Posted at April 13th, 2009 Under News | No Comments »

Ever since the Guitar Hero franchise launched, fans have argued about which bands deserve to appear in the games. One group that made an early appearance in the series and has been a mainstay ever since is Metallica, the heavy metal band that has inspired countless numbers of wannabe shredders to pick up an instrument and drive their parents nuts. When the Guitar Hero franchise began branching out and including band-specific games, fans knew it was only a matter of time before Metallica got the special-edition treatment. Well, that day is here, and it would seem that Activision has absolutely nailed it this time around.

This game isn’t the first spin-off of the Guitar Hero franchise, but it’s easily the best. Guitar Hero Rocks the ’80s was terrible in basically every way, and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith was a shameless cash-in featuring a band that didn’t really deserve their own game anyway. It would seem that Activision and Neversoft have taken the criticisms leveled against their games to heart, though, as this title fixes all the old problems of the other games and adds such a heaping helping of amazing bonus content that you’re really left with almost nothing to complain about.

First off, the track list is phenomenal, offering all the greatest Metallica hits known to man as well as a whole host of tunes from other bands that are just as fun to play as anything the monsters of metal have to offer. Sure, there’s a heavy dollop of metal with guest tracks from bands like Slayer and Judas Priest, but there are also songs from Queen, Bob Seger and the Foo Fighters. Basically all the music was hand-picked by the members of Metallica, and it would seem like the fellows have some pretty solid musical taste.

But obviously James, Lars, Kirk and Robert are the stars of this show, and the game features roughly 30 of their greatest hits spanning their entire catalog. From hard-driving ’80s thrash pieces like “Disposable Heroes” and “Fight Fire with Fire” to their more modern and complex songs like “All Nightmare Long,” there is a terrific sampling of the band’s music here. Furthermore, nearly all their singles are present, so you’ll get to play classics like “King Nothing,” “No Leaf Clover,” “Master of Puppets” and many, many more. While not every great Metallica song is here, there are enough hits that you probably won’t even mind the tracks you’re missing.

A big point of concern for me heading into the game was difficulty, as every time the band has appeared in a rhythm game, it’s always been on the upper tiers of song difficulty and I still have nightmares about trying to be “One” in Guitar Hero III. Therefore I wondered if the title wouldn’t simply be too hard and if frustration would set in too quickly for all but the most hardcore plastic guitar savants. Thankfully this isn’t the case, and the game actually presents one of the most gentle and reasonable difficulty curves I’ve seen in the genre. There are plenty of early tracks from guest acts that aren’t very challenging, and slower ballads such as “The Unforgiven” mean that you’ll have plenty of time to ease into Metallica’s catalog before you get to the hard stuff. Sure, the game gets mighty tricky near the end, but by that point, you’re expecting and welcoming the hard stuff, and beating one of these finger-twisters provides a real sense of accomplishment.

Adding to Guitar Hero: Metallica’s accessibility is the fact that you no longer have to beat all the songs in a tier to move on. Activision has smartly changed progress measurement into a star-based system, so now all you need to worry about is performing well on the songs you can play rather than beating yourself up trying to play tracks that are simply too difficult. If you can muster five stars out of every early song, you only need to beat 12 songs to unlock the full set list, leaving you to peruse the remaining tracks and tackle them in whatever order you wish. The whole system is so simple that you really have to wonder why we haven’t been using it all along.

Those who relish challenge will easily find it on the later tiers in the upper difficulties, and anyone who thinks themselves true masters should tackle the new Expert+ drum difficulty. This new mode adds a second bass pedal, allowing players to replicate Lars’ rat-a-tat machine gun bass lines and generally give your legs a thorough workout. The only downside to the second bass pedal option is that it can only be used in Expert+, so those who want to try and get used to the mechanic in a lower difficulty level are out of luck. This is one of those all-or-nothing gambits; it’s just unfortunate that it would seem a lot of folks will never get to try it out because they simply don’t possess the skill.

The fun of this game isn’t just in the gameplay, though, as it’s also found in the special features that can be unlocked. You’ve got your standard new characters and instruments, but Guitar Hero: Metallica also includes a whole host of other goodies including performance and behind the scenes videos, as well as song lyrics, old set list notes and more. Perhaps the coolest addition is the “Metallifacts,” which are unlocked anytime after you beat a Metallica song. You can then go back and listen to the song again and let the game play it while you read about some really interesting song facts and band trivia. For those who want to know everything about the band, these little insights teach you a ton in three- to five-minute chunks. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough tidbits to fill up each song, so the facts will start to repeat at some point, but you still learn a lot about the band that you likely never knew before.

In addition to improved gameplay and tons of special features, Guitar Hero: Metallica also gives the series’ animations and graphics a much-needed overhaul that will hopefully carry through into future iterations of the series. The band members came in for extensive motion capture sessions, and their hard work pays off with some impressively animated (mostly) realistic character models. The guys are still caricatured slightly, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the series’ trademark monkey-faced lead singer. Also, the new animations implemented for the band carry over into all the game’s characters, which means that those robotic, clunky character animations are gone, replaced by much more fluid and natural movement. For example, while the drummer in the other games has always looked terrible, Lars’ antics have breathed new life into the rhythm section, and now you’ll see drummers jump up off the stool to play and just generally show a lot more personality. This injection of attitude was something the franchise has always been missing, but this time around, the band swagger is conveyed perfectly.

