Joel McIver: Metallica 'Are The Led Zeppelin Of Our Generation'

During April 2004, Omnibus Press issued Joel McIver's 'Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica', which has since been translated into several languages. His sixth book at the time, his previous books up until then included the likes of 'Extreme Metal' (2000), and 'Slipknot: Unmasked' (2001). The tome's foreword was written by Celtic Frost's Tom Gabriel Fischer, and aside from roughly five percent of interview material, the book boasts fully exclusive interview material. To gain such material, McIver interviewed more than seventy-five musicians, producers, writers, band associates and family members, all connected to Metallica in some shape or form. Over five years have elapsed since then, and McIver's bibliography has vastly increased, with the following accredited to the man; 'No One Knows: The Queens Of The Stone Age Story' (2005), 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' (2006), 'The Bloody Reign Of Slayer' (2008), and 'The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists' (2009). With June 2009's 'To Live Is To Die: The Life And Death Of Metallica's Cliff Burton', McIver further established himself as an authority on Metallica.

In October 2009, 'Justice For All' was published in its third edition. Included is a new chapter which mainly focuses on 2008's 'Death Magnetic', as well as the Quietus saga, where Joel McIver penned an early review of the album under the name Bob Mulhouse, a review (along with others) that Metallica's management initially attempted to suppress. To discuss 'Justice For All', McIver was interviewed via email.

'Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica' was originally released in April 2004 through Omnibus Press. What were your motives for writing the book? Tackling such a subject must've been a daunting prospect.

It was. I had five books already on the market but they were much shorter than 'Justice For All': it was my first really big biography, at 150,000 words. I was working full-time at Record Collector magazine when I was writing it, so I knew that time management would be important. In the end the scale of the thing wasn't too much of a problem: I did have to rush at the end because our first child was about to arrive, but I had over a year to get the research done.

My motives? I remember very clearly that I wanted to do a Metallica book because there wasn't one already out that really covered their story in depth. There were one or two decent attempts at a 'Tallica biog, notably 'Unbound' (1993) by their first fanclub manager KJ Doughton - who has since become a friend of mine - but nothing that included the 'Load' years and after. My other reason for doing the book was that I've been a Metallica fan since the mid-eighties and have followed their career with almost unhealthy levels of interest. I'm a fanboy, me.

Lars Ulrich has commented that he's asked to autograph copies of the book frequently. Do you feel that is a testament to its success, or were there certain aspects of the first edition you felt you could've tackled better?

Both. The fact that Metallica fans worldwide bring my book to the band's meet-and-greets blows my mind: it's a huge compliment. There are at least eight foreign-language editions, so the poor guy is probably plagued with them! But it is a good book, there's no doubt about that. I definitely went in quite hard with some of my opinions about the later albums, and lots of Metallica's younger and / or more insecure fans have written to me complaining about that - but nobody with any genuine perspective on the ups and downs of Metallica's career has disagreed fundamentally with what I wrote. It's still obvious by the end of the book that I'm a huge, huge fan of the band, and of the thousands of emails I've received on the subject since 2004 I'd say that over ninety percent have been positive.

There are certain areas that I could have devoted more time to in the book, but overall it's a reasonably well-balanced picture. One annoying thing is that I got Kirk Hammett's date of birth wrong in the first edition - which is a pretty stupid mistake to make, as he has it tattooed on his stomach - and lots of whining sheep have written emails to me about that… reasonably enough I suppose.

Celtic Frost's Tom Gabriel Fischer wrote a foreword for the book, and for such a book, you likely had a wide range of appropriate people you could've asked to provide such a foreword. How did Tom Fischer's involvement come about, and why did you feel he'd be the most appropriate man for the task at hand?

I wanted someone whose stature was equal to Metallica's to write the foreword. Obviously Celtic Frost never sold a tenth as many albums as Metallica, but their influence was huge and the two bands played on the same circuit back in the eighties. Tom is a hero of mine - I used to play 'Into The Pandemonium' all the time as a teenager - and it was an incredible honour to have him onboard. I still remember the day he phoned me at my office, I was speechless. A year ago the icing on the cake came when he asked me to write an introduction to his forthcoming Hellhammer autobiography, 'Only Death Is Real', which is coming out shortly on Bazillion Points. Something to tell the grandchildren, for sure.

"'Justice For All' was my first really big biography."

Roughly only five percent of the interview material in the book was previously published elsewhere. How did you go about gaining interview subjects for the tome, and what difficulties did you encounter?

I interviewed about seventy-five people for the Metallica book. In 2002 the web wasn't quite what it is today (no MySpace or Facebook) but you could still track down, say, members of Testament by emailing their webmaster. That's mostly what I did. I already knew some of the musicians because I'd got to know them as a journalist, so I had access. What surprised me most - and surprised me again last year when I was writing 'To Live Is To Die', my biography of Cliff Burton - was how willing most people were to help out. The original Bay Area bangers - Brian Lew and Ron Quintana among them - really helped me to track interviewees down. There are a few people who I couldn't find that I've since got to know, such as Michael Alago (the Elektra A&R who signed 'Tallica from Megaforce) and Fred Cotton (the singer in Spastik Children), and it would have been great to have them in there too, but that's the way it goes.

Amongst fans of Metallica and Megadeth, an age-old debate is what Dave Mustaine's contribution to early Metallica entails. In your expert opinion, what was Dave Mustaine's actual contribution to early Metallica? Has his contribution been overstated, or underplayed?

Dave gave the band their first really developed musicianship. His playing was more technical than James', and he was only matched in skill when Cliff Burton came on board in early 1983. James eventually went on to become a superb musician, but Dave was more advanced at an earlier age, which helped Metallica take their first steps towards thrash metal. People don't really understand the positive aspects of Dave's brief membership of the band because those things are usually overshadowed by the tension between them. It's a shame, I hope they bury the hatchet permanently someday.

Besides inevitable biographical information, the book also contains detailed reviews of each Metallica album. Rather than a sympathetic, glowing approach, it must be said that you pull no punches and make your feelings clearly known about each album. With that in mind, I'd like to touch upon certain Metallica albums, each of which are sources of contention. Let's begin with 1986's 'Master of Puppets', which many cite as the genre's masterpiece. Is 'Master of Puppets' actually as great as people reckon, or is its greatness overstated?

Like any art, 'Puppets' is only as great as people think it is. However, a hell of a lot of people love it, and for good reason - the songwriting is incredibly accomplished, the riffs are simultaneously catchy as hell and hugely aggressive, and the production is world-class. Also, it came out at the right time: metal needed to take a step up to another level, and thanks to this LP and the other great metal album of 1986 - 'Reign In Blood' - that's exactly what it did.

1991's 'The Black Album' was Metallica's commercial breakthrough, and despite what people may say, is what made the band a stadium rock act on the level of a U2. Some love this album, while others loathe this album. With that in mind, do you feel 'The Black Album' deserves the criticism levelled at it by those who grew up with Metallica's eighties records?

Not at all. It's a landmark album, regardless of whether you actually like the songs or not. Personally I never want to hear "Enter Sandman" or "Holier Than Thou" again, although I still worship at the altar of "Sad But True". With albums like this one, or 'Thriller' (1982, Michael Jackson) or 'Hotel California' (1976, The Eagles) or 'Elvis Presley' (1956, Elvis Presley) or 'Abbey Road' (1969, The Beatles), you have to look beyond the songs and recognise the record's overall impact. In the case of the 'Black Album', it redefined the popular end of heavy music in 1991, alongside 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and 'Nevermind' (Nirvana).

'Load' and 'ReLoad' were released in 1996 and 1997 respectively, both of which arguably had a jam ethic. Personally, I feel that Metallica should've been more strict, and whittled down those songs to one album - essentially collecting the best of both. Do you agree? And also, what's your view on Metallica's writing approach at this time, their approach being to more or less flesh out any and every idea into a song?

A lot of people say that those two albums could have been reduced down to one and it would have been great, but I'm not sure about that. "Ain't My Bitch" and "Fuel" are semi-decent songs, and the ballads are kind of OK if you're in the mood, but the rest of it is unbelievably limp compared to the previous albums. Lars recently admitted that the band could have edited themselves a bit more carefully back then, but also that their approach at the time didn't allow that to happen. Look, I understand why Metallica had to make 'Load' and 'ReLoad': they needed to explore different directions after fifteen years of straight ahead metal - it's just that the direction they took didn't really work, for the most part.

Six years following 'ReLoad', 'St. Anger' was issued. Is this an album Metallica would rather just forget, or is this an album with some underrated tunes? Your thoughts?

