Metallica // ReLoad

Album: Metallica - ReLoad (1997)
13 tracks / 76:04
Acquired: June 2008

Guitars, vocals: James Hetfield
Guitars: Kirk Hammett
Bass: Jason Newsted
Drums: Lars Ulrich

Many people claim that after Metallica started downplaying their quick and technically challenging thrash metal roots, starting with their 1991 album Metallica, and embracing the growingly popular alternative rock sound with deep, simple and groovy riffs, the quality of their music started to decline. Tremendously.

I beg to differ.

Though I prefer their earlier thrashy material, and I admit that their more alternative-y records have lots of weak stuff in them, I also think that they recorded some of their greatest songs during that era. Not all, or even most of, but some. The band that recorded these songs don't sound like the band that blasted away ferocious thrash metal in the 80's, but nevertheless, their best songs of the 90's are great alternative rock / metal songs by all standards.

I admit that the Metallica's albums of the 90's are not my favorite ones, but I don't diss them that much. All of them contain several great songs, and the fact that these songs are radio-friendly and accessible tracks, not 8-minute thrash epics, don't make them any less great. Only different.

Now, let us dissect and analyze bit by bit the third and last one of the three 90's Metallica albums.

1. Fuel (4:30)
(Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

The album kicks in with speed and energy in the form of fiery "Fuel". Really a 90's metal classic, not especially that good or special, but instantly recognizable due to the raw, tough-guy vocals of James Hetfield.

One could argue that this is pretty far from the artistic vision the band had in the 80's, but dammit, this is simple yet effective rock-metal that rocks, liked it or not.
8/10

2. The Memory Remains (4:39)
(James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

Slower, groovier ballad-y song with thick riffs played with a fat guitar tone. The slow groove combined with the heavy atmosphere makes this song automatically one of the best rockers on the album, but the eerie bridge section with haunting guest vocals by Marianne Faithfull make this song easily an instant classic.

An accessible, catchy and radio-friendly Metallica track that showcases the band at its best during the 90's alternative era.
10/10

3. Devil's Dance (5:19)
(James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

Another slow groover, based heavily on the simple drums-and-bass pulse by Lars Ulrich and Jason Newsted. However, the song just drones and chugs on without getting really anywhere, lacking both the catchy hooks of the previous songs and the interesting song structure of their earlier works.

A duller track, of which the only noteworthy aspects are the strong, even vitriolic vocals of James Hetfield.
6/10

4. The Unforgiven II (6:37)
(James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett)

The tracks fools the listener by beginning exactly the same way as "The Unforgiven" in the Metallica album. However, the song itself kicks into heavy riffery instead of clean broken chords.

This track is a counterpart to "The Unforgiven", which has heavy verses and clean chorus sections. This one has clean verses and heavy choruses, instead.

This one's another one of my biggest favorites of the alternative-Metallica, being simple, moody and thunderous rocker with James Hetfield at his best. And I want to point out how the title is referenced cleverly in the lyric "...are you unforgiven too?"
10/10

5. Better than You (5:22)
(James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

The machine-like introduction and rumbling drums remind me more of industrial metal bands like Rammstein and such than Metallica. However, the once the verse is introduced, the song catch up the tempo and brings in the energy, although the choruses slow down back to the rumbling of the beginning.

A song that really didn't bring anything new to the table. A simple rocker that jumps back and forth with slower and faster pieces for its 5-minute duration, without really presenting anything more creative than the verses and the choruses. Another one of those pretty insignificant songs.
5/10

6. Slither (5:13)
(Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

The song opens with a riff that instantly reminds me of "Master of Puppets", though it is evident that this song is going to be another groovy rocker, not a speedy thrasher.

The song itself rumbles nicely with those low, groove-metal-y riffs, but instead James Hetfield sounds like he is more trying to imitate other singers than singing with his own voice - so full it is of those weird mannerisms previously unheard of.

One of the album's better songs, but still lags far behind the best hit tracks.
7/10

7. Carpe Diem Baby (6:12)
(Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

A slow, bluesy rocker. Though this song makes your head nod approvingly to the rhythm, the song really just flows in from one ear and out from the other, having no hooks to latch onto something while in there.

Another powerful, slow song without any aspects that would make on to return to this song time after time. Not a bad song, but it is also hard to find anything noteworthy from it, either.
6/10

8. Bad Seed (4:05)
(Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

A song with a title that most likely nods toward Nick Cave and the rest of his band.

A tad faster than most of the other songs on this album, "Bad Seed" is still a mid-tempo groover, tops. And another one of those songs one tends to remain rather indifferent about. Just like the couple tracks preceding this, this one's not a bad song, albeit a rather dull one. It's just hard to find anything worth of interest here.

