La mayoría de los fans antiguos de la banda, opinan que está se vendió por dejar de hacer thrash metal (su género inicial) para comercializarse. Muchos de los fans nuevos comenzaron escuchando la banda por discos como “Load” “Reload” “St. Anger” o el famoso “Black album“.

Metallica: ¿Paso a ser una banda comercial?

Para mi Metallica siempre fue una banda comercial, si no lo fuera, no hubiera sacado sus discos a la venta. Si hicieron música y publicaron sus discos, lo hicieron para vender, porque si quisieran hacer música “por amor al arte” no publicarían sus discos en venta.

Ahora, pónganse en su lugar. Si a ustedes les darían la posibilidad de ganar más dinero cambiando su estilo de música para que le llegue mas a la gente. ¿Qué harían?, no creo que digan que no tan fácilmente.

Las bandas no viven de sus fans, viven del dinero que les traen. Y ese modelo de banda de metal que da todo por sus fans y no le importa el dinero, no existe.

No estoy defendiendo a Metallica, y a pesar de que yo también soy un fan que no le gusto muchas de las cosas que hicieron, los entiendo.

Antes y después…

Algunos dicen que Metallica murió en “…And justice for all“, otros dicen que murió en el “Black album“.

En mi opinión, los primeros 4 discos de Metallica fueron excelentes, luego llego el “Black album” y también, me pareció un excelente disco, pero distinto a los demás.

Luego cayeron una ola de discos que no parecía que fuese Metallica, pero en fin, puedo escuchar una canción de “Load” o “Reload” sin pensar “¡Que ~#@|@ es esto!“, a pesar de que no era eso lo que queríamos, no podemos decir que es malo!.

El “St. Anger” no me gusto para nada y me parece que musicalmente es muy malo, puro ruido (en mi opinión).

Por último vino el “Death Magnetic” que a mi parecer, es thrash y el mejor álbum después del “Black Album“. ¿Habrá sido un intento por recuperar los fans viejos perdidos? Tal vez.

Lo cierto es que Metallica me sigue gustando y los primeros discos que sacaron siguen estando y los podemos seguir escuchando.

Nadie nos obliga a escuchar el “St. Anger“, aunque entiendo la decepción de los demás fans.

- Si no estás conforme, llama a tu abogado, que llame al mío y lo arreglen, ahora estamos trabajando
(Bob Rock, productor de Metallica, a Lars Ulrich)

Police continued to seek help Monday in finding a Virginia Tech student from Roanoke County who went missing during a Metallica concert in Charlottesville on Saturday night.

Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, was last seen near John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, according to University of Virginia police.

She had gone to the concert with Amy Melvin, her roommate in Blacksburg, and another friend from James Madison University. Harrington drove.

Melvin said Harrington went outside before Metallica took the stage. She said she wasn’t sure why.

“Everyone assumed she’d be coming back,” said Amanda Melvin, Amy Melvin’s older sister and a friend of Harrington’s. Friends and family still haven’t heard from Harrington, she said.

Amanda Melvin said Harrington’s purse and cellphone were found outside the stadium and her car was still in the parking lot. She said Harrington wouldn’t abandon her friends there.

Amy Melvin said she and Harrington have been friends since they were in sixth grade at Northside Middle School.

Harrington is a junior education student at Tech. She’s a 2007 graduate of Lord Botetourt High School, according to the school’s yearbook. She transferred from Northside High School after the academic year ending 2006, said Chuck Lionberger, spokesman for Roanoke County Public Schools.

She and Melvin, who attends New River Community College, live off campus.

The Rev. Diane Scribner Clevenger, pastor to Harrington’s parents, Dan and Gil Harrington, spoke for the family Monday.

“Morgan stays in contact with Dan and Gil every day,” she said. She said it was unlike Harrington not to be in touch with her parents.

Clevenger said Harrington’s parents are in shock. She said they left early Monday morning for Charlottesville.

Dr. Dan Harrington is the associate dean for clinic and regional integration at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, scheduled to open next fall. He has been with Carilion Clinic since 1990.

Friends created a Facebook group — called “Help find Morgan Dana Harrington” — to help spread the word that Harrington was missing.

Amanda Melvin said friends want to help in the search but aren’t sure what to do. She said she thought about forming a search group to help look for her. For now, they are forwarding her information and photo to everyone they can.

“Sitting here while Morgan is out there missing isn’t a very good feeling,” she said.

Harrington was last seen wearing a black T-shirt with “Pantera” across the front in tan letters, a black miniskirt, black tights and black knee-high boots, police said. She has long blond hair and blue eyes, is 5 feet 6 inches and weighs about 120 pounds.Virginia Tech police have been contacted by UVa police and are assisting with the investigation into Harrington’s disappearance, Tech police Chief Wendell Flinchum said.

Anyone who has seen Harrington or has knowledge about her whereabouts is asked to call UVa police at (434) 924-7166.

Früher dachte ich immer das Internet wäre die soziale Revolution, die alle Menschen aller Schichten, Hautfarben, Ideologien, etc, zusammenbringt und endlich eine Basis für eine wirkliche, aufrichtige Demokratie schafft.

Dann kam Regel Nr. 34.

Das Internet ist doch nur für Pornographie. All kinds of. Mann mit Mann, Mann mit Frau, Mann mit zwei Frauen, Mann mit drei Frauen, Frauen mit Frauen, drei Frauen miteinander, Mann mit Frau und Esel, Esel mit Pferd, Hund und Katze, Katze mit Maus, Katze mit Katze, Kraken mit acht Frauen, zwei Kraken mit acht Frauen, zwei Frauen, Fäkalien und ein Becher, der ganze kranke Scheiß halt.

Ist vollkommen ok meines erachtens nach. Jeder wie er will. Wer Luftballons aufblasen muss um einen hochzukriegen und das dann auch nur klappt wenn ihm jemand auf den Bauch fäkaliert, der in ein Cosplay Kostüm genäht wurde – meinetwegen. Schön dass ihr eure Plattform irgendwo habt. Muss ich ja nichts mit zu tun haben.

