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Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Ind.

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The Indiana Statesman Blog

January 10th, 2007

Review: “Metallica - The Videos”

By admin on January 10th, 2007

Metallica loves me. They told me so at the end of the video for the song “Some Kind of Monster,” which is the last track on the DVD “Metallica - The Videos 1989-2004.” Granted, Metallica’s lead singer James Hetfield was directing his “I love you” to thousands of fans at a concert and not me specifically, but since he was thanking the Metallifans for sticking with the band through the good and the bad and I had just watched two hours of Metallica music videos, I think I deserve a bit of the love.

“Metallica – The Videos 1989-2004” is a collection of all the music videos the band recorded during that time period, and is truly represents the good and the bad.

With this collection, though, even the good brings a little bad with it. While the “18-wheeling nightmare” aesthetic of the “Enter Sandman” video may have been cutting edge when it debuted in 1991, it now borders on rock cliché.

The same goes for the classic video for “One.” It borrows clips from “Johnny Got His Gun,” and tells that films story about a war veteran who, after losing all of his limbs, repeatedly taps out the words “Kill Me” in Morse code by nodding his head.

These poignant moments are juxtaposed with simultaneous mullet-banging from the boys from Metallica. It’s hard not to laugh.

Then there’s the video for “Mama Said,” the bands attempt at a traditional ballad. No, not a rock ballad, this is a steel-guitar type of ballad. The video is mainly of Hetfield in a cowboy hat and purple cowboy-style shirt.

If that’s not rock, I don’t know what is.

I paid eighty dollars for a Metallica ticket once, and I’m still okay with that decision. I bought the overpriced concert t-shirt, which I still wear. Watching almost two and a half hours of Metallica videos is too much, though, even for me.

If you’re a Metallica fan, even after Napster-gate, this DVD probably won’t disappoint you. You’ve learned to deal with the shifting entity that is Metallica. Just don’t try to take it all in one sitting.

If you’re someone who just really loves that song about that Sandman character, this DVD might just be a little too much Metallica. However, four-way mullet-wearing head-banging is probably something you should see before you die.