Metallica? Metallica....Oh yes, the ones that used to be really, really good then shit on me from a great height with an album called St. Anger.
I remember, before iTunes and the like, I used the original Napster to download songs of bands I wanted to try, as Heavy Metal and it's ilk didn't get proper radio playtime. Someone suggested Metallica to me, and a few songs I might like. I downloaded three, and on the strength of those songs, I was going to go out and start buying some of thier albums. The very next day, the Metallica-Napster lawsuit was on the news, and very soon, I was one of the 300,000 people banned from using Napster. And so I did what any self respecting, red blooded Englishman would do. I downloaded thier entier back catalogue thru IRC.
Now, I liked thier music, especialy the early stuff. I felt after (and in some cases, including) the Metallica (Black) Album, songs got shorter and more "radio friendly". The albums wern't bad, they were very good; they just wern't good Metallica albums. When I first heard about St. Anger, I was excited about the reports that they were going back to thier old style, thier raw sound. The loss of Newstead was a blow (as the tragic loss of Cliff probably was to a generation of fans before me), but all was looking good. Fast-forward to the video release of the song St. Anger. Ok, it was simple, there was no solo, the vocals were a bit duff, and Lars really needed to invest in a new snare drum. But I held hope. This was going to be my first proper purchase of a new Metallica album. I went to the local record store, and waited outside for them to open, the arriving staff knowing exactly what I was waiting for. The shutters opened, I walked in, I scooped the album from the shelf and stepped triumphantly up to the till, payed, and left for work. 8 hours of graft were between me and Heavy Metal bliss. But it was not to be. My St. Anger was broken. The CD was intact, the tracks played as I suppose they should have, but everything was a wreck. The album version of St. Anger was totaly ruined, and nothing else on that rancid disc could save it, not even the "live" DVD bonus. Metallica owe me an album. I may just have to aquire thier next thru other means...
