Sad news as Ray Burton, father of the late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, passed away on Wednesday, January 15. He was 94. Burton’s death was confirmed by his daughter and Cliff’s sister — Connie, who wrote in a social media post earlier today: “To let you all know that my Dad died last Wednesday. Rest in peace Dad.”As shown in Adam Dubin’s 2019 film Murder In The Front Row, Ray and his wife Jan encouraged Cliff to study classical music and take piano lessons, later buying him a bass for Christmas at age 13, after his brother Scott died. After forming the band Trauma in San Francisco, Burton joined Metallica in 1982 and performed on the band’s first three studio albums: Kill ‘Em All, Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets. He also co-wrote To Live Is to Die from …And Justice For All and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of Metallica on April 4, 2009. Cliff died in the tragic bus accident that claimed his life on September 27 th, 1986. We send our sympathies out to Connie and the Burton and Metallica family as this difficult time. Continue reading →
Metallica has made a deal with Stance for a line of themed socks promoting classic Metallica albums Kill Em All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets! You can order them now from the links below. Stance has collaborated with many bands in the past, including Iron Maiden, Slayer, and Motörhead. According to the Los Angeles Times, Stance Socks typically cost $50 per pair, before shipping. Continue reading →
Metallica is finishing their final leg of summer tour dates in Europe with Ghost and Bokassa opening. Watch the band perform their Kill Em All (Megaforce) classic ‘The Four Horseman’, live in Estonia!Continue reading →
The history of thrash metal got another ring on the world-tree in 1984 with the release of Ride the Lightning (Megaforce/Elektra Records), the second album by Metallica. With better songwriting, tight production, and more originality than their debut Kill Em All (Megaforce), Ride moved the needle forward for the entire genre and cemented Metallica as the premiere band in the genre. Continue reading →
Metallica has shared another video on their YouTube channel MetallicaTV. If you love the band, definitely subscribe to it. In another video from their 2018 WorldWired Tour, watch them perform their classic cut fromKill Em All (Megaforce),’The Four Horsemen’. Continue reading →
Metallica shared another pro-shot video from their current Worldwired tour Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on September 13, 2018. Watch them play Kill Em All classic ‘The Four Horsemen’ now!
Metallica has shared a pro-shot performance video for their classic track Motorbreath last year on tour. One of the key tracks from Kill Em All which just turned 35 last month. If you love Metallica, make sure you like and subscribe to their MetOnTour YouTube channel.Continue reading →
We are capping off our week, sending a shout out to Metallica’sRide The Lightning. Earlier this week we paid respect to the debut album, Kill Em All(Megaforce) which turned 35 the other day. RTL came out one year later and was their major label debut. Check out our content below, Turn the following playlists up to 11 and jam out all night long! Continue reading →
Metallica will be releasing Hardwired…To Self-Destruct on November 18th via Blackened Records, and they’ve just announced a radio takeover, plus special sales on their web store to heighten the excitement for the new record. Continue reading →
Jeff Waters is one of life’s perennial nearly-men. From threatening success with their (his – I think everyone accepts by this point Annihilatoris Waters, and Waters is Annihilator) revered début Alice In Hell (Roadrunner) through a career that has risen and fallen but never quite reached the commercial or critical heights of his first three releases, nonetheless, Jeff is a trier.
Left flying solo following a split with Dave Padden, Waters has, as he did for three albums in the 90’s, taken on the role of vocalist on the fifteenth album to bear the Annihilator moniker, Suicide Society (UDR). Vocally, there are nods to contemporaries and inspirations, most notably Dave Mustaine, but all in, it has to be said, Waters turns in a vast improvement on his previous outings on the mic with a decent performance.
While Suicide Society is not without its flaws, it is an album which wears a strong Megadeth influence on its sleeve and, conversely, it’s hard not to be drawn in by its charm. Were it not Annihilator there may be more winces, but as it is you find yourself glossing over the clichéd lyrics, the dime-a-dozen staccato groove riffs, the obvious hooks and the more-confusion-than-fusion clunky segues and break outs and instead nodding along with the cousin of Cryptic Writings (Capitol) ‘Creepin’ Again’, the melodic snap of, um, ‘Snap’ and shaking your head forgivingly at what is, quite brazenly, ‘Damage Inc’ glued to bits of ‘Metal Militia’ repackaged under the title ‘My Revenge’. When Waters snarls “No Remorse!” in a track, ‘Break, Enter’ that looks once again to Kill ‘em All (Megaforce) you’re grinning with, rather than berating, him as you knowingly turn a blind eye because you know this is a guy who genuinely loves his craft and his metal. Interestingly though, it is the less thrashy, more melodic, tracks like ‘Snap’ and ‘The One You Serve’ that work best, and suit Waters’ better-voice-than-modern-day-Mustaine vocals, while balladic closer ‘Every Minute’ has some great sections.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying an album while acknowledging its several and obvious blemishes, and there’s nothing wrong with having a soft spot for Jeff Waters and Annihilator. Suicide Society indulges both.
