Metallica - A bronze and brass review

Metallica - Metallica

Released August 12th, 1991

James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Jason Newsted, Lars Ulrich

Genre: Thrash metal

Intro

Good evening boys and girls. I'm writing this the night of Tuesday, so you'll be reading this Wednesday morning if you keep up with these reviews. Happy Wednesday. I am not a huge fan of this album just because of how mainstream it is, so I just want to give a little warning that I'm going to be more critical than I usually am of Metallica. I mean obviously this album is a good album but I'm going to shit on it because that's my job. Anyway whatever, I don't care. Let's get into it. I'm going to be very very critical. Let's go.

Thoughts & Feelings?

This album is a weird spot for me because this is obviously the most popular album. I have trouble enjoying this album because of that. Mostly because if you say that you enjoy a popular thing, you're looked down upon. I'd never say this album is better than ANY of the first 3 albums though. Those albums were absolute masterpieces and will never be topped. I have a bit of beef with this album because this album is the reason why my dad hates Metallica, cause he thinks that James Hetfield's voice sounds insufferable in this album. I love my dad so much but holy shit is he wrong. This is coming from the guy that enjoys Dave Grohl vocals over James Hetfield. Like everyone has their preferences but holy shit Dad, come on. Anyway yeah this album has many mixed feelings for me. Objectively it's an exceptional album but like... yeah I really don't know.

This album makes me feel like I am about to commit a REALLY bad crime. Have I used that analogy before? Like it feels like I'm literally JUST about to commit some sort of war crime like pushing the big red button to detonate all the nukes in Russia, but I'm contemplating the outcome of that. Like working through every single possibility of what will happen after I push that red button, and the consequences of doing so. Anyway yeah I don't know man don't ask me to elaborate further.

I'm going to spoiler here. Obviously all of these reviews that I do are my own personal opinion, but holy fuck am I going AGAINST the grain on this album for the medals. I already know you're gonna think like "...what the fuck? He likes ___ over _(insert super obvious mainstream song here)_?", yeah fuck yourself. I'm doing it. I'm sick of everyone talking about the SUPER main songs of this album. Let's talk about the songs that I fucking like on this album. Here we go, we're going with some super under the radar picks here. Or maybe not? Maybe you'll read below and be like "yep, these are the best songs that aren't the obvious 3 songs of the album". Whatever man I'm just the guy that writes these reviews stop judging me so much and just go listen to some Metallica, I'm done trying to reason with you.

Honestly, I'm going to skip to the other 2 songs on this album I really care about, write about them, go to bed, wake up tomorrow and write about the other (3?) songs and call it a time. I feel like, I just don't care so much about the other songs that I just wanna talk about these songs and move on. Myself tomorrow will care a LITTLE more about the songs I don't know.

Smash or Pass?

Enter Sandman - SMASH. Of course this is the 2nd most mainstream Metallica song of all time, it's a great song and all but holy fuck I've heard it 1 million times that I just don't care. Shoutout to my grandfather because this is his favourite song of all time, I love you to death Papa please reach out to me because I suck at reaching out to people. This song is FINE, but like I've heard it 600 million times that I just don't care about it UNLESS I'm playing on it on guitar. This song is extremely fun to play because of how jammy it is. It's extremely simple to play and I really enjoy it in that aspect, but if I have to listen to this song with other people around me, I almost get second hand embarrassment because as much of a good song this is, it's nowhere near the quality of Metallica that I think holds up against something like Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Blackened, etc etc. Even something like Moth into Flame. Anyway yeah as I said, this is a good song and all, but compared to their earlier works there's no way this song should be more popular than their earlier shit. No complaints though other than getting a little bit annoying once in a while. Shoutout to you Papa, miss you lots.

Sad But True - SMMMMMMAAAAAAAAASSSSSHHHHHHH. This song is REALLY, REALLY fucking good. It's in fucking D standard which immediately makes it cooler than most songs. Not only is this song absolutely metal as fuck, it's absolute jammy, it's so fucking sick, it sounds insane. This is a song on here that I can absolutely understand the hype and popularity for. This song sounds great the entire way through. It's perfect. Shoutout to my co worker Carlos, he loves this song. I don't blame him either, this song is absolutely insane. There are so many good elements to enjoy. A little dissonance thrown in there, super catchy lines everywhere you go, and holy FUCK have you heard that solo? Shoutout to Royal Blood by the way, you all know I love them- they do a great cover of this song. Look that up, it's really great and surprising. This song is better than Enter Sandman because it's not as annoying, the solo is better, the everything is catchier. The riffs are great, the vocals / lines are so good, everything works. This is a great fucking song, and holy hell is this one of the heaviest songs you can squeeze out of a Metallica lemon. The only other song I can think of that is ACTUALLY heavier than this would be The Thing That Should Not Be. That's a fucking fact. Actually 2nd heaviest Metallica song to ever exist. Super good, and I prefer this one over The Thing That Should Not Be. Anyway yeah, this is a fucking fantastic song. Moving on.

Holier Than Thou - Smash. This is honestly a song I have not listened to very often. In fact I've probably only listened to this song like once or twice. Yeah it sounds great. Knowing the tone of this album, it sounds good. The only problem is it's really generic, and I just don't care about it that much.