Auch die zweite Regel, die besagt, dass das Internet eigentlich nur zum Austausch von Bildern der Lieblinge von Katzenbesitzern erfunden wurde und aufrechterhalten wird. Meinetwegen. Zeigt euch eure Muschis, macht lustige Bilder, schreibt lustige Texte drunter, whatever.

ABER! Das ich in den wenigen Blogs die ich lese so langsam eine Tendenz erkenne Fotos und Daten von HOCHZEITSTORTEN zu posten, macht mich etwas nervös.

Ich mein. ALTER FINNE WAS GEHT DENN BEI EUCH? Was ist bitte uninteressanter als ein Foto einer Hochzeitstore von irgendwelchen Freaks, die dachten sie müssten den De Lorean mit Kuchen nachbauen? Abgesehen davon, dass dieses Eingeständniss von Nerdtum mir auf der Hochzeit betreffender Personen – falls ich denn eingeladen, bzw. hingegangen wäre – kein müdes Lächeln, sondern eher einen mitfühlenden Blick abringen würde (weil das nach Darth Vader aufs Toast brennen mit das bescheuerteste ist was ich mir an Fankult vorstellen kann), finde ich es noch schlimmer den Mist überhaupt zu posten. Ich mein welcher heterosexuelle Mann/Nerd/Blogger/Netzsurfer/Whatever interessiert sich bitte für Hochzeitstorten anderer Leute (Geschweige denn die eigene?)?

Vielleicht ist ja genau das der Punkt.

Ich geh mal kurz in mich..

Over the weekend, we watched ‘Some Kind of Monster’, a documentary on metal band Metallica.

Granted, it is not our standard movie fare. I prefer romantic comedies, which Husband vetoes in favour of gritty thrillers or anything that stars Adam Sandler.

However, I insisted we watch Some Kind of Monster, since I was pondering whether I was a closet Metallica fan. It may not be as fundamental a question as – for example – whether I believe in god, or my sexual orientation, or even whether I prefer eating or sleeping. However, I know the answers to these questions (not usually, relatively straight in most social contexts, hard to say).

Much to everyone’s surprise, the documentary was awesome. It was filmed in 2003, during the recording of the Metallica’s eighth album, St Anger.

The band is in disarray after their bassist leaves, not because he set someone’s hair on fire, or trashes the tourbus, or rapes another bandmember’s girlfriend. Disappointingly, it is due to his founding another band which ‘takes away from the strength of Metallica’, according to lead singer James Hetfield.

Will the band be torn asunder by petty quarrels, or stay together to continue making squillions of millions of dollars? That, my friends, is what is called ‘dramatic tension’.

Since the answer seems entirely uncertain, the band hires a therapist – Dr Phil – to help them deal with their issues and talk about their feelings with plenty of ‘I’ messages.

I would have expected a band of Metallica’s calibre to just snort a couple of lines and kick each others’ faces in. If someone had recorded it (had they been thinking far enough ahead), there’s your album without any of the creative angst and I’m sure nobody would have noticed any difference.

But that, I suppose, would have made for a short documentary.

Then James Hetfield checks into a rehab centre for six months. The only discernible impact appears to be that Lars Ulrich has to spend more personal time with Dr Phil, who tries to persuade him to bond with his father – a freak who practices lewd yoga.

Dr Phil engineers a face-off between Lars and Dave Mustaine, a former band member. Over twenty years before, after playing bass less than two years for Metallica, Mustaine was sacked for substance abuse – although the state of his hair would have been enough. He subsequently founded Megadeth.

It is difficult generating much sympathy for a poor little multimillionaire metal god, especially when Mustaine’s main gripe appears to be a riff on the fact that Metallica has sold 90m records and Megadeth only 15m.

To his credit, Lars doesn’t suggest Dave write better songs, or not be such a dick, or kick his face in.

What struck me was how ordinary these guys are (with the exception of the exploding egos). I’m pretty sure I saw Kirk Hammett drinking tea at one point. Tea! Let’s face it, James Hetfield sounds less like a rock god than someone sent down from Oxford for fondling a tutor’s daughter beneath a rosebush. Lars Ulrich is undoubtedly a better businessman than musician. And although none of the band is capable of passing a camera without flicking the bird, not one of them said the ‘c’ word, even once.

So the documentary answered my question, although undoubtedly the result would have been different had there been face-kicking

Metallica jak to Metallica – lubi namieszać. Fajnie to robiła w latach 80-tych, bo wyłącznie dzięki świetnej muzyce, a trochę mniej fajnie w kolejnej dekadzie, kiedy obok jednego porządnego albumu i kilku wybranych utworów, ważniejszy stał się image i różne historie z nim związane.

I chyba tylko Clifford Burton, patrzący z niebios kpiącym wzrokiem na pogrążającego się Hetfielda i ćwiek w podbródku Hammetta, wiedział co jego dawni koledzy szykują na nadchodzące stulecie. Pierwszym albumem w trzeciej dekadzie działalności zespołu okazał się ten o tytule St. Anger.

Już przed samą premierą tego krążka w mediach wrzało. Nie tylko z tego powodu, że Metallica nagrywa nowy album, ale i dzięki różnym, pozakulisowym mniej lub jeszcze mniej poważnym plotkom. Pierwotnie zapowiadany na 2001 album ostatecznie zobaczył światło dzienne w czerwcu 2003 roku, ale… chyba nigdy to nie powinno mieć miejsca.

Metallica dała dupy po całości.

O tym, że Lars Ulrich osiągnął apogeum swoich możliwości na …And Justice For All gdzie szalał za bębnami jakby miał dwie dodatkowe ręce, wiadomo było już od dawna. Jednak trudno było oczekiwać, że ten znany drummer odstawi taką kaszankę przy St. Anger! Jego perkusja, brzmiąca w zamyśle “jak z garażu”, wypada zupełnie amatorsko. Jest pełna chaosu i niedokładności nawet przy nielicznych udanych fragmentach tego albumu.

