Metallica by Metallica

Pros: Jam packed with classics and filled in with other cool tunes
Cons: Bye bye, thrash.

Metallica's self titled album, known as The Black Album, is the subject of much controversy in the metal world. Some see it as a classic. Some see it as a sell-out album, the beginning of the end of Metallica's take-no-prisoners thrash era. I say, ...

Pros: Its Metallica - IN SURROUND SOUND!
Cons: no extras, unless you count an ad for another of their DVDs.

This review is a reprint of a review I posted in February of 2004 about Metallica's Black album on DVD-Audio. At the time, there was no DVD-A category, but I see that a category specifically for DVD-Audio has opened up, and this is the most appropriate ...

Pros: Tons of classic tracks, executed brilliantly
Cons: Marked the end of an era of greatness

To know just how significant The Black Album (a.k.a. Metallica) was, all you have to do is bring it up. Metalheads will shake their heads and call it the end of an era; rock fans will probably pipe up and call it the first Metallica album they ...

Pros: Musical and lyrical diversity, Good song-writing and musicianship (mostly)
Cons: Some weak songs

The Eagles had Hotel California. Fleetwood Mac had Rumours. Michael Jackson had Thriller. So, what do these three legendary albums have to do with Metallica's 1991 self-titled release? Well, all four are albums that defined the...

Pros: A few very memorable songs which are classics now. Even a couple solid tunes.
Cons: Some very weak lyrics, some very weak songs, and the send off for Metallica.

This was a very tough album to listen to for the first time for me. I have always been a huge fan of this band. I go all the way back to their earlier albums. "...And Justice For All", "Master of Puppets", "Ride The Lighting", and ...

Pros: Some very solid, accessible heavy metal tracks here
Cons: The band sounds tired and not at all interested in innovation

Before you start hollering about my middle-of-the-road rating on this disc, I should explain why I've given it only three stars when it's better than 90 percent of the heavy metal albums out there. The fairly low rating comes from comparing this disc...

Pros: A new musical direction, some signs of maturity.
Cons: A few weaker tracks.

Extracting metal from its ore can often be a lengthy and complex process. However, with some metal this is not true, it can be removed fairly easily and without much effort. In this example, that is the case. Although we must first get some ...

Pros: Powerful, driving songs that hit with force. A complete Album.
Cons: Nothing they released afterwords even came close.

Note: I've changed the format of my reviews. Its been some time since I've been around here, and although I understand and respect the critique and advice by many, I felt that a lot of times people who, although retained a status of "Top reviewer" or ...

Pros: Shorter, simpler, and more varied songs. Hetfield's improving vocals.
Cons: Way too much mediocrity for one album, lacks Metallica's trademark epic songs.

In 1991, the release of Metallica's self-titled album marked numerous changes for the band. Obviously the most noticeable change was in their music, with most of the tracks on this album clocking in at under five minutes and the song structures were...

Pros: Lots of variety, some good songs.
Cons: Too many mediocre ones, very distant from earlier Metallicas.

1991 was probably one of the biggest years in mainstream music (for better or for worse). Mostly because of the release of Nirvana's bafflingly popular Nevermind. Despite its mediocre song writing, drug-induced lyrics, and generally irritating singing; th ...

Pros: Some of Metallica's best song-writing and music, many Metallica classics are on here.
Cons: Shorter and more simplistic song structures may turn off some fans.

Easily one of Metal's most popular and revered bands is Metallica, especially when it comes to the band's early material. The band's first three albums - 1983's Kill Em All, 1984's Ride The Lightning, and 1986's Master Of Puppets - are some of the most ...

Pros: the singles
Cons: the rest of the songs

Metallica defines metal. They really created their own style of metal with their brutal speed and blistering guitar solos. They have influenced pretty much every metal band that exists in one way or another. The self-titled disc (or the Black album if ...

Pros: Shortened, straight foward rock songs.
Cons: some cases of simplistic writing.

Note the title; it is not “The Last Great Metallica Album” (that honor would go to “…And Justice for All”). Metallica’s 1991 self-titled album is either a pariah or opus depending who you ask. I am writing this from the angle of a kid who was barely over ...

Pros: Four passable-to-strong songs.
Cons: Good God, the rest of this album is awful.

Metallica--- whether we're discussing the band or said band's self-titled 1991 album--- has never appealed to me. Perhaps it's my utter disinterest in the heavy metal/thrash subgenre that puts me off, or perhaps it's that they've been utter wankers about...

Pros: Nearly every song is a classic
Cons: A couple of the songs can be a bit boring

This, as you probably already know, is the album that saw metal giants Metallica cross over to mainstream hard rock way back in '91, to the disdain of many of their 'hardcore' fans. Personally, I think their earlier material (Master of Puppets, Ride the...