(Rated this album with 6 out of 10) Reviewed by
madcowdisease
from Denver, CO United States
As the title suggests, this was my first Metallica album. I liked this album for like a month, then it got really old, which brings me to my first point. This album has VERY little replay value. Songs that sound good at first, like Wherever I May Roam, get old fast. If you've ever listened to any album by Linkin Park, you know what I mean. Like the review says, the songs are simpler and more straight-forward (which really is never a good thing when it comes to metal). The lyrics/vocals for these songs are quite poor, particularly on Sad But True. Hetfield's desire to write from a different point of view is commendable, but, the problem is that his vocals were never Metallica's forte. Hetfield is no singer, and when he tries to sing, it is neither convincing nor pleasing to the ear. The annoying vocals of Sad But True make me cringe everytime I hear them, that's how bad they are. It's the mediocre vocals and simplistic, predictable song structure (i.e. not epic), that makes this album worse than their previous releases. On a positive note, songs like Don't Tread on Me and My Friend of Misery (?) have longer appeal, and are the best tracks on the CD. If you really love this CD, then you should get Hybrid Theory from Linkin Park. The catchiness is still their, but the lyrics are more personal and repetitive, like the music :) If you're looking to listen to metal, start with Black Sabbath's Paranoid or Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast. Then you might want to listen to some older Metallica, e.g. Master and Justice, and get into some music with great replayability, like Tool.