It's horrifically bad. End of story.

'Death Magnetic' was released in September 2008, and is Metallica's ninth studio album. Is it really as good as some critics have suggested?

Without referring to any reviewers in particular, the general reaction seemed to be that Metallica were back and operating at full capacity. A year later, I wonder how many of those critics really play the album that often. I gave it three stars out of five when I reviewed it, and I stand by that today. 'Death Magnetic' was an encouraging step in the right direction, but it doesn't stand up to any Metallica album released before 1993.

"The fact that Metallica fans worldwide bring my book to the band's meet-and-greets blows my mind."

In June 2008, you and some others were present at a playback organised by Q-Prime, where you heard six tracks from 'Death Magnetic'. You then wrote a review of said tracks under the pen name Bob Mulhouse for The Quietus, which Q-Prime ordered to be removed until Lars Ulrich intervened. How do you view that whole debacle, looking back?

Well, the new edition contains several thousand words on that event, so you'll need to buy the book for the full story - but in brief, I would say that it was basically a communications fuckup between Metallica and their managers at Q-Prime. To this day I don't know why they came over to London to play the songs for the dozen or so of us who were there. I asked Lars why they did it, and he didn't know either. It's no big deal, in retrospect.

Since the issue of 'Death Magnetic' particularly, Metallica has experienced critical acclaim, arguably more so than ever before. In April 2009 even, the group joined Black Sabbath in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What is Metallica's lasting influence upon the metal world, and even the world of music generally?

Do you have twenty-four hours…? Basically they popularised (not invented) thrash in 1983; promoted the idea of intelligent, musicianly extreme metal in the mid-eighties; saved metal from dying on its arse in '91; and kept it together long enough (despite all manner of intra-band bullshit) in the nineties and noughties to reach the top of the music industry, metal or otherwise. They are the Led Zeppelin of our generation and one of the most important bands ever to walk the earth.

Where do you see Metallica's career venturing from here? Would you possibly draw comparisons to The Rolling Stones, in that their creative peak is arguably well and truly behind them, but the live shows still have the ability to genuinely entertain?

I wouldn't compare them to the Rolling Stones, because the Stones are a joke. That band should have stopped touring when Bill Wyman left. I'd rather compare Metallica to Deep Purple, who may not be at their commercial peak but who still deliver a superb live show and have an immense catalogue of songs. Then again, Metallica are much, much bigger than Purple while being younger and more vital, so it's not really possible to compare them with anybody. But if your point is that Metallica's live shows are more important than the quality of their current albums, I'd agree fully.

Finally, how do you feel about your relationship with Metallica and 'Justice For All'? Do you feel it may go on to define your career, and that you'll forever be known as the man who wrote 'Justice For All'?

That makes me sound a lot more important than I really am - after all, the book has sold forty-thousand copies in five years, which is pretty good but not really comparable to the world's really big authors, whose books shift literally millions of copies per day. But yes, I imagine it will be difficult to write a more successful book than that one on the subject of rock music. That's OK though - most people never get the chance to write a book, let alone one that does well internationally. I have no complaints…

Interview by Robert Gray
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2009

Comments

[CSUTremonti777]

First...holy crap too much info shorten it up a bit UG.

That being said...long live Metallica and RIP Cliff

[irotinmyskin]

lol.... the title is the most laughable thing ive ever heard...

[NickStrick]

irotinmyskin wrote:

lol.... the title is the most laughable thing ive ever heard...

Yes..that is the only reason i came into this page..to inform these fellers that they are far from being correct on that one. Metallica is nowhere near comparable to Led Zeppelin. Even look at each member individually..that will furthermore prove my point.

[benman7]

irotinmyskin wrote:

lol.... the title is the most laughable thing ive ever heard...

Yes..that is the only reason i came into this page..to inform these fellers that they are far from being correct on that one. Metallica is nowhere near comparable to Led Zeppelin. Even look at each member individually..that will furthermore prove my point.

Yeah i agree entirely, and i came to this for the same reason...if anyone is our generations led zeppelin its them crooked vultures, and that has john paul jones in it....So get your shit straight....

[schangatang]

metallica died along side of cliff
poor cliff

[webbtje]

I swear UG has interviewed this guy before, at least once.

I wouldn't have thought Metallica in themselves warranted a biography, to be honest. Doing the individual members in depth, to the extent of a proper biography, would be better.

[blommen]

this guy really understands metal. he is one of those rare persons who can be the face of the entire metal genre... although his fanboyism towards slayer and metallica are sickening at times lol

[mlukeroberts222]

I guess I'm the only person that liked 'Load' and 'Reload' though I will admit they are not nearly as good as earlier Metallica albums. But let's face it---not a lot of music is as good as those ealry 'Tallica albums. METALLICA is the LedZep of our generation!!!

[mrinal24]

Why do people care what this guy says? If I wrote I book reviewing all their albums would I get interview too?

[Limaj_daas]

Don't know about others, but I really liked the interview. He's honest and direct in his biography of the band and doesn't suck up or anything. And he's not apologetic about his views. Love the guy, and the interview.

[vaaan]

benman7 wrote:

irotinmyskin wrote:

lol.... the title is the most laughable thing ive ever heard...

Yes..that is the only reason i came into this page..to inform these fellers that they are far from being correct on that one. Metallica is nowhere near comparable to Led Zeppelin. Even look at each member individually..that will furthermore prove my point.

Yeah i agree entirely, and i came to this for the same reason...if anyone is our generations led zeppelin its them crooked vultures, and that has john paul jones in it....So get your shit straight....

The same hereXD

[meshow31]

i like metallica, but not enough to call them the zeppelin of our generation. Zep had such a broad range of music and metallica just can't compete with that

[lucas1wj]

led zeppelin never sued their fans

Boing Flip!

[RockInPeaceDime]

CSUTremonti777 wrote:

First...holy crap too much info shorten it up a bit UG.

That being said...long live Metallica and RIP Cliff

I'm amazed that all people do in these comments is bitch and moan about how inferior and horrible articles/interviews on UG are, but when UG puts out something with lots of information and something that is at least remotely interesting, it still gets shit on.

Shut up.

[sneaky11]

benman7 wrote:

irotinmyskin wrote:

lol.... the title is the most laughable thing ive ever heard...

Yes..that is the only reason i came into this page..to inform these fellers that they are far from being correct on that one. Metallica is nowhere near comparable to Led Zeppelin. Even look at each member individually..that will furthermore prove my point.

Yeah i agree entirely, and i came to this for the same reason...if anyone is our generations led zeppelin its them crooked vultures, and that has john paul jones in it....So get your shit straight....

you guys really dont know anything about music, do you? metallica made famous a certain style of guitar playing that every and since them has imitated. and just so you know, the article isnt saying metallica is just as good or is the same kind of band as led zeppelin. the article is just saying that Metallica is to metal what Led Zeppelin is to hard rock, extremely influential pioneers of their style of music

checked

[98Timberwolf]

[quote]sneaky11 wrote:

benman7 wrote:

irotinmyskin wrote:

lol.... the title is the most laughable thing ive ever heard...

Yes..that is the only reason i came into this page..to inform these fellers that they are far from being correct on that one. Metallica is nowhere near comparable to Led Zeppelin. Even look at each member individually..that will furthermore prove my point.

Yeah i agree entirely, and i came to this for the same reason...if anyone is our generations led zeppelin its them crooked vultures, and that has john paul jones in it....So get your shit straight....

you guys really dont know anything about music, do you? metallica made famous a certain style of guitar playing that every and since them has imitated. and just so you know, the article isnt saying metallica is just as good or is the same kind of band as led zeppelin. the article is just saying that Metallica is to metal what Led Zeppelin is to hard rock, extremely influential pionee

[98Timberwolf]

Damn, that didn't work out right... I agree with sneaky11!

[DemonInTheFlesh]

LOL... Comparing Metallica to Led Zeppelin is blasphemous rock n' roll on so many levels.

[DemonInTheFlesh]

blasphemous to* rock n' roll.

[zAg1619]

sneaky11 wrote:

benman7 wrote:

irotinmyskin wrote:

lol.... the title is the most laughable thing ive ever heard...

Yes..that is the only reason i came into this page..to inform these fellers that they are far from being correct on that one. Metallica is nowhere near comparable to Led Zeppelin. Even look at each member individually..that will furthermore prove my point.

