HERO OF THE DAY

This EP consists of 3 different versions of one song from Metallica's LOAD album, and 3 live covers of Motorhead songs. LOAD comes from what is generally regarded as Metallica's weakest period. Although I love Metallica, I've let the generally poor opinions of LOAD dissuade me from listening to it. However, I think "Hero of the Day" is a terrific song. It does demonstrate Metallica's more melodic, less thrashy side. As for the other songs, they are well done although Metallica's versions don't seem significantly different from the Motorhead originals.

As one of the inventors of thrash, I like Motorhead's songs except for Lemmy's singing. I think James Hetfield has a much better voice. So, in a manner of speaking, Metallica is paying tribute to one of their biggest influences. I wouldn't say this EP is very representative of what Metallica does, so this may not be for you if that's what you're looking for. I have one other reservation about the HERO OF THE DAY EP. As much as I like listening and reviewing EPs, I'm not really interested in 3 different versions of the same song back to back. For an open-minded Metallica fan, however, this is a worthy release.