Actually I have to agree that his voice was good to the end of the 90s. Maybe you have the dvd of the gig in San Diego? It is in 1992 but IMO his voice is awesome there. The bad thing about it is that his voice was made by alcohol, if you know what I mean, in this time. That's a reason for me why he couldn't sing so good after he stopped drinking. I dont really know how he sounds nowadays but I think he should be able to handle his not alcohol-influenced voice now.
Hehe, I'm with you if you wanna beat someone who says that Jaymz is a fuck. He had to go through many troublefull times and in the end you can say that he got through those very well.
Well, I got into Metal(lica) by the S&M record and I love each and every song which is played there. Only exception is "Hero of the Day".. I think it's the only song ny Metallica I don't like (Ok I don't like covers like "Now I wanna sniff some glue" either >.<).
The Outlaw of Torn is even one of my favs I'd say. I easpecially love Jaymz solo in the end of the song (Don't know, but I think it's only on the S&M record). It really sounds like it could have been made around the time of MoP. So it shows that Metallica is still able to do stuff like that.
For the new album they are making I gotta say: I hope that Rob has a big and goodinfluence on that record.. IMO he is able to make it.
- S&M is partly what got me into Metallica as well. It's way easier to get into when you have such variety, and it feels more epic and impressive with the orchestra.
- James does do the outro to The Outlaw Torn on Load. They cut it short by a minute because it made the album too long, but the complete version (10:48, whoa!) can be found on the Memory Remains single. It's just as awesome there, sounds very dark, though on S&M it reaches epic levels. It's immersive.
- I gotta tell you, I'm pretty hopeful about the new album. It's well known they're aware of the fact that St. Anger was just a statement and not really a planned, thought-out Metallica record, which gives me hope. Also, Rick Rubin's take on what they should be doing sounds just like what they need. It would also be really nice to see how Rob "goes with the drums".
It could be really, really good, this "sixth Metallica studio album".
hetfield is also a very creative lyricist, dont forget that. there are some great lines even in st anger...
"sweet amber...how sweet are you?...how sweet does it get?" =)
I agree on the lyrics comment. He can write about a lot of stuff, from war through emotions all the way to loss and search. I loved his lyrics on the Loads. Again, I must mention Where the Wild Things Are. I think I'm gonna paint this song one day. I have a pretty clear picture of it. Twisted stuff.
The reason why people hate Metallica isnt solely based on their material. They started out as long haired skateboarding kids hanging out writing metal because they loved it and overtime became one of the most greedy corrupt money hungry bands ever and pawns of the music industry . Heres how I see it:
Babble babble babble babble babble babble babble babble
Funny thing is, people began hating them when Ride the Lightning came out, just because of one masterpiece called Fade to Black. People would always find reasons to bash Metallica. When Master of Puppets came out, people were complaining they lost their "Mustaineness" and when Justice came out people were mad because they made a (really cool and thought-provoking) video for One. Wow. And Opeth made a nauseating video for The Grand Conjuration. So fucking what? That's just as stupid an excuse to hate a band as hairstyle. Hell, it's not out of the ordinary to see metal bands do videos today. Does anyone really complain about it? No fucking way. For all I care, Mike can wear cornrows and oversize cloths with basketball player numbers on them and ride a jumping car, and as long as his music appeals to me, I won't give a fuck.
I think it's that thrashers back in the day were upset because Metallica started
growing up and
maturing, but by the time Metallica got big enough to reach the masses, those immature, dumb opinions were so long "planted" that people just rode the train.
What you wrote about the Loads was just a pure reeking load of shit, no pun intended. You go ahead and tell me The Outlaw Torn, Thorn Within, The Cure, The House Jack Built, Bleeding Me, Carpe Diem Baby, Devil's Dance, Where the Wild Things Are, Low Man's Lyric and Fixxxer are radio-friendly songs. Those songs are enough material to turn off any pop-rock enthusiast and fail miserably. Damn, not only are some of those songs WAY too heavy for the mainstream, some of them are downright trippy-feeling. Sure, there were some catchy tunes there, but if you look at it, Master of Puppets is also a very catchy song. Had heavy metal been this popular back then, they would have made it just as big in 86.
Playing with an orchestra? Stupid? Are bands like Therion and Hollenthon stupid? They both use orchestras and are well-accepted bands. But when Metallica decides to do this, people, surprise surprise, use this as a reason to bash them.
People saying that Metallica wanted to make more money forget that when a band does a move like that, they more than everything risk being abandoned by their will-loyally-buy-any-fart-they-sound fans.
If they really wanted to make as much money as they could, they would have pulled an Iron Maiden and keep releasing live DVDs and albums and try to stick to the same formula that made them big. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Iron Maiden fan, but man, their music isn't a quarter as varied as Metallica's.
That's the greatness of Metallica. They know what they're doing, and they're the best at making people go nuts and spit "we do things our way" in their face. They twist themselves, they turn themselves, but they're always Metallica, with their ever-developing Metallica sound and their oh-so-awesome live performance.
They're indestructible. No matter what you throw their way, they'll manage to pull through it, as long as they don't lose any members.
NOT! 