Yeah i agree entirely, and i came to this for the same reason...if anyone is our generations led zeppelin its them crooked vultures, and that has john paul jones in it....So get your shit straight....

you guys really dont know anything about music, do you? metallica made famous a certain style of guitar playing that every and since them has imitated. and just so you know, the article isnt saying metallica is just as good or is the same kind of band as led zeppelin. the article is just saying that Metallica is to metal what Led Zeppelin is to hard rock, extremely influential pioneers of their style of music

Exactly. The people that read that title and think that he is saying they are just as good as Zepp, are foolish. And as for the comment on Them Crooked Vultures being our generation zepp... Well that is just silly. I'd wait for a few albums to be released before claiming that..

[ReldvS]

correction on my post....that is 5 CDs of greatness not 4.... i loved KeA, RtL, MoP, AJFA, Black

then most of Load, ReLoad

maybe 2 songs on St Anger

All of DM!!!
i would have edited my last post but cant find a button that will allow me to do so- sorry for the double post

[prac23]

led zep gets boring at times and i prefer metallica far over them. does that make me wrong or retarded? no.. it just means i like a different style of music. if u actually read the article, him saying thyere the led zepplin of this generation makes perfect sense. band like lamb of god come out and say they arent metallica fans, yet they sound very similar to them instrumentally. chances are their influences were influenced by metallica in some way. its better than saying britney spears is the zepplin of our generation.. but u can easily make the argument if u try hard enough. listen to the shit thats popular on the radio right now, its all because of her.

[TheNewWorldMan]

Metallica 'Are The Led Zeppelin Of Our Generation' your joking right?

[MonsterOfRock]

mlukeroberts222 wrote:

I guess I'm the only person that liked 'Load' and 'Reload' though I will admit they are not nearly as good as earlier Metallica albums. But let's face it---not a lot of music is as good as those ealry 'Tallica albums. METALLICA is the LedZep of our generation!!!

your not the only one. Anyone who thinks songs like Hero of the Day, Until it Sleeps, Bleeding Me, Mama Said, Unforgiven II, Low Man's Lyric and Fixxxer are bad, are incredible douchebags.

Seriously, don't hate it just coz its not metal! It just happens to be that these guys had already conquered metal and tried to do something different (and did a pretty good job at it) rather than being those bands that keep making the same shit to keep their fanbase happy *cough.. slayer.. cough*

[Mr. Skull]

wow i'm glad that guy actually acknowledged dave, and didn't kiss ass all over stanger and load/reload

[Tattoo5150]

comparing metallica to zeppelin, not to mention the stones, is the real joke

[!BEN!]

hmm tbh people of our generation still listen to and get inspired by Led Zeppelin

[ThatWouldBeJon]

UG did interveiw him a few months back when he released his "to live is to die" book about cliff an i think the headline is spposed to mean that led zepplin sparked all kinds of bands and generes back in the 70s and as did metallica spark new bands and generes that are popular today, there not saying metallica is better or as good as zepplin so calm down guys

[Four Symbols]

LED ZEPPELIN is the Led Zeppelin of our generation.

[Nazo64]

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

[Unsaid]

I think this should be entitled "Metallica 'The Biggest Sellout Of Our Generation'"

[Sami Philadelph]

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

Ozzy Osbourne is much more famous than Metallica, and way more influential.

Get real...

Iron Maiden? Lindsay Lohan wears Iron Maiden shirts, PSHHHH

Let's no even get into Glam Metal territory, if it wasn't glam thrash wouldn't even exist, think about it...

ANYWAY, to the guy who said Led Zeppelin didn't sue their fans, congrats, you won

[B455GU174R]

cmon cmon dont start saying Metallica is stupid or something, if you dont like the new albums, go listen to MoP or if your one of the haters, just dont listen to them and leave this page!

[jethro bob]

article title fails at life....no one is, and no one will be the next led zeppelin. old metallica is wayyyyy better than new metallica, but they are no zeppelin.

[Right-Wing Dick]

Led Zeppelin is the Led Zeppelin of this and any generation. Joel McIver
speaks from his sphincter.

[EREV777]

idk led zeppelin... there is no other led zeppelin i love metallca tho..

[jiper101]

i feel sickened by this comment, i didnt even bother to read the article, its THE most laughable statement i have ever about The Zep (peace be upon them) and metallica.....

[go team ramrod]

this article is crap. to be honest the only band that could be said to be the zeppelin of our generation is the red hot chili peppers. the chilis music isn't as heavy, but they are definitely as musically talented and influential

[Fiberglass Gum]

Well, Led Zep have never released a bad album.

All I have to say it St. Anger.

[cannibaldeicide]

This guy is a bassist who likes Slipknot and ranked Kirk Hammett above Chuck Schuldiner in his book on metal guitarists. Why would anyone in the world give a shit about his opinion?

[sneaky11]

Fiberglass Gum wrote:

Well, Led Zep have never released a bad album.

All I have to say it St. Anger.

Led Zeppelin also didnt make music for 26 years. how long did they make music for? 10 years maybe, then gave up cause their drummer died. Metallica on the other hand didnt give up after a band member died ( RIP Cliff), also made music for so long that they wanted to try something different. yes, st anger was a horrendous album, but dont hate on a band trying to do something different and trying to do it waaaay past their prime. If metallica gave up after their first ten years like Zep, then they too would have never made a bad album

[rmp0012002]

The Led Zeppelin of our generation would have been Guns N Roses if they stayed together. And Justice For All was the beginning of the end for me as a Metallica fan. When the average rock fans that called Metallica shit years earlier jumped on the bandwagon when the black album came out turned me off.

[Kynarethband]

Fiberglass Gum wrote:

Well, Led Zep have never released a bad album.

All I have to say it St. Anger.

and load reload death magnetic and the black album

[Nameless742]

tl;dr
Metallica and Led Zep are different bands in lots of ways.
I can see the comparison, people should know not to compare things on the internet.. especially for us metal fans.
I think Metallica are better, of course, for their time Led Zep are better, they pioneered in lots of ways.
Seems a bit boring, who cares really?
I mean, at the end of the day, you have to listen to them both and make up your own minds.

[jimmyslashpage]

Anybody else get pissed when he said "The Stones are a joke", they're living legends!

If anything they're a tribute to how rock music can bypass ummm, biology??

[Josh_crosby]

why does metallica matter anymore. they are not creative or original and they sold out big time. Only people who r stupid say they like them. they were good 20 years ago, they should die.

[derpdragon]

I didn't even bother to read this joke of an article. Metallica is the most over rated metal band ever and there music isn't even very good. I'll give them a few like Master of Puppets and Enter Sandman, but even then Dave wrote those. To compare Zep with them is an insult. Zep didn't write St.Anger. If your going to compare any metal band to Zep compare them to Iron Maiden, they basically started metal. Not to mention there worst album (X-factor) was no where near as bad as St.Anger, hell it's better then good Metallica albums.

[hudsonstradlin]

jimmyslashpage wrote:

Anybody else get pissed when he said "The Stones are a joke", they're living legends!

If anything they're a tribute to how rock music can bypass ummm, biology??

yeah that pissed me off. and to the guy that said that led zeppelin never had a bad album? go buy "in through the out door." it's time-pass, to say the least. physical graffiti ftw!

[Josh_crosby]

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

honestly? is success and influence the only thing people think about anymore. Their music isn't about anything anymore. they aren't creative, and if a band isn't creative it's dead. they are milking the money cow now.

[Droid11]

I don't care what anyone says, I love Load.

[KEEPTHE METAL33]

Whoa-metallica this generations led zeppelin? REALLY? i completley respect and enjoy metallica and i think they truelly were as inspirational and creative as led zeppelin. But come on. I think this titled opinion was a little exaggerated . You can't compare these two bands.

[saint_berzerker]

Putting Rob on the book cover is a bit annoying to me. Especially with that title name.

[myguitarishott]

Metallica rocks. Led Zeppelin rocks. The Stones rock too! If you don't like any of em, why the hell are you wasting your time leaving rude comments full of hate on here!

Maybe it's just me, but I mean, that just doesn't make any sense...for crying out loud.

[maximumrocker]

Metallica rules!!!!

[buttermilkie]

baaahhhaa, mettalica would have to step up their game 10 fold to be like zeppelin

[buttermilkie]

lets play some enter sandman, and i'll blast heartbreaker, lets see how they stand up together

[Skuzzmo]

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

I don't think you call their later stuff 'metal'... they seemed to try to have another go at thrashy type stuff with DM but they have obviously forgotton how to do it.... Metallica? Metal? not for a long time...