And James Hetfield is not a member of Cave's band, no matter how loud he would sing so.
6/10

9. Where the Wild Things Are (6:54)
(James Hetfield, Jason Newsted, Lars Ulrich)

Finally a song with something a bit more interesting as an introduction. Also, when the song kick in, it reminds me a bit of "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" from the 1988 album ...and Justice for All. But only a bit. Then the song kicks into regular ReLoad groove metal.

However, the song exhibits some slight moments here and there that bring variation to the numbing ReLoad pounding; often them being clean guitars, but also odd harmonic resolutions and mood changes come in.

Not a catchy hit song, but definitely from the stronger end of the ReLoad material. Only if there was less Kirk Hammett's wah wankery in the closing section.
8/10

10. Prince Charming (6:05)
(James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

"Prince Charming" begins with riffs that nod deep to the heavy metal bands of the 70's, notably Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.

The song itself is nothing like that, unfortunately. It sounds more like slowed-and-watered-down thrash of their 80's albums, spiced with classic hard rock guitar licks. The song might be a good attempt from Metallica to return to their thrash roots by combining it with their slower, thicker material. However, the song really doesn't "kick ass", as some would say, and the only reason it somehow works, is that it is noticeably faster than the rest of the album, bringing in much needed energy. As a single song without the rest of the album, the song serves very little purpose.
6/10

11. Low Man's Lyric (7:37)
(James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

Another song that differs greatly from the general mood of the album. Beginning with a quiet, clean and quite hopeful introduction, but once the drums kick in, the song takes a turn to more gloomier, sorrowful atmosphere.

As a lengthy, moody ballad that doesn't sound anything like the other songs of ReLoad, "Low Man's Lyric" is a great song,working also on its own nicely, being one of the strongest efforts on the album. It would have been also a great closer track of the album. Now it kinda gets crushed by the rockers surrounding it.
9/10

12. Attitude (5:16)
(James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

Well, the album returns to the regular rumbling. The song is another one of those a bit faster-paced tracks, but unfortunately it also gets drowned in the sea of grey indifference. This song has attitude, as the title states, but it doesn't help it be memorable. After the song is over, I will fail to remember any single aspect of the song. Except that most likely James Hetfield sang something that ended with a "hey-ye-yeah!"
5/10

13. Fixxxer (8:15)
(Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich)

The album's final song opens slowly, with steady bass pulse and a distant wah lead (making it highly probable that Kirk Hammett is responsible for it), before moving into a slow, swaying riff.

The song is not as dull and uninteresting as the most of the rockers of this album, but eight minutes for a song like this is pretty much and it manages to carry it to the end just barely. It's not a bad song, but it could've worked with a length a little shorter. For example, I didn't really see the point in the section with heavily effected vocals.

An ok way to close the album, but I still think that "Low Man's Lyric" would've fared better.
8/10

***

Final verdict
The album is not as lousy as many people think it is. It's obvious that I'm not going to score these songs as "1" simply because they are not 80's thrash metal, I'm scoring the songs based on their merits as enjoyable tracks, whatever the history of the band. Although a long history helps one to put things into perspective, but I'm not vehemently claiming that Metallica has done nothing good since the 90's began, even if I prefer their earlier material.

The biggest problem of this album is its repetitiveness. It has some great songs, some of which are even my Metallica favorites, but over a half of them are songs composed of chunks of indifference. They are not bad songs - I have a hard time finding aspects that are bad in them - they are just dull, and I have hard time discerning one from another.

The album could've worked better with a shorter length; without the songs that seem to be there only because of their filler material role. In its current shape, ReLoad is an album that has some of the greatest alternative rock / metal songs of the 90's, but is also riddled with material that serve no real purpose.

Score: 72/100

Meshuggah

(1987-)

Pic by Micke Sandström

My definitive lineup:
Jens Kidman - Vocals
Mårten Hagström - Guitars
Dick Lövgren - Bass
Fredrik Thordendal - Guitars
Tomas Haake - Drums

Meshuggah are one of the few bands that make me consider Sweden as the "Land of Metal" in the stead of Finland. The Finnish might be born with metal in their blood and it seems that 4 out of every 5 new bands in Finland are playing metal, but when the Swedes play metal, they do it like no other band. And really, there is not a single band in the world that would come close to being as awesome as these silly Swedes.

And not to mention the dozens and dozens of bands that have named Meshuggah as their influence. These Swedes are also the true progenitors of this sub-genre of metal known as "djent" - a brand of metal involving very downtuned guitars playing odd, angular riffs (this description sounds meshuggah-y, no?)

