Metallica Superthread -All Metallica discussion goes in here

Lithium93_ · 21-03-2015 2:05pm

Metallica's constant touring explained.

http://loudwire.com/metallica-lost-money-since-2010/

It’s likely that Metallica have lost more money than they've made

briany · 21-03-2015 2:40pm

Lithium93_ wrote: »

Metallica's constant touring explained.

http://loudwire.com/metallica-lost-money-since-2010/

I wonder do Metallica themselves feel the brunt of these lost earnings, or is it like in a corporation where all too often shrinking business hits the underlings first? I think Lars put some money into the movie and the Orion festival, but Lars has also been quoted as saying he's got enough money for ten lifetimes, so it may be money he can afford to lose. I know Kirk and Rob are worth considerably less than James and Lars because neither have as much cumulative royalty revenue, so they could be hurting first, if it ever comes to that. They still have millions in assets, both tangible and liquid, so, frankly, they have no cause to ever get even to that point. Kirk might have to one day give up the six properties he owns and just maintain a main property and some sort of holiday home. Some people have it rough, don't they? :rolleyes:

devildriver · 21-03-2015 9:52pm

Lithium93_ wrote: »

Metallica's constant touring explained.

http://loudwire.com/metallica-lost-money-since-2010/

There's so little detail in that piece it's difficult to take it seriously. Yes, Metallica definitely got hosed on the Through the Never movie (which strangely enough I quite like) and the Orion Festivals didn't make a lot of money. But their back catalogue still sells consistently, The Black Album famously sells gold record numbers every year and that's 24 years ago.

Touring, merch, Spotify (small but consistent), all these sports hook-ups and everything else they are involved with...I don't think they are quite on the breadline yet!

lord lucan · 21-03-2015 11:18pm

devildriver wrote: »

There's so little detail in that piece it's difficult to take it seriously. Yes, Metallica definitely got hosed on the Through the Never movie (which strangely enough I quite like) and the Orion Festivals didn't make a lot of money. But their back catalogue still sells consistently, The Black Album famously sells gold record numbers every year and that's 24 years ago.

Touring, merch, Spotify (small but consistent), all these sports hook-ups and everything else they are involved with...I don't think they are quite on the breadline yet!

I think the guy is exaggerating it to sell his book tbh. A few soundbites saying they're extremely comfortable financially isn't going to sell his book.

Motley Crue · 21-03-2015 11:43pm

briany wrote: »

I know Kirk and Rob are worth considerably less than James and Lars because neither have as much cumulative royalty revenue, so they could be hurting first, if it ever comes to that.

Rob mentioned recently, when campaigning to get a movie funded, that it was "different" for him, he told someone at a press conference "I didn't write Enter Sandman, I've already put a lot of my own money into this" and that he couldn't simply go out and fund this movie.

I think 'Through The Never' hit these guys harder than maybe they care to mention. As others have said, they're not on the breadline, but they could have had a serious dip in their financials as a result of some bad investments and Lars costly divorce settlements....

briany · 23-03-2015 1:50am

If you remember, Rob was given a 1 million dollar up-front payment to join Metallica, as a goodwill gesture and start things off on the right foot. He was also included, as was Kirk, in an equal royalty split since DM. However, that may not be as great as it seems if he's has to shoulder an equal financial burden on projects, as well as the likelyhood that royalties are nothing like what they used to be.

King George VI · 24-03-2015 4:35pm

Interesting interview with Steve Thompson, the guy that mixed ...And Justice For All.

http://www.overdrive.ie/news-lars-****/

Ultimate-Guitar.com: When you mixed the tracks for METALLICA‘s “…And Justice For All” album in 1988, was that a totally different experience than working on the “Appetite For Destruction” record?

Steve: “Well, what I wanted to do and what Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] wanted to do was totally different, which kind of upset me a little bit. I loved METALLICA and was very familiar with them. I said, ‘These guys are cool.’ We got the call to do it and went up to Bearsville Studios in upstate New York and the guys were on the Monsters Of Rock tour at the time. So what they would do is fly in by helicopter, a day here and a day there just to go through things.”

