Post by Victor Synn on Jul 16, 2004 15:49:55 GMT -5
Look, if anyone even knows me, they know that I am a huge metal fan. Not just of 80's big hair, but metal in general. Not that P.O.D. shit or Gimp Pissgit or any of the other stupid crap that's saturating top 40 radio right now. I'm talking Megadeth, Testament, Maiden, Grim Reaper, Helloween, Stratovarius, Dream Theater, etc. However, there is a band that's gone AWOL in the last 8 or 9 years...Metallica. Yes friends, the band that brought you quite possibly the most perfectly made speed metal album of all time (Master of Puppets) has been off in the world of big wigs and the mighty dollar instead of doing what put them on the map. I've been wanting to say something about these guys for a while.
My anger (Not St. Anger. I'll get to that later) stems from the fact that these guys don't seem to remember where the hell they came from. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I could have swore that Metallica made their entire early career on bootlegs. They created a fanbase because some people went to some shows with a tape recorder. Now fast forward to today. Do you honestly think Lars would allow someone with a tape recorder or camcorder into an arena? No fucking way. He'd have his gorillas beat the living shit out of the person and probably have them removed from the arena. All for being a fan. I realize some people bring these recording devices in for monetary purposes, but who cares? So some fan makes a few bucks here and there with his friends? Not like it's causing Lars or James to sell their homes and claim bankruptcy. Same for this lame ass MP3 debate. The way I see that is that Lars knew Metallica was sucking hardcore in the 90's and needed something to boost their credibility with their peers. Good for you guys, you succeeded at that, BUT YOU ALIENATED YOUR FUCKING FANS! How much money do you think you'll be lining your pockets with if half your fanbase thinks you're all a bunch of whining pricks? If I recall correctly, over 300,000 Metallica fans were removed from Napster just because they were fans. Did it really kill Lars that much to have some fans download the tripe they were releasing at the time? HELL NO! What the genious doesn't realize is that it probably increased sales and concert attendance. And anyone that knows anything at all knows that arena touring bands make most of their cash on the tour and not necessarilly on album sales. Merchandise is one of the biggest ways bands capitalize on tours. A good bit of the money they make elsewhere goes to financing the rest of the tour. So where does the MP3 debate really fall? It falls in the lap of a guy that obviously is way too damn greedy for his own good. Metallica as individuals are filthy rich multiple times over. Does it really hurt them to have a 15 year old fan download "Enter Sandman" because he can't afford the fucking $18 for the disc? I doubt it. It's all about the dollar and nothing about the fans. Some bands get it. Some don't, but don't come out and wave the banner for all to see. I would rather a band disagree quietly than publicly. It makes you look like a self-righteous, money-grubbing punk if you sit on national TV and proclaim that you speak for all the recording industry. YOU SPEAK FOR YOURSELF! NOT THE INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE!, but I digress.
Here's what really pisses me off about Metallica. To try and make amends for their obvious fuck up, they make St. Anger. Although I personally thought it was a decent album (flawed, but decent), I saw it as a lot of ass kissing from a band who's trying to get their fans back. NEWS FLASH LARS: IT ISN'T GOING TO WORK! YOU SEGREGATED YOURSELVES FROM THE REST OF US WITH YOUR GRANDSTANDING! And aside from that, you can tell they rushed the production. Because they were afraid that other downloading programs would pick their leaked shit up before they released the album. So what does that mean....YOU DIDN'T STOP FILESHARING LARS! IT'S VERY MUCH STILL AROUND AND THERE ISN'T MUCH YOUR CRYING DID BUT PISS FANS OFF! Anyway, the album is sub-standard. If you wanted to get your fans back, produce the album the way it should have been. The drums sound like someone beating on Mikey's copper-smelted member....IT SUCKS! Thank god Newsted got the hell out before his name was attached to any of the shit that Lars has been shoveling. He has balls and I like that. So I hope Metallica is happy with themselves because now the only fans you'll see in the crowd will be the kid with the Korn shirt saying this is the best new band he's ever heard. GOOD JOB!
My anger (Not St. Anger. I'll get to that later) stems from the fact that these guys don't seem to remember where the hell they came from. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I could have swore that Metallica made their entire early career on bootlegs. They created a fanbase because some people went to some shows with a tape recorder. Now fast forward to today. Do you honestly think Lars would allow someone with a tape recorder or camcorder into an arena? No fucking way. He'd have his gorillas beat the living shit out of the person and probably have them removed from the arena. All for being a fan. I realize some people bring these recording devices in for monetary purposes, but who cares? So some fan makes a few bucks here and there with his friends? Not like it's causing Lars or James to sell their homes and claim bankruptcy. Same for this lame ass MP3 debate. The way I see that is that Lars knew Metallica was sucking hardcore in the 90's and needed something to boost their credibility with their peers. Good for you guys, you succeeded at that, BUT YOU ALIENATED YOUR FUCKING FANS! How much money do you think you'll be lining your pockets with if half your fanbase thinks you're all a bunch of whining pricks? If I recall correctly, over 300,000 Metallica fans were removed from Napster just because they were fans. Did it really kill Lars that much to have some fans download the tripe they were releasing at the time? HELL NO! What the genious doesn't realize is that it probably increased sales and concert attendance. And anyone that knows anything at all knows that arena touring bands make most of their cash on the tour and not necessarilly on album sales. Merchandise is one of the biggest ways bands capitalize on tours. A good bit of the money they make elsewhere goes to financing the rest of the tour. So where does the MP3 debate really fall? It falls in the lap of a guy that obviously is way too damn greedy for his own good. Metallica as individuals are filthy rich multiple times over. Does it really hurt them to have a 15 year old fan download "Enter Sandman" because he can't afford the fucking $18 for the disc? I doubt it. It's all about the dollar and nothing about the fans. Some bands get it. Some don't, but don't come out and wave the banner for all to see. I would rather a band disagree quietly than publicly. It makes you look like a self-righteous, money-grubbing punk if you sit on national TV and proclaim that you speak for all the recording industry. YOU SPEAK FOR YOURSELF! NOT THE INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE!, but I digress.
Here's what really pisses me off about Metallica. To try and make amends for their obvious fuck up, they make St. Anger. Although I personally thought it was a decent album (flawed, but decent), I saw it as a lot of ass kissing from a band who's trying to get their fans back. NEWS FLASH LARS: IT ISN'T GOING TO WORK! YOU SEGREGATED YOURSELVES FROM THE REST OF US WITH YOUR GRANDSTANDING! And aside from that, you can tell they rushed the production. Because they were afraid that other downloading programs would pick their leaked shit up before they released the album. So what does that mean....YOU DIDN'T STOP FILESHARING LARS! IT'S VERY MUCH STILL AROUND AND THERE ISN'T MUCH YOUR CRYING DID BUT PISS FANS OFF! Anyway, the album is sub-standard. If you wanted to get your fans back, produce the album the way it should have been. The drums sound like someone beating on Mikey's copper-smelted member....IT SUCKS! Thank god Newsted got the hell out before his name was attached to any of the shit that Lars has been shoveling. He has balls and I like that. So I hope Metallica is happy with themselves because now the only fans you'll see in the crowd will be the kid with the Korn shirt saying this is the best new band he's ever heard. GOOD JOB!