The Unforgiven - SMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I'm giving this FUCKING HIGH PRAISE cause it's FUCKING SICK but I'm not giving it a medal. In my personal opinion, this is objectively the most IMPRESSIVE song on the album just because of how much it captivates the audience and brings you into the story. It's REALLY REALLY catchy and works super well on the album. I really enjoy this one cause I don't hear it very often but holy shit it's really really great. For me, this is the most impressive on the album. It has a lot of elements that can really make anyone enjoy it. The acoustic sections are extremely satisfying, the song isn't too hard for non-metal enjoyers to be pleased, and everything else works just fine. This is a great song. Not medal worthy cause I'm focusing on underrated picks. Moving on.

Wherever I May Roam - SMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAASSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Yeah this might be fucking #1 for me. I wouldn't change a single fucking thing about this song. It's PERFECT. This is honestly one of the songs that really makes me stick around for this fucking album cause this song is SO catchy, SO unique, and just SO good in everything. This is a great fucking song, the music video is great, everything is great. I can't help but smile and be happy about this song. This song is SO fucking catchy, and so fucking fun to play on guitar. This is the theme of this song. It is just SO everything. It does everything SO well. I'm surprised this isn't more popular because this is probably my favourite song on this fucking album. The fucking SOLO is REALLY REALLY great because it just works so well. Both solos honestly. Lotta wah but that's okay.

Don't Tread on Me - Smash. Good morning everyone. I'm now writing this on Wednesday to conclude through the songs that I didn't want to go over last night. Yeah this song is pretty good but would I want to listen to this over The God That Failed? Absolutely not. There's nothing wrong with this song it's completely fine. I do have to say however that the chorus is super catchy. I really enjoy that. Solo is decent enough.

Through the Never - SMASH. This song is a pleasant surprise to me. This is one of those songs that I haven't explored very much but it sounds really great during the opening. Much better than I thought it would. Definitely an underrated one. Chorus is pretty catchy and jammy, I'm really into this one though because the riffs are really really cool. Solo is pretty decent, it does it's job.

Nothing Else Matters - SMMMMMMAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH. I'm biased cause I'm still reviewing this song on Tuesday night. I have BIG BIG feelings for this song. This one holds high marks in my heart. Yes, of course this song is literally one of the most mainstream Metallica songs of all time- even my grandma loves this song. But holy fuck... this song is SO good. Listen to it, close you eyes. Absorb that shit. Mindfulness. Just listen to this song, close your eyes, look down into the darkness and FEEL it. It's... brutal. It exposes you truly in the heart. This is a fucking fantastic song, I love it to death. I'm honestly sad I can't give this a medal because it deserves one just because of how much of an impact it's made on my life. This song is fucking incredible. I often send this to people that don't enjoy metal and say "yeah this is Metal", and they're fucking mind blown. Anyway yeah this song of course holds high marks in my heart and just makes me sad. It's a perfect song. 10/10, S+ tier. I have HIGH respect for this song just because how much it means to me, the fans, and the band. Plus holy shit that solo.

Of Wolf and Man - Smash. Wednesday Sharky here. Yeah this song is alright. I don't really have much to point about to and be excited for though. Like yeah this is a good song but it's not amazing or has anything I want to point to. The chorus parts are really jammy and enjoyable. That's kind of cool to hear. The solo is REALLY good on this one. I really enjoyed that a lot.

The God That Failed - SMMMAAAAAAASSSSSHHHHHHHHHH. I. Fucking. Love. This. Song. This SONG IS SO FUCKING COOL AND SO GOOD. The fucking guitar is SO FUCKING SEXY AND HEAVY, it's so fucking sick. This is a super slick pick for me. This is one of my fucking favourite songs currently just because of how fucking sick it is. This song is so fucking jammy. The story is SO, SO SO SO SO SO GOOD. If you don't know the story behind this song, please look it up. It's heartbreaking and I completely understand James in this song. It's super relatable for me just because of how much I fucking hate religion. So good. Yeah everything in this song works so fucking well for me. I absolutely adore this song just because it pushes the boundaries of comfortability. It's like... a song about sticking the middle finger to "God", which I absolutely love. Follow the god that failed, baby.

My Friend of Misery - Smash. Really love to hear that bass action. Other than that, this song is alright. Honestly this song is a little boring for my taste. There are no cool ass riffs for me to really go in depth about and enjoy. It's just a little too generic and standard. The SOLO however is fucking FANTASTIC. This shit is INCREDIBLE. Probably one of the best solos on the album to be honest. That shit is so unique and so interesting it definitely got my attention right up until the wah pedal came in as per usual.

The Struggle Within - Smash. This song is okay. The riffs are kind of neat. The vocals are kinda structured interestingly. Other than that I'm really not into this song. It's okay but I don't care much. Yeah not much to say. Solo was okay. Other than that meh.

Conclusion

Yes yes yes yes yes, I know. This album is a masterpiece and S tier and whatever or whenever, blah blah blah. I'm looking at this album from the lens of "This is an incredible album, but I will point out the flaws high and the underrated points". Whatever, I don't care. I don't really care too much for this album because I don't have high nostalgia or anything for it, I just really enjoy the sexy sexy riffs that come with it. Therefor, they are featured in the medal songs. Naturally of course if you're a long time Metallica listener, you know this album but I highly encourage you to check out the songs that are often overshadowed.

RANK: A-

Sorry if I was a little too critical on this album but hey, sometimes you need to be a razor. Go against the grain. What do you guys think? Am I going too far to push against the mainstream songs or do you think I'm right in sticking with the underrated picks? You know what to do. Comment below. Much love, mwah all the best- happy Wednesday. Fight hard, everyone.

- Sharky