30 years after its zenith, Metallica’s act wears thin

It’s strange to look at Metallica as they stand today. Graying, poorly dressed and on their third bassist, the metal gods have gotten old.

The fact that Metallica hasn’t faded to obscurity after a 23-year lapse in quality is a testament to how beloved it is within the musical pantheon. To put things in perspective, “Enter Sandman” predates Justin Bieber’s very existence by close to three years.

The years since the release of its watershed self-titled album in 1991 have seen the band fail in new and spectacular ways. Apart from “Fuel,” Load (1996) and Reload (1997) were dreadful, abandoning the band’s thrash metal roots completely in favor of a more chart-friendly blues-driven hard rock sound. 2003’s St. Anger, with the self-pitying documentary, “Some Kind of Monster,” went a step further, dumbing down the guitars and further alienating disillusioned fans. 2008 saw Metallica return slightly to form with Death Magnetic. It was a neo-thrash throwback that, while satisfying, still felt like an imitation of the old days. Just when things appeared to be improving, the band dropped Lulu in 2011, a collaborative album with Lou Reed that was, in a word, weird — and not in a good way. 

This coming July marks the 30th anniversary of 1984’s Ride the Lightning, a masterwork monument to thrash metal and unbridled boyish energy. In the fading Metallica catalog, Ride the Lightning is often thought of as the album before the venerable Master of Puppets (1986) rather than as a truly stand-alone record. While it lacks the slick production of Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning possesses that joyful touch of amateurism that made ‘80s thrash metal so good. Metallica consisted of men on a mission with Master of Puppets, making it, from a technical standpoint, a better album than its predecessor. But music is not objective, and Ride the Lightning is just more fun, making it one of the most important thrash albums ever. 

This is not, however, to impugn Master of Puppets, a truly wonderful album whose title track is the undisputed thrash metal anthem. Rather, it serves a greater point. Master of Puppets built on the massive leap taken between Kill ‘Em All (1983) and Ride the Lightning, stripping it of its innocence but dragging it into adulthood and allowing the band to conquer the musical world. It can’t be overstated that Metallica achieved real commercial success while being one of the heaviest acts around. Master of Puppets, sold 300,000 copies in its first three weeks. Since then, it has been certified 6x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. 

 … And Justice for All (1988) understandably took on a more melancholic tone after the death of bassist Cliff Burton, but still made sense in the context of the band’s earlier work. Then, Metallica (1991) took the band in an entirely new direction — one that, initially, brought it immense commercial success but has also made it something of a cautionary tale in the heavy metal world. 

The lesson to learn is an uncomfortable one, worsening the tension between artistic sensibilities and commercial success. It’s that sometimes, trying something new is a really bad idea. It can make a musician rich but can also make the fans who loved them most turn their backs. 

That said, there is a happy lesson within the larger and more disheartening one. During their ‘80s heyday, Metallica proved that bands can be incredibly popular and successful while staying true to themselves and maintaining musical integrity. Perhaps more importantly, its example goes to show that any art form has potential to sell if it’s executed well enough. There should be more than a few people who find that awfully refreshing.