METALLICA — Some Kind of Monster (review)

METALLICA — Some Kind of Monster album cover EP · 2004 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Pekka
The Some Kind of Monster EP is a companion release to the movie of the same name, featuring the original and edited version of the title track as well as six live cuts of old school Metallica, recorded in Paris on June 11, 2003. "The hottest day in the history of France", the booklet says, that's a good day to do three club shows as they apparently did.

Honesty, that's the word that springs to mind when listening to this release. First of all they show that, a year after the release of St. Anger, they thought things could have been done differently. The edited version of the title track, originally an eight minute juggernaut of slow riffs and fast beats, is reduced to four minutes with a lot of the unnecessary repetition gone, and most notably, they gave in to fan feedback by overdubbing the extremely controversial snare with a more conventional sound. This version is an improvement in every way, and I'm one of those who like the snare sound on St. Anger.

Lots of fans hated St. Anger, but one thing they should thank it for was that it encouraged Metallica to return the old classics to their live sets, replacing most of the post-1988 material. The band was enthusiastic to revisit their old material despite during the long break their playing had lost its best edge. And this is where the honesty comes in again, as the live material is presented here in all its rawness with mistakes and all, with James' voice cracking and amusingly messing up a verse in Ride the Lightning ("I forgot the f**king words", in perfect melody), Lars missing half of his supposed fills and bass drum hits and Kirk stumbling through every solo sometimes completely losing his way. But the band's energy is furious, full of drive, and that's something I value higher than flawess playing. Hit the Lights is a total killer in its ferocity and tight riffing.

A pure collectors/fans only release, and as such a very interesting one, if not always enjoyable.
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