Posts Tagged ‘Metallica: The Early Years And The Rise Of Metal’

YOU ME AT SIX – NEVER HOLD AN UNDERDOG DOWN 

BY NEIL DANIELS 

PUBLISHED BY INDEPENDENT MUSIC PRESS

Since forming in Surrey in 2004, You Me At Six have become one of the most revered and popular alternative rock bands of their generation, with three influential and critically acclaimed albums to their name. For three years’ running Kerrang! has nominated them for ‘Best British Band’ and says that they are ‘one of a kind’ (they finally won the coveted title in 2011).

This book examines what makes this scintillating rock band tick and why they have become such an iconic act in a relatively short period of time.  Their strict work ethic and innovative nature has gained them a loyal fanbase that goes beyond the word ‘cult.’  Having toured extensively around Europe and also in North America, You Me At Six are also one of alternative rock’s most exhilarating live bands.  At a time when many Britsh rock fans are looking to the United States for inventive alternative rock, You Me At Six prove that there is still a rich seam of home-grown talent.

This biography will chart the rise of the Surrey band; the stories behind the making of their albums; their energetic stage performances and their influences…

Neil Daniels has written about rock and metal for a wide range of magazines, fanzines and websites.  He has written books on a diverse range of bands, including Judas Priest, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, Linkin Park, Journey and Robert Plant and Metallica (also published by IMP Books).  He also co-authored Dawn Of The Metal Gods: My Life In Judas Priest & Heavy Metal with original Judas Priest singer/co-founder Al Atkins.  His acclaimed series, All Pens Blazing: A Rock & Heavy Metal Writer’s Handbook Volumes I & II, collects over a hundred original and exclusive interviews with some of the world’s most famous rock and heavy metal scribes. His other duel collection, Rock ‘N’ Roll Mercenaries – Interviews With Rock Stars Volumes I & II, compiles sixty interviews with many well-known rock stars.  He had more than ten books published between 2007 and 2011.  His books have so far been translated into Polish, German, Czech, French, Italian and Bulgarian with several more foreign titles forthcoming.

You can visit his Neil’s website HERE and he can also be found on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  You can also read the TAPEtoTAPE review of Metallica: The Early Years And The Rise Of Metal HERE.

You can buy the You Me at Six: Never Hold an Underdog Down book from Amazon HERE.

We catch up with Neil Daniels to discuss his recent Metallica biography

Neil Daniels is a busy man, I caught up with him at the end of October last year to talk about life as a music journalist and find out what he was working on… back then he was just starting on a coffee table book about Iron Maiden and a biography on the early years of Metallica.  Fast forward to June 2012 and the Iron Maiden book is released later this month and the Metallica book is already out!

I recently read and reviewed the Metallica book, as a fan of the band it was a great excuse to mix business with pleasure, always nice to be able to lose yourself in a book, especially when you can claim it is ‘work’.

You can read the full review of Metallica – The Early Years And The Rise Of Metal HERE.

I was keen to grill Neil a little bit more about Metallica, so I did.  So to find out what Neil had to say and what his Top 5 Metallica albums are, keep reading…

1.      Apart from the band themselves, were there any people you wanted to interview for the book that you didn’t get the chance to?

It would have been great to talk to Dave Mustaine and a lot of the other thrash metal guys but it wasn’t possible. Also, as any music author will tell you you’re often up against a tight deadline especially now given the state of the publishing industry but I’m happy with the way the book has come out. I think it’s a nifty little tome on those first four Metallica albums. Plus the graphics are pretty cool with lots of vintage flyers, posters and ticket stubs etc. The feedback has been good so far so I’m pleased. It seems to please both casual and hardcore Metallica fans so jobs a good ‘un. 

2.      Do you think Metallica could have been as big if Mustaine had stayed in the band or do you think the power struggle would always have surfaced?

Maybe not.  I think they’d be a different band and would not have been as “corporate” and I think the same can be said for Cliff Burton if he were still alive.  They’d probably be more like Motorhead; you know, a big sort of underground metal band with some mainstream awareness. Of course, you can always speculate.  Hetfield, Ulrich and Mustaine are big personalities with egos so it would never have lasted as history has proven.

3.      Lars has always been very business minded about the band, how important do you think this factor has been in the continued success of Metallica?

It’s been very important. In that sense, he’s like the Mick Jagger of metal – he knows how to run a business. Running a band is like running a business; it’s a brand and you have to protect it. But it means Metallica have had to compromise their music, image and integrity given the changes in direction since The Black Album. It’s not always pleased fans but they are the biggest metal band in the world so Ulrich’s business brain has worked. Plus singing to Q-Prime management was a big deal and took them to bigger levels in the late eighties and thereafter. 

4.      What do you feel about the Load/ReLoad albums?  Bloated mess or under-rated masterpieces?

I like these albums. They got some good riffs and decent melodies but unfortunately no memorable songs so they’re kind of forgotten about, and consequently it makes fans cherish those first four albums even more vehemently. I still think Metallica should go back to those really fast three/four minute songs rather than bloated five minute plus mini epics. I guess they would have done it by now if they felt that way. They’re a different band now and we have to accept that.

5.      What are your thoughts on the Black Album?  Do you feel it was a game changing masterpiece or the sound of the band selling out?

