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| Metallica posing for Garage Inc |
Continuing on the path of self exploration and experimentation, Metallica once again returned to the studio. This time it would be to record the album Garage Inc. The double album would pay tribute to some New Wave of British Heavy Metal legends like Diamond Head and Motörhead, amongst others, who had influenced Metallica in their earlier careers. Garage Inc. contains newly recorded cover versions of these great bands and was met with great reviews by both, fans and critics alike. On a personal level, this album – or rather the concept of this album – warms my heart. For me the saying “imitation is the highest form of flattery” rings true, and I often find myself gravitating towards playing riffs from my favourite songs or bands. I am after all, a fan – and of Metallica, I am a super-fan! The most notable singles off the disk are Sabbra Cadabra originally by Black Sabbath, Die, Die, My Darling by Misfits, Am I Evil? by Diamond Head and the traditional Irish folk song, Whiskey in the Jar inspired by the Thin Lizzy version. The covers are great, and just like any good cover version the essence of the original stands proud while the unmistakeable Metallica signature sound rings out like a bell.
As mentioned earlier in this feature, the second disk of the double album contains the 1987 release Garage Days revisited in its entirety – since the rare album went out of print following its original release. Garage Inc. stands as testament to the cant-put-a-foot-wrong wave Metallica was riding throughout the 90’s in that the new, and quite novel, album entered the Billboard 200 chart at # 2.
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| Michael Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) |
In November 1999 Metallica would give the world an early Christmas present. Teaming up with Oscar, Grammy and double Golden Globe award winning composer and conductor Michael Kamen, the band recorded a live concert album entitled S & M [short for Symphony and Metallica]. This album is the culmination of Metallica’s experimental phase, and captures these legends at the pinnacle of their almost-20 year career. The concept of teaming up with a symphony is credited, repeatedly to Cliff Burton, the bands deceased bassist. Burton’s love of classical music is clearly decipherable in the song writing on earlier Metallica offerings like Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets.
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| James Hetfield with the SF Symphony in the background |
S & M features some of the greatest Metallica singles, brilliantly supported by the symphony playing a Kamen orchestrated score [which could easily have been made into a standalone classical masterpiece]. It is, to me, one of Metallica’s greatest works and the fact that they seamlessly infused two different musical worlds makes it something extraordinary. Far from being a stale reworking of famous Metallica songs, S & M gives the Metallica fan a deeper perspective on the music we love. The symphony does more than just support the band, they show that Metallica is about much more than loud, obnoxious, beat-your-chest metal, but proves that Metallica’s music, the physical notes on paper, is on par with the epic works of great composers like Wagner and Mozart. James Hetfield says of the concert: “We are used to playing loud, but here you feel the floor rumble under your feet. The sensation of having 157 instruments at your back is a empowering experience.” S & M also saw the debut of 2 brand new Metallica songs. No Leaf Clover truly put the symphony through its paces with its paradoxical fusing of melody and heavy-riffage, and the other new song, - (minus) Human has the feel of a epic war-march with Hetfield providing a vocal line that leaves me with goose-bumps on top of my goose-bumps.
S & M would turn out to be a turning point in the enduring legacy of Metallica. Having either been on tour, or in the studio almost constantly for 20 years, we would not see a new album until 4 years later. This was also the time of the infamous Napster controversy, which saw a massive backlash of fans and the departure of long serving bassist Jason Newsted.
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| Ulrich presenting his case in court |
In 2000 Metallica was asked to produce a song for the upcoming Tom Cruise film, Mission: Impossible II. The song I Disappear was set for release on the movie’s soundtrack . However, the single was enjoying airplay even before the soundtrack hit the shelves. Tracing the source of the leak, Metallica found the file, and indeed their entire catalogue, on peer-to-peer sharing network, Napster. Metallica filed suit against Napster on 3 separate charges: copyright infringement, unlawful use of digital audio interface device, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The assault against Napster was lead by the bands fiery drummer, Lars Ulrich, who handed over a list of 300,000 names of users that had illegally downloaded and shared their songs via Napster demanding that those users be banned. Seeing the success of Lars’ campaign, rap artist Dr. Dre joined the action resulting in an additional 230,000 users being banned.
This sparks the age old debate of money vs. music. Using the resources I have at hand, I put the matter to The Monger for his comments. And loosely translated from Afrikaans, this is his feedback: “Fuck them. They’ve earned millions off us – not even Brittany [Spears] complains about piracy. It should be about the music, if you’ve created it and put it out there into the public domain, it should remain there – for free.” I have to concede that Monger has a point, even though I don’t fully support his sentiment. As musician, you need to make a living. And the only commodities you have to sell are the songs you produce. If someone steals those songs should they not be brought to book just as any other person who has acquired items via “unconventional” means would?
The Napster debacle had far reaching effects for Metallica. Fans of the band gathered in crowds to burn their Metallica albums and merchandise, signifying their disillusionment with the band. It saw a major backlash in fans, popularity and incited mockery for the band. The 2000 MTV Video Music Awards had Ulrich in a skit with the show’s host, Marlon Wayans. Wayans depicts a college student listening to I Disappear when Ulrich confronts him and ask for an explanation, Wayans retorts by saying that it’s only “sharing”. Ulrich replies that Wayans idea of sharing is "borrowing things that were not yours without asking." Ulrich proceeds to call in the Metallica road crew who confiscate almost all of Marlon’s belongings, leaving him almost naked in a bare room. Later in the ceremony Napster creator, Shawn Fanning presents an award wearing a Metallica T-Shirt and says “I borrowed this shirt from a friend. Maybe, If I like it, I’ll buy my own” – clearly a tongue-in-cheek backlash at the ongoing struggle. One of the best things to come from the Napster battle was this video where Lars & James explain why Napster is “Bad”. Enjoy.
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