Metallica
Acoustic Metal

THE REVIEW

Few people know about this collection of bootlegs that Metallica, not knowing what else to release, recorded. The CD in question, "Acoustic Metal", contains some of the tracks recorded during three concerts in 1997 by the Four Horsemen, an acoustic show, one for charity, and one held in Oslo.

The title, which for many represents an oxymoron, in my opinion, demonstrates an interesting experiment. The idea of reinterpreting, or at least trying to reinterpret, thrash metal pieces in an acoustic and, above all, country manner—something that showcases the country side of Metallica which, for better or worse, emerges more insistently from the mid-1990s onward—is a positive thing. I now have to discuss the methods with which this experiment is conducted, rather mediocre, to be honest.

The first two tracks, "Low Man's Lyrics" and "Helpless", provide the listener with a not entirely pleasant start: in the first, the four from San Francisco insert a wide array of instruments—such as the banjo, dobro, harmonica, etc.—typical of Tennessee-made country, in a completely chaotic manner while the second, a cover of Diamond Head, is more a song traditionally performed with Hetfield and Hammett wielding an acoustic guitar, whose sound is overshadowed by Ulrich's performance, which is characterized by his usual, fitting, soft, and delicate drumming (sarcastic). The "highlights" of this collection are those that are more suitable for being played this way, namely "Nothing Else Matters", "Tuesday's Gone", and "Fade to Black". The pseudo-country version of "The Four Horsemen" is also nice, managing to maintain its distinctive drive despite Hetfield's voice here in countryman version. Neither noteworthy nor shameful are "Poor Twisted Me" and "Bleeding Me" while truly inappropriate are "Creeping Death" and "Last Caress", which are completely distorted. The final piece is a medley composed of "and Destroy" and "Fight Fire With Fire" which, inexplicably, despite the title of the work, are played in a completely traditional manner. Why? Why, oh Metallica, did you include this last track on an album called "Acoustic Metal"? Bah?

All in all, a fairly rare bootleg that contains curious experiments, sometimes successful, more often, failed. Mainly intended for the curious and Metallica-maniacs.