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Did the band know what kind of album they wanted to make and what they wanted it to sound like?

Steve: “Lars knew exactly the sound and the parameters of everything he wanted on his drums. So he would actually bring his photos of a Klark Teknik’s EQ [parametric equalizer] setup because he had a certain way he wanted the drums to sound. I said, ‘Michael [Barbiero], why don’t you work with Lars and get the drum sound he’s looking for? Call me when he’s happy.’”

Ultimate-Guitar.com: What did you think when you finally heard them?

Steve: “They called me in and I listened to them and I said to myself, ‘These sound like ass. Terrible sounding.’ I chased everybody out of the room and redesigned the drum sound and brought the guitars up. [Then-METALLICA bassist] Jason [Newsted] killed it on bass. Perfect marriage with [James] Hetfield’s guitars.”
and justice for jason

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Was James happy with what you were doing?

Steve: “I’m putting all the other stuff up and everything like this and Hetfield gives a ‘thumbs up.’ Lars comes walking in a couple minutes later and listens to about a minute of it and goes, ‘Turn that off’ and I said, ‘What’s the problem?’ He said, ‘What happened to my drum sound?’ I said, ‘You were serious?’ or something like that.”

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Lars was not happy?

Steve: “We had to get the drum sound up the way he had it. I wasn’t a fan of it. So now he goes, ‘See the bass guitar?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, great part, man. He killed it.’ He said, ‘I want you to bring down the bass where you can barely, audibly hear it in the mix.’ I said, ‘You’re kidding. Right?’”

Ultimate-Guitar.com: He wasn’t kidding?

Steve: “He said, ‘No. Bring it down.’ I bring it down to that level and he says, ‘Now drop it down another 5 db.’ I turned around and looked at Hetfield and said, ‘He’s serious?’ It just blew me away.”

Ultimate-Guitar.com: What did you do?

Steve: “I called my manager that night and I think I talked to Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch [METALLICA's managers] and said, ‘I love these guys. I think they’re amazing and they’ve created a genre of their own but I do not agree with the direction Lars is pulling me in. My name’s gonna go on it so why don’t you find somebody else?’ My manager wouldn’t have anything to do with that or Burnstein or Mensch.”

Ultimate-Guitar.com: But you were ready to walk away from mixing METALLICA?

Steve: “They talked me into being there and my only regret is that we didn’t have enough time to at least mix it the way we heard it. I wanted to take ‘Master Of Puppets‘ and blow that away. That was my sonic direction for ‘… And Justice For All‘. It was all there but I think they were looking for more garagey-type sound without bass. And the bass was great; it was perfect. I remember when METALLICA got elected to the [Rock And Roll] Hall Of Fame, they flew us out and I’m sitting with Lars.”

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Did you talk to him?

Steve: “He goes, ‘Hey, what happened to the bass in ‘… Justice’?’ He actually asked me that. I wanted to cold cock him right there. It was a shame because I’m the one getting the **** for the lack of bass.”

Lithium93_ · 24-03-2015 4:38pm

So it's Lars fault for the lack of bass on ...And Justice For All

briany · 24-03-2015 7:54pm

Lithium93_ wrote: »

So it's Lars fault for the lack of bass on ...And Justice For All

I always just think of how excited Jason must have been to be on his first record with Metallica. How he probably told all his friends and his family, and they all bought it on the day it came out, and then it's like he might as well have not even shown up to the recording. He must have been crushed, but grit his teeth through it anyway because he knew being in that band was an opportunity he just could not blow.

Put yourself in that position, though. If you were the bass player in a band and did an album which the drummer and guitarist went off to mix by themselves, only to find your instrument is hardly anywhere to be heard, would you feel like a chump for trusting them with the sound? Would you want to lamp the big smiley heads off the pair of them? The answer to both of these questions is yes. Fúcking yes.