But having said that they are a huge band and have been influencial and you can't take that away from them...

[Ead]

metallica is in no way at all the Led Zeppelin of our generation

[mustainex2000]

this guy have to get a life ... "Metallica Are The Led Zeppelin Of Our Generation' ... man, I love Metallica´s work ... but thats a really lame statement. Metallica can´t even pull a "good" album since like 1991 ... Led Zeppelin make their records in just 10-12 years...thats why the are the gods.

[Kirk_Is_God101]

Well that doesn't say much for Metallica....
Just kidding fanboys!
Don't kill me.

[GenerationKILL]

I've never heard of this book, or even this guy until now. I consider myself an obsessive metallica fan as well, and its nice to see someone who shares alot of my same views on the band. I like how this guy isn't afraid to speak bluntly about whats not so cool about the band, i like his opinionated approach...

I too agree that metallica is a very important part of modern music and that they are the led zeppelin of our generation. Im intrigued and want to get this book!

[100%angus]

Without Led Zeppelin, there would be no Metallica. All that Metallica is is catchy riffs and cheap tricks at speed and melody. Zep actually had roots and they owned them by playing EVERYTHING from their innovative style of blues rock to traditional CIA tuning songs. REAL acoustic to Hard rcok. Black Mountain Side to The Ocean. Mettalica can't touch that because they are SHIT compared to Led Zeppelin

[KingSquall802]

Metallica is the Led Zeppelin of the Metal World, as Led Zep is for hard rock. Thats what the title means to me.
Why are you comparing Led Zep to Tallica, they are not the same. But they are both legends with different impact on the music industry.

[Nor'Easterbass]

you know i disagree with anyone that writes off St.Anger as being the biggest piece of shit out there. it's wayyy different, but if some other metal act had done that, they would've been praised. still, only like 3 good songs on it lol. anyway, good interview.

[kramer242]

Nor'Easterbass wrote:

you know i disagree with anyone that writes off St.Anger as being the biggest piece of shit out there. it's wayyy different, but if some other metal act had done that, they would've been praised. still, only like 3 good songs on it lol. anyway, good interview.

I agree about St. Anger. It was not the biggest piece of crap out. I do not think it was good though. It would have been, had it not been for the tinny sounding drums. You had some exceptional heavy riffs, and meanwhile Lars is behind the kit, and it sounds like hes beating on garbage cans

[MrGuitarGuy01]

Tool is the Led Zeppelin of our time. Metallica is good too though.

[Vedicardi]

Tool the Zeppelin of our time?

No one is the "zeppelin" of our time. Bands always influence on new and different levels and different ways. No band is the next old band, they are first of themselves.

[rip3149]

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

black sabbath, iron maiden, and judas priest. i'm a huge metallica fan and i'm with this guy when he says they're the zep of this generation, but to say they're the most influential OVERALL? that might be pushing it a bit.

[ehnoway]

Vedicardi wrote:

Tool the Zeppelin of our time?

No one is the "zeppelin" of our time. Bands always influence on new and different levels and different ways. No band is the next old band, they are first of themselves.

THANK YOU!!!!! I hate it when people make those type of comparisons. Even if a band does bear any similarity to an older and more established band, it doesn't mean they are a reincarnation of said band. And Metallica and Led Zep are in no way, shape or form alike, in either sound or influence. They're both great bands, and I respect them both, but that's an off comparison. Led Zeppelin was the Led Zeppelin of their generation and Metallica are the Metalica of our generation. 'Nuff said.

[timCKY]

Opinions, we all have them and noone wants to hear yours.

[maidenfan15]

^^^Album slaes DO NOT dictate a band's skill. End of story.

But I hate how this guy thinks that his opinion is the only one that matters. Anybody who calls St. Anger horrible without a reason is an idiot. There were some horrible songs but there were also some good ones. The Unnamed Feeling, Frantic, St. Anger, Sweet Amber and Some Kind of Monster could be amazing songs if they were shortened and had solos. The drums are annoying but they could be tolerated if the production was better.

Not to mention the fact that Load and Reload both had some AMAZING songs.

And for all the idiots, when he said that Metallica was the Led Zeppelin of our generation, he meant in influence, not skill. You can't deny that Metallica had a HUGe influence.

[Joel McIver]

Hi, this is Joel McIver. Just to correct the post about my 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists book, Kirk Hammett is No. 15 and Chuck Schuldiner is No. 10.
Best
Joel

[DurpaDurpa]

Everyone is so anal about this, WE ARE ALL BIAS TOWARDS SOMEONE. You honestly cannot compare these two skill wise, so common sense says, he isn't talking about Metallica being the same as Zep skill wise. Led Zepplin could never make a Master of Puppets, and Metallica could never make a Stairway to Heaven. But both have a large influence on different people. To all those having a sulk, it could have been worse, he could have said Jonas Brothers (not even going to bother to make sure i spelled it right)

[1nSingularity]

I think Load and ReLoad are immensely underrated. I don't see how he can critique them so badly. 'Until it Sleeps' is one of my fav Metallica songs. The Black Album was better, but (Re)Load isn't all that bad

[Jarf]

Led Zeppelin are still the Led Zeppelin of our generation. Sorry Metallica.

[Vendim]

It's funny how all these Metallica haters write bad comments saying that other bands are better than Metallica or something else. If you don't like Metallica, don't give a shit and leave this interview.
I think that McIver is right in what he's saying.
Metallica was influenced by older bands ( like Led Zep) and NOW Metallica influences young bands ( you can take every new Metal band and you'll find elements of Metallica! ).

[schangatang]

they should have stopped playing once they became sober and were all "rawr rawr i hate war rawr rawr war is bad rawr rawr"

[SuperSeether]

First off if you don't like metallica why are you here i mean what the hell. Second, He Meant they were both influential bands, So you can shut the hell up. Third,I agree with you that st. anger sucks.

[flame_mc]

C'mon... you can't say that zepp is overrated when we're talking about metallica LOOOL as a guysaid above, led zeppelin is the led zeppelin of our generation. Oh, and about some retarded guy above that said that zepp separated when Bonham died and metallica didn't when cliff died, they knew that they could never be zeppelin again without Bonham, if metallica could've realized that, they wouldn't be doing those shitty albums with the name of the band that cliff used to play in. After DM, Cliff surely was puking acid in his grave.

[duzit89]

metallica are great.. but personally i think these guys should have stopped making music at some certain point also.. i would like to see hetfield or hammett do something else creatively in other directions.. i'm tired of hearing about "Metallica This" .."Metallica That".. james voice has changed.. and he was and is as an amazing singer/songwriter today.. but not for metallica anymore.. i just wanna hear James/Kirk jam with some other drummers then just LARS.. idk why.. to me it would refreshing to knowing that ******* would be out of the way. no matter what "impact" lars made.. i'd like to se someone else behind that drumset backin up james kirk and rob...

[KingSquall802]

Just imagine the music scene without Metallica. No Master of Puppets, One, Fade to black, etc.

Metallica is the reason why metal genre is still alive, especially in the early 90's when the metal genre is declining. whether u like it or not. thats the truth.

Dont tell me that Megadeth can do it, because they just cant. Metallica is a billion times more influential than Megadeth. I know Megadeth stayed true to thrash and putting riffs over riffs but they just cant be as influential than Metallica.

Bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are not enough for Metal.

I dont care if ure going to shoot me a thousand of bullets, but thats just my opinion.

[tweeb]

Internet arguing... I love it... Grow up kids.

[Rænduz]

I like Metallica but comparing them to something as epic as Led Zeppelin is just plain wrong in my book.

[Robert Gray]

ThatWouldBeJon wrote:

UG did interveiw him a few months back when he released his "to live is to die" book about cliff an i think the headline is spposed to mean that led zepplin sparked all kinds of bands and generes back in the 70s and as did metallica spark new bands and generes that are popular today, there not saying metallica is better or as good as zepplin so calm down guys

You're right that Joel's been interviewed before. He has been interviewed on three occasions by UG.

[Robert Gray]

Serious question for the UG community: why is no-one entitled to their own opinion on here?

If someone says something you lot seriously disagree with, they're savaged here. McIver is entitled to his opinion, as are all of you. Share your opinion, but equally respect his entitlement to one too.

After all, not everyone likes Metallica, nor does everyone like Led Zeppelin. In fact, some out there might even dislike both bands.