Having discovered Meshuggah back in 2005, during the aftermath of just-released Catch Thirtythree, I really did not see the point in their music. What I had heard, Meshuggah was the most awesome death metal band ever. But to me, they had just all these weird, off-beat rhythms and a vocalist whose voice made even my throat hurt. This band sounded like a rabid orangutang that was trying to play metal. During an earthquake. In a hurricane.

But then it hit me. A major portion of this band's appeal lies in the hands of their drummer, Tomas Haake. Literally. While his kick drums follow the strange, angular, off-beat rhythms that the guitars chunk away, his hands keep a constant 4/4 beat with the cymbals and the snare drum. So practically, the band just plays in a simple 4/4 time with seemingly irrational and random syncopation that actually follows often complex polymeters. And on top of delivering these amazing rhythms, Haake also writes the majority of their lyrics and is responsible of their artwork and design, thus being probably the biggest driving force behind the band.

In addition to their highly complex rhythmics, they are very known for their incredibly low-tuned instruments. Originally they played thrash metal not unlike early Metallica, but quickly their sound started to change with 7-stringed guitars that could reach pretty low notes. These guitars were in turn down-tuned, to reach notes even lower and lower.

During their 2002 release, Nothing, the band had gained then-experimental 8-string guitars that could reach notes so low that they were previously reserved for basses only. Alas, these guitars proved to be faulty; they could not stay in tune at all. However, the band got quickly their hands on 8-string Ibanez guitars that seemed to work like a charm - this being deduced from the fact that the band re-recorded Nothing in 2006 with these new guitars, and they have played with them since.

But bar the few early, thrashy records, Meshuggah's timeline can't be really divided into "eras", but instead to different albums. Their earlier records have been full of somehow complex, yet often pretty straightforward songs, up until Destroy Erase Improve (1995), in which they began to really emphasize the complex rhythms. Chaosphere (1998) was again more straightforward, but faster and more aggressive, whereas Nothing (2002) was slower, groovier and thicker. I (2004) and Catch Thirtythree (2005) were long, sprawling records that consisted of single, continuous pieces that were divided into several movements.

Their most acclaimed album to date, obZen (2008), was a fusion of their more straightforward and aggressive stuff and their slower, more complex and groovier stuff, delivered in a perfect and balanced marriage of their best sides. It has both those raw, angry, thrashy songs, and those thick and groovy tracks with ever-so-odd rhythms and polymeters.

Regarding the evolution of the band, which has remained constantly evolving and always interesting, I'm starting to get a little bit impatient on their new album, scheduled to be released in early 2012...

***

My top-10 list of songs that are worth checking out:
Bleed
Combustion
Dancers to a Discordant System
Dehumanization
Future Breed Machine
I
Neurotica
New Millennium Cyanide Christ
Rational Gaze
The Mouth Licking What You've Bled

***

Reviewed albums:
Catch Thirtythree (2005) - 72/100

Diablo

(1995-)My definitive lineup:
Aadolf Virtanen - Bass
Heikki Malmberg - Drums
Marko Utriainen - Lead Guitars
Rainer Nygård - Vocals, rhythm guitars

I really don't have a real connection to Finnish Diablo; only to their third album, Eternium, which I discovered when it was released; and a handful of other material. I really don't know why, because I find their brand of low-tuned heavy metal quite neat and listenable.

The stuff they play is pretty easily recognizable - the instruments are tuned to low B (That's pretty deep. Not Meshuggah-deep, but deep nonetheless.) and most songs are based on heavily syncopized and offbeat guitar riffs on which Marko Utriainen harmonizes often jagged and angular melodies. Their influence especially from Meshuggah is clearly audible in some songs, and one could say that their music is mainly Meshuggah simplified, composed to fit a regular metal song structure and finally spiced with melodic influence from such Gothenburg metal bands, as Dark Tranquillity and early In Flames.

Also Heikki Malmberg's drumming is worth of a note - usually he does not follow the Tomas Haake tradition in which the kick drums follow the offbeat guitar riffs while the hands maintain a steady beat in crotchets, but instead holds a steady pulse with a regular drum figure, and occasionally throws in impressive fills, figures and solos. His playing style supports the style of Diablo's music, which is angular yet relatively simple, and he doesn't seem to have the need to show off - unless he is given a chance, in which his drum prowess is often presented.

