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| Metallica Review By Zernul Shackleford |
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| Metallica Hawthorne Race Course August 27, 2004 James Hetfield-Vocals Robert Trujillo-Bassist Kirk Hammett-Guitarist Lars Ulrich-Drums |
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| On August 27, 2004 Zernul Shackleford former guitarist of local Chicago metal band Controlled Chaos and Darkn'ss. His new group A Moment of Silence has a CD that he is due for release sometime soon. Z's work is remarkable and cites Metallica as one of his big influences. Even though many Metallica fans have sworn off St. Anger, Z thinks it's fabulous! Here he gives us a close look into Metallica's performance. |
| On Aug. 27th 2004 my wife and I went to her first and my 7th Metallica show. I've heard all the talk about how Metallica have lost their edge and how they've "sold out" and such. But I'm here to tell you....on that night, ANYONE who came to see that show would surely think differently. I for one have never thought Metallica were done and all my beliefs were proven that night. THEY'RE HERE FOR AWHILE MORE! While I don't expect Metallica to be kicking ass and taking names until they're all suffering from Alzheimers, I do expect them to continue to do what they do best...THROW DOWN! And that's just what they did. Opening with Blackened from And Justice for All, Metallica proved that they are still the gods of metal. The performances were flawless and they played a very good and well rounded mix of tunes from all their CD's with the exception of Re-Load and Kill 'em All. They even played I Disappear from the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack. I was quite suprised to hear this one. I hear that they're changing the lineup every night so that no. 2 shows will be the same. How many bands even have enough material to be able to pull something like that off? When you're talking about a metal show, especially a Metallica show, music is only one part of the whole. That night, there were 5 members to the band. James was a ball of fire. I am a guitar player as well and I tell you, I have a hard ass time singing and playing at the same time. This guy just does it like walking and chewing gum. Lars (Keri's favorite) was a complete maniac, standing on the throne, hiting symbols with his hands...you name it. Kirk (my favorite) was in true shred form as he likely lost a quart of blood from the skin peeling off his fingers from playing those solos with damn near inhuman accuracy. Robert, the new guy," acted like anything BUT a new guy. He was right at home with the Metallicats. While I was crazy about Jason, I have to admit, Robert brings a whole new light and energy to the band. The fifth member of the band was the STAGE. Everyone that's seen Metallica play has seen them play a number of times "in the round," making every seat a damn good one. But this time, not only was the stage "in the round," but the stage SPUN AROUND! Maybe I've been under a rock for the last few years, but this is the first time I've seen something like this. The stage slowly spun around as the show went on. It turned so slowly that you NEVER saw it move (unless you were one of the few people staring at the stage instead of watching what you paid to see...METALLICA) and the only reason you even knew what had happened was because you'd pay attention all of a sudden and say...HEY...THE DRUM KIT WASN'T THERE BEFORE. I felt like a big kid. As everyone knows, Godsmack opened the show. While I'm not a huge Godsmack fan, it was cool to hear them sing songs that I DO like and I was able to recognize the ones I'd heard on the radio. They threw down on I Stand Alone and Awake my two faves. They did a damn good job on Voodoo as well. But I'd be a damn fool if I didn't mention the BEST PART of the Godsmack set. There were two drum kits on the stage. I figured the one that was covered up was Lars' kit. NOPE. One of the drum techs pulled the little black veil off and Sully jumped behind the kit and started throwing down on the congas while the other drummer played along on his own kit. Then...Sully and dude began to play this 7 to 10 minute drum duet that was by far one of them most entertaining drum solos I've EVER seen. I'd have paid cash money just to have seen that and and I'd have been happier than all hell. I've heard several people say..."oh yeah...they do that all the time." But it was certainly new to me and a most welcome treat. That night was by far one of the most fun nights I've ever had at a metal show. I think it was because my wife was with me. She's not as big on metal as I am, but she enjoyed herself too. Especially watching Lars act like he had a caffeine injection. The crowd was energetic and as psychotic as only a true Metallica crowd could be. While I'm not sure my wife is convinced to go banging her head with me the next time Metallica is in town, I for one will certainly not miss the show. |
| We'd like to thank Z for this review. Please check out Z's profile on the Up N'Coming Bands page soon! |
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