Review Summary: Metallica’s Self Titled album goes far beyond just experimenting; it’s a full-on unapologetical plunge into main-stream heavy metal and in the end it’s done with merely average execution.
Coming off of their most progressive and complex album ever Metallica fans were expecting another fantastic album. But what they received was more or less an average heavy metal record. Despite the suddenness of this stylistic change there was a hint of its coming. This hint came when Metallica broke their promise to never record a music video when they made one for One. Let the selling out begin.
“Where’s the thrash and what is with this horribly slow, straightforward intro.” Those were my first thought when I first heard Enter Sandman. That was until I heard James Hetfield try to sing. Now don’t get me wrong I enjoy Hetfields vocals when he’s doing his thrash bark but his singing vocals are simply…bad. It would totally be something I could get over if the music made up for it but alas unfortunately it doesn’t. Enter Sandman is made up of boring riffs, drum work, and horrible singing put in a straightforward intro, verse, chorus, verse chorus, solo, chorus, outro formula. After Enter Sandman I hoping for the thrash to come yet it never does.
What makes matters worse is that Enter Sandman is one the thrashier tracks off the album. Other boring tracks are the watered down thrashers Holier Than Thou, Through the Never and The Struggle Within. The completely dumb Of Wolf And Man and the even dumber slow burner Don’t Tread On Me. In which Hetfield successfully makes himself sound like a cave man yelling, “Don’t Tread On Me.” On all these tracks and the entire album for that matter you’ll find that technicality in Metallica’s music has gone down considerable. Not that Metallica was ever a technical metal band but they’ve always been fairly talented.
Now if you’re able to wade through the crap in this album you’ll find some decent heavy metal songs. Sad But True and The God That Failed are aggressive slow burners that comes across as fairly intelligent unlike the other slow burner Don’t Tread On Me. The God That Failed even features some decent bass work. However the two best heavy songs on this album are easily Wherever I May Roam and My Friend Of Misery. These songs balance both the big styles in use on this album, slower heavy metal and watered down thrash, to good effect and those two songs are highlights from the album. Now I could be wrong but I read somewhere that My Friend Of Misery was originally supposed to be an instrumental which I would have much preferred instead of hearing James Hetfield try to sing. Albeit My Friend Of Misery is still a solid track.
You can call me a sap for what I’m about to say but it’s what I think so hear me out. The two best written songs on this album are actually the two ballads The Unforgiven and Nothing Else Matters. These two tracks are the streamlined evolution of tracks like Fade To Black, Sanitarium and One. Although Hetfield’s singing is still atrocious the music is well…pretty good. I would have preferred for them to have thrashy outros like the tracks they evolved from but none the less they’re fairly well done.
Metallica’s Self Titled album goes far beyond just experimenting; it’s a full-on unapologetical plunge into main-stream heavy metal and in the end it’s done with merely average execution. Something else I find interesting is that Hetfield’s rival Dave Mustaine of Megadeth had the balls to apologize for his musical mishaps like Risk but Metallica has never been so bold.