I like it.  I still think its metal but its melodic metal. Having producer Bob Rock obviously told fans even before the album came out that it was going to be different from Justice given Rock’s background.  I think it’s got some killer songs, great riffs and melodies. It was a big shift in sound but not a bad one at all, in my opinion. It’s still metal.  It’s one of those ongoing debates in the metal world.

 6.      What are your Top Five Metallica albums?

1. Ride The Lightning
2. Kill em All
3. Master of Puppets
4. Black Album/Metallica
5. And Justice For All

7.      Metallica were seminal band in metal and the thrash movement, who do you think is breaking new ground today?

One thing you can give Metallica credit for, and even today with the dreadful Lulu opus, is that they always looking for new ways of stretching the boundaries of metal.  Priest have done it an made some big mistakes in their career but hell, if they churned out the same sounding album very time they’d get criticised for that too.  Being in the limelight and being successful means you’re open to scrutiny.  I much prefer their eighties stuff to what they have done since but I’m always keen to listen to a new Metallica album.  I really like Death Magnetic. And they’re an awesome live band. 

8.      What is worse, a brilliantly written bad review or a poorly written good review?

Either are probably just as useful or not.  I tend to follow writers rather than particular magazines or websites.  I mean, there are some really good writers out there but you can tell they don’t have an expert knowledge of the artist or even genre of music.  And then on the flip side there are some okay writers that are certainly not great wordsmiths yet they have an expert knowledge and you can tell from their writings.  There are lots of journalists out there who are not really journalists. 

9.      Who is the most over-rated rock/metal artist around at the moment?

U2 and Coldplay – don’t like either bands. 

10.  Does your Mum keep a scrap book with your press cuttings/reviews in?

Not really except articles from the local papers and she does collect my books.

As told to Jules – June 2012.

To find out more about all of Neil Daniels’ work, you can visit his Official website HERE and Blog Spot HERE.

Metallica: The Early Years And The Rise Of Metal – Neil Daniels (Independent Music Press)

This is the second tome I have reviewed from rock scribe Neil Daniels, the first was a bite sized look at Judas Priest’s British Steel album, a band I admitted I knew little about (although a little wiser now of course).  Next up however is Metallica: The Early Years And The Rise Of Metal, a far meatier affair and a subject I am better acquainted with.

Whilst no expert, I have been a fan of Metallica for nearly 20 years now and have been paying attention for at least some of this time, so approach the book with a certain amount of knowledge under my belt.

Charting Metallica’s evolution from Hetfield’s pre-‘Tallica Leather Charm, right up to the controversial (amongst Metallica fans at least) … And Justice For All album, this is a concentrated look at their pre-Black album releases and importance in metal folklore.  Whilst a Metallica book is hardly a new concept, there is surprisingly little print on the early days so there is definitely a space on the Metal bookshelf for such a collection.

Neil has a good way of remaining detached and unbiased when it comes to retelling the stories, especially with regards to the often vilified Dave Mustaine who gets treated with an even, if slight, hand throughout.  It is also interesting to imagine a time when Hetfield was a shy, reluctant front man, ill at ease with the spot light, rather than the strutting rock God we are more accustomed to these days.

There is plenty of input from a range of shady characters who were there/part of the Metallica bandwagon.  Be it key players from the NWOBHM bands that influenced a young Ulrich like Saxon’s Biff Byford or Diamond Head’s Brian Tatler through to journalists from the day such as Metal Force’s Bernard Doe.  These contributions all add colour and depth to the story and unearth plenty of anecdotes… none of which I am going to spoil; you’ll have to read the book.

It also serves as a timely reminder of just how hard Metallica worked for their success, it is easy to be snide about them these days but young bands could learn a lesson or two from Lars’ unparalleled dedication to music.  Lest we forget he travelled half way around the world just to see the bands he loved live, most people I know won’t travel between Southampton and Portsmouth for a gig.

If I were to take issue with any part of the book, and let’s face it, you know I will, it has to be the discography section.  Appealing to the barely contained geek in me, the discography section always gets my attention; however I beg to differ with the one provided.

Whilst it is only a cursory glance at the singles from the time, I would question why only the USA releases were given and I am pretty sure that Battery, Master Of Puppets and several others were never released as singles.  Perhaps as some kind of college radio track but certainly never an official release, I could go into great details about the promo and commercial issues from these albums but fear I would bore more than normal, so just take my word for it.

Metallica: The Early Years And The Rise Of Metal offers a fantastic overview of the period before the Black Album, it clearly defines Metallica’s importance in the scene they helped create and pay homage to those that made it possible.  Some interesting contributions from a range of their peers adds some colour and the archive quotes from the band are insightful and show the progression the band made from wannabes to world beaters.

An overview of the American thrash scene at the end is a nice footnote and a reminder that Metallica may have been torchbearers, but they were not alone in shaping the sound of the genre.

Once again Neil Daniels has put together an entertaining and informative collection, full of facts but suitably breezy so as not to overwhelm.  Whatever your interest is in Metallica, this is sure to make you think again… even about And Justice For All. Well, maybe I won’t go that far.

Jules says…

To find out more about Neil Daniels and his other works, click HERE.

You can order your copy of the Metallica book HERE.