[StONE_ROdGEr]

And Metallica are extreamly good at what they do. I believe that each album has a quality of its own, which is why some people prefair one album to another. For me, I love all the albums, the last song I was addicted to listening to was Damage Inc. on my iPod. I'm now currently addicted to Thorn Within. There's a difference from Kill 'em All and ReLoad, but it's still Metallica, it's still the music I love and St.Anger is different to ReLoad. Personally I think St Anger is a good album. So much energy in it. Yeah it's got no solo's ect, but so ****ing what? It's a great album, its pure, it came from inspiration, which is where good music comes from. The bad times they were going through went into them songs, and it tells a story. If you dont' like it, dont' listen.

[wrathchild666]

I love both bands but if you compare ulrich to bonham and james hetfield to plant, there is no comparison. But that being said both bands have different styles and are extremely good at wat they do (or did do). Both are as highly influential as each other.

[icyfingers]

ReldvS wrote:

correction on my post....that is 5 CDs of greatness not 4.... i loved KeA, RtL, MoP, AJFA, Black

then most of Load, ReLoad

maybe 2 songs on St Anger

All of DM!!!
i would have edited my last post but cant find a button that will allow me to do so- sorry for the double post

KeA? RtL? Who calls them that!?!

Checked

Cut out the arguing and the bashing, or you will earn yourself a warning/ban. Seriously, grow the hell up kiddies.

[Linkerman]

ReldvS wrote:oh and btw, i liked Load & ReLoad...but they were the first CDs that had songs that i did NOT like. before that, i had not heard a song by them i did not like. How many bands can you say that about?? That's 4 cds of greatness before something i just kinda didnt like some of the stuff. WOW.....

Just want to point out the obvious: Opeth.
9 albums without disappointing so far. ^^

[flyboyC17]

derpdragon wrote:

I didn't even bother to read this joke of an article. Metallica is the most over rated metal band ever and there music isn't even very good. I'll give them a few like Master of Puppets and Enter Sandman, but even then Dave wrote those. To compare Zep with them is an insult. Zep didn't write St.Anger. If your going to compare any metal band to Zep compare them to Iron Maiden, they basically started metal. Not to mention there worst album (X-factor) was no where near as bad as St.Anger, hell it's better then good Metallica albums.

Dude your opinion lost all cred with me when you said that Dave Mustaine wrote Master and Sandman...seriously? Maybe you should have read the article instead of just skipping it and going straight for the comment box.

[bloodbath519]

WHO CARES!!! I listen to Metallica and Led Zep and a ton of other bands. I dont care if one is better than another. Just enjoy music and stop crying about "my band is better than your band". Makes me laugh when people try to say how good any band is. If they are so good then why do you need to defend them lol?

[A7xwinsatlife]

to compare led zeppelin to metallica is insulting their work
zeppelin is the most infuential rock band of all time
i'm not undermining the talent of metallica... but to make a comparison of that nature makes less sense than george w bush's re-election
****ing retarded
kirk hammet will never be jimmy page
nor will jimmy page in that respective manner
stylisticly the bands are apples to oranges
THIS SHOULDN'T BE A POINT FOR DEBATE
METALLICA IS NOT INFLUENTIAL IN THE SAME WAY AS ZEPPELIN
IF JPJ WERE STILL ALIVE THEN ZEPPELIN WOULD HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH MORE

[rlm2390]

This dude is on drugsss, Metallica is nowhere near the musicianship of Zeppelin, Kirk Hamment cant even touch Page.

[dobby240]

shame... led zep were awesome and metallica just plain suck :s

never have liked them. and well said rlm2390^

[IYanoplathizoI]

"Joel McIver: Metallica 'Are The Led Zeppelin Of Our Generation'"

*Vomits

[Cafas]

Metallica are a lot like Zeppelin; bands with great music, but ultimately, and hopefully, the more you listen to them, the more you want to search for better music. They were both the foundations of my musical upbringing, but to me, they're far from being the be all, end all of their respective genres. Not even close.

[MikeHYA]

i didnt even read this but metallica are not the led zeppelin of our generation sorry

[craig-sansum]

MikeHYA wrote:

i didnt even read this but metallica are not the led zeppelin of our generation sorry

+1

[ruker]

Yep, Metallica didn't rip off unknown artists and claim they only "borrowed" lyrics/riffs like Zeppelin. Zep fanbois make me laugh.

[ReldvS]

how does one measure influence? is it the furthest your music reaches? is it money you make? is it the fame? Is it the loyal fans that bash any who disagree that your band is the best? Until you get EVERYONE to even agree on what the exact meaning of INFLUENCE is, in the context we are using, then its pretty safe to say that we will continue to argue over this pointless article.

Just remember this, Opinions are like *******s. Everyone has one and most stink.

icyfingers wrote:

ReldvS wrote:

correction on my post....that is 5 CDs of greatness not 4.... i loved KeA, RtL, MoP, AJFA, Black

then most of Load, ReLoad

maybe 2 songs on St Anger

All of DM!!!
i would have edited my last post but cant find a button that will allow me to do so- sorry for the double post

KeA? RtL? Who calls them that!?!

Are you serious??? You have never heard of an acronym???
here you go
KeA = Kill em All
RtL = Ride the Lightning
MoP = Master of Puppets
AJFA = ...and Justice for All
DM = Death Magnetic

now i ask you, which makes more sense to do. Hope ppl are smart enough to make the connection since we are in a Metallica based subject thread, or to spell out in full each cd in long form? Stop trying to provoke an argument, i learned last time i verbal destroyed someone on here....im NOT getting warned again LOL

Linkerman wrote:

ReldvS wrote:oh and btw, i liked Load & ReLoad...but they were the first CDs that had songs that i did NOT like. before that, i had not heard a song by them i did not like. How many bands can you say that about?? That's 4 cds of greatness before something i just kinda didnt like some of the stuff. WOW.....
Just want to point out the obvious: Opeth.
9 albums without disappointing so far. ^^

Well im not sure i can compare Opeth's success to Metallica's, but i wont bash them. once again, opinions are subjective. Personally i believe once Opeth are in the R&R Hall of Fame, and have sales equaling that of Metallica and have a WORLD WIDE audience (meaning in every country nearly) and have the commercial success. To me, in my humble opinion(which prolly stinks LOL) INFLUENCE = the sum of all things i mentioned and maybe even a few more.

[PerpetualBurn]

Hahahahahahah Led Zeppelin of our generation hahaha no. That would be Opeth, though still a long shot.

[trendkill-]

metallica hasnt been relavent in metal since the early 90's, thats nearly 20 years. so to say they are our led zep is realy just stupid,

rlm2390 wrote:

This dude is on drugsss, Metallica is nowhere near the musicianship of Zeppelin, Kirk Hamment cant even touch Page.

page is much old, but atleast he hasnt forgot how to construct a solo, un like kirk

[Right-Wing Dick]

A7xwinsatlife wrote:

to compare led zeppelin to metallica is insulting their work
zeppelin is the most infuential rock band of all time
i'm not undermining the talent of metallica... but to make a comparison of that nature makes less sense than george w bush's re-election
****ing retarded
kirk hammet will never be jimmy page
nor will jimmy page in that respective manner
stylisticly the bands are apples to oranges
THIS SHOULDN'T BE A POINT FOR DEBATE
METALLICA IS NOT INFLUENTIAL IN THE SAME WAY AS ZEPPELIN
IF JPJ WERE STILL ALIVE THEN ZEPPELIN WOULD HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH MORE

Dude... John Paul Jones is currently playing bass for Them Crooked Vultures.... he'll be disappointed to find out he's dead.

[Robert Gray]

Right-Wing Dick wrote:

A7xwinsatlife wrote:

to compare led zeppelin to metallica is insulting their work
zeppelin is the most infuential rock band of all time
i'm not undermining the talent of metallica... but to make a comparison of that nature makes less sense than george w bush's re-election
****ing retarded
kirk hammet will never be jimmy page
nor will jimmy page in that respective manner
stylisticly the bands are apples to oranges
THIS SHOULDN'T BE A POINT FOR DEBATE
METALLICA IS NOT INFLUENTIAL IN THE SAME WAY AS ZEPPELIN
IF JPJ WERE STILL ALIVE THEN ZEPPELIN WOULD HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH MORE

Dude... John Paul Jones is currently playing bass for Them Crooked Vultures.... he'll be disappointed to find out he's dead.

He probably will be, I agree. The guy must've meant John "Bonzo" Bonham, who passed away in 1980.

[shossni]

LED ZEPPELIN??!?!??!?! WHO IN THEIR SANE MIND WOULD COMPARE ZEPPELIN TO THIS DROP D POWER CHORD PLAYING BAND?!?!!?? Idiots..

