Yes, folks. Mr. Cleverdix here’s been taken for a ride, in the most textbook of ways.

So, a few days back I chanced upon a download link for Metallica’s new album, Death Magnetic, and, against my better judgment, came down on it like a wolf on the fold. Download completed, tracks sampled, and the verdict was promising. Production seemed a little scratchy, but these were bootlegs, so that was to be expected.

Metallica’s Fan Club released the official track listing last night:

That Was Just Your Life
The End of the Line
Broken, Beat & Scarred
The Day That Never Comes
All Nightmare Long
Cyanide
The Unforgiven III
The Judas Kiss
Suicide & Redemption
My Apocalypse

And guess what? None of my surreptitiously downloaded tracks figure in this list. Bah. If Lars and the gang ever read this, they’d probably laugh their way from here to fucking Mars.

Diddled by my own heroes (and apologies to all the people I forwarded the downloaded tracks to).

18 Scallywags have walked the Plank |:

Perakath said...

I think it's "Won't get fooled again," actually. The Unforgiven III sounds interesting!

Anonymous said...

ouch.

that's why I say "Say no to piracy".

Serves you right :P

Mister Crowley said...

Per: Yeah, it is 'Won't get fooled again". :)

Moonshine: Bah. Go 'way

D said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
D said...

Oops! Somebody's having fun at the expense of Metallica fans!

Anonymous said...

The Unforgiven part three?!??

Wow. If thats how they choose to title their tracks...

Lets just say I have close to zero expectations from this sad little remnant of a heavy metal group.

I would hold on to those bootlegs. Given what st anger sounded like, its probably better than the actual album.

And, gasp, did you actually download a metallica song? Lars is going to come asking for his money.

Mister Crowley said...

"Lets just say I have close to zero expectations from this sad little remnant of a heavy metal group."

Well, y'know, some of us live in eternal hope.

Anonymous said...

"Lets just say I have close to zero expectations from this sad little remnant of a heavy metal group."

Well, then you can leave.

Anonymous said...

mr god of nothing

when my expectations become zero, I will.

:P

Anonymous said...

also

Hetfield himself acknowledges their output post-Black album has been either poor or average.

Go listen to some Testament, if you really want to hear a band that still plays excellent thrash.

Look, you can choose to be an idiot and buy into the hype that Metallica's management are trying to create. I'm just saying - its been nearly 20 years since they put out a consistently good (forget anything nearing Master of Puppets)studio album - so forgive me for being a cynical okay? Twenty years is a looong time...

And I'm guessing you like Load, given how you have so creatively called yourself God of Nothing.

So probably this is all wasted on you.

I am also going to presumptiously assume that you like Linkin Park. Don't you? And I can bet you never heard Testament, or much Anthrax either.

Learn your stuff before you start throwing attitude, alright? Some people may know a little more than you or is that too hard to swallow for that swollen head of yours?

Anonymous said...

@Crowley:
Really sorry about cluttering your comment space with what may seem like a "flame", mate. It's just that I've had it up to my neck with people on the internet who think they're too cool to be listening to Metallica. Feel free to delete this if you want. Bitchin' blog, btw :)

@anonymous:
Wow. Aren't you totally full of it?

Firstly, for just a moment, let's forget about what Metallica has put out before. Good or bad. Judge the album based on what you know about the album, not what you know about previous albums. Not sure if you've bothered to check out any of the "Fly On The Wall" videos and listen to the stuff they've been coming up with. But since you're such an excitable little flame boy, I'll assume you haven't. In which case, I implore you to "learn your stuff before you start throwing attitude."

On the off chance that you did take some time out from telling yourself how awesome your taste in music is and bothered to find out what Metallica's been upto, then I have nothing to say to a guy (or girl) who still isn't excited about Death Magnetic.

And, seriously, man. You must be a total retard if you think you're the only one who's heard of Testament (my love for metal started with the Bay Area movement and a certain Alex Skolnick just happens to be my favourite guitarist of all time) and Anthrax.

Also, "god_of_nothing" may not be the most creative handle on the planet but it sure as hell beats "anonymous". Seriously, how'd you ever come up with that?

Anonymous said...

And the song on Load's called King Nothing, sir.

Moo said...

Not only should the tracks have been wrong or whatever, it should have given you the worse virus of your miserable computer's life. :P

Teehee. I is back. :D

Sujoy Bhattacharjee said...

With Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead and the like releasing their albums on the net for free, happy days are ahead. There is just so much of third-rate bootleg versions that one can listen to without puncturing the ear-drum.

Rassles said...

WANT MORE BLOG

Anonymous said...

ahh .. talks about metallica and their worthiness never become old lolz..

well.. if i may i wud like to say somethin bein an avid metallica fan for more than a decade now and playin the wait n watch game wit all y'allz abt the next metallica album..

after newsted's departure metallica ve not really been able to get back into the mainstream properly.. they have been livin on their legacy which is a fact and nuthin against my better judgment.. whereas i shall never doubt their musical prowess in all its forms but wat remains to be seen wit this new album is whether they are able to strike a fire in our minds and hearts as they ve done wit their music in the past..

it was disheartening to see these heroes of ours gettin complacent and disregarding integral things such as production value (st. anger) in the past..

all said and done.. i have a gud feeling abt this album and i guess most of us do :-).. whereas being cynical is obvious because of the past events but we must not discount the form and class debate.. which metallica shall always have cuz of the people present at the helm of the proceedings.. they are the very same people who have given us anthems to live by..

another thing.. it is unhealthy for music lovers to be caught in tiffs.. remember on whichever forum we are talking about music.. don get 'other' things refrain ya from talkin about it.. it is never about bragging that how much music u ve heard.. the fact that u feel strongly about it and it was enriching for what it was worth is enough from engaging in a discussion and talking about it.. but thats my pov so feel free to make your choices always in any case..

so looking forward for the four horsemen to ride

Mister Crowley said...

@ God of Nothing: No worries mate, nothing like a lively discussion on Metallica. And I agree with what you said. People ought to pay more attention to the Fly on the Wall videos.

@ Anon: Despite what any musician claims about being faithful to their fan following, they all get a hankering, now and then, to tinker wih something different. All bands do it. Megadeth's "Risk" and Metallica's "St. Anger" being the biggest examples. Yes, both albums apparently 'sucked' because they departed from the usual speed/thrash fare we're used to from these bands. That doesn't mean that these albums were shitty music.

As for Metallica's output being poor or average...a small anecdote. The one Pink FLoyd record which the band (Floyd) thought was terrible work product was Dark Side of the Moon. It stayed on the Billboard Top 100 for close to 13 years. It just goes to show that what fans wants and what the band wants are not always mutually inclusive.

Moo: No viruses, you mad cow, you.

Sujoy: It's ok. I'm happy to pay for Metallica (if not for any other band, heh)

Rassles: POSTING, WAIT! :P Heh. Sorry man. Was out of town at a friend's wedding, so.

Lokintomais: Two things. First, I'll never get this "mainstream" concept. People dissed Metallica when they went "mainstream" with the Black Album and Load...and now you're saying it's too bad that they've not been able to get back into mainstream. Secondly, St. Anger. Look, they were missing a bassist, and very nearly missing Hetfield (he went through rehab while St. Anger was being produced). So, they had raw material lying around....they put it out on tape. I agree, the production of St Anger was not really good...but what d'you expect? The producer was playing bass, hah, not producing shit ;)

Whatever I've heard of Death Magnetic from the Mission Metallica website is quite good. Nothing like St. Anger. So, fingers crosssed.

Anonymous said...

Brother Crowley: Im glad u brought up the mainstream concept.. cuz its true that they were dissed by their loyal fans over the years cuz of going mainstream but at the same time it is also true that they gained major fan following who got interested in them at that juncture and made them the giants that they are now... cuz their goin mainstream got them their number 1 single and multi-platinum albums.. so they never complained of that.. im not saying they wudn have accomplished what they did - had they chosen a the same musical path.. altho i wud say to my mind it all hapnd arguably cuz of the musical force that was burton who was taken away from them.. he wud never have stood fer that kind of a change

i know hetfield went to rehab around that time dude but lets talk of a certain ex-metallica member who has been to the rehab some 17 times and for far more complicated things than alcoholism over years in his career.. they are constantly touring and playing to sold-out arenas after going thru some dozen line-up changes and even came down to our land to play.. and that fellow is energetic as ever with his creations becoming delightfully complex with every album now.. risk was the bad patch but that din deter them rather him..

st.anger debacle shall not remain unforgiven shall they make our spines tingle once again with the musicmanship that makes them what they are :-)..

lets hope this time they are not the ones for whom the bell tolls lolz..