The same goes with the guitar leads of Marko Utriainen. His guitar solos and leads are usually not that impressive if only technical aspects are regarded, but his sense of melody and harmony is superb, and frequently the solos bring out qualities from the songs that would've been absent without the solo. They offer surprising twists in melody, are often simple enough to be "singable", and are also many times cleverly harmonized with a second lead guitar, bringing about a very recognizable tone to his playing. As with Heikki - it also feels that he knows his instrument through and through, but he plays what fits their music without the real need to show off.

The only person I have really nothing special to say is their bassist, Aadolf Virtanen. His bass lines usually do nothing more than double the guitar riffs. Only when the guitars are quiet, his deep, rumbling bass can be heard, creating a thick, oppressive atmosphere to the songs. The only aspect he is somewhat remarkable though, is his stage presence in their concerts. I've seen Diablo once live, in 2006, and then the only one who was putting up a real show was Aadolf, not staying one moment in one place. Good for him!

Probably the only one I have less flattering things to say is Rainer Nygård, the man in charge of the vocals and rhythm guitars. I have nothing bad to say about his guitar work though, the riffs are amazing (though I've understood that Marko Utriainen is responsible for the most of them), but his vocals are not that great. Some of his shouts and screams are impressive, and also his growls verses with lower register work ok, but mostly his vocal output is delivered as grunts that are uttered in this strained, tough-guy fashion, that really don't work that well. Though as they are more like strained singing instead of full-on screaming, Rainer can control the pitch of his voice, enabling him to "sing" vocal melodies, but this grunted singing really doesn't work for me. I'd prefer either real singing, or out-and-out screaming, or both, not something in-between, at least in this fashion.

Well, Diablo might not be everyone's cup of tea, either due to Rainer's vocals, or if one considers them just a Meshuggah band with all the interesting stuff taken out or yet another band that plays those repetitive chugga-chuggah riffs, but I consider them one of the most interesting mainstream metal bands in Finland, and they are worth checking out both due to their terrific-yet-simple guitar melodies and great groove. They are not trying to re-invent the wheel; they are just good at what they do.

***

Reviewed albums:
Eternium (2004) - 80/100

Diablo // Eternium

Album: Diablo - Eternium (2004)
11 tracks / 43:43
Acquired: October 2007

Vocals, guitars: Rainer Nygård
Guitars: Marko Utriainen
Bass: Aadolf Virtanen
Drums: Heikki Malmberg

I discovered Diablo some six or seven years ago, back in high school. Well, actually, I have never really discovered Diablo; I just heard a couple of their songs that were to my liking. Some time later I learned that all these songs were from their then-recent album, Eternium, and thus I discovered the rest of the album too. But it never really went past that. Later on I have heard some Diablo songs that aren't from Eternium, but none of them so far have been that different from the songs on this album, so I haven't had any real need to discover the band more; I've been pretty content with this album.

I bumped into a second-hand copy of Eternium in 2007 with a very reasonable price (like 3 or 4 euros), and I bought it without a second thought. Even though Diablo has never been a band of great importance to me, I guess this album deserves its place in my CD collection, what with its somewhat enjoyable metal tracks and all.

1. Symbol of Eternity (3:54)

A distant Henry Theel -loan turned into a Finnish tango opens the album, which suddenly turns into a crushing Diablo songs. The basic Diablo elements are all there: verses with offbeat chugga-chuggah-riffs, melodic choruses, aggressive vocals, intensive drumwork, everything.

A semi-catchy song with surprisingly nice groove. Not the best one, but surely one I can easily enjoy.
9/10

2. Read My Scars (3:42)

The theme riff that opens the song is rhythmically rather odd, and I guess Meshuggah-influences are haunting just behind the corner. The verses are cool with their screeching lead guitar lines, but Rainer Nygård's screams don't always cut the mustard.

The song has a short section before the guitar solo for a drum-solo-ish part in which Heikki Malmberg showcases his talents.

"Read My Scars" has some pretty neat moments, but as a whole it really isn't my favorites - probably because of the pretty predictable and repetitive chorus.
7/10

3. Queen of Entity (3:51)

Opening with a short guitar intro that brings me back to Metallica's "Blackened", but unlike in ...and Justice for All, you can really hear the bass rumbling when the song starts - at least when the guitars are playing.

But that's where the similarities end; this is not thrash metal delivered at break-neck speed, this is immensely heavy, groovy metal. At least until the chorus, in which the machine gun fire of two bass drums take lead with female vocals.