[Superperfex]

Actually, no. If Led Zeppelin are the gods of hard rock, then the only logical substitute for metal is Iron Maiden.

They are the most popular band in history, excluding the Beatles. They are also the heaviest without even using heavy distortion. They just are the true gods of metal.

[Andragon]

Whew. I thought I knew the biggest MetallicA fanboys.

[dean_reaper]

i like metallicas old stuff, and i concider myself a metallica fan, HOWEVER they are not even in the same ballpark in fact there not even in the same sport as led zeppelin. who comes up with these titles?

[Fireballz 1077]

I agree with most of the points in this article. I like their early stuff, I like DM, and I like Load and ReLoad. St. Anger was too much emotion (obviously, anger) and not enough structure, form, or lyrical form for the songs.

But I really want to get this book now!

[VoodooChild15]

What a goofy ass photo.

[emphaticleech]

There's a REASON there haven't been books about the Load and on years.

Because everything after Black Album sucksssss.

[emphaticleech]

Superperfex wrote:

Actually, no. If Led Zeppelin are the gods of hard rock, then the only logical substitute for metal is Iron Maiden.

They are the most popular band in history, excluding the Beatles. They are also the heaviest without even using heavy distortion. They just are the true gods of metal.

I wholeheartedly agree. Iron Maiden..even with the three different singers..are a cornerstone for metal. NWOBHM, true...but they touched on more heavy sounds than the likes of Priest or Venom. Which, don't get me wrong...I love JP and Venom...they just for some reason don't have the same ferocity of Maiden. No metal band does, in my opinion.

[GenerationKILL]

100%angus wrote:

Without Led Zeppelin, there would be no Metallica. All that Metallica is is catchy riffs and cheap tricks at speed and melody. Zep actually had roots and they owned them by playing EVERYTHING from their innovative style of blues rock to traditional CIA tuning songs. REAL acoustic to Hard rcok. Black Mountain Side to The Ocean. Mettalica can't touch that because they are SHIT compared to Led Zeppelin

listen to the beginnings of the songs "battery, and justice for all, fade to black, fight fire with fire, sanitarium" and the middles of songs like "master of puppets and to live is to die" for some "real" acoustic parts, they're "real" because they used real acoustics, its as simple as that. You can also find acoustic variations on songs like "call of the ktulu" that are absolutely amazing.

Also, its widely known that Jimmy Page was a very sloppy guitar player, comparitively Kirk Hammett was known to be alot more cleaner with great precision and a wide array of stylistic scales and modes that he used. This isn't a statement thats saying Kirk was always a clean and unsloppy player himself (check the wah solo in the song 2x4 for some sloppiness...) I could name some more examples but you're obviously set in your ways.

Metallica are essential to modern metal or hard rock, just like 'zeppelin was to their respective genres, thats all the author is trying to say. Get a grip there were no direct comparisons, you're just a biased jerk who needs to buy some new cds.

[Yhdeksas]

Metallica stopped being Metallica when Hetfield went to Rehab and Lars sat on the douche-throne.

James needs to drink and Lars needs to be shot. He's a horrible drummer.

Pre-Garage Inc.

That is all.

[led_zep_1789]

i lol'd when i read the title...dont get me wrong, metallica is a great band, i love alot of their stuff. but to be honest, metallica pales in comparison to led zeppelin.

[hockeyplayer168]

It would be far more appropriate to say Metallica is the Led Zeppelin of METAL.

[AvtaaraN]

I totally agree, metallica are the led zeppelin and megadeth, slayer, hirax, exodus are the commercially underrated cream.

[carsnguitars92]

besides the fact that led zeppelin is my favorite band of all time, i'm trying to think of an intellectual response to this thread that is not biased solely on the fact that they're my favorite. with that in mind, i can't think think of anything. So, simply, you're all morons.

[carsnguitars92]

in response to my last comment, i meant to say that anyone who thinks metallica is on par with led zeppelin is a moron. led zeppelin is and forever will be the greatest band of all time

[BeatenDog]

To the guy who said Mustaine wrote Puppets and Enter Sandman... go back to your bedroom cry for at least three days cause you realized your and idiot and come back out and try talking about metal again. Lars is a douche indeed. Dimebag kicks Metallicas and Zepplins ass, even though i love both of those bands. St.Anger was a disgrace.

[ØRIØN]

You guys have no idea why he says the band they are, Metallica are totally the Led Zeppelin of the modern day, they are because theyve achieved a musical status that no one had ever achieved other than Zeppelin, and you cant say shit about it because your only proof is that you just dont like them.
Metallica are everything Zep is and better, get used to it.

[fLYinGV23]

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

someone forgot about Black Sabbath...

[jthm_guitarist]

Yeah, Joel McIver is right-on!
I seriously love (very close to all of) Metallica's music, but St. Anger was horrible and Death Magnetic was pretty bad too. If St. Anger hadn't have been released, Death Magnetic would have probably gotten worse reviews.

[tubious]

people just like to hate on metallica because they're metallica. get over it people, they are in the same realm of bands like led zeppelin, black sabbath, the beatles, rolling stones etc. whether anybody likes it or not. over 90 million records sold is more than anybody who talks trash about metallica will ever accomplish, even dave mustaine. they aren't led zeppelin but in terms of what they've accomplished for their time-frame, they have definitely proved they are just as groundbreaking and influential towards their respectful music genre.

checkedd

[steevo92]

fLYinGV23 wrote:

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

someone forgot about Black Sabbath...

I think Metallica is more influental than Sabbath

[Ruchitya T Anan]

people saying Metallica aint as good as led zeppelin are well..crazy. They re-defined metal, check!
and about john McIver, he is a fanboy. but reading his book just dont give you an impression of blind faith to 'tallica..he does criticise them well. and he does put forth quality shit too

[Mr.Grunge]

I think they're more like the Pink Floyd....They have some good songs, but sometimes you have to wonder why they are so damn long.

[arshi_012]

Mr.Grunge wrote:

I think they're more like the Pink Floyd....They have some good songs, but sometimes you have to wonder why they are so damn long.

dude metallica n pink floyd? u tell me 10 songs of metallica n il tell u 100 better songs for Floyd!

[Bunson666]

sneaky11 wrote:

Fiberglass Gum wrote:

Well, Led Zep have never released a bad album.

All I have to say it St. Anger.

Led Zeppelin also didnt make music for 26 years. how long did they make music for? 10 years maybe, then gave up cause their drummer died. Metallica on the other hand didnt give up after a band member died ( RIP Cliff), also made music for so long that they wanted to try something different. yes, st anger was a horrendous album, but dont hate on a band trying to do something different and trying to do it waaaay past their prime. If metallica gave up after their first ten years like Zep, then they too would have never made a bad album

They didn't "give up," they realized that they wouldn't be Led Zeppelin without Bonham behind the drums, maybe Metallica should have realized that too.

[Bunson666]

When Burton died.

[MotörHeadFan22]

Bunson666 wrote:

When Burton died.

yeah, but with cliff, we might never of had Justice, Or The Black Album...give it some thought, but i'm sure whatever they would have put out, would have been 10 times more kick ass then those two combined, it makes you think really, but to some extent i agree with the title, but it give it a little more time, they are known for being on of the better and more popular metal bands out there, just like Led Zepp is one of the more popular Rock/Hard Rock bands out there...

[KhNCryptopsy]

I don't understand why people seem to think Led Zep is the holy grail of rock then look at Metallica and say their shit. Metallica was one of the bands that put metal on the charts. Their music now, though, leaves a little to be desired, I agree. But the fact remains that they are still and will continue to be on of the most influential metal bands of all time.

[primus15]

led zeppelin was right to give up when John Bonham died (RIP). He was a vital member of the group, and any future music died when he did. Metallica didn't realize that Cliff was the same way; the future of Metallica's music pretty much died when he did. and you can't go by how long they made music, either; zeppelin's 10 or so years FAR outweigh Metallica's entire career. Now don't get me wrong, I respect Metallica, but they died when Burton did and will never the Led Zep of our generation. Anyone who says otherwise is most likely just an obsessed Metallica fanatic.

[FearOfTheDuck]

derpdragon wrote:

I didn't even bother to read this joke of an article. Metallica is the most over rated metal band ever and there music isn't even very good. I'll give them a few like Master of Puppets and Enter Sandman, but even then Dave wrote those. To compare Zep with them is an insult. Zep didn't write St.Anger. If your going to compare any metal band to Zep compare them to Iron Maiden, they basically started metal. Not to mention there worst album (X-factor) was no where near as bad as St.Anger, hell it's better then good Metallica albums.