Wokal walczącego z trudnościami Jamesa Hetfielda, został wyraźnie stłumiony przez rozpierdalającą każdą kompozycję perkusję Ulricha. Dla słuchacza mało ważne jest czy legendarny frontman ma jakieś problemy z alkoholem, czy nie, ale prawdopodobnie właśnie to wpłynęło na efekt jakby Hetfield stał o kilka metrów za daleko od mikrofonu.

Hammetta w tej produkcji odcięto od solówek zatem musiał zadowolić się jedynie krótkimi riffami. Niektóre, jak z tytułowego St. Anger czy Sweet Amber, są celne i daje się ich słuchać nie męcząc przy tym Eustachiusza. Tyle, że na tym albumie więcej Hammetta nudnego, pozbawionego jakiejkolwiek inwencji, pozbawionego tak często zarzucanego mu geniuszu. To wszystko słychać przy takich pseudonockach jak Dirty Window, Invisible Kid, Purify czy All Within My Hands (…przez ten ostatni nie potrafiłem przebrnąć do końca).

Fani czterostrunowców, fani tłumionego Newsteda, fani wymiatającego Burtona. Żadna z tych grup nie znajdzie nic dla siebie na St. Anger. Nagrywający basy Bob Rock (który też podpisany jest jako “inżynier dźwięku” sic!) dał upust surowemu, warsztatowemu klimatowi płyty i na basie szarpnął może ze dwa/trzy razy…

No i finał tego jest taki, że St. Anger nie bez przyczyny zebrał zewsząd tyle krytyki. Ok, poza wspominanymi już tytułowym St. Anger i Sweet Amber, kredyt zaufania można jeszcze dać Franticowi, ale czy te utwory choć trochę liznęły emocji dostarczanych przy starej Metallice?

Nie.

I naprawdę fajnie, że Metallica nagrała za kilka lat Death Magnetic, który trochę odkopał pogrążającą się legendę.

Werdykt: 2/10

Frantic
St. Anger
Some Kind of Monster
Dirty Window
Invisible Kid
My World
Shoot Me Again
Sweet Amber
The Unnamed Feeling
Purify
All Within My Hands

Download

Obiecujący hard rockowcy z Briff nie próżnują!

Zespół w ostatnim czasie udostępnil dwa kolejne utwory na swojej stronie oficjalnej, a także  zagrał dwa koncerty w Toruniu. Nie byłoby w tym nic niezwykłego gdyby nie fakt, że jeden z tych koncertów odbył się… w areszcie śledczym. Relację z tego niecodziennego miejsca, pod postacią klipu do utworu Judasz, możecie prześledzić tutaj:

Wszystko wskazuje na to, że o Briff jeszcze usłyszymy!

Finalmente um album recente!

E acredito que apesar de ser um album do Metallica, Death Magnetic, de 2008, deixou todos os fãs com os pés atrás antes de seu lançamento, principalemte após o St. Anger…

Anyway, estava ancioso com o lançamento, era evidente que a banda tentaria se redimir do “fracasso” comercial do seu último lançamento, e logo que saiu no mercado fiz questão de ouvi-lo.

Sim! Ele é bom! A banda agora formado por James Hetfield, vocal e guitarra, Kirk Hammet, guitarra, Lars Urich, bateria e o baixista Robert Trujillo (aquele mesmo do Live at Budokan do Ozzy) fazem um album que remete as suas origens, como se fosse uma passagem do …And Justice for All para o Black Album.

A primeira música é That Was Just Your Life, que pra mim seria single (e minha preferida) do album, estanhamente não foi… de qualquer forma, ela tem uma pegada muito legal, bem rápida. The End of the Line e Broken, Beat & Scarred são duas porradas, ambos no mesmo estilo pesado.

Making of de That Was Just Your Life:

A quarta música é The Day That Never Comes é meio “baladinha estilo Metallica” e foi a primeira música de trabalho do disco. All Nightmare Long e Cyanide, são os outros dois singles do album, bem pesadas também.

O album estava muito bom pra ser verdade, eles tinha que fazer uma besteira, e para mim, capricharam! The Unforgiven III é uma música boa, o problema que seu nome carrega um fardo muito grande! Deveriam ter caprichado mais…

Making of de The Unforgiven III:

The Judas Kiss e Suicide & Redemption são as duas mais fraquinhas do album, que fecha com My Apocalypse, que tem aquela levada esperta de bateria do Lars, que faz o Metallica ser o que é.

Os fãs podem tirar seus pés de tras pois o album realmente correspondeu com as expectativas que não eram grandes. A banda, como deu pra percerber, fez um album pesado e sem aquela bateria bate lata do anterior,  só acredito que os solos poderiam ser um pouco mais trabalhados.

Worth Listening to!

Gostou? Comente!

Notas:

Kee-a [ 8,0 ] Dr. Zappia: [ 6,5 ] Rogues: [ 7,0 ]

Kee-a: CD fruto da fase mais conturbada do Metallica. Com o quase término da banda, em meio a seções de terapia com ajuda profissional (mais informações vide documentário “Some Kind of Monster”), a banda estava com a imagem desgastada e um tanto quanto abandonada pelos fãs mais xiitas, com episódios conturbados como a famosa briga da banda com o Napster, programa precursor de compartilhamento de músicas no formato MP3. Pra quem não se lembra, centenas de fãs foram às ruas queimar cds e posters das bandas alegando que a banda havia se vendido às gravadoras e abandonado o público.

Apesar de todos estes problemas, é fácil afirmar que é um dos melhores álbuns da banda. Um álbum raivoso e pesado, com melodias muito bem sacadas como em “Some Kind of Monster”, “Invisible Kid” e a faixa título “St. Anger”. Um CD que avisa que os bons tempos do Metallica estariam voltando.

Dr. Zappia: A história resumida do Metallica é a seguinte: lançaram o sensacional “Kill’em all” e agradaram a moçada do metal. Algum tempo depois, mandaram pro mercado o “Black Album” e decepcionaram os antigos fãs, mas conquistaram uma legião de outros. (principalmente quando as músicas do Black foram orquestradas no disco “S&M”). Lançaram, então, o “Saint Anger” e decepcionaram os novos fãs, sem reconquistar os antigos (que saíram putos dos fã-clubes).

