I'm not talking about a c.d. here (although I understand that one was released with that name). METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER was the name of a documentary released in theatres last year. I finally rented it the other night and was very impressed. (Yes, I was a Metallica fan at one time, although I haven't followed the band since their 1991 "black album.")

METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER isn't your typical rock n' roll documentary. It's really not a commercial for the band at all. You do see footage of Metallica on tour and some review of their history, but this isn't the focus.

The documentary begins with the resignation of bass player Jason Newsted in 2001. Metallica goes into the studio to record a new album. Rather than replacing Newsted, they ask producer Bob Rock to play bass on the album. There's a lot of tension within the band, though, and they hire a therapist to do group therapy sessions! The documentary follows the band's progress over the next two years. That progress stalls when lead vocalist James Hetfield ends up in rehab for six months. He returns, and you see odd "control struggles" between Hetfiled and drummer Lars Ulrich. Kirk Hammet, the remaining member, seems to be one of those personalities who stays out of larger struggles and tries to be accomodating. The personality dynamic is rather fascinating, and all the more so, because you see glimpses, but not really the complete picture.

The band's history gets interspersed in all this. They discuss the tragic death of original bassist Cliff Burton (He died when their tour bus overturned in 1986.), and there are scenes with former members Dave Mustaine and Jason Newsted.

I found the whole movie rather fascinating. I have no doubt that it'll be more interesting to those who know something about the band, but non-fans will probably find enough to interest them, as well. Has anyone else seen this?

In any case, I do recommend the film - especially if you are - or were - a fan of Metallica.

My folks watched it (I'm not sure what prompted them to do so) and asked me if I'd heard of "this Metallica band."

They had basically the same assesment, that it was more about their relationships than their music.

Some stuff was kind of fascinating. As I said, Hetfield and Ulrich seemed to be the two strongest personalities, and I sensed that they often vied for control while Hammet always tried to please both of them. It was pretty dysfunctional.

In one scene, Hetfield talks about how he missed his son's birthday to go bear hunting in Alaska (or somewhere) and how he drank so much vodka while he was there. Then, in the next scene, you learn that he's in rehab! I guess I should have seen that coming.

Then, Hetfield returns, and they try to finish their album. Hetfield insists that he can only work 12-4, due to his therapy. Tension results when he insists that no one else should work any other hours either. Hetfield walks out at 4:00, and then Ulrich wants to listen to the recordings. Hetfield finds out and gets mad. Ulrich tells Hetfield that he's being controlling. Hetfield tells Ulrich that HE'S being controlling. Hammet just seems to go along with whoever's winning at the moment. It was pretty dysfunctional.

There was an interesting confrontation between Ulrich and Dave Mustaine, too. Mustaine is apparently still resentful about being kicked out of Metallica. I saw him complaining about this on BEHIND THE MUSIC, too. He may be right that he was treated unfairly (don't know), but I keep wondering why he can't just get over it and move on. It's not as if his own band (Megadeth) hasn't had successes of its own.

Well, he was kind of shafted - by their own admission, they kind of gave him the bum's rush by waking him up and putting him on a bus back to San Francisco (from New York mind you) without saying anything besides "yer outta the band, seeya."

They also made good use of all the songs he co-wrote while in the band without giving a whole lot of credit (other than his name being on the sleeve). He's claimed in the past that they also used a lot more than they admitted and I kind of believe him because the riffs changed quite a bit after about Master of Puppets.

Honestly, from watching those guys grow up (I was around in SF in the early 80's when they got their start), I've noticed the change in the personalities they present to the public and it's a large part of why I no longer consider myself a fan. Lars' behavior during the whole Napster debacle didn't help either (especially when, in essence, he was right but chose to be such an ass about it).

Yes. At the very least, they could have handled it much better.


MASTER OF PUPPETS or KILL `EM ALL?

There's definitely a difference after KILL `EM ALL, although personally, I think that RIDE THE LIGHTNING and MASTER OF PUPPETS are better albums (not that KILL `EM ALL isn't great in its own right.).

