind... but then again he was never good.
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 08:30
#12
misconception on my part. originally read you were using outside actions to decide your music preferences.
Sat, 09/10/2011 - 11:08
#13
Let's keep in mind that he's never been convicted of molesting children. Yes, he was a complete and total weirdo who had the mind of a child, and hung out with children. He also got targetted by greedy families who thought he was an easy payday by claiming he molested their children. Of course...there was also that whole wine-in-soda-can thing as well, so who the fuck knows.
I never really listened to Metallica much, but I became aware of them during the Black album. I was able to listen to their earlier albums thanks to Lars narking on his fans for something they used to ENCOURAGE with cassettes earlier in their career. They'd LOVE the fans trading tapes with each to try and spread the word, but all of a sudden that shit isn't okay when they're already millionaires. After that, it's been nothing but downhill for them. I don't think many people really respect Lars anymore. He made himself into a joke. Pathetic.
Fri, 09/09/2011 - 10:55
#14
I enjoy 80s Metallica the most (especially Ride The Lightning). I stopped caring for them after St. Anger. That was just such a big letdown. I haven't dared to listen to anything they released after that. I don't care if they enjoy hitting the trashbin with sticks but the moment they put that on an album it's over for me. R.I.P. Metallica.
Thank God no one will take away Lightning and Master from me...
Sat, 09/10/2011 - 12:58
#15
First off, anyone who knew any facts about Jackson's charges, instead of just listening to the jokes, could not CONCEIVABLY come to the conclusion that he was guilty of ANY of it, especially given the CONFESSION that they'd made it up.
Second, as for the original article, here's an excerpt from the TvTropes article "It's Popular, Now It Sucks" (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ptitle6cd1cskka05i):
"Metallica, oh, good lord, Metallica. The most evident example is their 1991 self titled album, aka "The Black Album", which was the most mainstream of their albums at that point and also marked a change in their style to a more general metal sound. It provided them a lot of success, at the time making them the biggest metal band in the world but also gave them an incredible amount of hate and sellout accusations from their original fan base. Though, really, they've been accused of this to a certain extent with pretty much every album following their debut usually on account on They Changed It, Now It Sucks. Frontman James Hetfield finds it quite amusing. "Ride The Lightning" for having a ballad; "Master of Puppets" for being slightly less thrash sounding, "And Justice For All" for having more of a progressive sound, as well as (GASP!) having a video for their song, "One" and (THE HORROR) earning them a Grammy nomination, "Load" and "Reload" for also having different styles, and "Death Magnetic" for not being a exact copy of "Master of Puppets". No matter what they do, Metallica is never going to catch a break from their so called "fans".
Quote ended. My own bottom line: "Metallica" is every bit as inflicted, in its own way, as "Star Wars" is with the virtual absence of actual fans, as opposed to warring factions of selective trolls and haters whose common ground is NOT what in the repertoire they love but what they love to hate.
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 08:14
#16
Well said.
I've stated before and will state again that I have bought every album. I am very much still a fan of Metallica. I've even admitted to liking some stuff on Load and ReLoad. S&M was an interesting concept. The only album I really had a problem with is St. Anger and even then, you bet your ass I have "Frantic" and "Dirty Window" in the ol' walkman. I think I even point out the band's remorse for putting out that album.
I think that's what sets this article apart from your average troll's. I joke about a "fan's" reactions to some of the differing styles. The sole purpose of this i guess is kind of self serving, it's to review why I lost interest in a band; my reactions to their followups (if any) and to share those opinions.
Sorry if I got a little off topic there.
Sat, 09/10/2011 - 17:11
#17
Holy shit, only now did I see the intolerant joke about Catholics. Even I, who on a doctrinal level can't stand Catholicism, am offended. The Catholics I've seen, heard from, and heard of, are more horrified (for very obvious reasons) by all the child molestation scandals of their church than your average secular humanist. Cut it out, greymatter. What is it about this site that just naturally draws all the hateful, religion-bashing snobs of the net?
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 08:16
#18
Last one, I promise.
Mon, 09/12/2011 - 00:26
#19
If the Catholic church didn't want to be associated with pedophiles and child molestation, they shouldn't have covered it up for years by transferring child abusers all around the world. It was a large enough scandal involving enough people and priests for the Catholic Church to be forever associated with pedophilia. You should take offense at the church's actions not the person making a joke. I am not a catholic (and consequently never had an old man's penis in my mouth) so yeah I do think they earned their soiled reputation and any cynicism thrown their way for it as well.
Tue, 09/13/2011 - 13:02
#20
I rest my case!
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 23:23
#21
I've been a fan of Metallica since my older brother let me borrow his AJFA tape back in the early 90s. I fell in love with those killer riffs and murderous beats at the tender age of 8 or so, and I haven't looked back since. Now, I understand and respect that Metallica made some bad choices along the way. Especially musically - Load was a load of shit.
But I just want to state for the record that there are people (myself included) who like St. Anger.
Tue, 09/20/2011 - 12:54
#22
More episodes of Jumping The Shark by greymatter can be found at the Jumping The Shark Episode List on the LordKaT Wiki.
