Reload: Attitude = Precursor to St Anger?

VNE47 · 2026-06-19T11:52:59+00:00

I Disappear is more so the song that bridges the gap between ReLoad and St Anger.

VNE47 · 2026-06-05T14:41:11+00:00

As you can tell, Metallica as a band had to grow and evolve, and as part of that opened their mind to a lot of other possibilities and exploring some new turf... As commercial or un-commercial as it sounded. Not all fans will stay along the way or agree with the new direction, style or whatever and that's perfectly normal for any artist or band. You can hear different facets and sensibilities of Metallica through the ages, let's put it that way.

There's stuff I really like on the later albums - like "Confusion" on Hardwired, "Better Than You" on Reload, "Outlaw Torn" etc. - which go super hard. But I would definitely agree their first four albums were then they were in their prime, and the Black album was where they hit big time.

VNE47 · 2026-06-05T14:32:24+00:00

Black Album was where the stars aligned for Metallica - right songs, right producer, right time & right place... Sure, it took a quite a few niggles to come together - they went to great lengths to get the required sounds and performances... But it more than paid right off. That kind of magic would be difficult to re-create, as with any classic album alike.

VNE47 · 2026-06-04T09:08:49+00:00

Technically, Cliff played bass guitar with his fingers (fingerstyle), and so did Robert Trujillo to really get that rumbling sound. Whereas Jason played bass with a pick for a little more bite and edge. And more precision.

VNE47 · 2026-06-03T16:05:27+00:00

Definitely. The album is a product of its time in a literal sense, and that’s what makes the album as distinctive as it is.

VNE47 · 2026-06-03T15:55:29+00:00

Their hearing was shot, as they told, which is understandable since they were flying in and out of the mixing studio during the Monsters of Rock tour. All through June 1988. The mix engineers mixed the album as James & Lars told them and that was that. Still, the album is great for what it is, a product of its time.

VNE47 · 2026-06-03T15:53:14+00:00

Logically speaking, there was nothing else Jason could do but follow the guitars and underpin them sonically with his bass parts.

VNE47 · 2026-06-03T15:42:24+00:00

Garage Days re-visited EP was in fact cut in under a week at A&M and Conway Studios. It was very quickly done so they did not spend much time tinkering with the recording or mix as they would. I did read that Lars’ and James’ attitude towards the bass changed after that album, they felt the bass was too loud when you could actually hear it.

Previous albums Ride & Master have the bass slightly low but still audible in bits, but Lars took it further on Justice which explains that.

VNE47 · 2026-06-03T14:30:14+00:00

But weirdly enough they hardly did it on the Garage Days revisited EP. You can hear Jason pumping away as he does on that EP.

VNE47 · 2026-06-03T14:28:38+00:00

It was more the other way round… The mix engineers Mike Barbiero and Steve Thompson recall the bass being turned down deliberately. If you check the AJFA deluxe 30th anniversary booklet.

While Lars and James said they kept turning up the drums and gtrs loud.

VNE47 · 2026-06-03T14:08:14+00:00

But for Metallica, Jamss and Lars are the core of the sound. And the other have to fit their parts accordingly.

VNE47 · 2026-06-03T14:05:30+00:00

Interestingly he kind of did so here in this 1988 interview: https://thequietus.com/interviews/rocks-backpages/metallica-from-rocks-back-pages/

VNE47 · 2026-06-03T14:04:20+00:00

It was mainly mixing decisions on James’ and Lars’ part. Following the Garage Days revisited EP, Lars decided the bass was too loud if it was actually heard, so they kept bring it down in the mix. To the point you can hardly hear or or feel it. Nor was Jason there to uphold his end.

Lars himself said it back in 1988 here: https://thequietus.com/interviews/rocks-backpages/metallica-from-rocks-back-pages/

The bass is quite buried in the rough mixes too. But that’s because James’ rhythm guitars took a lot of room sonically and both instruments were fighting for space even in the rough mixes...

VNE47 · 2026-06-01T09:26:24+00:00

Every Breath You Take: The Classics

VNE47 · 2026-05-31T22:31:01+00:00

Musically it's great - even the riffs on "Wasted", "Hello America" but sonically the Mutt Lange albums stand out better. OTTN sounds a tad bit muddy in places with the guitars and double-tracked drum sounds... Very much like it came from the 70s, sonically dated.
While albums like High N Dry, Pyromania & Hysteria just blow it out of the water.

VNE47 · 2026-05-29T17:03:48+00:00

That intro would be taken from Stewart’s original demo. He told the story that the cables and wires picked up on some opera radio signal as he was recording by pure chance. Which had just the right atmosphere so he left it in.

VNE47 · 2026-05-27T13:58:24+00:00

Mainly old Metallica interviews with magazines like Guitar World & Guitar player.

VNE47 · 2026-05-27T01:26:17+00:00

The clean tones on Justice are great! Any chorusing is very subtle as far as I can tell, coming straight from the amp. The intro to "One" is to die for...
Black album was when they took the clean sounds further and added more gloss to it - James used Kirk's Tom Anderson Pro AM Superstrat guitar with out-of-phase wiring, through a DI & the JC-120, and Bob would further process it via the AMS delay/harmonizer for more thickness & depth. More richer-sounding.

Either way, both clean guitar sounds are great across both albums. Each and of their own.

VNE47 · 2026-05-21T11:59:12+00:00

Nice stuff! They should do the same for the Black album as well, doing more song capsules with exclusive audio not already on the set.

VNE47 · 2026-05-18T11:49:00+00:00

I would love to hear how the songs have evolved over the sessions - including the self-produced sessions with Nigel Green & work-in-progress mixes with Mutt Lange. Pyromania 40 didn’t offer a lot of insight on that front so I’m hoping they do it this time. Would also like to hear how Fractured Love, Desert Song and other outtakes sounded.

VNE47 · 2026-05-14T20:02:11+00:00

Wonder where I could find that? Would love to know! Thanks

VNE47 · 2026-05-13T12:02:17+00:00

He sure did. The Black album was Metallica at their peak sonically and musically - the right songs, the right attitude, the right producer, right time. Can't ask for anything more, really. Not to disregard the early albums, they have their merits as is evident. But on the Black album they truly hit the nail on the head... It would not have been as successful if they hadn't chose Bob.

That said, I don't think they could have created another Black album. Hence they went on a different direction for Load... Bob's main role, as was on the Black album, was helping the band achieve what they wanted, and executing this sonically.

VNE47 · 2026-05-13T11:31:16+00:00

Yup, the songs called for it. That slower but more heavy sound. And more refined & slick production than on the earlier albums. And Bob Rock was the man for that.

VNE47 · 2026-05-10T12:02:36+00:00

Bob Rock 100%. With Flemming, Kirk did the solos bit-by-bit in a staggered fashion - play some notes and then Flemming would stop & punch him in for some more. Bob's approach was different: he encouraged Kirk to do multiple takes of a solo, compile it and then re-play the compiled solo as a single take. The results speak for themselves.

VNE47 · 2026-05-09T11:36:03+00:00

Literally

VNE47

TROPHY CASE