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GARAGE INC.

Metallica

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3 stars I was actually surprised at how entertaining this album is. While there are very few good songs, it's just interesting to see Metallica's early influences. There are six songs in particular that I like and one that is just hilarious to listen to. First is Turn the Page, originally by Bob Seger. This song shows James Hetfield's southern/country influences, and even though I hate country, I love this song. Next is the song Mercyful Fate, a medley of four songs; Satan's Fall, Curse of the Pharaohs, A Corpse Without Soul, Into the Coven, and Evil, by black metal legends Mercyful Fate. Although it clocks in at over 11 minutes, it's an enjoyable song. Next is Whiskey in the Jar, a traditional Irish song turned heavy metal by Metallica (it also won them a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance). Another enjoyable listen. Next, another long song, is Tuesday's Gone, originally by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Another southern/country song, it was recorded at a radio station Metallica was hosting. It features guest appearances by Les Claypool from Primus, Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains, John Popper from Blues Traveler, Pepper Keenan from Corrosion of Conformity, as well as Gary Rossington, one of the song's original writers, on guitar. The next good song is Am I Evil?, a classic metal anthem, one of Metallica's many Diamond Head covers. Next is Stone Cold Crazy, a cover of the classic Queen song. This also won Metallica a Grammy. If one had not heard the Queen version first, you would think it was a Metallica song. Finally is So What?, the profanity-ridden cover of the punk band Anti-Nowhere League's song. This song is just funny. I can type hardly any lines of the song or else I'll get banned. In all, the album isn't very good, just entertaining.
Report this review (#227289)
Posted Friday, July 17, 2009 | Review Permalink
UMUR
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars "Garage Inc." is a compilation cover tunes album (yes I do not regard this as a regular full-length studio album) by US heavy metal/ thrash metal act Metallica. The album was released in 1998 by Vertigo Records between the studio album releases of "Reload (1997)" and "St. Anger (2003)". "Garage Inc." is a double CD release compiled from various recording sessions between 1984 and 1998. The eleven tracks on Disc 1 are all exclusively recorded for and released on "Garage Inc." while most songs on Disc 2 (excluding the Mötorhead songs which I don´t believe have been released elsewhere) have been released before. Disc 2 features all songs from the out of print "The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)" EP, the B-side songs from the "Creeping Death (1984)" EP and some B-sides from the years 1988 - 1991.

This is Metallica letting it all hang out just having fun with songs they really enjoy playing by artists that have inspired them to make their own music the way they do. The thick booklet is actually quite informative and filled with funny anekdotes about the songs and the artists that Metallica have chosen to cover. I especially enjoy the anekdote where bassist Jason Newsted talks about Lemmy from Motörhead rubbing his warts against his cheek during a Metallica live performance at Lemmy´s 50 years birthday. That story is just great fun. When the king of bastardized rock´n´roll decides to rub his warts against your cheek you better be prepared to take it. Metallica´s regular studio albums usually takes years to prepare and record but many of these songs are rehearsed and recorded within a very short time span mostly to have fun and not neccessarily to make great everlasting art.

Disc 1 contains some really great material recorded in September to Oktober 1998. It´s not very long ago that I reviewed "Reload" which was Metallica´s latest studio album at the time and that album sounds pretty tired and uninspired to my ears and therefore it´s such a great pleasure to lay ears to the songs on Disc 1 which are so full of energy and the joy of playing. Metallica may have had their most uninspired period of their career in those years but they sure do play with lots of energy and conviction on these cover tunes. Along with the usual Diamond Head cover ("It's Electric") we´re also treated to songs such as "Free Speech for the Dumb" and "The More I See" by hardcore/punk act Discharge, "Sabbra Cadabra" by UK heavy metal/ doom metal legends Black Sabbath, "Die, Die My Darling" by Amercian punk act Misfits, an 11 minute long Mercyful Fate medley, "Tuesday's Gone" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Loverman" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and "Whiskey in the Jar" by Thin Lizzy. The Bob Seger song "Turn the Page" which has appeared many times on the set list at Metallica concerts is also worth a mention. "Astronomy" by Blue Öyster Cult also gets the Metallica treatment. All songs are enjoyable and played with conviction. Being a great Mercyful Fate fan the medley is a favorite on Disc 1 but I also greatly enjoy "Loverman" and "Turn the Page" which both shows a different side of Metallica than we´re used to.