The bottom line is if you’re a Metallica fan, there’s no reason for you not to be playing Guitar Hero: Metallica right now. In fact, if you haven’t bought it yet, you should kick yourself all the way to the store as punishment for your sins. The title also holds up as an exceptional entry in even a generic sense as the music, gameplay, extras and visuals all hold up as the best we’ve seen in the genre thus far. GH: Metallica does everything almost perfectly, and if this level of perfection holds for the next full product refresh (Guitar Hero: Universal Tour perhaps?), then we’ll be in for a real treat. Get this game right now, and then rock until your fingers bleed.

Score: 9.5/10

worthplaying.co

Posted at March 12th, 2009 Under News | No Comments »

James Hetfield returns to U.S after food-poisoning forces Metallica to reschedule Swedish gig. Come on in for Hetfield’s full statement! Get your Sonisphere tickets now!

Metallica front-man James Hetfield headed home to the U.S. on Monday morning after being hospitalized in Stockholm, Sweden over the weekend. Hetfield was admitted to the hospital on Sunday March 8th with dehydration after coming down with a possible case of food poisoning. He was released Sunday evening, but the illness forced the band to cancel its second concert in Stockholm, scheduled for that night.

In a posting on Metallica’s official web site, Hetfield writes, “James here, alive, at about 80% but getting better. I want to say sorry for missing the second Stockholm gig on Sunday due to illness. The cause/diagnosis at the hospital was narrowed down to either a 24-hour virus or a bad oyster…yes, hate to admit, an oyster could have taken me down.”

“I acknowledge and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused fans who had travelled near and far for the show. I had done everything possible to make it, and was at the point of falling if I stood up.

“On a lighter note, since my illness, the support band ‘SWEDISH OYSTER CULT’ will be thrown off the tour. More cowbell?…More barfbagz!!

“Thanx for your understanding and support. It’s not without notice from the whole ‘TALLICA touring family.

“With love and respect, James ‘Papa Het’.”

The show will be rescheduled for sometime in May.

You can find Metallica and Machine Head on the cover of the new Metal Hammer, on shelves now!

Sonisphere will take place on August 1st - 2nd at Knebworth. Metallica and Linkin Park will headline on a bill that will also feature Nine Inch Nails, Bullet For My Valentine, Avenged Sevenfold, Machine Head, Anthrax, Airbourne, Lamb Of God, Alice In Chains, Mastodon, Thin Lizzy, Killing Joke and The Sword.

metalhammer.co.uk

Posted at March 1st, 2009 Under News | No Comments »

Dave Mustaine posted at Megadeath’s website an open letter to Metallica:

METALLICA, as you know has been selected to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (on April 4th). So, it is with much respect that I say congratulations!

I also had the nice surprise of hearing that they called to invite me to the pre-ceremony party the night before, and then to the actual ceremony. Unfortunately as you all know, I will be winding down our European tour with JUDAS PRIEST so I will be unable to attend.

However, I’d like to say to Lars (Ulrich) and James (Hetfield), I am so very proud of all you have accomplished. I will continue to pray for the very best for you and your families as I always have.

Thank you for the invitation and thinking of me.

Respectfully yours,
Dave Mustaine

Posted at February 2nd, 2009 Under News | No Comments »

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has seen “This Is Spinal Tap” and its comical tale of a has-been metal band overstaying its welcome. He has laughed, and he has learned from it.

Though irrelevance or self-parody has threatened the mighty, three-decade-old Metallica on its way to selling 100 million records, the joke is not on him or his band — yet. When it is, Ulrich says, “Hopefully we can do what Soundgarden did and kick it in the head and walk away.”

Metallica will reach its 28th anniversary later this year as a band that has transcended its heavy-metal origins and endured a roller coaster ride full of controversies (suing Napster), tragedies (the 1986 death of bassist Cliff Burton) and near breakups (documented in the 2004 movie “Some Kind of Monster”).

The quartet of Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo now stands as an entertainment brand that ranks with U2 and the Rolling Stones. Like Bono or Mick Jagger, Ulrich has become an international man of wealth and status; he recently sold a 1982 Basquiat painting from his vast art collection for $14 million and signed off on a business deal between Metallica and the popular Guitar Hero franchise to create a video game devoted to his California quartet.

It’s a long way from the fall 1981, when Metallica was started by two shaggy headbangers with almost nothing in common: Ulrich, a tennis-playing, upper-middle-class bohemian from Denmark; and Hetfield, a California misfit reared in a strict religious family.

The mismatched pair bonded on their love of British new-wave metal, overcame Ulrich’s inability to keep his cymbals upright while playing the drums, and forged a sound that revolutionized hard rock. Through the ‘80s, Metallica’s brutal, brazen brand of speed metal blasted through the underground and turned them into mainstream stars. In the ‘90s, they cut their hair, started experimenting with different styles of less-frenzied music and momentarily lost their mojo. In 2000 they sued Internet file-sharing site Napster and alienated many of their fans, then released “Some Kind of Monster,” which showed them at their most self-indulgent and vulnerable, with a $40,000-a-month performance “coach” hand-holding them through the recording sessions for the album “St. Anger.”