Lembrando que depois do “St. Anger”, o Metallica deu um tchau pica-pau pro Bob Rock, e lançaram o “Death Magnetic” sob a produção de Rick Rubin (que já trabalhou com Red Hot Chilli Peppers e o grande Joooooohny Cash).

Rogues: Rolos, confusões, intrigas, fãs insatisfeitos, e segue o Metallica voltando ao estúdio para tentar salvar sua reputação.

Tiveram muito cuidado com este álbum, senão a bagunça ia acontecer e a falência da banda viria junto.  Mas deu certo. O som é bom. Não é o melhor. Digamos que está no nível médio do que o Metallica esta acostumado a fazer.

O álbum detona no peso; deixa a desejar nas virtuoses instrumentais; principalmente na guitarra. Mas cumpriu para o que veio. Voltar as origens agressivas.

FORMED: 1981, Los Angeles, CA The most consistently innovative metal band of the late 80s and 90s was formed in 1981 in California, USA, by Lars Ulrich (b. 26 December 1963, Copenhagen, Denmark; drums) and James Alan Hetfield (b. 3 August 1963, USA; guitar/vocals) after each separately advertised for fellow musicians in the classified section of American publication The Recycler. They recorded their first demo, No Life Til’ Leather, with Lloyd Grand (guitar), who was replaced in January 1982 by David Mustaine (b. 13 September 1961, La Mesa, California, USA), whose relationship with Ulrich and Hetfield proved unsatisfactory. Jef Warner (guitar) and Ron McGovney (bass) each had a brief tenure with the band. At the end of 1982 Clifford Lee Burton (b. 10 February 1962, USA, d. 27 September 1986; bass, ex-Trauma) joined the band, playing his first live performance on 5 March 1983. Mustaine departed to form Megadeth and was replaced by Kirk Hammett (b. 18 November 1962, San Francisco, California, USA; guitar). Hammett, who came to the attention of Ulrich and Hetfield while playing with rock band Exodus, played his first concert with Metallica on 16 April 1983. The Ulrich, Hetfield, Burton and Hammett combination endured until disaster struck the band in the small hours of 27 September 1986, when Metallica’s tour bus overturned in Sweden, killing Cliff Burton. During those four years, the band put thrash metal on the map with the aggression and exuberance of their debut, Kill ‘Em All, the album sleeve of which bore the legend “Bang that head that doesn’t bang”. This served as a template for a whole new breed of metal, though the originators themselves were quick to dispense with their own rule book. Touring with New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands Raven and Venom followed, while Music For Nations signed them for European distribution. Although Ride The Lightning was not without distinction, notably on “For Whom The Bell Tolls’, it was 1986’s Master Of Puppets that offered further evidence of Metallica”s appetite for the epic. Their first album for Elektra Records in the USA (who had also re-released its predecessor), this was a taut, multi-faceted collection that both raged and lamented with equal conviction. After the death of Burton, the band elected to continue, the remaining three members recruiting Jason Newsted (b. 4 March 1963; bass) of Flotsam And Jetsam. Newsted played his first concert with the band on 8 November 1986. The original partnership of Ulrich and Hetfield, however, remained responsible for Metallica’s lyrics and musical direction. The new line-up’s first recording together was The $5.98 EP – Garage Days Re-Revisited – a collection of cover versions including material from Budgie, Diamond Head, Killing Joke and the Misfits, which also served as a neat summation of the band’s influences to date. Sessions for … And Justice For All initially began with Guns ‘N’ Roses producer Mike Clink at the helm. A long and densely constructed effort, this 1988 opus included an appropriately singular spectacular moment in “One” (a US Top 40/UK Top 20 single), while elsewhere the barrage of riffs somewhat obscured the usual Metallica artistry. The songs on 1991’s US/UK chart- topper Metallica continued to deal with large themes – justice and retribution, insanity, war, religion and relationships. Compared to Kill “Em All nearly a decade previously, however, the band had grown from iconoclastic chaos to thoughtful harmony, hallmarked by sudden and unexpected changes of mood and tempo. The MTV -friendly “Enter Sandman” broke the band on a stadium level and entered the US Top 20. The single also reached the UK Top 10, as did another album track, “Nothing Else Matters”. Constant touring in the wake of the album ensued, along with a regular itinerary of awards ceremonies. There could surely be no more deserving recipients, Metallica having dragged mainstream metal, not so much kicking and screaming as whining and complaining, into a bright new dawn when artistic redundancy seemed inevitable. Metallica was certified as having sold nine million copies in the USA by June 1996, and one month later Load entered the US charts at number 1. The album marked a change in image for the band, who began to court the alternative rock audience. The following year’s Reload collected together more tracks recorded at the Load sessions, and featured 60s icon Marianne Faithfull on the first single to be released from the album, “The Memory Remains”. Garage Inc. collected assorted cover versions, and broke the band’s run of US number 1 albums when it debuted at number 2 in December 1998. The following year’s S&M, recorded live with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, evoked the worst excesses of heavy rock icons Deep Purple. In January 2001, Jason Newsted announced he was leaving Metallica after almost fifteen years service with the band. During spring 2001 Metallica entered the studio again, although with no bassist, and began recording the new album which they hoped would be released by christmas that year or early 2002. However, in July 2001 James Hetfield announced that he was in re-hab for alcohol and ‘other’ addictions. The recording of the new album was put on hold until he recovered. Robert Trujilo is the new bass player!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

METALLICA DISCOGRAPHY:

Kill ‘em All (1983)

Ride The Lightning (1984)

Master Of Puppets (1986)

And Justice For All (1988)

Metallica (1991)

Load (1996)

Reload (1997)

Garage Inc. (1998)

S&M (1999)

St. Anger (2003)