You just made a HUGE arse out of yourself.

[Mikey_or_Hunter]

I should punch that guy in the dick for such a statement. Metallica is trash!!! Not a single decent musician in that band except for Trujillo, who is ****ing up his talent for a paycheck. How dare you UG for posting such a ridicolous article!!!

[primus15]

steevo92 wrote:

fLYinGV23 wrote:

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

someone forgot about Black Sabbath...

I think Metallica is more influental than Sabbath

There would be no Metallica if it weren't for Sabbath and Zeppelin. Saying otherwise warrants mild schizophrenia.

Also: Mr.Grunge - "I think they're more like the Pink Floyd....They have some good songs, but sometimes you have to wonder why they are so damn long."

WHAT?!? You must be referring to the animals CD or maybe a few songs from Dark Side of the Moon. At least they weren't rambling on about how you should "die by my hand" or other useless garbage. Pink Floyd put thought, emotion, and actual messages in their longer songs. Do yourself a favor and listen to some intelligent music. (I'm sorry for being so passionate about this, but that's how it has to be)

[Toxtoth_O_Grady]

Metallica have 4 really good albums, yet many other metal bands have made so many more good albums (and better ones too).

Ensiferum in particular have released 4 albums - each of them better then the peaks of RTL, so there really isn't anything that impressive about 'tallica.

Also: Could the hard rock snobs please stop ranting on metal and claiming a lack of integrity, feeling, etc?

I don't go into articles on your styles and point out how boring and repetitive the style is, with whiny vocals that I just don't wanna hear wailing about irrelevant bullshit - keep your genre crossing hate to yourselves.

[AndrewSchaeffer]

don't ever compare metallica to led zeppelin -_-

[Religulous]

Lol they're not comparing the two bands you idiots. They're comparing it in means of popularity, not musical style or the way their haircuts look. Damn, stop getting so offended about nothing. Led Zeppelin and Metallica are both "household names" now.

And yes, I like Led Zeppelin more, but if who doesn't know who Metallica is now days?... That's all it's saying.

[PerpetualBurn]

Whoever said Maiden, you sir, are correct.

[ruker]

The only thing I learned here is that Zeppelin fanboys are overly sensitive. Led Zeppelin is the Waking The Cadaver of their generation, rofl.

[horandago]

Metallica > Led Zep

[Ridder Lugtepik]

Fool.
Metallica aren't even close to be as good as Led Zep..
What a stupid statement.

[Superperfex]

PerpetualBurn wrote:

Whoever said Maiden, you sir, are correct.

Well, I know. But to be honest it is just common sense. Iron Maiden is the true sound of metal. I am not talking about the current definition of metal. I mean, the true long lasting definition of what metal should be like

[emphaticleech]

steevo92 wrote:

fLYinGV23 wrote:

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

someone forgot about Black Sabbath...

I think Metallica is more influental than Sabbath

Do what now?

Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Priest, Venom, Motorhead...ALL more influential in the metal scene than Metallica was/is.

[Gundam pilota09]

Mr. Big is the Zep of our generation. they even have a similar origin story. 3 well know musicians started an epic band and recruited an uber-talented young lad noone had heard of

[joshua029]

irotinmyskin wrote:

lol.... the title is the most laughable thing ive ever heard...

i agree, led zepplin could never hold a flame to what Metallica was, is and forever will be...

[PerilousMangoo]

metallica released four good albums, then willingly became the industry's *****s

[PerilousMangoo]

also, album sales do NOT make you a good band.

[pbass79cam]

all i read was the title...
ummm, no. epic fail

[mcyrus10]

ya right zeppelin owns

[theused101]

i just came to say plain and simple, dont speak for your generation you douche because metallica will NEVER EVER be anything like led zeppelin was in the 70s

[primus15]

joshua029 wrote:

irotinmyskin wrote:

lol.... the title is the most laughable thing ive ever heard...

i agree, led zepplin could never hold a flame to what Metallica was, is and forever will be...

Uh, yeah, I think irotinmyskin meant the exact opposite, lol, epic fail

[cherrypie287]

horandago wrote:

Metallica > Led Zep

haha thats a joke ^

[SovereignDark]

Metallica's first three albums where brilliant. Funny thing...Cliff Burton was in the band for those three.

Metallica is just much to over-rated these days. I know Im a youngster being born on in 1990 but I bet they were great when they first started rockin' but they are not nearly good enough to be called The Led Zeppelin of our Generation. They didnt open anyones eyes to metal...or at least mine. I listened to Metallica and just sort of...listened to Metallica. The only bands it opened my eyes to where Anthrax and Megadeth and then later Venom and and few other thrash bands.

I always prefered Megadeth anywho :P

[SovereignDark]

PerilousMangoo wrote:

also, album sales do NOT make you a good band.

So true brother.

In College the drunkest stupidest frat boy idiot is the most popular kid at school. Does that make him better than the bookwork wizkid who will someday create the cure for cancer? I think not sir.

...I think not!

[MotörHeadFan22]

emphaticleech wrote:

steevo92 wrote:

fLYinGV23 wrote:

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

someone forgot about Black Sabbath...

I think Metallica is more influental than Sabbath

Do what now?

Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Priest, Venom, Motorhead...ALL more influential in the metal scene than Metallica was/is.

Venom, not much success but influential yes

[livewire76]

RockInPeaceDime wrote:

CSUTremonti777 wrote:

First...holy crap too much info shorten it up a bit UG.

That being said...long live Metallica and RIP Cliff

I'm amazed that all people do in these comments is bitch and moan about how inferior and horrible articles/interviews on UG are, but when UG puts out something with lots of information and something that is at least remotely interesting, it still gets shit on.

Shut up.

+1

[the_burning_one]

schangatang wrote:

metallica died along side of cliff
poor cliff

So and justice for all sucked? yeah. i dont think so

[SovereignDark]

Yes, it sucks. One song doesnt make the album good.

[ChancellorErik]

The article title is laughable...the Led Zeppelin of our generation is Led Zeppelin.

[floydrose09]

for all those people saying gtfo haters, they have every right to say something bad because Metallica had its goods and more bads lately and they are valid points unlike yours.

[Exxol]

metallica is the led zeppelin of his generation, but the current generation has no music meaningful enough to be given that title... if metallica is our zeppelin, whos our metallica?

[ruker]

^ Agreed. Metallica was my generations flagship band. Zeppelin was my dads. Kids these days... I don't know, Jonas Brother, Taylor Swift, Hannah Montana? rofl

[Strat132]

Exxol wrote:

metallica is the led zeppelin of his generation, but the current generation has no music meaningful enough to be given that title... if metallica is our zeppelin, whos our metallica?

Taylor Swift

[slipknot44]

What About Judas Priest?!?!? They Are Way Better Than Metallica!! And Judas Priest's New Album Rules!!

[espChris93]

mlukeroberts222 wrote:

I guess I'm the only person that liked 'Load' and 'Reload' though I will admit they are not nearly as good as earlier Metallica albums. But let's face it---not a lot of music is as good as those ealry 'Tallica albums. METALLICA is the LedZep of our generation!!!

You're not completly alone haha i personally love stuff on load and reload i mean king nothing? hero of the day? bleeding me? all of these songs are staples of the metallica catalog to me it shows their versatility in songwriting instead of being like slayer for example(wow im gona get flamed liking load and dissing slayer) who pretty much release the same album every few years i like slayer but its the same damn thing! and St. Anger is NOT a bad album its just not. if any band in the world released that besides metallica they would have been catapulted into the frontline of heavy music but since it wasnt Master or AJFA everyone hated it which is ridiculous because that album again showed me how well rounded metallica's playing could be instead of getting stuck in the same rut... although i'd kill to get stuck in a rut of writing albums similar to KEM, RTL, and MOP hahah

[icyfingers]

ReldvS wrote:

how does one measure influence? is it the furthest your music reaches? is it money you make? is it the fame? Is it the loyal fans that bash any who disagree that your band is the best? Until you get EVERYONE to even agree on what the exact meaning of INFLUENCE is, in the context we are using, then its pretty safe to say that we will continue to argue over this pointless article.

Just remember this, Opinions are like *****s. Everyone has one and most stink.

icyfingers wrote:

ReldvS wrote:

correction on my post....that is 5 CDs of greatness not 4.... i loved KeA, RtL, MoP, AJFA, Black

then most of Load, ReLoad

maybe 2 songs on St Anger

All of DM!!!
i would have edited my last post but cant find a button that will allow me to do so- sorry for the double post

KeA? RtL? Who calls them that!?!

