Tuesday 13 May 2008

METALLICA – NOTHING ELSE MATTERS (VERTIGO)


METALLICA – NOTHING ELSE MATTERS (VERTIGO)

I was so excited when I bought this CD single.  CD singles of Metallica were pretty rare in Clacton back in the day.  And I would imagine they’re pretty hard to find there now.  Still I should not discard or cheapen the energetic excitement it gave me in my youth.  These were important objects, important pieces that held great value for a person feeling isolated and alone in a small town in Essex near the coast.

That said Metallica never really quite did it for me.  Obviously they have great songs but their legacy and reputation just does not coincide with their output.  They were supposed to be the heaviest, most dangerous rock act on earth but there was just too much denim attached to their being (if you know what I mean).

Today I find myself actually wiping dust off this CD.  I have no idea when was the last time I played this disc.  I might even be as long as fifteen years ago and a time when I was a much different person, probably nicer but very mixed up with it.

“Nothing Else Matters” was a special song for Metallica.  It was them displaying a tender side, their ability to mix things up and provide an emotion flavour and depth.  If nothing else this was bound to get them airplay and airtime without necessarily losing face.

Lyrically the song is whimsical to a fault.  This was the era of Wayne’s World so metal was accepted by the mainstream but equally sneered at too.  Do you remember how “Dream Weaver” by Gary Wright offered respite in that movie and its soundtrack?  This song/single served similar function.  Equally it is a song you could envisage Spinal Tap doing, not least in the Tolkien-esqe line “trust I seek and I find in you.”

Inevitably a guitar solo eventually turns up by which point it has been intended that the listener is looking towards the stars and this is a final throw to send the spectacular hurtling further into space.  However it is tough to imagine a casual observer being so wrapped up to this degree.  Could a normal person really be so sold?

The photo of the band that accompanies this release is one of pure metal excess.  It was already aged as the band were still to sort themselves out visually.  Also they look so young and gaudy, especially Kirk Hammett.  The others just smell of denim.  Forgive me my eternal suspicion of this band and how I never dove into them full footed.  This was definitely a band for the committed.  And by that I mean my friends.

A bonus on the CD was the live version of “Enter Sandman” serving as a b-side.  I had missed the boat on that song first time round so here was a great version to own including the sound of pyrotechnics.  If the sedation of the lead was scaring me off then certainly the chugging energy of this track was scaring me in.

Then came another live track in the form of “Harvester Of Sorrow” (from And Justice For All) which was another lumbering piece of metal which comes complete with mid song breakdown and the sound of James Hetfield gobbing loudly onstage.  Only hard men of rock did this.  It seemed/felt godlike.

Closing the release was the curious demo version of “Nothing Else Matters”.  To this date I had never been exposed to the concept of demo versions (not even by Nirvana) so to suddenly be faced with this incomplete version of the song including Hetfield humming instead of singing felt as if the band were being exposed and the listener sold short.  Regardless as with all demo versions it is interesting to hear if not illuminating.

Still it’s better than “More Than Words” by Extreme, that other example from era of metal turning fanny.

Thesaurus moment: assay.

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