Death Magnetic (2008)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Da Ich in letzter Zeit wieder häufiger Grunge gehört habe (guten und nicht Nirvana), möchte Ich mich auch mal hier dazu äußern. Alice In Chains kam mir immer wieder als die Grungeband vor, die Menschen gehört haben, die sich tiefer gehender mit dieser Musikrichtung beschäftigt haben [Nirvana wurde mMn zu sehr ausgeschlachtet]. Alice In Chains war auch in einer anderen Sache besonders: Sie hatten nicht nur einen sehr guten Gitarristen (Jerry Cantrell) sondern auch zwei Bandmitglieder, die Lead singen konnten, wodurch die Songs weitaus abwechslungreicher wurden. Leider verstarb einer der beiden (Layne Staley) 2002 an einer Überdosis. Selbst Hetfield [Metallica] hatte sich dazu mal geäußert, dass er es nicht verstehen konnte, wie man so verschwenderisch mit solch einem Talent umgehen könne. Alice In Chains waren einer der Haupteinflüsse der beiden letzten Metallicaalben (St.Anger und Death Magnetic, allein deswegen lohnt es sich schon, diese Band mal angehört zu haben).

Das Album, dass Ich hier vorstelle ist eigentlich “nur eine EP”, die die Band ursprünglich gar nicht veröffentlichen wollte. Ihrer Plattenfirma gefiel das Material aber so gut, dass es dann doch veröffentlicht wurde. Erwähnenswert ist hierbei auch, dass diese EP hauptsächlich mit akoustischen Gitarren eingespielt wurde, was für eine Band aus diesem Musikbereich eher untypisch ist.

Trackliste:

1. Rotten Apple
2. Nutshell
3. I Stay Away
4. No Excuses
5. Whale & Wasp
6. Don’t Follow
7. Swing on This

Diese EP selbst ist relativ teuer, daher habe Ich das Cover diesmal mit einem Box-Set verlinkt, wo auch die ersten beiden Studioalben (Facelift und Dirt) enthalten sind. Wem diese Musik gefällt kann Ich noch sagen, dass diesen Sommer ein neues Studioalbum erscheinen soll. Ich werde dann darüber berichten.

Beginner sez: “Die Ausgeburt der Hölle Mann, die Generation Milchkaffee.
Eine Inhaltslose Plastikwelt wie Legoland.” (”St. Anger”, Blast Action Heroes, 2003, Universal)

Johanna sez:

Ich hasse Begrüßungs-Küsse. Erstens habe ich ein grundsätzliches Problem damit, halb-fremde Menschen zu küssen. Wenn schon müssen sie gänzlich fremd und ich zudem über alle maßen betrunken sein und auch das ist lange her. Gut, nun ist ein Begrüßung-Kuss selten ein inniges, wolllüstiges Aufeinanderpressen von Lippen, es ist mehr ein gegenseitiges Über-die-Schulter-Gespucke mit Kusslauten, doch damit kommen wir zu Punkt zwei meines Problems mit Begrüßungs-Küssen: Die Durchführung.

Gibt es irgendwo eine geheime Begrüßungs-Kuss-Schule? Lernt man es gar in der dritten Klasse (ich hatte zu der Zeit die Windpocken und konnte lange Zeit nicht zum Unterricht, weswegen ich auch bis heute keinen Kopfsprung beherrsche)? Warum können scheinbar alle Begrüßungs-Küssen außer mir?

Es beginnt mit der Annäherung. Ich kann mir einfach unmöglich merken, welche Seite man als erstes küssen muss. Das führte schon häufiger zu bizarren Situationen in denen ich und mein Begrüßungspartner irritiert mit dem Kopf von einer Seite zur anderen zuckten, bis schließlich ein peinlicher Kuss irgendwo auf Hals oder gar Nase landete. Ich wünschte der Erdboden würde sich einmal auftun, wenn es wirklich nötig wäre.

Sollte ich dennoch irgendwie über der ein oder anderen Schulter gelandet sein, stellt sich mir das nächste Problem. Richtig auf die Wange schmatzen kommt keinesfalls in Frage, also mehr so in die Luft knutschen (Achtung, dabei das Ohr vermeiden, es sei dann man hat weiterführende Absichten!). Doch dazu bedarf es eines Kussgeräuschs – nicht so laut, nicht zu anzüglich, dennoch irgendwie hörbar – ein Drahtseilakt!

Hat man diese Klippe umschifft und wähnt man sich schon in Sicherheit, tappt man garantiert in die nächste Falle: Der Mehrfach-Kuss. In Deutschland gibt es überlichweise Einfach- und Zweifach-Küsser, das Dreifach-Küssen, ist einer der Gründe, warum ich Belgien möglichst fern bleiben möchte. Der Zweifach-Küsser wird übrigens garantiert beleidigt sein, wenn er nur einmal geküsst wird, versucht man es aber zweimal, wenn nur einmal erwartet wird, bleibt man im besten Fall irgendwo in der Luft hängen, im schlechtesten irgendwo an unpassender Stelle auf dem Gegenüber. Geheimtipp: Einfach jemand anderen ins Messer laufen lassen und genau aufpassen!

Also ihr Lieben, falls wir einander je begegnen, können wir uns gerne die Hand schütteln oder einander drücken und herzen, doch geküsst wird nur der Eine.

I just spent a few hours giving the brand new Guitar Hero: Metallica (GHM) a test drive and I can confidently make two conclusions:

1. It’s fun
2. It’s hard as hell

Let’s be clear, if you don’t like Guitar Hero or Metallica, this game is not for you.

The Good

Learning from the deficiencies of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (which was still a good game), GHM starts off on career mode with two killer Metallica classics, For Whom the Bell Tolls & The Unforgivien.

I honestly can’t think of a better opening track for this game than For Whom the Bell Tolls. I’m not ashamed to admit that I got really into playing that song.

At the end of each song, the standard “You Rock” screen features the fist from the cover of St. Anger (2003) in a fun animation. I think that the cover of St. Anger is the only cool part of the whole album, so thumbs up on using it well.

The graphics and character models are far superior to anything we have seen in previous music games. The band’s movements and facial expressions are spot on thanks to some great motion capture and rendering work.