But the band recovered with last year’s “Death Magnetic,” cut with comeback guru Rick Rubin in the spirit of its hard-and-fast ‘80s albums. Though not quite matching those standards, especially as Hetfield’s lyrics have focused increasingly on vague postrehab bromides rather than the political and personal venting that defined the band’s classic era, the quartet is playing as ferociously as ever. The only controversy surrounding the album has been a technical issue, revolving around a highly compressed mix that pumps up the loudness of the record to favor radio airplay at the expense of clarity.

But then again, Metallica has never done anything at low volume, as Ulrich emphasized in a recent interview.

Q. “Death Magnetic” was portrayed as a conscious return to the style of your ‘80s albums. Do you agree?

A. It didn’t start that way. We just wanted to make the best record possible. We had a weird taboo relationship with our early records that we felt scared to revisit because we’d be in some way cheapening them. Rick (Rubin) made us feel pretty good about doing that: going back and not copying, but trying to put ourselves in the same head space as much as possible. … Rick felt that none of our records had ever captured the frenetic energy that we get in a live situation. Our records always got watered down in execution. He wanted us to play together, lock in with each other and play with energy in a really connected way instead of overdubbing and being all perfect.

Q. Rubin has a reputation for really badgering bands about writing and rewriting songs. How did he work with you?

A. We needed someone to be a pain … If there is one area where we probably have been at our worst, it’s been self-editing. In the ‘90s we fell into a trap that everything we wrote was great because we’re so cool. We wrote a lot of songs, 30 songs, and 10 made it on this record.

Q. How do you respond to accusations that the record was botched in the mixing process and sounds distorted?

A. A Metallica record is too loud for people?

That’s a statement in itself.

The irony of that. Welcome to the world of digital recordings, compression overload, MP3s. People are moving in a different direction, and things are becoming more linear, less dynamic. We can’t put out records for every niche in our fan base.

We attract such a diverse group of people, we can’t please everybody. Metallica has made (its) career out of doing what we need to do for ourselves. … I love the way the album sounds. Rick pushed it as far as he needs to go. Did he push it too far, farther than some people wanted? Absolutely. In a world of compression, maybe it’s too hot for some people.

But there is some perverse beauty in knowing that a Metallica record is considered too loud.

Q. Did you read the reviews of the record? Do you care?

A. We read the reviews. If an artist of any magnitude says he doesn’t read reviews, I’d say 99 percent of them are lying. We follow criticisms and evaluations of what we do without necessarily affecting what we do.

You can read reviews without altering creative process, without turning into a parody. … (But) we made a bunch of Top 10 lists. There is so much goodwill and positive energy. It’s the best-received album since the “black” album 200 years ago (the self-titled 1991 album). It’s doing as well or better than anyone expected.

Q. The band was perceived a lot differently around the time of the Napster suit. What’s your take on that whole situation now?

A. It’s difficult, very difficult to sound-bite it.

Napster is irrelevant to some fans, but a big thing to others. A few years ago it was a bit of a mind (warp) with Napster. We didn’t see it coming. … We were reduced to five words: Band that went after Napster. But that was eight years ago. Now the only time it surfaces on my radar is when it comes up in an interview. There are still occasional misinterpretations of the thing. But I think some people get it. It wasn’t about money. It was about protecting our right to release music as we see fit. I don’t regret any of it.

Q. “Some Kind of Monster” documented your troubled relationship with Hetfield. Has your relationship with him changed since then?

A. It’s gotten a lot better since then on the road.

He was wary of being on the road. He went out in 2003-04, and not only survived it, but didn’t regress or fall into any of the old traps. That was a big thing for him. He has a much calmer energy about Metallica now. Things are pretty mellow around here. People are appreciative of what we have. It’s the Metallica baby factory. We have 10 kids between the four us, all ages 10 and under. That’s brought a different balance to the band.

Metallica is no longer the most important thing for all of us. Finding the right balance with our families and each other is. Metallica is probably more a place of refuge, a place to have fun.

It’s made the band more of a frigging picnic.

Q. But for a long time anger was a necessary ingredient in Metallica’s music. How do you maintain that when things are so settled?

A. That’s the $64,000 question. “Is it necessary?” I would answer back. I don’t have the answer. If we can spit out a record like “Death Magnetic” 27 years into a career, it can’t be that bad. I was listening to (the 1988 Metallica song) “Dyers Eve” the other night. Incredible lyrics, but James isn’t that guy anymore. I think there is such validity in what is coming out of him now. It doesn’t necessarily succeed or fail on whether his anger can get up to “Dyers Eve” level. There are enough other things that work to keep it from being comical.

Rubin would tell us if it gets comical. I know there are 5 or 10 out there who feel it’s comical, but the majority feel there is something left.

Otherwise, I hope we’d be the first ones out of here. {pantagraph.com}

Posted at February 2nd, 2009 Under Media | No Comments »