PUPPETS, of course, was the last album on which Cliff Burton played. Is it possible that it's Burton's absence - rather than Mustaine's - that accounts for later differences? (Personally, I think that ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL basically follows in the same vein as the two previous albums, even if it isn't quite as strong. The "black album" is where you see a whole new direction. I didn't mind the black album, although by then, I was out of college and slightly out of touch with the music scene. I'm not very familiar with any of the band's work after that.)


The Napster affair was mentioned in SOME KIND OF MONSTER. Ulrich claimed that it made him "the most hated f***** in rock n' roll" (among the fans, anyway.). There's footage of angry fans smashing Metallica c.d.'s.

I do get the impression that Ulrich and Hetfield, at least, are pretty much jerks. Nonetheless, I still like the early Metallica albums. As I said, though, I haven't followed the band in years, so somehow, it doesn't seem all that relevant to me, anymore.

I have to wonder about the story with Newsted's departure, too. In earlier interviews, the others admitted that they hazed him mercilessly in the early years (This isn't mentioned in the movie.). I don't know how they treated him in later years, but I do wonder if he didn't have legitimate reasons for leaving.

Mustaine helped write several songs on Ride the Lightning (including the title track and "Call of Ktulu" - somewhere there's a pretty cool demo of that one with lyrics called "When Hell Freezes Over"). I've heard that he claimed to have written the riffs on a couple of songs on Master of Puppets and there's some similarity in the type of riff to what was on the first 2 discs. While I think Cliff Burton was a huge loss, I think his forte wasn't so much riffs as it was structures (like the different sections in "Orion").

Kill 'em All suffered from poor production. The band described the producer for that one as the guy who made the coffee or something to that effect.


Lars needs to be honest - it wasn't the "Napster Affair" that made him hated - it was his behavior during the whole fiasco.

My sister still lives in the SF area and has run into most of them while working (she worked at a motorcycle dealer and at a tattoo shop) and what she told me pretty much confirms what you seem to get from the film - James and Lars are egotistical asses and Kirk is a real sweetheart who loves his family and really tries to stay out of all the drama.

As for Jason Newsted, from what I've read in a couple of interviews, it wasn't really the "hazing" so much as the work conditions. He wanted to do some outside stuff since Metallica was just sitting around with their thumbs in their posteriors and they more or less told him he couldn't do things outside the band. They also really didn't let him get too involved in the writing from what I remember. I also suspect that Jason, being a down to earth midwestern guy (from Kalamazoo I believe), probably saw all the disfunction and all the crap that came with it and just said "man, I've got my royalty checks and what I've put in the bank from the tours - forget this headache" and just went off to find greener pastures.

I had to dig out the album and look. You're right - Mustaine is credited on those songs.

Aside about "Call of Kthulu": On MASTER OF PUPPETS, there's a song called "The Thing That Should Not Be." If you've ever read the H.P. Lovecraft story "The Call of Kthulu," then you'd know that "The Thing Should Not Be" also refers to that story. Many of the lyrics (Hell, most of them, I think) are lifted directly from Lovecraft's tale. I remember reading "Call of Kthulu" in college and then noticing the words and thinking, "Oh, wow!"


That's the impression that I got, yeah. It's nice to know that my instincts were solid.


This is basically what Newsted said in the movie. Hetfield admitted that he didn't like the idea of anyone leaving Metallica, and he seemed to resent Newsted's leaving. After the therapy sessions, etc. though, he also seemed to acknowedge that his need for control may have pushed Newsted away.


Newsted's from Kalamazoo? Huh. I live in Lansing, Michigan myself, and I didn't even know that!

So do you all prefer the Kill 'em All to And Justice for All era, the self-titled CD, the Load-Reload-Garage Inc. bluesy alternative turn, the weirdness that was St. Anger, or the newer Death Magnetic?

I formerly hated Load & Reload but they're starting to grow on me thanks to Pandora playing tracks like King Nothing. But I like their newest best.

Out of the old stuff, I really really like Ride the Lightning, especially that opening & closing riff. Also the title track off Master of Puppets.

There are parts of St. Anger I really like, and Death Magnetic is their best in ages, but I prefer Master of Puppets and And Justice for All.

I've purchased about half the Death Magnetic album a track at a time, and I like it all, a lot. It really is an incredible album.

I like "One" from And Justice but I think I've heard it too many times now.

Today is apparently the 20th anniversary of "The Black Album."

And I still don't own a copy.