The sound quality is also out of this world on most of the tracks. I love the mixes in this game.

It also has some amazing songs.

From the Metallica library:

For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Unforgivien, Fade to Black, Battery, Creeping Death, Disposable Heroes, Enter Sandman, Fuel, Hit the Lights, Master of Puppets, Nothing Else Matters, No Leaf Clover, One, Orion, Sad But True, Seek & Destroy, Welcome Home (Sanatarium), Wherever I May Roam, and Whiplash are all incredible songs.

GHM also includes a number of other songs from bands that either inspired or were inspired by Metallica. Some of the ones that really stand out to me are:

Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back in Town, Mastodon’s Blood and Thunder, Queen’s Stone Cold Crazy, and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Tuesday’s Gone (which always reminds me of the movie Happy Gilmore).

As I mentioned from the beginning, this game is tough. Far harder than any other Guitar Hero or Rock Band game that has preceded it – It is the nature of the source material. Metal is fast and intricate. The difficulty is refreshing as there must be countless Guitar Hero fans who can breeze through 90% of the songs on expert without putting in much effort (That’s how I felt playing Guitar Hero World Tour). The guitar parts in GHM are rediculous, especially the Kirk Hammett shred solos – I love playing shred solos in Guitar Hero!

If the guitar is difficult, the drums are %&^*ing insane! I feel like playing with the second kick pedal that is required for Expert +mode would be fun if I was coordinated enough to do it.

The Not So Good

Almost no downloadable content. The only downloadable content that works or will work for GHM is the Death Magnetic (2008) album. It’s nice, but that album is not their best work.

I also feel like there were some classic songs that really should be in the game:

Looking at the tracks that were selected from Metallica’s first album Kill ‘em All, they only included songs that are credited to living and current members of the band. This leaves out classics like The Four Horsemen and Cliff Burton’s elongated bass solo (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth.

Other songs that are conspicuously missing are: Ride the Lightning, The Call of Ktulu (like The Four Horsemen, writing credit goes to Dave Mustaine of Megadeth), …And Justice for All, Bleeding Me, and Hero of the Day (I love the version from S&M). The absence of these songs isn’t a deal-breaker by any stretch of the imagination, but they are sorely missed (Especially The Call of Ktulu & (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth).

I have one final gripe about gameplay.

In Guitar Hero World Tour, the feature of holding lower notes while playing higher notes was introduced. I’m not crazy about all of the applications of this feature. For instance, on the song Nothing Else Matters, the opening riff is a series of open notes. Playing it on a real guitar is a no brainer. Playing it in Guitar Hero, while not difficult, isn’t very easy. A similar problem arrises in the opening riff of Fade to Black. The riff is a heck of a lot harder to play in Guitar Hero than it is on guitar because of this awkward game feature that doesn’t feel necessary or make much sense. I recognize that Guitar Hero and playing guitar have very little to do with one another, but the feature itself just doesn’t make sense to me.

The Roundup

This is a good game. Not perfect… but how many games are?

If you like Guitar Hero and Metallica – Buy it.

If you like Guitar Hero but find the previous installments too easy – Buy it.

… and when you play, play it loud.

"The Unforgiven"

I am very sorry for the very late update. Lot of unexpected, and expected things came up and I got way too busy to update my blog. Actually, I do not even know if I have regulat viewers but just in case I have, I deeply apoligize. I am still busy so I am going to make this one short(do not worry because I have a interesting project coming up and I think you guys will like it whoever you guys are). So I am writing about three papers and each of requires me to write about ten pages and there are simply killing me everyday. In order to through the miseries, I started listening to Metallica again. Yes, there was a time I listened to Metallica religiously. While writing and listening, I found the perfect song for the rough days. Now, some might say this song is weak compare to other great Metallica songs but I am going to go with this song anyway becasue this is my blog. The song is St. Anger. The song is a perfect song to just wash your brain through your ears. It will blow away all your damn stress like it ain’t no one’s business. The drum, and the vocal are simply great. They fit to the title St. Anger. Feel the anger and just rock your head.

Para mi esta fue la mejor cancion del ultimo disco de Metallica. Si bien no es el mejor trabajo que han realizado en cuanto a Albums se refiere, este vuelve a los sonidos a los que tenia acostumbrados a sus fans, ya que a muchos no les gusto el disco de ST. Anger. (a mi si).

Born to push you around
You better just stay down
You pull away
He hits the flesh
You hit the ground
Mouths so full of lies
Tend to black your eyes
Just keep them closed
Keep praying
Just keep waiting

Waiting for the one
The day that never comes
When you stand up and feel the warmth
but the sunshine never comes
No the sunshine never comes

Push you cross that line
Just stay down this time
Hide in yourself
Crawl in yourself
You’ll have your time
God I’ll make them pay
Take it back one day
I’ll end this day
I’ll splatter color on this gray

Waiting for the one
The day that never comes
When you stand up and feel the warmth
but the sunshine never comes
No the sunshine never comes

Love is a four letter word
And never spoken here
Love is a four letter word
Here in this prison
I suffer this no longer
I put it into
This I swear!
This I swear!
The sun will shine
This I swear!
This I swear!
This I swear!

I’m home sick today. I was at work and sneezed causing a weird achy feeling from my chest to my toes. Two hours later I was laid out with a 102 degree temp wanting sweet relief of death to take me from my misery. He still hasn’t come.
So I am taking this time to whine because I am a big baby when I get sick. I require head rubs and someone to sit with me while I watch The ‘Burbs. I hate being a lone, subjecting myself to daytime TV and drinking forty cups of tea because it is the only sense of relief.
I watched St. Anger which is a documentary of Metallica’s crappiest album. Now my fever has increased listening to James Hetfield bitch about his feelings. I’m sorry James. I’m sorry you get to play guitar in a hard rock/metal band and make millions of dollars. That totally sucks. I think you should kill yourself. I would.
rowrrr!

