Reviews

Reissuing an album as beloved (and bestselling as Metallica (aka 'the black album') in deluxe form is not something to be taken lightly. Expectations were of course high, but as with the majority of things the band does, Metallica came through with the goods. Sporting a whopping 6 slabs of vinyl and 14 CDs (and even 4 DVDs for the visually inclined), the box contained a timeline of the creative process and creation of the album and on through the massive two year tour that supported it. The original album is remastered, but to be fair - the sound was reference quality to begin with, so a remastering is barely noticeable. The extras in the package are what really matter. As with previous packages a single is included, this one being the odd choice of the 'Sad But True' single, originally released in 1993 in the final stages of the tour. Although the included singles are more a 'collectable' than something important (as all tracks are available elsewhere in the box), surely 'Enter Sandman', the song often seen as their signature tune, would have been a better option? Thankfully a second extra is included, this being the 3 track 'Live At Wembley, April '92' collection recorded at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert. The tracks are nothing to write home about, and the later performance that featured James Hetfield performing 'Stone Cold Crazy' with Queen themselves isn't included, but it is a great addition to the box - as it was previously only available in the U.K. and Australia. Onto the real content, and the box opens with a five discs of demos, rehearsals, studio takes and rough mixes. Listening through the content in one sitting is hard work, especially when the first two discs are mostly low quality riff tapes and demos - but if you do persevere you heard the songs slowly shaped from a riff or two through demo form (with the obligatory 'nah nah nah-nah' vocals by James) to pre-production run-throughs, and eventually rough mixes of the recordings in their almost final state. It is a fascinating look at the construction of the album, and one that very few artists generally provide to fans. Four full live shows follow. Firstly, the famous performance at Tushino Airfield in Moscow where the western world was finally able to perform behind the iron curtain. The show, which also included The Black Crowes, Pantera, and head-liners AC/DC, was supposedly played to a crowd estimated at around a million people. Although only short in comparison to other Metallica shows at the time, it is a tight and energetic show, and potentially the highlight of the box. It easily takes its place as one of the all-time great Metallica live recordings. The second concert, recorded at Oakland's renowned 'Day On The Green' in 1991 is not bad, but not particularly essential. The performance is lacking punch (feeling like a warm-up show), and the sound quality is also lacking. The Sacramento show from January in 1992 is also hindered by average sound quality. It is very typical of a concert of the period, along with the rehearsed pre-song banter by Hetfield. It is somewhat sloppy though, and not a particularly well-performed show. It needs to be said that a possible better inclusion would have been a remix of the audio from the San Diego 1992 concert video released in the Live Shit, Binge & Purge boxed set back in 1993. The final show, recorded in Germany on the final leg of the tour, is a better show and performance, and is really only stopped from being a great recording by its lack of any crowd noise. The soundboard tapes used for these shows were no doubt recorded with no intention of any future release in mind, so the audience is clearly not miked at all - making it sound like the band is performing to an empty arena. It is an issue that plagues many of the shows released from the era (even those as part of the band's The Vault concert series). The varied quality of the live shows, especially considering how important the album is to fans, is one of the areas where the boxed set is let down. The other major downside was including two whole CDs of interviews. As with all the previous deluxe reissues, these are one-listen items, and take up space that could have been used to include another concert from the era. Being the album that took the band into the stratosphere, anticipation was high that all the content would be exceptional in quality, but it seems that at that point in the band's trajectory they were still very selective about which shows were recorded with eventual release in mind. Considering many of the band's earlier important highlights (such as Day On The Green in '85 or Donington in '87) were not recorded professionally, we should be thankful to have shows like the Moscow show in '91 captured in such amazing quality. The box isn't perfect, but if the content is the best that was available, it is still priceless as a document of the period. The only addendum to this is that if the Live Shit, Binge & Purge boxed set is not getting a deluxe reissue or remastering, the addition of it's content here would have increased the quality overall of the set.

Mindkiller HQ will focus at times on new releases and review with 1 or 2 listens under their wing. These will be known as 'One Listen Slingshot' reviews. Six Feet Under's latest is just 1 week old. We're a fan, so let's not muck around and just provide an initial review. Firstly, looking back, it has been approximately 30 years since lead vocalist Chris Barnes left Cannibal Corpse. Vocalist for so many of their earlier tracks' classic albums. That period (91-94) were brilliant records. I have been a casual fan of Six Feet Under and it has been a while since I have listened to them, so let's give their latest a review. Firstly, the opening track has a tone you expect to hear as the last track. It even includes fade out. Regardless it's good to hear that mellow death and roll sound slightly down tempo and Barnes vocals doing what they do so well. Track two sees the tempo increased, but there seems to be something missing. It's a very 'paint by numbers' track for a death metal song. Nothing really standing out. All members could easily fill their role in their sleep is the impression. There is a solo, or should I say solos, but made up nothing really. Listening to the remainder of the album it really does bring my review to a quick end. This release by the band is nothing and very 'stock' as Lars would say. I'd really like to know the reason the producers and the record company thinks that this is a record worth us investing in. That might sound harsh, but it is exactly what it is. Stock music. Stock vocals. We don't even get the tracks with Barnes adding his signature squeal in. A very sad start to the One Listen Slingshot set of reviews but at least I know there won't be further listens.