Features
Wednesday, September 21 2011
Still Pulling Your Strings: 'Master of Puppets' 25 Years Later
Master of Puppets not only rocketed Metallica into stardom upon its 1986 release, but it also blew a hole in the industry’s unwritten rule that a band without commercial aspirations could not make it and, as a result, helped undermine music censorship.
Monday, August 29 2011
Wherever He May Roam: Mick Wall Enters Night With a New Rock Bio
Besides writing the harrowing and hilarious drug memoir of his rock life, Paranoid, critic Mick Wall has written biographies on Iron Maiden, Axl Rose, as well as the definitive 2009 Led Zeppelin biography. He talks with PopMatters about his latest book, Enter Night.
Friday, June 24 2011
Enter Night: A Biography of Metallica
While Ride the Lightning was Metallica’s first exceptionally accomplished recording, Master of Puppets would swiftly become recognised as their first stone cold masterpiece; their Led Zeppelin II; their Ziggy Stardust; their legacy. There would never be a Metallica album quite like it again.
Columns
Wednesday, May 6 2009
Metal Up Yours, Mine & Metallica's
Metallica’s got identity and projection issues -- James Hetfield repeatedly directs a string of insights or even accusations at some mysterious "you", only to concede by song's end that he is talking to himself.
Reviews
Monday, October 31 2011
Lou Reed and Metallica: Lulu
Have you ever been to a concert where the main act brings out a special guest for a song or two, and the connection is so pure that there is a palpable feeling of excitement in the room? Except in brief, fleeting moments, that doesn’t happen on this album.
Wednesday, August 24 2011
'Enter Night: A Biography of Metallica' Is Some Kind of Monster
While Enter Night is not the tightest rock biography ever penned, Mick Wall’s comprehensive examination of Metallica offers not only the band’s history, but a history of Metal from the late ‘70s to the present.
Friday, September 12 2008
Metallica: Death Magnetic
With Rick Rubin at the helm, the once proud metal greats attempt to recover after hitting an all-time low.
Friday, January 12 2007
Metallica: Metallica - The Videos 1989-2004
Is Metallica: The Videos 1989-2004 worth a solid viewing? The answer, happily, is a resounding yes.
Thursday, October 13 2005
Metallica: The History of Metallica: Out of the Loop [DVD]
Everything about this DVD reeks of crass exploitation at its worst.
Blogs
Friday, February 4 2011
1991: A Landmark Year for Rock Albums
Whether it was by overthrowing the old guard, engaging in self-reinvention, or by modernizing a particular approach for the new decade, change was a concept that imbued many of 1991’s seminal rock albums.
News
Wednesday, May 26 2010
Heavy metal brushstrokes: Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted finds a new gig , as a painter
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Nicole Leigh Smith and her man were at their Montana ranch, where he was moping with his right arm in a…
Wednesday, January 28 2009
Metallica proves its metal
When most bands start focusing on death, writing about "The End of the Line" or "My Apocalypse," it's generally not a good sign. When that…
Tuesday, January 27 2009
Metallica too loud? Too bad, says drummer Lars Ulrich
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has seen "This Is Spinal Tap" and its comical tale of a has-been metal band overstaying its welcome. He has laughed,…
Thursday, September 25 2008
Metallica fans say 'Guitar Hero' versions of 'Death Magnetic' songs beat those of the CD
Fans of heavy metal band Metallica have been complaining that the group's new album, "Death Magnetic," suffers from heavy-handed distortion effects. Too bad, right? Well,…
