Some say it was the begging to the decline to Metallica but the black album was a smash. It's also where James became more melodic and sang.
personally, I'm good with bob rock era
personally, I'm good with bob rock era
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Was Bob Rock the best or worst thing to happen to Metallica?
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Black Album was the start of trash, and their output ever since was more bad than good. That is not to say they didn't put out good songs on nearly each album, but there's nothing that matches Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, and justice for all, Etc
I'm indifferent because he brought them a lot of mainstream success, but they lost a lot of themselves when he took over and basically became the fifth member of the band. Once he left after St. Anger they started sounding like older Metallica again, but on Death Magnetic they still have Rick Rubin too much sway and he influenced the music more than he should have.
With Hardwired though, they knocked it out of the park.
With Hardwired though, they knocked it out of the park.
Metallica would not be what it is today if they kept on iterating on their first four albums.
For metallica, it was the best thing that could happen.
For fans who think they'd be happy watching aging stars put less inspired thrash metal as time went on and the music went out of style, it was the best thing that could happen.
IMO Metallica's problems and egos start and stop with the band members themselves. The only real what if that exists out there is what if cliff didn't die.
For metallica, it was the best thing that could happen.
For fans who think they'd be happy watching aging stars put less inspired thrash metal as time went on and the music went out of style, it was the best thing that could happen.
IMO Metallica's problems and egos start and stop with the band members themselves. The only real what if that exists out there is what if cliff didn't die.
Cliff was into such varied shit that they probably would have done something wacky sooner if he had lived. I think he would have gotten bored sticking to the same formula.
Bob rock never did anything that Metallica didn't want him to do. They wanted that sound and always had the last word. I love Load and the black album anyway so I would say no.
The worst. Megadeth's sellout album (Countdown to Extinction) was much better than the Black album.
This isn't true. They had some ideas and a basic outline for the album but wanted a producer that could get them out of the thrash metal box and into a more mainstream one. If you've never watched A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica, it goes into the entire process of the album's production.
Black album, Load, and Garage Inc. are fucking awesome. Fuck the crybabies who have spent 30 years whining about this shit.
Yup, Hetfield and Ulrich are very calculated with what they do with Metallica. You can be they argued about Bob Rock for days. It's all according to their keikaku.
Atticus came on board around With Teeth (don't think he became an official member until later though) and he really helped Reznor become less precious about his music. And without him, there'd be no Social Network soundtrack.
The Downward Spiral / Fragile period was awesome, but it was never gonna last. Artists gotta evolve.
I don't really follow what you are disagreeing with since nothing in your post contradicts what that poster said? Rock didn't write any of the Black album. Yes, he did producer shit, but that isn't "writing". Unforgiven, Sandman, Nothing Else Matters, Sad But True, and Wherever I May Roam were demoed out in Lars' basement without Rock, and the meat of the songs are there (minus some lyrics).
You can hear the demoes here.
they did not...they changed.....nothing can touch master or ride....but damn if load , death magnetic s&m arent masterpieces on their own.
It wouldnt not have made sense to reiterate the same album over and over. no other band has stood the test of time and evolved while staying relevant as they have (well al,ost no band). for the record, yes i am a long time fan, saw them over 15 times and had the honor to meet them so i am biased. Also bonus point for being great people who work closely with the community and raise money for great causes.
I'm fine with him. I like the s/t album, the two Load albums and the covers they did for Garage Inc. S&M was OK, St. Anger is terrible, Lulu was even worse, and Death Magnetic and Hardwired are good if forgettable albums. Rock never 'killed' Metallica, Lars and James 'killed' the band by breaking out of the thrash metal box.
Now let's listen to some 2020 thrash metal.
Now let's listen to some 2020 thrash metal.
Even if I don't like the Black album as much as the previous ones, it was still excellent. Subsequent albums I did not care for, though the latest is solid.
