Classic metal

Marty Friedman and Kerry King play and discuss classic metal riffs on Japanese TV.

Metallica was a great band

You might not have much idea about it from their performances over the last decade, but 20 years ago Metallica was a tight and impressive musical unit. With Cliff Burton on bass they had character and solid metal composition. Though some said the vocals were harsh, they are now considered quite gentle and mainstream. Truly Metallica was a band ahead of their times who suffered for being unrecognized innovators and have sinced lapsed into comfortable public performances not much varied than elevator music.

Metallica's peak

With "One", Metallica reached the pinnacle of their metal style. The entire album "...And Justice for All" is a self-indulgent collection of progressive songs written for epic length and exploration, with unusual meter and rhythm changes. Lars Ulrich showed his greatest drumming with crazed beats including excellent use of triplets. Still the entire album was unfit for radio play because of the format that in the pre-Nirvana judged their vocals to be harsh and unlistenable.

Having crafted everything remaining they needed to say in this album, the band no longer had direction. Hard rock? Country? Maybe a little of whatever simple junk everyone else is putting out?

Rehab, adult life, easy paychecks, and a loss of vigor all contributed to their decline, but their greatest work shown in their first four albums remains captured to inspire anyone who is ready for a wild ride.