Beginner sez: “Ja ja, ich sag „Verdammt Mann!“ wisst ihr, was ich wirklich gerne hätte? Ne Pumpgun in greifbarer Nähe zum Fernsehsessel. Aber das geht nicht, auch wenn das echt derb war, denn dann bräucht‘ ich alle 2 Minuten n‘ neuen Fernseher.” (”St. Anger”, Blast Action Heroes, 2003, Universal)

Johanna sez:

Viele von euch unglaublich Interlektuellen haben ja bekanntlich keinen Fernseher (mehr). Aus Prinzip versteht sich. Ich habe einen. Aus Prinzip versteht sich. Deswegen halte ich es für meine Pflicht, euch mal über die neusten gelungenen TV-Formate auf dem Laufenden zu halten.

Look of Love – Prosieben

Klar, eigentlich hat sich der Thorsten mal in die Daniela verliebt, weil die immer so coole grungige Klamotten trägten und den gleich Gitarrenlärm hört wie er. Und früher da fand die Daniela den lässigen Stil vom Thorsten ja so sexy. Doch inzwischen ist man zusammen gezogen und auch etwas gesetzter geworden und da findet man, der andere könnte sich schon mal etwas ordentlicher anziehen. Natürlich könnte man jetzt dem Partner ein paar dezente Hinweise geben, vielleicht einen schönen neuen Pulli schenken. Aber nein, viel näher liegend ist es doch, sich bei Prosieben vor laufender Kamera gegenseitig runter zu machen und zu beleidigen. Wenn dann beide schön schick umgestylt sind, hängt der Haussegen wieder gerade und es kann losgehen zur nächsten Florian Silbereisen Show.

Der Starpraktikant – VOX

Endlich bekommen super-junge Menschen mal die Super-Chance sich vor einem super-wichtigen  Super-Boss zu demütigen, um einen Super-Praktikumsplatz zu erhalten, damit sie sich dann in Zukunft super-unterbezahlt beim Super-Kaffee kochen ausbeuten lassen können. Super-Idee! (Nicht verpassen am Sonntag: Praktikant beim Teppichhändler)

A double shot at love – MTV

Kürzlich beim MTV: Krise! Die Quoten fallen – was tun? Flavor Flav will auch keiner zum vierten Mal die Liebe suchen sehen, sich zerfleischende Hippster-WGs locken längst niemanden mehr hinterm Ofen vor, Musikvideos – was war das nochmal, hammwanichmehr!, was ist denn mit dieser Schlampe, die immer nur im Bikini rumrennt und Jungs und Mädchen und Muttis knutscht? Schon cool, aber mehr muss her. Dann die rettende Idee: Zwei Schlampen in Bikinis, die mit Jungs und Mädchen knutschen! Am besten Zwillinge! Geil!

So, nun dürft ihr kommentieren, wie froh ihr seid, dass ihr keinen Fernseher habt!

Mark your calendar’s Vancouver: the Junos are March 29th 2009. And what a line-up! Recently slated into the already solid roster, soulstress Divine Brown, singer-songwriter Serena Ryder, one to watch in country Crystal Shawanda, Montrealers the Stills and of course, no Canadian music showcase would be complete without Sam Roberts. What’s more, all are nominees! Also performing: Sarah McLachlan, Nickelback, City and Colour, Simple Plan, Kathleen Edwards, Great Big Sea, Bryan Adams, and the one and only Hawksley Workman. Not to mention the whole thing will be hosted by Russell Peters at GM Place…

Bedouin Soundclash going green. The new video for Bedouin Soundclash’s “Hearts In the Night” premieres on the David Suzuki Foundation’s website throughout the month of March. You can check out the video, directed by Michael Maxxis right here: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/_pvw706D01C3/NatureChallenge/BSC/join.aspx

NIN and Jane’s Addiction tour dates finally announced.  This could well be your last chance to check out NIN in action, in case you missed them last year at the one off that will go down in history known as Pemberton Fest.  A newly reunited Jane’s Addiction will join the dissolving NIN in what could be their final tour, the dates of which have just been announced. The closest they come to us other than Sasquatch of course, is Toronto June 2nd at the Molson Amphitheatre. Further to that, amid rumours that Jane’s Addiction will be playing Lollapalooza, the band will not be playing the Chicago tour stop…which leads one to speculate that they will indeed be playing the fest that frontman Perry Ferrell founded.

Oh dear god, why? U2’s not done with 009 yet… U2 is planning to release a companion to its latest release No Line On the Horizon before 2009 is up. Finger’s crossed…Also announced, U2 will be hitting Vancouver on their stadium tour October 28th at B.C. Place.

“Neon Angels On the Road To Ruin…” That’s right, they’re making a Runaways movie! Art and John Linson have teamed up to bring us the story of the Runaways, the most influential all girl punk band to date. The film, Neon Angels (after the aforementioned song), will centre around the lives of the band’s most consistent members: Joan Jett, Cherie Currie and the late Sandy West. According to Variety via punknews.org, the plot uses an unpublished memoir of Currie’s as a source to tell the story of the drugs, sex and heartache that were the Runaways as they “struggled to be viewed as musicians, not sex kittens with guitars.” Adding further intrigue to the tale that already promises to be rather interesting, 15 year old Dakota Fanning has been cast as Cherie Currie, who was also 15 when she joined the band. Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame will play Joan Jett.

Final curtain call for Michael Jackson. At a press conference at London’s O2 Arena, Jackson announced his July residency at the venue and described it as his final performances. The first date in what will surely go down as a significant piece of history, is July 8th, tickets going on sale March 13th. Jackson is slated to perform 10 shows with a rumoured addition of 10 to 15.  

 James Hetfield hospitalized. 16,000 Swedish Metallica fans left the Stockholm Globe Arena disappointed; no not because the band insisted on playing St. Anger front to back, but because they were forced to cancel the show minutes before it was set to start. Lead singer James Hetfield fell victim to a stomach bug and dehydration, but is now back in the US with the rest of the band.

