Classic Albums:
Metallica – Metallica (aka The Black Album)
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: C Main Program: B-
When the DVD-Audio format was first launched, one of the
first albums Warner Bros. issued was Metallica – Metallica/The Black Album,
which seemed to be a great candidate for a 5.1 remix. It was not bad, but not all fans were pleased, despite the fact
that more speakers allowed all the sound to come through better than
traditional stereo. Before their
justified battle against illegal internet downloading made them somehow
“uncool” with supposed fans, the 1991 release topped the Billboard album chart
for a month, while sales went past 12 Million and up. The DVD-Audio had few extras, but one was an anamorphically
enhanced trailer for the Classic Albums series making of installment it
was the subject of, which we look at now.
All the tracks from the album are examined, though the
breakdown of the songs are not what we usually get from the series in that it
is not as thorough as one might like.
The insight is interesting, however, but this was released in 2001,
before the events of 9/11/01 and of the Napster battles. In this respect, it is a sudden time capsule
even non-fans can find a new interest in.
The main program chapters are:
1) Enter
Sandman
2) Sad But
True
3) Holier
Than Thou
4) The
Unforgiven
5) Wherever
I May Roam
6) Nothing
Else Matters
You either like them or you don’t, but they are classic
Rock hits before Hip Hop totally took over the genre, so this is one of the
last hurrahs for Rock and most did not know that at the time. The late composer Michael Kamen is also
interviewed in the main show, which runs about 50 minutes.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is just fine
for what is here, including the usual mix of old and new footage, but 1991 was
not that long ago and this looks fine.
Unlike the high fidelity of the DVD-Audio’s 5.1 MLP tracks (which we
rate a B, with B+ for the better remixes), this is in simple Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds that are almost as good as the Dolby Digital
5.1 on the DVD-Audio, which says something about the limits of the Dolby on
that disc. Fans who did not like the
DVD-A remix will be happy with the lack of tampering here as the band relives
each track on the album. Extras include
a discography of the band that is one frame that simply lists all albums to
1999 and the years they came out. That
is lame. Seven extras interview
segments are included in the bonus interview section, so that makes up for it,
but some of it is just music anyhow.
This is a decent, if not stellar installment of the series.
- Nicholas Sheffo
