“Load” and “Reload“,  in 1996 and 1997, respectively, marked an abrupt artistic turn for the band.  Sporting new haircuts and a different, more mainstream sound, and many of their longtime fans became disenfranchised.  You’d never know based on record sales, which continued at a platinum pace, but the group had undergone another evolutionary step.  Now 30 something men with families, the music had changed to reflect the people the members of the band had become.

     Garage Inc. was a fan favorite, released in 1998.  Metallica had been doing cover songs since their inception, and this was the collection.  Everyone from Blue Oyster Cult to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Merciful Fate was covered… in some ways, this was as much an introspective as a greatest hits album might have been.

     In 2003, St. Anger was released.  It drew mixed reviews, but did help to reinvigorate some of the bands departed original fan base.  It was an angry album, and heavier than they had been in quite some time.  The video for St. Anger, filmed in San Quentin Prison among actual inmates,  was lauded as another revolutionary move for the band.  The album also introduced Robert Trujillo, formerly of Suicidal Tendencies, as Jason Newstead’s replacement.

     Which brings us to 2008, and the most recent studio album, Death Magnetic .  It would appear that the evolution has come full circle, as this album is far more akin to Master of Puppets than any of their more recent work.  Almost as if they felt the need, finally to show the world that they could, in fact, still do this…. but would when they were good and ready.  After nearly 10 years of subpar (by Metallica Standards) albums and questions as to weather they had settled into a contemporary role, Metallica has returned to once more redefine the brand of music they all but created.

     There are stereotypes thrown about in the music industry that are vastly overused. ‘Legend’.  ‘Epic’.  ‘Great’.  ‘Icon’.  All apply to Metallica.  90 million albums sold.  9 Grammys.  An induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  There have been low points… the Napster controversy, the public split with Jason Newstead, the less than stellar S & M album.  But when all is said and done, here is a band that lay claim to a legacy very few can.  For 30 years they have been at the forefront of what they do, and here, 3 decades after they started, they are still the biggest rock band in the world.  Not a bad legacy.

.