Lithium93_ · 24-03-2015 10:37pm

Read that interview with Steve Thompson, and i can't believe the cajones on Lars to actually ask

Hey, what happened to the bass in … Justice?

briany · 24-03-2015 10:39pm

Lithium93_ wrote: »

Read that interview with Steve Thompson, and i can't believe the cajones on Lars to actually ask

I heard one guy claim on MetallicaBB that this is an example of Lars' famously dry sense of humour...

Lithium93_ · 24-03-2015 10:47pm

briany wrote: »

I heard one guy claim on MetallicaBB that this is an example of Lars' famously dry sense of humour...

If that's Lars's ''famously dry sense of humour'', it backfired badly.

Lithium93_ · 25-03-2015 3:46pm

Another tour date added to Metallica's, co-headlining Lollapalooza in August

http://www.metallica.com/news/return-to-lolla.asp

jack presley · 28-03-2015 1:32pm

Lithium93_ wrote: »

So it's Lars fault for the lack of bass on ...And Justice For All

Probably posted at the time but here's Jason's thoughts from 2013

jack presley · 28-03-2015 1:34pm

Lithium93_ wrote: »

If that's Lars's ''famously dry sense of humour'', it backfired badly.

I think that is Lars' humour. It's the same when he talks about St. Anger where he slags off the snare sound.

hidinginthebush · 28-03-2015 4:26pm

briany wrote: »

I heard one guy claim on MetallicaBB that this is an example of Lars' famously dry sense of humour...

Am I the only one who thought it was funny? Even more so given how annoyed the producer got at the comment

briany · 28-03-2015 5:01pm

hidinginthebush wrote: »

Am I the only one who thought it was funny? Even more so given how annoyed the producer got at the comment

I don't think Lars was laughing at the time he originally told Thompson to turn the bass down.

briany · 28-03-2015 6:01pm

jack presley wrote: »

Probably posted at the time but here's Jason's thoughts from 2013

For me the video just says, 'An error occurred. Please try again later'

If that isn't confirmation of Jason's desire to hear a remix, I don't know what is.

jack presley · 28-03-2015 6:06pm

briany wrote: »

For me the video just says, 'An error occurred. Please try again later'

If that isn't confirmation of Jason's desire to hear a remix, I don't know what is.

Sorry, here's the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBUT8HFjZ74

reelsmash · 31-03-2015 11:26am

used to be my fave band lol.. until i heared there bands like dreamthreater and mr. big lol..

Tony EH · 02-04-2015 4:24am

Johnny Carson wrote: »

Interesting interview with Steve Thompson, the guy that mixed ...And Justice For All.

http://www.overdrive.ie/news-lars-****/

Metallica and Slayer were my top bands in the 80's. As far as I was concerned nothing could touch them and as most metal fans at the time, there was no shortage of bands that I listened to. But, then the "black album" appeared and AFAIC, they went to shit. I could never get into that record, no matter how hard I tried. There's a couple of good songs on there, but the whole thing stinks of meh. 'Enter Sandman' ? Fuck off. Then 'Load' and 'Reloaded'...what the hell?

But, these days, I cannot see Metallica as anything but a bunch of whining cünts.

Slayer FTW.

When I think back to the 80's, when metal was simply everything to me and just how "important" Metallica was and look at them today? I cannot help thinking what happened to these guys? I remember watching 'Cliff 'em All' on video when it came out and thinking fellas were feckin cool as shit. Then I watch 'Some Kind of Monster' years later and came away thinking what a bunch of assholes.

Whining showbiz maggots.

I'm still just befuddled when I stick on 'Master of Puppets' and then try to listen to 'St. Anger'.

Motley Crue · 02-04-2015 10:42am

Got the Black Album on Vinyl this week from a second hand record store on a trip back to Dublin. When I got it home I took it out for closer inspection and realised it was a coloured vinyl, red to be exact, not sure whether this is part of a re-release though would find it surprising to see Metallica release The Black Album on red vinyl in 1991....

