*U.S. first pressing.
Contains 12 tracks total.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Heavy Metal
Label Number: 9 61113-2
.FLAC via Florenfile
.AAC 256 kbps via Florenfile
© 1991 Elektra Records
AllMusic Review by Steve Huey
After the muddled production and ultracomplicated song structures of ...And Justice for All, Metallica decided that they had taken the progressive elements of their music as far as they could and that a simplification and streamlining of their sound was in order. While the assessment made sense from a musical standpoint, it also presented an opportunity to commercialize their music, and Metallica accomplishes both goals. The best songs are more melodic and immediate, the crushing, stripped-down grooves of "Enter Sandman," "Sad but True," and "Wherever I May Roam" sticking to traditional structures and using the same main riffs throughout; the crisp, professional production by Bob Rock adds to their accessibility. "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters" avoid the slash-and-burn guitar riffs that had always punctuated the band's ballads; the latter is a full-fledged love song complete with string section, which works much better than might be imagined. The song- and riff-writing slips here and there, a rare occurrence for Metallica, which some longtime fans interpreted as filler next to a batch of singles calculated for commercial success. The objections were often more to the idea that Metallica was doing anything explicitly commercial, but millions more disagreed. In fact, the band's popularity exploded so much that most of their back catalog found mainstream acceptance in its own right, while other progressively inclined speed metal bands copied the move toward simplification. In retrospect, Metallica is a good, but not quite great, album, one whose best moments deservedly captured the heavy metal crown, but whose approach also foreshadowed a creative decline.
Genre: Heavy Metal
Label Number: 9 61113-2
.FLAC via Florenfile
.AAC 256 kbps via Florenfile
© 1991 Elektra Records
AllMusic Review by Steve Huey
After the muddled production and ultracomplicated song structures of ...And Justice for All, Metallica decided that they had taken the progressive elements of their music as far as they could and that a simplification and streamlining of their sound was in order. While the assessment made sense from a musical standpoint, it also presented an opportunity to commercialize their music, and Metallica accomplishes both goals. The best songs are more melodic and immediate, the crushing, stripped-down grooves of "Enter Sandman," "Sad but True," and "Wherever I May Roam" sticking to traditional structures and using the same main riffs throughout; the crisp, professional production by Bob Rock adds to their accessibility. "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters" avoid the slash-and-burn guitar riffs that had always punctuated the band's ballads; the latter is a full-fledged love song complete with string section, which works much better than might be imagined. The song- and riff-writing slips here and there, a rare occurrence for Metallica, which some longtime fans interpreted as filler next to a batch of singles calculated for commercial success. The objections were often more to the idea that Metallica was doing anything explicitly commercial, but millions more disagreed. In fact, the band's popularity exploded so much that most of their back catalog found mainstream acceptance in its own right, while other progressively inclined speed metal bands copied the move toward simplification. In retrospect, Metallica is a good, but not quite great, album, one whose best moments deservedly captured the heavy metal crown, but whose approach also foreshadowed a creative decline.
tags: metallica, metallica album, the album, 1991, flac,
Thanks Buck!
ReplyDeleteUpscaled mp3 to flac. Should be nuked.
ReplyDeleteThere are no "upscales" from MP3 files anywhere on this site. This is a long running myth from "internet audiophiles" who wrongfully believe that all FLAC files when viewed by a spectrum viewer like Spek, should not have a cut off below 20dB. They don't understand mastering. This album much like MANY first pressings from the early 90's and most of the 80's were mastered to have that cut off by the engineers. This is easily proven by buying a first pressing copy of any 80's album. The first CD pressing of "She's So Unusual" by Cyndi Lauper will also appear to have a cut out when viewed in Spek. There are many factors for this, one of them being volume. You'll notice that many modern recordings and many during the mid 90s regularly break the 20db mark in comparison the 80s recordings. Another way to test this rip is to run it through accurate rip or a ripper that has accuraterip support. Upscaled MP3 files don't register at all with accuraterip if you try to verify the files.
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