Are you serious??? You have never heard of an acronym???
here you go
KeA = Kill em All
RtL = Ride the Lightning
MoP = Master of Puppets
AJFA = ...and Justice for All
DM = Death Magnetic

now i ask you, which makes more sense to do. Hope ppl are smart enough to make the connection since we are in a Metallica based subject thread, or to spell out in full each cd in long form? Stop trying to provoke an argument, i learned last time i verbal destroyed someone on here....im NOT getting warned again LOL

Linkerman wrote:

ReldvS wrote:oh and btw, i liked Load & ReLoad...but they were the first CDs that had songs that i did NOT like. before that, i had not heard a song by them i did not like. How many bands can you say that about?? That's 4 cds of greatness before something i just kinda didnt like some of the stuff. WOW.....
Just want to point out the obvious: Opeth.
9 albums without disappointing so far. ^^

Well im not sure i can compare Opeth's success to Metallica's, but i wont bash them. once again, opinions are subjective. Personally i believe once Opeth are in the R&R Hall of Fame, and have sales equaling that of Metallica and have a WORLD WIDE audience (meaning in every country nearly) and have the commercial success. To me, in my humble opinion(which prolly stinks LOL) INFLUENCE = the sum of all things i mentioned and maybe even a few more.

I'm scared, no, really. Don't verbally destroy me, please!

[tatatotfolife]

Nobody on this website understands analogies. It's sad.

[ammetal4life]

my comment is as useless as your opinions

[Gh057]

Okay, maybe, just maybe, if this article was released in... oh, say... 1993 or 1994, then he might've been pretty close. Up until the 2000's, almost every band that came out used a style similar to Metallica's. I see the obvious correlation between the two... but still.

And to the guy who said if they'd stopped after 10 or so years, amen to you: you won the game.

[Restlesscow]

Eh, in terms of the number of songs I like from each band, Metallica are better imo. I can't imagine what music would be like without either one of these band.

[Restlesscow]

Mr.Grunge wrote:

I think they're more like the Pink Floyd....They have some good songs, but sometimes you have to wonder why they are so damn long.

Sorry for double post.
Who wonders why they are so damn long? No rules on how long a song should be, imo, "Echoes" ain't long enough!

[flame_mc]

tweeb wrote:

Internet arguing... I love it... Grow up kids.

Well maybe if you buy around 200 plane tickets , we could discuss this in person you know

[tom1thomas1]

didnt read the article but the title's a fair call.

Was there a divide between pop bands and rock bands in the 70s though? Like today we have Metallica and some crappy Pink, did they have Led Zeppelin and a group like ABBA or something?

[adamzam]

steevo92 wrote:

fLYinGV23 wrote:

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

someone forgot about Black Sabbath...

I think Metallica is more influental than Sabbath.

You my friend are and IDIOT. Sabbath influenced more bands than Metallica ever has! Considering their twenty years older than Metallica. If you ask Hetfield and the rest of them they'd tell you that Black Sabbath influenced them. Check your facts.

[Ibanez44]

stairway to heaven > master of puppets.

Plastic bag of testosterone > Hetfield

[p town massive]

Do any of you like music? or do you just listen to it so you have something to bitch about? If you dont like Metallica - why did you read this interview? The interviewee named Zeppelin and you thought you'd have to come on and defend their honour? Bitching about bands is a pointless and old excercise. Just because you dont like a band's music or attitude doesnt mean your insultive opinion is validated. And thats not just here, from Chemical Romance to Prodigy, Jonas Brothers to Nat King Cole - their music is directed at THEIR audience not the entire world.

METALLICA AND LED ZEPPELIN ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BANDS, GET OVER IT OR GO CRY ABOUT IT.

[Strat132]

adamzam wrote:

steevo92 wrote:

fLYinGV23 wrote:

Nazo64 wrote:

name one metal group that has had equal to or more success and influence than Metallica, honestly

someone forgot about Black Sabbath...

I think Metallica is more influental than Sabbath.

You my friend are and IDIOT. Sabbath influenced more bands than Metallica ever has! Considering their twenty years older than Metallica. If you ask Hetfield and the rest of them they'd tell you that Black Sabbath influenced them. Check your facts.

You my friend are and idiot?
Check your spelling bro haha

[kellen.dobmeier]

Does Joel mean that Metallica, like Led Zeppelin, is overrated and continues to be so?

[sol-sob-on-pcp]

They are the Led Zeppelin of our generation

i beg to differ

[sol-sob-on-pcp]

kellen.dobmeier wrote:

Does Joel mean that Metallica, like Led Zeppelin, is overrated and continues to be so?

do u have any friends?

[sol-sob-on-pcp]

ReldvS wrote:

correction on my post....that is 5 CDs of greatness not 4.... i loved KeA, RtL, MoP, AJFA, Black

then most of Load, ReLoad

maybe 2 songs on St Anger

All of DM!!!
i would have edited my last post but cant find a button that will allow me to do so- sorry for the double post

dude, DM (Death Megnatic) is the worst metallica album they have.

im not trying to bash metallica. i respect them as musicians and all

but the entire album sounds so generic. St Anger is better then Death Magnetic. any person that hears cynide on the radio 5 times a day after Metallica released the single would realize the album is terrible. end rant

[Fairieswearsock]

You guys are bickering like a bunch of children.

[beau05]

benman7 wrote:

Yeah i agree entirely, and i came to this for the same reason...if anyone is our generations led zeppelin its them crooked vultures, and that has john paul jones in it....So get your shit straight....

The Crooked Vultures? you can't be serious?

Nice read anyway

[indyrock91]

It's about influence. Metallica revived metal. They have influenced nearly every metal band for like the last 20 years. Like them or not, they are huge in the history of modern day music.

[indyrock91]

Mikey_or_Hunter wrote:

I should punch that guy in the dick for such a statement. Metallica is trash!!! Not a single decent musician in that band except for Trujillo, who is ****ing up his talent for a paycheck. How dare you UG for posting such a ridicolous article!!!

Somebody hasn't heard of Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning

[metal_magician9]

This statement is completely stupid. Led Zeppelin didn't sell out after a few albums (like metallica)

[metal_magician9]

sneaky11 wrote:

you guys really dont know anything about music, do you? metallica made famous a certain style of guitar playing that every and since them has imitated. and just so you know, the article isnt saying metallica is just as good or is the same kind of band as led zeppelin. the article is just saying that Metallica is to metal what Led Zeppelin is to hard rock, extremely influential pioneers of their style of music

You're right, metallica did pioneer a new style of guitar playing, but to bad the person who actual started this style got kicked out of the band. Long live Dave Mustaine!

[metal_magician9]

steevo92 wrote:

fLYinGV23 wrote:

I think Metallica is more influental than Sabbath

Um... are you f***ing serious? Black Sabbath practically CREATED metal you dumbass. I love metallica (aside from their new stuff) but to say they are more influencial than black sabbath, you have to know absolutely nothing about metal

[Santeria420]

Robert Gray wrote:

Serious question for the UG community: why is no-one entitled to their own opinion on here?

If someone says something you lot seriously disagree with, they're savaged here. McIver is entitled to his opinion, as are all of you. Share your opinion, but equally respect his entitlement to one too.

After all, not everyone likes Metallica, nor does everyone like Led Zeppelin. In fact, some out there might even dislike both bands.

Because some people's opinions are really ****ing stupid. My question for you, Mr. UG Journalist, is why UG constantly posts articles with such controversial names and then UG employed/involved people like you bitch when everybody starts arguing over it. If you don't like it, try posting an article with a title that isn't some big name lambasting some other big name.

[Robert Gray]

Santeria420 wrote:

Robert Gray wrote:

Serious question for the UG community: why is no-one entitled to their own opinion on here?

If someone says something you lot seriously disagree with, they're savaged here. McIver is entitled to his opinion, as are all of you. Share your opinion, but equally respect his entitlement to one too.

After all, not everyone likes Metallica, nor does everyone like Led Zeppelin. In fact, some out there might even dislike both bands.

Because some people's opinions are really ****ing stupid. My question for you, Mr. UG Journalist, is why UG constantly posts articles with such controversial names and then UG employed/involved people like you bitch when everybody starts arguing over it. If you don't like it, try posting an article with a title that isn't some big name lambasting some other big name.

Could you please point to where in the interview's title anyone is being lambasted? No-one is being lambasted...