As mentioned above Disc 2 features all songs from the out of print "The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)" EP, the B-side songs from the "Creeping Death (1984)" EP, some B-sides from the years 1988 - 1991 and a Motörhead jam session called "Motörheadache" which includes the songs "Overkill", "Damage Case", "Stone Dead Forever" and "Too Late Too Late". All songs appear in their original form on some of the early Motörhead releases like "Bomber (1979)" and "Overkill (1979)". "The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)" EP is of course a classic Metallica release from the eighties. It´s the first release by the band to feature the then new bassist Jason Newsted after the death of original bassist Cliff Burton in a tragic tour bus accident on the 27th of September 1986 near Dörarp, Sweden. The five (well actually six) songs from that EP brings back so many memories for me. Pure nostalgia. Metallica was such a powerful force back then and the covers of "Helpless"/i> by Diamond Head, "The Small Hours" by Holocaust, "The Wait" by Killing Joke, "Crash Course in Brain Surgery" by Budgie and "Last Caress / Green Hell" by Misfits are all given just the right treatment to come off convincing and powerful. Metallica made these songs their own. The next two songs on Disc 2 are the two B-side tracks from the "Creeping Death" EP. "Am I Evil?" by Diamond Head and "Blitzkrieg" by Blitzkrieg. The first has been played at numerous occasions at Metallica live shows. A real crowd pleaser and one of the most famous Metallica cover songs. The two tracs were recorded in 1984 which of course means that it´s Cliff Burton playing the bass. The next five tracks are B-sides to single and EP releases from the years 1988 - 1991. The first two, "Breadfan" by Budgie and "The Prince" by Diamond Head, were recorded during the "...And Justice for All" sessions and feature about the same production as the rest of that album. Both songs were initially featured on the B-side to the "Harvester of Sorrow (1998)" single/ EP release. "Breadfan" is also featured as the B-side to the "Eye of the Beholder (1988)" single/ EP release. Both songs are fast-paced an aggressive. Some of the highlights on "Garage Inc.", "Stone Cold Crazy" by Queen, "So What?" by Anti-Nowhere League and "Killing Time" by Sweet Savage were all recorded during the sessions for "Metallica (1991)". "Stone Cold Crazy" appeared as the B-side to the "Enter Sandman (1991)" single, "So What?" and "Killing Time" both appeared on the B-side to the "Unforgiven (1991)" single. "So What?" also appeared on the B-side to the "Sad but True (1992)" single. I like the punk attiude, the explicit lyrics and the wild energy of "So What?". "Stone Cold Crazy" is also a powerful and enjoyable song and "Killing Time" is a great retro heavy metal track. The "Motörheadache" jam session comes off as some of the weakest material on "Garage Inc." IMO. The songs are raw one-takes as far as I can hear and they simply lack some polish. That´s an aquired taste though and some will probably enjoy the Motörhead covers a bit more than I do. To be honest they left me a bit indifferent.

The idea to release "Garage Inc." is an excellent one. This is your chance to get a lot of rare tracks and B-sides in addition to the new cover songs on Disc 1 which was recorded with this release in mind. Maybe it´s wrong to call the tracks rare when the EPs and singles they are taken from have probably sold thousands of copies but "Garage Inc." is a great way to get those non-album tracks in a compiled package. The quality varies slightly but there are nothing below average (well... maybe those Motörhead covers are a bit below average) on this compilation and a 3.5 - 4 star rating is deserved. I´m ready to call it extremely entertaining and a great purchase.

Report this review (#237144)
Posted Friday, September 4, 2009 | Review Permalink
AtomicCrimsonRush
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Here is an album that really is a lot of fun to listen to as it features Metallica paying homage to their influences leading to metal stardom. Most metalheads will instantly recognise thes songs, most are classics, and Metallica give each track a sincere bash, somtimes even improving on the original . Highlights include Sabbra Cadabra - (Black Sabbath 1973), Mercyful Fate - (Mercyful Fate 1982), Astronomy - (Blue Öyster Cult 1974) and Helpless - (Diamond Head 1980). Actually the various Diamond Head tributes on offer are all excellent. Other standouts are Crash Course in Brain Surgery - (Budgie 1971), Breadfan - (Budgie 1973), Stone Cold Crazy - (Queen 1974), and Overkill - (Motörhead 1979). The album epitomises the roots of what became Metallica. The loving tributes are deftly played and Hetfield is in fine voice throughout. Not everything suits my tastes but there is enough here that makes it a worthwhile album to indulge in.
Report this review (#523876)
Posted Thursday, September 15, 2011 | Review Permalink
4 stars Released in 1998 during the heyday of their alternative rock phase, 'Garage Inc.' is a two-disc compilation of covers by heavy metal legends Metallica. Regardless of your thoughts on the band cutting their hair, Napster, Lars' drumming, selling out, Kirk's wah pedal, James being a table, or the countless other things the band have had thrown at them over their careers, one statement that holds up true is that Metallica have always done an incredible job at covering other artists songs.

Of course, part of that is probably the fact that about 95% of these bands would be absolutely unheard of if it weren't for Metallica in the first place. But regardless, Metallica have an incredible talent of doing covers in their own way to truly make the songs their own. With beefier guitars, production and Hetfield's trademark vocal style, pretty much all of these tracks are better than the original.

The first disc consists of covers recorded for this album in 1998, and while the song list is a little hit or miss, for the most part it's a solid effort. Well produced, well performed, and special mention to Hetfield's strong vocals here. The likes of 'Die, Die My Darling', 'Turn the Page', 'Astronomy', 'Whiskey in the Jar' and 'It's Electric' make this an interesting listen.

The second disc is a compilation of any covers the band had recorded in the past, either for various EPs or as singles b-sides. Some are better produced than others, but overall they're a solid bunch too. 'Am I Evil', 'So What', 'Blitzkrieg', 'Helpless', 'Breadfan', 'Last Caress' and 'Stone Cold Crazy' are more-or-less Metallica songs now. Such is the quality of these covers when compared to their original counterparts.

'Garage Inc.' came out at a weird point in Metallica's history. After going alt rock with 'Load' and 'Reload', but prior to working with an orchestra and all the drama that would follow with Napster and 'St. Anger', this album just kind of sits there, a small, subtle reminder that despite everything, Metallica were still metal fans at heart, who've never been afraid to wear their influences on their sleeve. At an excessive two and a quarter hours in duration, this can be a pretty enduring listen, but there's enough decent material here to make 'Garage Inc.' as vital a part of Metallica's discography as any of their studio releases.

Report this review (#1988494)
Posted Sunday, August 19, 2018 | Review Permalink

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