Posted in: Musicouching by Steve McManus on September 19th, 2011 | 0 Comments
This is a bit of an old one I did that I have uploaded just to see interest. Slightly edited the ending to keep it up to date.
Metallica are undoubtedly a household name now within every country, and whether you like them or not, they will continue to stay and release music adored by millions. Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and frontman James Hetfield, they have continued to be at the forefront of Metal and have inspired hundreds of young musicians to follow in their footsteps and join the ranks of metals finest.
After they released their ninth studio album Death Magnetic in September 2008, the Los Angeles thrashers went on a world tour that has lasted over 2 years! They headlined Sonisphere Festival in European venues from Bulgaria to England and toured nearly every major city in the world and when they planned to travel back to Australia, they thought it would be a treat to fans to release Six Feet Down Under, an 8-track EP giving fans a chance to hear some of two of their classics from each year (1989, 93, 98 & 2004) they have travelled to the distant continent. The highlights of the disc are …And Justice For All played in 1989 in Melbourne, and The Unforgiven from when they ventured back into Melbourne in 1993. Despite the age of the recordings they are in perfect quality and really do give the listener an incredible experience of Metallica’s incredible live shows.
Six Feet Down Under Part II is pretty much a carry on from the last part, except the difference is, all the recordings are from 2010’s tour of Australia and New Zealand, and it does not disappoint. It really does show that even a band formed in 1981 can withstand the test of time, and does make the point of how persistent Heavy Metal as a whole is. Again it is a 8-track EP yet the only song to re-appear from part 1 is …And Justice For All which still sounds as incredible, if not better, than the 1989 recording. On this record Metallica really do bring out the big hitters with well known classics Master of Puppets, Fade To Black and Welcome Home (Sanitarium) and you can hear the response from the crowd to how well loved each song is. Possibly two of the thrash inspiring songs on Metallica’s hit list are on this bill in the form of Battery, performed in Brisbane, and 1983’s classic The Four Horsemen performed in Sydney. Both Part’s 1 & 2 have been well received by ‘tallica fans and really are a collectors item.
Just before Metallica were due to play at the 2008 Bonnaroo Music Festival they recorded a short live set infront of a small number of lucky fans in Grimey’s Record Store in Nashville, Tennessee and the outcome was released on November 26th 2010 in the form of a 9-track EP with incredible sound quality and giving an up close, stripped down look at Metallica’s world famous live sets. The band themselves sound ecstatic to be there and considering they had just released a chart topping album and getting back on the road, it’s hard to be surprised. They have a slight bit of banter with the fans but this live EP is more about the music, and for anyone that calls themselves a Metallica fan, this is a must have to their record collection. The closing track Seek And Destroy sounds more up close than any other live recording they have done in the past and in some ways, shows that the band are still not scared to get up and make the sound they have been making since 1981, without the help of a big stage setting like so many bands of this age.
All in all Metallica, in the last 3 months have released 3 killer live EP’s and should be credited for trying to keep fans interested whilst out of the studio, but the band themselves have announced that they are getting back into the studio and the hotly anticipated tenth album in collabaration with Lou Reed titled ‘Lulu’.
