Lars Ulrich commits metal heresy!

AchrisK wrote:

Liking the Offspring is fine.

I thought you meant the part where he said that "Metallica is probably the only ROCK band out there without their own hot sauce".

Rock band.

Lars has been doing that for years now. I firmly believe it's a public relations thing. It's like when Def Leppard says their "pop" and not "rock." They feel, or someone has convinced them, that their fan base is a bunch of "pop" fans. So they try and appease those fans. I think somewhere along the way, someone convinced Metallica that "metal" is a no-no term. It's the only thing that makes sense, because otherwise it's simply ludicrous to believe someone can be that delusional.

I remember Metal Church doing a meet and greet at a record store and one of the members, it might have been Mike Howe, was buying a copy of Michael Jackson's "BAD". I thought it was odd but it really spoke to me. As Lurideath mentioned, musicians need a break from the style of music they play sometimes. It helps refresh your musical perspective. I find taking a break from metal for a period of time make me more agressive in the writing department when I start to write new stuff.

zombiewalkin wrote:

I remember Metal Church doing a meet and greet at a record store and one of the members, it might have been Mike Howe, was buying a copy of Michael Jackson's "BAD". I thought it was odd but it really spoke to me. As Lurideath mentioned, musicians need a break from the style of music they play sometimes. It helps refresh your musical perspective. I find taking a break from metal for a period of time make me more agressive in the writing department when I start to write new stuff.

The problem comes into play when the musicians get inspired. There's nothing wrong with that normally, but Metallica is a trademark, so when they want to experiment, they use that tried-and-true brand name. That's when things don't fly so well. As much as I like Load and Reload, I've always felt like the name Metallica didn't fit, that they should have been released under a different name.

Sadly, the industry demands Metallica. When Distant Thunder can't get a gig unless they bill it as Helstar, then it's easier to understand why rock bands or metal bands might do a different kind of album under a name that should mean something more than that. It sells. Simple as that.

One could argue that Metallica is big enough that just that connection alone would make something sell, and it's a good argument, but try convincing a big label of that fact. They won't go with that at all. If the guys wanted to do a country album, the label would demand the Metallica name be slapped on the product. It's just how it is, as sad as that is for the rest of us.

But being inspired is never a bad thing, I say.