Though the song feels a bit too short, as if ending too soon, it has much parts that create interest and variation when compared to the regular Diablo tracks: sudden double bass drums, female vocals, and even a disco-style hi-hats emphasizing the weak beats. A nice rumbler.
8/10

4. Lovedivided (4:26)

Opening with an open string melody by Marko Utriainen that bows to the direction of Gothenburg melodeath bands, this song quickly opens to be another Meshuggah-esque track, especially the low guitar djents in the pre-chorus sections.

Despite the angry vocals deliver their message with intensity, they don't sound that great but more like strained tough-guy grunts, which I don't fancy that much.

Nevertheless, "Lovedivided" is one of the strongest efforts on the album, with its simple yet memorable chorus, recognizable melodies and nicely varied sections. Simple but effective metal, someone could say.
10/10

5. Faceless (3:19)

Faster and aggressive, breakdown-heavy song that as a retrospect seems to be a predecessor to the modern American thirteen-in-a-dozen metalcore bands. There are both those rapid, muted guitar riffs doubled by kick drums and low-and-deep chugs more reminiscent of slower Meshuggah tracks, but the song is pretty dull and lacks something that would really make the song interesting. The only thing that actually makes this sing better than those crappy modern metalcore songs is the guitar work of Marko Utriainen, and especially his distinctive soloing style.
6/10

6. The Preacher (3:14)

Opening like a regular stadium-sized metal anthem, the song is really kickstarted with a grunt that you can hear probably anytime and everywhere in Finland; "voi perkele!"

A regular song that delivers all Diablo has to offer: chugging riffs, intense drumming, deep bass, raging vocal grunts and distinctive guitar melodies. Nothing really special, yet this one's a good, tight package.
8/10

7. In Flesh (3:10)

A groovy, heavily syncopated riff works as the main motif of "In Flesh". Fierce, mid-tempo songs like these are the ones that really earn the "groove metal" label for this band.

Kicks ass and smacks other bodily parts around as well, and despite not being that special nor catchy, has still earned its place in this album.
7/10

8. Black Swan (4:40)

Growing from a haunting intro to a heavily syncopated chugga-chuggah metal song. For me, this song is a Diablo classic that has all their elements in their rightful places and they are just in right proportions each.

Especially the guitar solo is excellent - it's not a performance of technical superiority, but instead an awesome combination of surprising turns in melody, rhythm and harmony performed with a sense of style; it supports the harmonic structure of the song, really fitting it and making it many times better than it would be without.
10/10

9. Omerta (3:23)

Opening slowly with clean guitars, evolving into a neat instrumental track, this one feels as if it is a Diablo rendition of Metallica's "Call of Ktulu".

It rumbles deep in the register of low B, having cool, a bit subdued guitar leads, that are guiding the song throughout but still not being in the face of the listener all the time.

The last part of the song fades away with very Diablo-ish riffing that somehow remind me of the coda riffs of the metallica instrumental "Orion".

One of the most varied songs on the album, and the lack of vocals really fit the mood of the song, making it one of the best "Eternium" tracks.
10/10

10. Shape Shifters (4:13)

"Shape Shifters" glides seamlessly from the final notes of "Omerta". A bigger gear is kicked in as the song rumbles on with rage and a tempo slightly faster than usual.

The verses are not that special, but the fierce half-time chorus does a lot, as well as the vigorous solo/mid-section. Not one of the best, but also not from the weakest end either.
7/10

11. Reptiles (5:19)

The slow and rumbling "Reptiles" closes Eternium. Its drawback is that it seems to rely more on churning riffing than on guitar leads, which probably results in its downfall, because even though it has several different sections, in the end they sound pretty similar, because they are mostly just nothing more than riffing.

Even the guitar solo fails to raise any interest, it being less melodic and more just rapid notes in succession. A pretty bland song to close the album.
6/10

***

Final verdict
Though Eternium is far from my favorite metal albums, it is still surprisingly cohesive package with tight and fierce metal. Full of low, chugging and churning riffs embellished with ofttimes clever and interesting guitar leads, their style of groovy and churning metal often manages to delectate me.

Probably their weakest spot lies in Rainer Nygård voice. At times his fierce shouts and growls are good, or even outright great, but most of the time his lyrics are delivered in a strained, tough-guy-style grunting, and combined with Finnish not-that-perfect pronunciation of English, they are not that pleasant nor impressive when compared to Rainer's vocalist peers.

Vocals aside, this album is very good and intensive, and very worthwhile of checking out especially for fans of Meshuggah and Gothenburg melodeath bands, due to Diablo's uncanny ability to combine the low, djent-y riffs with interesting melodies and harmonies. The songs of Diablo may not be as technical as the works of these aforementioned Swedish counterparts, but yet they frequently work like magic.

Score: 80/100