Metallica

Singapore Marathon had passed for about a week or so but I have not begun to run. Reason is there is this nagging irritation on my ITB's and this time, I am not going to risk anything again. I had been icing the area for the whole week while doing short distance jogs only and there would not be any long runs or speedwork at this moment. I will not be expecting much in the coming Mizuno Run at the same time, I will not be pushing too hard as well. I have learned my lesson well where in the first and second quarter of the year I spend nursing my injuries not to mention, had to train myself all over again. Trust me, the process is really painful and tiresome. I'll see how it goes within these few days and may be doing some light jogs this afternoon to see if my ITB gets irritated easily.

Anyway, I had been listening to my Metallica 'The Black Album' and recalled my young days where I'll listen to them every afternoon. It prompted me to actually read up more about Metallica and other Heavy Metal bands as well. My interest actually grew and I will be buying all their albums. Well, this happened when I heard one of the songs from the 'St. Anger' album and I was surprised at how much the style of their music had changed from 'The Black' album. Not to say that it is totally not their style anymore but the way the tunes, guitar riffs and structure of their music had been as if....revolutionised. In the 'St. Anger' album, the speed of the music were much faster and also the tunes were more intense, not to mention that the music sounded very much heavier. In between 'The Black Album' and 'St. Anger' I had actually missed another two more albums which is 'Load' and the other album 'Reload'. I am now very much curious to hear what these two albums sound like. At the same time, I'll also reverse the timeline where I'll be listening to their earlier albums namely 'Kill Em' All', 'Ride the Lightning', 'Master of Puppets' and '...And Justice for All'. According to one of my friend, the music prior to 'The Black Album' was the most intense in terms of music structure and agression on guitar riffs. I know I won't be disappointed.

Many fans had accused Metallica of 'selling out' ie. making their music 'more mainstream' in 'The Black Album' but from the way I see it, they are actually exploring their creativity (which they are well known for) in music composition. From what I heard in 'The Black Album' the process of drumming and the guitar riffs are actually quite complex and quite intense too as you can hear from the song 'The Struggle Within'. Anyway, I'll be listening these older albums and 'see' whether the edge had been blunt in their new album.

With the the Napster controvesy and also a change in their music direction, Metallica had witnessed a thinning fan base while the situation worsened when lead guitrist James Hetfield was admitted to rehab. This was the signal to Metallica's lowest point but that was 4 years ago. Now with the latest album 'St. Anger' (released in June 2003), fans had heralded the album as the 'most agressive' in over a decade and it is expected that they will begin recording in year 2006 (they toured extensively in year 2004). I will be expecting their new album by then.

While exploring Metallica's history, I too came upon GNR(Guns and Roses) but I was never a fan of GNR songs. I am not sure why but my friends love them saying they are the best especially in the album 'Appetite for Destruction'. The songs are really not for minors as the lyrics can be quite 'harsh' while I do not favour their stage antics when I was watching MTV. As history goes, GNR actually 'faded' out and it had been 10 years since the last album 'Use Your Illusion 1 & 2'. The next album 'Chinese Democracy' had been 'in the works' for over 10 years while the release date had yet to be announced.

Anyway, I'll also be listening to Van Halen as well and I'll be looking for their album 'Balance'. This is my favourite as I had it previously in tape. As for the other bands like 'Megadeth', 'Slayer' and 'Black Sabbath', I'll be sampling their songs to see if it is 'acceptable' to my ears. These guys can be pretty loud and fast when it comes to their music.

ROCK ON!