Are We Ready to Love Metallica Again?

Listen to "The Day That Never Comes" metallica.com
For a few of us in the Stark family, Metallica played a huge role in the cultivation of our musical appreciation. We played in Metallica cover bands and rocked out during band practices until the police were eventually called. True story. Yet, for whatever reason, be it steadily decreasing quality output from the Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett core, the allure of pop music that could actually score us chicks, or just generally growing older, our love for Metallica faded. We would still throw on "Sanitarium" for a nostalgic throwback, but the energy and passion we once felt was gone. Our disillusionment became fully realized after watching the devastating "Some Kind of Monster" train-wreck of a documentary. Until now?

The prospect of buying the new Rick Rubin produced Metallica record Death Magnetic (9/12, Warner) had not occurred to me until reading Ben Ratliff's cover feature reported from Romania (way to go Ben) in Sunday's NYT. In it, the band seems revitalized, healthy and like they are finally making good music again. While it remains to be seen whether the songs will appeal to me after so long a break - one thing can be said for certain - I am finally looking forward to a Metallica record again.
Photo: Cristian Movila for The New York Times

Nashville Review: The Tallest Man on Earth @ The Basement

By Vince Amoroso

He was not the tallest man on earth, but rather a living irony. This cliché will soon become commonplace as this Swedish troubadour gains fame. Shallow Grave, the new album from Kristian Matsson, a.k.a. Tallest Man on Earth, received an 8.3 out of 10 on Pitchfork. For gaining hipster-indie-cred, Pitchfork’s rating system is tops.

“He was like a caged tiger on stage” one performer said alluding to Matsson’s set. Well, he was some sort of animal up there. (Hold back the Metallica puns, please.) Matsson’s performance centered on his stalking abilities - be it through long drawn out soul-ensnaring stares pinpointing certain audience members or his unpredictable pacing.

Matsson is small though. We are not joking about that. He sported tight jeans that made his legs seem transparent. Widely hailed as "Dylanesque", Matsson's lace-up leather boots exemplified the analogy (his rustic singing voice helps too.) With a hair quaff and a childishly contrived mustache, Matsson had our attention before he even sang. He worked the crowd in all possible ways.

The power of the Tallest Man’s voice humbled audience members. At any given point during his performance, one could observe hands on chins and elbows on knees, people seemingly in awe of this man. His guitar playing was utterly flawless – fingerpicking at its best.

Matsson was the whole package. He captured the emotions of his songs in facial expressions and through his stage presence, venturing into the crowd at times to dramatize everything that much more. Every breath and lyric sung was heartfelt and delivered in an unassuming, mature fashion.

Check your local listings. Tallest Man on Earth is definitely worth checking out.
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