Must do some more examining

What I will say though, is that as I sat and just examined the cover art and the feel of the record, I thought to myself "what an amazing record" and how happy you might have been to buy this on release....they used to be a great band, whereas now, I think they're just good for nostalgia. I welcome seeing them in Leeds later this year but only for nostalgia

King George VI · 02-04-2015 2:07pm

Tony EH wrote: »

Metallica and Slayer were my top bands in the 80's. As far as I was concerned nothing could touch them and as most metal fans at the time, there was no shortage of bands that I listened to. But, then the "black album" appeared and AFAIC, they went to shit. I could never get into that record, no matter how hard I tried. There's a couple of good songs on there, but the whole thing stinks of meh. 'Enter Sandman' ? Fuck off. Then 'Load' and 'Reloaded'...what the hell?

But, these days, I cannot see Metallica as anything but a bunch of whining cünts.

Slayer FTW.

When I think back to the 80's, when metal was simply everything to me and just how "important" Metallica was and look at them today? I cannot help thinking what happened to these guys? I remember watching 'Cliff 'em All' on video when it came out and thinking fellas were feckin cool as shit. Then I watch 'Some Kind of Monster' years later and came away thinking what a bunch of assholes.

Whining showbiz maggots.

I'm still just befuddled when I stick on 'Master of Puppets' and then try to listen to 'St. Anger'.

Ahh now, St. Anger was a terrific album. People forget that compared to the most of their other albums St Anger is their heaviest album. Granted it doesn't have the musical genius of Master of Puppets, but that's what happens when heavy metal icons turn 50 years old. They age. Can you imagine James Hetfield going around with long hair and denim jacket with a bottle of whiskey in his hand at 50? He wouldn't a very good role model for his children. It'd actually be kinda pathetic.

I do agree with you on some things though. Besides what they've actually put out new-music-wise, almost every one of their business actions has been a failure or pathetic (Metallica pinball anyone?)

briany · 06-04-2015 9:13pm

Tony EH wrote: »

Metallica and Slayer were my top bands in the 80's. As far as I was concerned nothing could touch them and as most metal fans at the time, there was no shortage of bands that I listened to. But, then the "black album" appeared and AFAIC, they went to shit. I could never get into that record, no matter how hard I tried. There's a couple of good songs on there, but the whole thing stinks of meh. 'Enter Sandman' ? Fuck off. Then 'Load' and 'Reloaded'...what the hell?

But, these days, I cannot see Metallica as anything but a bunch of whining cünts.

Slayer FTW.

When I think back to the 80's, when metal was simply everything to me and just how "important" Metallica was and look at them today? I cannot help thinking what happened to these guys? I remember watching 'Cliff 'em All' on video when it came out and thinking fellas were feckin cool as shit. Then I watch 'Some Kind of Monster' years later and came away thinking what a bunch of assholes.

Whining showbiz maggots.

I'm still just befuddled when I stick on 'Master of Puppets' and then try to listen to 'St. Anger'.

I didn't know Mullet Man from Scuzz posted to Boards.

Anesthetize · 06-04-2015 9:59pm

Johnny Carson wrote: »

Ahh now, St. Anger was a terrific album. People forget that compared to the most of their other albums St Anger is their heaviest album.

What does it being their heaviest album have to do with anything? It doesn't make it any less of a turd. I can think of plenty of albums released in 2003 that piss all over St. Anger.

Granted it doesn't have the musical genius of Master of Puppets, but that's what happens when heavy metal icons turn 50 years old. They age.

They were turning 40. And there's plenty of metal bands who release quality albums well into their 40's, more recent examples being Enslaved and Gorguts. But those bands never allow themselves to compromise their music in order to become millionares and then become jaded.

Wrongway1985 · 07-04-2015 10:29pm

Johnny Carson wrote: »

Ahh now, St. Anger was a terrific album

You appear to need more music in ur life

Motley Crue · 07-04-2015 10:49pm

Anesthetize wrote: »

I can think of plenty of albums released in 2003 that piss all over St. Anger.

Or any year for that matter

King George VI · 08-04-2015 8:55am

Wrongway1985 wrote: »

You appear to need more music in ur life

Haha I have loads of music, and actually don't listen to Metallica as much as I used to. Hardly at all lately as I'm moving on to newer and heavier things.

I must be the only person in the world that likes St. Anger