Metallica was my favorite group of all-time between 1985 and 1990. Once their “black album” — the eponymous Metallica of 1991 — was released, the band and I had gone separate ways musically. I occasionally would listen to whatever their newest release had to offer but always seemed to find it not to my liking. Out of curiosity, I picked up their 2003 album, St. Anger, because it was supposedly a return to their old, angrier style of music. I found the album to be a cut-and-paste hodge-podge of riffs and ideas rather than true songs. Had I known what was going on behind-the-scenes, I doubt I’d have even given the album a chance.
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster documents the recording of St. Anger as well as the near-destruction of the group. When the band entered the studio in 2001 to record the album, they were facing a true uphill battle. The band had suffered a fan backlash due to their suit against Napster, the free file-sharing service that they claimed had cost them a lot of revenue from their music. It had also been five years since they’d released a studio album of all-new material. Many felt they’d lost touch with their fans.
So, the band enlisted filmmakers Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger to record the process of making their new album. The idea was that the band would start completely from scratch and work truly as a team to construct an album from the ground up. That process soon began to open long-ignored wounds within the band, with Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield — the band’s two “leaders” — immediately butting heads and arguing over the smallest details. Bob Rock — the band’s long time producer and ersatz bassist — decides to enlist the aid of Phil Towle, a $40,000-a-month therapist, to get the members of the band to confront the demons eating at them from the inside. When Jason Newsted left the band, he said it was because Metallica wasn’t about music anymore. When issues like family, addiction, and control are dredged up by the therapy sessions, it seems Newsted was 100% correct.
While it might sound like something that would only appeal to fans of the band, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is a fascinating look at the creative process as well as how much money can alter a person’s sense of reality. Metallica’s members are all multi-millionaires several times over but yet they can’t sit in a room and discuss their feelings without getting in over their heads. It’s true that money can’t buy happiness and this film is the only evidence you need of that. These are three of the most unhappy people I’ve ever seen, but I still would change places with them in a heartbeat.
As would Dave Mustaine, the founder of rival band Megadeth, who was kicked out of Metallica in 1983 because of his extreme drug usage. In a pivotal scene, Lars Ulrich tries to work out some issues by visiting Mustaine, to whom he hasn’t spoken in years. Mustaine reveals that not a day goes by that he doesn’t kick himself for not going into rehab while he was in Metallica. Mustaine’s career hasn’t been so bad — he’s sold 15 million albums on his own — but he’s always lived in the shadow of his former band.
If you are a Metallica fan, there’s quite a bit of material here that may or may not change your opinion of the band. If you’re not, there’s the possibility you might be when you leave the theater. How you react to the film really depends on what you take in emotionally when you see it. Either way, it’s highly recommended viewing for all.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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