 Anti-Flag will win the war! Pittsburgh punkers Anti-Flag have been forced to cancel all of their European dates after frontman Justin Sane took an awkward stage dive in Norwich resulting in a broken collar bone. Adding further trouble for the band, guitarist Chris Head has had to fly home due to a death in the family and drummer Pat Thetic broke three ribs at the start of the tour. For the full story, check out anti-flag.com.   

Yeah Yeah Yeah…After the leak of their new album It’s Blitz, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have pushed the release of the album from April 13th to March 9th, but will first stream it for free at myspace.com/yeahyeahyeahs.

Does what you listen to correspond to your IQ? According to Virgil Griffith, a 25 year old Caltech grad student, it just might. Griffith used Facebook data about favorite bands of various students at various colleges and plotted it against the average SAT scores of the same institutions to plot a chart that measures taste vs, intelligence.  According to the chart, those interested in Radiohead and U2 scored higher on their SAT’s (1371) than those interested in Lil Wayne and Beyonce (889)   Hold on. That can’t be right… The same chart also states that Zeppelin beats Queen and Bowie put together… Check out where you fall at: http://musicthatmakesyoudumb.virgil.gr/

-Kristina Mameli (Broadcast Journalism)

Andrew Ryder & Paul Burton vs. St. Anger & Alpha Dog

Tag team main event

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Andrew Ryder’s blog from MySpace.

Entry: October 31, 2008 (the day before Lockup)

Hey ladies and gentlemen, you all know that I lost my world title last week to Alpha Dog, in what was a win due to luck for Alpha Dog, also known as a fluke victory. Thanks for all the people that sent in messages to me, saying how you all are sorry that I lost the title, or how I will win that title back. Well this week I have scheduled to face none other than Alpha Dog once again, but not for the title, but in a tag team match. I am partnered up with my partner Paul Burton to take on Alpha Dog and his partner the crazy one St. Anger.

For the past few days I have been in the gym training with Paul Burton almost every single minute of every day. Trying to figure out each others moves, and get to know each other as a team better than the last time I was partnered up in a tag team match, as a matter of fact my partner then was Paul Burton. But the outcome of that match will not be the same; Alpha Dog no longer has the man that carried that team Daz by his side. He has a crazy man by his side by the name of St. Anger, which that can prove to be deadly for Alpha Dog, once he gets his ass kicked in that ring by my partner and I. Alpha Dog can not trust his partner in the ring, he will most likely turn on him. If you don’t think so Alpha prove me wrong, and prove to me that you won’t get turned on, or wait better yet… that you wont turn on St. Anger.

So this week I will be stepping into the ring with one good wrestler at least, St. Anger. I don’t know that much about you, but I do know that you are a good wrestler and that you will be a tough competition for me.

I have to pause for right now time for bed, but will continue the rest of this blog tomorrow.

Continued: November 1, 2008 4:20 PM

Now guys I have a question for you all. How long do you all think it will take me to get my title back, and I do mean my title? I don’t think I should have lost that title, it was a fortunate twist of fate thought that I did lose my title, but hey, all I can do now is continue to fight my way back up, until Ty Cyrus decides to give me my rematch. Once I beat Alpha Dog tonight, Ty will have no choice but to give me my rematch for the title. Yeah I might have slacked off last week and lost that title, but hey we all have our down days.

After this coming match with Alpha Dog I will prove that he doesn’t deserve to be the champion, especially holding my title. He only sits there complaining of him being on the receiving end of racist remarks or racist looks. But hey, he is the only one that is giving the racist looks and making the racist remarks towards other wrestlers, such as myself. I myself have gotten sick and tired of hearing his mouth, and am going to stand up and defend my honor, and that title, when I kick his ass in this match forcing Ty to give me a title shot. Then I will go on to kick Alpha Dog’s ass to take the title away from him.

I heard my partners remarks to Skylar about this being a hard time for me, after losing my title. And he is right, that title means the world to me, probably even more then my own life. But you know what I have gotten over losing the title, because I know I deserve to be the rightful holder of that title. I also know that I will win that title back, as quick as possible, and then I will finally once again be the World Heavyweight Champion not only the one time Heavyweight champion but the two time World Heavyweight Champion.

What can you say Alpha Dog most of your wins as of late, have had someone interfere in the match distracting your opponent, causing you to pick up the victory? But hey bring whom ever you want into this tag team match, but you know you wont be walking out of this match as the winner. But hey at least you are the champion, what can St. Anger say that he has done?  Yeah he might be holding a title, but hey its not as good as the World Heavyweight Championship is it. Everyone knows that you and him wont work as a team, as soon as one of you get the advantage, the other is going to try to take advantage and everything is going to come undone. Especially when it comes to that title, St. Anger isn’t going to stop at just the title he is holding, he will want to hold the title around your waist Alpha. You should be watching your back from not only me and Paul but also your partner. Skylar you wanted to ask Paul was he worried if I didn’t show up, well Skylar if you’re reading this; I just wanted to let you know that yeah I am going to be there. I am about to leave here, after packing my things.

As far as you St. Anger, you want someone to be scared of you don’t you buddy, well let me tell you something. I am not scared of you, nor will I ever be scared of you. There is nothing that I am scared of, well there might be one or two but you ain’t one of those. But hey, we all have things that we want from our opponents but sometimes we can’t always get what we want. And this is going to be one of those times for you, Anger. My partner is right in a way and wrong in a way.. He doesn’t have to hand you the shovel to dig your own grave, you have already dug that grave. When you got involved in my business with Alpha Dog and got partnered up with him, you dug your grave. Only thing left is for you to be put into that grave, and the dirt put back over top of you.

Alpha, Anger… You guys want a war… well let my partner Paul “The Man” Burton and I.. Andrew “Simply Incredible” Ryder, tell you something, you want a war, YOU GOT ONE. You think you are going to come into this match and pull out a quick one against Burton and I but let me tell you something, this is going to be more like a war then you expected, you guys are going to have a huge ass fight on your hands. And you guys are going to be coming out of the battle as the losers and Paul and I will be standing in the ring with our hands raised as the winners.

Well guys I need to sign off here and get ready to head to the arena, but I will leave another blog later on, probably after the match.