I wish we got a redone version of the first album. There are some killer tracks but the production quality and singing kind of killed it. Live versions are better except the crowd sings half of them :/
I wish we got a redone version of the first album. There are some killer tracks but the production quality and singing kind of killed it. Live versions are better except the crowd sings half of them :/
The Black Album is great, Load is great, and Reload is their best album. As for Bob Rock, he'll always be an unofficial member of Metallica to me.
He was good for their wallets, but bad for their art. But really, Metallica as they were more-or-less died with Cliff sadly. They just weren't the same band after that bus accident. I consider ...And Justice For All to be their turning point, not the Bob Rock produced, super-selling phenomenon Black Album.
People defending Load and Reload, after that Imagine Dragons thread I shouldn't be shocked, but here we are.
This. Not only did they want to change their sound, but if they hadn't, they'd probably just fade away like most bands that never change.
Their main problem in my opinion is making their albums too long and not trimming the fat. Starting with the Black album it always seems like there's a song or two that shouldn't have made it onto the record. That's just my opinion though.
They have some great songs. Most of them are on Load, but Reload has some good shit like Fixxxer, Memory Remains, Fuel, and Unforgiven II. They are also pretty fucking unique albums, which is not something you could say about anything Imagine Dragons have done. Love 'em or hate 'em, nothing else sounds like the Loads.
This is the same argument people have used with Def Leppard in regards to Mutt Lange's involvement. If it wasn't for each respective band wanting to experiment and change things up with their producers then both bands probably would have either faded into obscurity or wouldn't have had the long lasting impact they ended up having.
I've watched it and Bob Rock clearly states the album was almost 100% written in its entirety upon him meeting and taking the job. Bob is only responsible for how awesome the album ended up sounding. Metallica are the ones who wrote the weak ass songs(IMO). They knew the direction they wanted to go.
Yeah. The thing I always point out to people who think Cliff would have never gone along with their more mainstream stuff is that we have no clue what he would have been like years after his death. Because I bet the Hetfield and Ulrich of 1986 would have laughed at some of the black-reload era stuff. But, guess what? 5+ years of touring the world changes people. He would have been no different. Not to say he would or wouldn't have liked that stuff. Who knows. All we know is that he would have changed as a person over the years.
110% THE worst. Before the last 2 albums(which are really good) I used to refer to the Black Album as a metaphor for their demise. Although not everything was terrible (S & M and Garage Inc were both pretty good), that period between the Black Album and Death Magnetic was just bad. And Bob Rock was responsible for most of it. They went from the greatest metal band ever with 4 perfect CDs to corporate sellouts when he became involved. It's only when they ditched his ass, got back to business and made Death Magnetic when they reclaimed their dignity.
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OP
OP
First off I agree Cliff dying killed it. So much of their early material was Mustaine leftovers and Cliff that after Justice they had to take a turn whether they wanted to or not.
And if nothing else we got Load out of it, tremendous hard rock album and the only post Justice Metallica (other than some covers) I really enjoy, but I really enjoy it to the point I would rather listen to it then Kill em all.
And if nothing else we got Load out of it, tremendous hard rock album and the only post Justice Metallica (other than some covers) I really enjoy, but I really enjoy it to the point I would rather listen to it then Kill em all.
How did he manage that if the songs were already written before he produced the album?
I think a lot of people are confused with what a producers roll is...
Load and ReLoad are fine hard rock albums.
I still can't wrap my head around how much people love AJFA though.
They're by far and away their best mixed and sounding albums. I personally love Load. The only one that was weak was ReLoad which still had some good tunes. St. Anger that came after was bad, and then Death Magnetic I felt could have been good but they didn't have enough outside input. A lot of the songs go on way too long and are repetitive. The same can be said of Hardwired, but hardwired is a much better album due to the fact they seemed to have pulled influence from the Bob Rock days on that one and mixed it with their thrash side.
I feel, overall, he was positive for the band.
I feel, overall, he was positive for the band.